Vulnerability and risk assessment and identifying adaptation options: Sectoral report Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

The main goal of this assessment is to help Nepal’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process assess climate-related hazards, vulnerabilities, and risks, as well as identify practical adaptation options at the municipal, sectoral, and provincial levels. The Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (VRA) embraces eight thematic sectors, including one cross-cutting sector identified in the National Climate Change Policy (2019), as well as municipalities, 77 districts, seven Provinces, and five physiographic regions. However, due to a lack of data, a comprehensive assessment was conducted for 293 urban municipalities and a basic assessment for 460 rural municipalities.

The VRA process includes a framework and methodological steps that contribute to a comprehensive picture of current and future climate extreme events, vulnerabilities and risks, and related opportunities. This will serve as the foundation for developing adaptation strategies and plans for the formulation of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP). The VRA process employs a top-down and bottom-up assessment approach. To validate and make the process acceptable to all, consultations were held across sectors, crosscutting areas, thematic working groups, and government line agencies at all levels, Civil Society Organizations, youths, women, indigenous groups, and other relevant stakeholders. National data and other government-approved data were used as authentic sources for the VRA process.