2024-05-27

Funding Agency/Client: World Bank
Date: June 2021 –  December 2022

The World Bank has contracted a consulting firm to support the World Bank team in carrying out its own due diligence on the disaster risk management project to help the Bank team determine both the capital and operational costs required to implement such a Disaster Risk Management Action Plan (DRM-AP) of Arun Valley. The output of this study will be useful for planning the disaster risk management plan in terms of environmental and social issues. While the cumulative impact assessment will focus on environmental and social impacts. This study is so important as it will conduct separate cumulative hazard assessments. Given the transboundary nature of this project, the consultant will be required to work with stakeholders in China, Nepal, and India.

Overall Services provided:

Task 1: Inception Workshop and Stakeholder Meeting

The Consultant will conduct an Inception Workshop with the assistance of the World Bank and needs to invite the key stakeholders i.e. hydropower developers, and primary representatives from key agencies and organizations within Nepal.

 Task 2: Comprehensive Desk Study

The Consultant will then undertake a Comprehensive Desk Study in which the summary baseline information from the pre-existing reports on:

1.       Seismic Risk Assessment                                                       2. Environmental and Social Impact Assessment

3.       Hydrological and Meteorological Risk Assessment           4. Climate Change Risk Assessment

5.       Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Hazard Assessment, and     6. Baseline Geotechnical Report

Task 3: Gap Analysis

The Gap Analysis will also be used to identify any gaps in baseline data provision, such as

• Existing network of meteorological stations (spatial and altitudinal ranges of rainfall & temp. gauges).
• Access of DRM agencies to satellite-based information on near-real-time hydrological data (precipitation, soil moisture…) and other DRM-relevant data (Movements of glaciers, creeping permafrost and rock faces, extent of glacial lakes and inundated areas, landslides, mass movements.)
• Access of DRM agencies to freely available and commercial weather forecasting products.

 Task 4: Integrated Geo-Hazard Assessment

• Event Mapping
• Process Identification
• Glacial Hazard Assessment:
• Identifying Neo-tectonic provinces
• Photo-lineament analysis
• Landslide susceptibility mapping
• Site visit/stakeholder consultation workshop in Nepal and participation in Helicopter overflight:
• Palaeo-lake identification
• Detailed future monitoring
• Cascade-wide sediment management
• Additional hydrological analyses
• The Consultant will propose additional studies that are considered a useful adjunct to the above studies and could be undertaken during the main Disaster Risk Management project.

Task 5: Development of Protocols and Mid-Term Reporting

The Consultant will help the Bank team identify protocols with and through existing diplomatic channels and government representatives by which information about the Pumqu/Arun River system can be shared on a regular basis.

 Task 6: Stakeholder engagement, protocol testing, and Interim Reports

The Consultant will test and evaluate the initial protocols of data sharing and monitoring schemes through the first year with prime stakeholders in Nepal.

Task 7: Further Consultation

The Consultant will prepare, organize, and facilitate two further rounds of broad consultations in Task 7 (video conferences) so that the procedures and protocols can be continually refined, and the Roadmap for the DRM Action Plan finalized.

 Task 8: Capacity Building & Strengthening Institutional Capacity on DRM

Training on the job and Training workshops on innovative topics covering the following subjects

• Innovative technologies & recent developments in Geohazards and Seismic
• Innovative technologies & recent developments in Glaciology
• Innovative technologies & recent developments in Hydrology