Building flood resilience through livelihood diversification in lower Karnali basin

The people of the Karnali River Basin, which lies in Western Nepal in Kailali and Bardiya Districts, are affected by flooding every year. The monsoon flood results in loss of huge amount of property, resources and human lives. The flood of 2017 affected 134,804 in Bardiya and 15,435 people in Kailali. Moreover, the same flood claimed lives of 4 people in Bardiya and 1 in Kailali. Flooding is almost certain in the lower plains of Nepal every year but the impacts can be reduced if more focus is given to Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRR and M).

Thus, Nepal Flood Resilience Project (NFRP) implemented by Practical Action emphasized to build capacity of the vulnerable people of Karnali floodplains in western Nepal. One of the focus areas of the project from 2013 to 2018 was to increase household income of the local people through enhanced skills. NFRP has provided 10 types of off-farm and 4 types of on-farm skill development training to more than 1,400 people to enhance their skill and increase their income so that they are motivated to invest more on resilience building activities.