Abstract
Nepal is a landlocked developing nation in a fragile mountain landscape vulnerable to seismic activity. The 2015 Gorkha earthquake highlighted how systemic social issues, such as poverty, rural-to-urban migration, and weak governance, exacerbate devastating impacts of natural disasters. Building wood-based infrastructure (WBI) can increase rural livelihoods through sustainable forest management and reduce rural-to-urban migration, while improving resilience of building and other infrastructure through use of wood. WBI can help Nepal achieve disaster risk reduction (DRR) goals while also reducing greenhouse gas emission and increasing carbon sequestration. We reviewed Nepal's policy landscape to identify the opportunities and barriers for building WBI and increasing urban resilience. Nepal's major policies across wood supply chain from sources to end-products related to WBI were reviewed and analyzed. We found that policies aimed to address sustainable development, disaster risk reduction, and climate change support establishment of WBI while policies for forest conservation limiting forest harvesting, as well as lack of clarity in policies and their implementation, creates barriers. We argue that Nepal's policies for forest conservation should be revised to allow sustainable forest harvesting and create more employment opportunities and income for rural communities to take advantage of expanded opportunities made available through WBI.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
