What can we do with the eroded riverbank stretch in Kailasi village, Bardia to showcase a community-level intervention that can help in checking further erosion and flood in the area?
SDG 11- Sustainable cities and communities
Much of the Himalayan foothills and the immediate plains are fragile landscapes and are very prone to erosion, landslides and floods. Bardia district is a great example of such places where immense amount of rich alluvial soil is lost due to floods from two major rivers; Karnai and Babai.
Deforestation in the catchment area and heavy extraction of rocks and minerals from the river beds in the upstream cause severe erosion and cutting of the river banks. This causes issues like deposition and siltation. This decreases the river depth which then causes habitat crisis for wildlife like river dolphins, gharials, otters and many other species. Exposed banks of the Khauraha channel of Karnali river in the village of Kailasi possess a threat of flooding to the lives of local villagers and their farm lands.
The major partners to our school in this initiative are ‘Schools for SDGs’, ‘Nepal Conservation’, and ‘Himalayan Voluntourism’ who will be facilitating on all levels. We will be working with the local traditional institution that deals with rivers and irrigation (Kulo Pani Chaudhari), local village leaders, Madhuban Municipality, Ward officials, and climate change mitigation experts.
The climate crisis is causing disruption to fragile eco- systems, displacing communites and livelihoods. The whole planet is already feeling the consequences of this, with marginalised communities suffering the most.
- What are the major geo-climatic phenomena and processes relating to flood and erosion?
- How does climate change and other anthropogenic activities (e.g. alteration of the physical state of rivers and forests) trigger the flood and erosion intensity?
- What are local people’s experiences with flood and erosion in the past? What are the traditional methods that locals use to stay safe and minimize the impact of flooding and erosion? How effective are those in the current times?
- How can we find a local solution to a smaller unit (flood and erosion in Kailasi village) of a very large problem?
- How can we analyze and troubleshoot the existing gaps and lack of initiatives, both long and short-term, aiming for sorting out a small unit of a much larger problem?
- What is the extent of challenges and opportunities regarding galvanizing a grassroots ‘self-help’ movement?