Date: 7–8 May 2025
Location: Kathmandu, Nepal
The Nepal Preparedness Partnership (NPP), in collaboration with the ADPC Asian Preparedness Partnership (APP) Secretariat, convened a two-day reflection workshop from 7–8 May 2025 at Hotel Basera, Kathmandu, Nepal. The workshop brought together the technical team from the APP Secretariat and representatives from NPP member organizations to reflect on progress, engage in dialogue, and strengthen the effective implementation of activities under the APP’s Asian Disaster Readiness Fund (Pillar 1) and the National Preparedness Partnership (Pillar 2).
Opening with words of appreciation
Mr. Bishoraj Neupane, Under Secretary of the Disaster and Conflict Management Division at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), welcomed participants and acknowledged the valuable efforts of the APP and NPP in strengthening community disaster preparedness. He reaffirmed MoHA’s commitment to fostering an enabling environment for collaboration among local governments, the private sector, and civil society organizations (CSOs). Mr. Neupane highlighted that the APP initiative in Nepal is increasingly recognized as a model for replication in other regions, underscoring the significance and impact of the NPP’s collaborative approach.
Ms. Ronilda Co, Localization Program Lead at ADPC, welcomed participants and commended Nepal’s emergence as a model for localization efforts across the region. She emphasized that disaster preparedness is a collective responsibility, where every voice plays a vital role in building resilient local systems. With a forward-looking vision to strengthen localization, she outlined the key objectives of the workshop:
- Share the progress and key challenges in implementing in Pillar 2 of the APP Phase 3
- Develop a definition of localization specific to NPP and exploring the shape of NPP’s localization model
- Strengthen NPP Coordination Structure and Articulate Future Vision
Review Progress and Identify Key Challenges
Diverse stakeholders came together to assess progress under Pillar 2 of APP Phase 3, each contributing not only their achievements but also a deepening understanding of their evolving roles in fostering a resilient Nepal.
Government agencies highlighted advancements in policy development and institutionalization, particularly the integration of disaster preparedness into broader governance and development frameworks. Local government associations, such as the Municipal Association of Nepal (MuAN) and the National Association of Rural Municipalities in Nepal (NARMIN), emphasized the value of peer-learning networks and the development of context-specific DRRM plans aligned with local risk profiles.
Civil society organizations (CSOs), including frontline NGOs, shared their efforts to embed inclusivity and community perspectives in DRRM planning. Through consensus-building forums and grassroots capacity-building initiatives, they ensured that marginalized voices not only informed but actively shaped policies.
The private sector, represented by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), showcased its Health and Disaster Management Committee as a platform recognizing the critical role of business continuity in both economic resilience and the provision of essential services during crises. FNCCI also highlighted the mobilization of over 130 district chambers in support of local DRRM plans, public awareness campaigns, and material contributions.
Despite these notable efforts, the workshop surfaced several persistent challenges across sectors, including fragmented data systems, limited financial autonomy at the local level, and high staff turnover that weakens institutional memory. The private sector also called for more structured engagement mechanisms, including incentives and targeted DRRM training, to strengthen its proactive involvement in resilience-building.
The ‘HEART’ of transformation: Defining localization and Shaping a Localization Model
The pedagogy of this workshop encouraged an open discussion across government, civil society, and private sector actors to jointly define localization for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate resilience in Nepal. To begin defining, the word ‘local’ was unpacked to understand the diverse perspectives of different stakeholders at different levels.
Participants jointly developed a shared understanding, defining localization as “a process of empowering provincial, district, municipal, ward, and community stakeholders to lead DRRM and climate initiatives towards inclusive preparedness and resilient communities.”
Participants agreed that localization is being shaped by practical implementation of capacity-building programs, institutional development, and decentralized planning. The discussion underscored the need for stronger coordination with local governments and the inclusion of other local stakeholders at the subnational/local level —such as civil society and the private sector—as part of broader sustainability mechanisms.
Reflecting on the definition the participants recognized the need to align and refine the current model towards the envisioned model truly empowering and strengthening local actors.
Strengthen NPP Coordination Structure and Articulate Future Vision
Developing the Strategic Action Plan
With technical support from the APP secretariat, the Government, civil society, and business leaders identified key strategic areas towards localization during the workshop which include:
- Strengthening Inclusive Local Capacity for Climate and Disaster Resilience, to build the technical, operational, and leadership capacities of local governments, civil society, private sector, media, and academia through tailored training, systems support, and policy guidance to enable them to lead, coordinate, and sustain locally driven DRRM and climate resilience efforts.
- Fostering Collaborative Leadership and Knowledge Exchange, to promote inclusive, multi-stakeholder collaboration and strengthen local leadership in planning, implementation, and learning in DRRM and climate resilience.
- Ensuring Equitable Financing and Resourcing for Local Action, to strengthen local actors’ ability to access, manage, and mobilize financial and technical resources for inclusive and risk-informed DRRM and climate initiatives.
- Enhancing Local Systems for Preparedness and Risk Management, to Support the development and use of community-driven, data-informed early warning, risk assessment, and emergency response systems
Updating the NPP ToR
The challenges regarding need of structured coordination mechanism and roles & responsibilities of the NPP members were identified and addressed in the workshop by revisiting and updating the NPP’s TOR.
Key points from the TOR:
- Roles and Responsibilities of the NPP-NSC.
The National Steering Committee of the Nepal Preparedness Partnership (NPP-NSC) will play a key role in guiding and coordinating the partnership’s efforts. - Its responsibilities include:
- Building strong partnerships among all levels of government—from national to local—as well as with civil society, humanitarian groups, the private sector, academics, and the media.
- Promote knowledge sharing and documentation of disaster risk reduction and climate-related activities, both within Nepal and across the region.
- Provide strategic direction to ensure the NPP remains relevant and locally owned, while also advocating for the leadership of local actors in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
- Roles of NPP-NSC Secretariat
The Disaster and Conflict Management Division (DCMD) of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) will serve as the NPP Secretariat. It will play a central role in facilitating, coordinating, and supporting the effective functioning of the NPP at the national level. The Secretariat will work in close coordination with the APP Secretariat, hosted by ADPC in Thailand, and will serve as the administrative and technical backbone of the NPP. - Roles of observers and contributing partners
The TOR revised the roles of Donors, INGOs, UN agencies, academic institutions, and other organizations which shall identified by the NPP-NSC shall hold the status of Observers and/or Contributing Partners within the NPP.
Concluding with influence
Mr. Mohan Ghimire, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA), expressed his appreciation to all participants and extended special thanks to Ms. Ronilda Co for her facilitation and continued support in enabling NPP members to collectively reflect and share insights to advance localization in a meaningful direction. He highlighted the promising outcomes of the ADPC project in Chitwan and shared that he had personally advocated for its expansion into Jhapa, underscoring his commitment to scaling successful models.
As the workshop ended, the Undersecretary reminded everyone that preparing for disasters is not just the government’s job. “We all need to work together, learn from each other, and take action to keep our communities safe,” he said.
This two-day workshop was a big step forward in this direction of working together and developing a model to showcase the country’s effort in locally-led actions to strengthen DRRM and climate initiatives across Nepal.
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