IHRR
Apr 08,2025
From 26 March to 3 April 2025, Smartphones for Water (S4W) Nepal, in partnership with the Institute of Himalayan Risk Reduction (IHRR), the Center of Research for Environment, Energy and Water (CREEW), the Human Development & Community Services (HDCS) and the Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (CDHM) successfully conducted a series of ward-level sensitization meetings in all wards of Dordi Rural Municipality (Lamjung) and Nason Rural Municipality (Manang). These efforts are part of the Empowering Communities: Visualization of Citizen Science Contributions in Disaster Risk Reduction (CSDRR) project, funded by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN).
The CSDRR project addresses the growing threat of climate-induced disasters in Nepal’s mountainous regions, where conventional weather monitoring systems are limited. The initiative promotes citizen science as a grassroots approach to bridging this data gap by equipping local communities with low-cost, accessible tools such as handmade soda bottle rain gauges, supported by digital platforms for daily data collection and sharing.
Each sensitization session included tailored presentations for the respective municipalities, an introduction to citizen science and its benefits, and participatory mapping of disaster-prone areas—flood-prone zones in Nason and landslide-prone locations in Dordi. These activities fostered interactive dialogue with a diverse group of participants, including ward chairpersons and members, community volunteers, health workers, and youth representatives.
Ward leaders emphasized the urgency of community-centered disaster risk reduction, particularly in the context of intensifying water-induced disasters such as flash floods and landslides. They encouraged inclusive participation, especially from women and marginalized groups, to ensure that local knowledge and voices guide resilience-building efforts.
