IHRR
May 19,2025
Kathmandu, May 14, 2025 – The Institute of Himalayan Risk Reduction (IHRR) participated in the National Dissemination Workshop organized by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) under the CARE for South Asia Project, held at the Marriott Hotel in Kathmandu. At the event, IHRR shared key insights from its flagship initiative—the VICTORY Project (Visualizing the Power of Citizen Science Through Observations and Repository for Anticipatory Action), emphasizing its community-centered model for disaster risk reduction.
The VICTORY Project was piloted in Bhimeshwor Municipality, Dolakha, and Barbardiya Municipality, Bardiya. It introduces a transformative approach to climate resilience by engaging local citizens as active contributors to data collection and anticipatory action. The project is now being scaled up in Dordi Rural Municipality, Lamjung, and Nason Rural Municipality, Manang. Through real-time monitoring of rainfall, floods, and landslides, it bridges critical data gaps in disaster-prone regions using low-cost hardware and participatory science.
At the workshop, IHRR highlighted how the project empowers communities to respond to climate-induced risks by:
- Enhancing local capacity for hazard monitoring,
- Enabling data-driven decision-making through community-based reporting,
- Promoting inclusive participation in disaster preparedness, and
- Supporting the integration of citizen-generated data into local governance systems.
The event provided a dynamic platform for cross-sectoral learning, with diverse stakeholders including government agencies, development partners, and technical experts exchanging ideas and innovations in resilience building. IHRR expressed its gratitude to ADPC, the World Bank, Bhimeshwor and Barbardiya Municipality; and all participating partners for creating an environment of collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Looking ahead, IHRR emphasized the importance of scaling up locally rooted and inclusive models like VICTORY, which demonstrate how citizen science can serve as a powerful tool in addressing the growing challenges of climate change and disaster risks.
