IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i6p1985-d333689.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Benchmarking Community Disaster Resilience in Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Sanam K. Aksha

    (School of Public Administration and National Center for Integrated Coastal Research, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA)

  • Christopher T. Emrich

    (School of Public Administration and National Center for Integrated Coastal Research, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA)

Abstract

Building disaster resilience is a stated goal of disaster risk reduction programs. Recent research emphasizes a need for a greater understanding of community disaster response and recovery capacity so that communities can absorb shocks and withstand severe conditions and progress through the recovery period more efficiently. Nepal, which is prone to a multitude of hazards and having recently experienced a large earthquake in 2015, provides a unique opportunity for exploring disaster resilience in the developing world context. To date, no study investigating community disaster resilience across the entire country of Nepal exists. This study quantifies disaster resilience at Nepal’s village level, primarily using census data. Guided by the Disaster Resilience of Place (DROP) model, 22 variables were selected as indicators of social, economic, community, infrastructure, and environmental resilience. Community resilience was assessed for 3971 village development communities (VDCs) and municipalities while using a principal component analysis. Additionally, a cluster analysis was performed to distinguish spatial patterns of resilience. Analyses reveal differential community disaster resilience across the country. Communities in the capital city Kathmandu and in the western and far western Hill are relatively resilient. While the entire Tarai region, which holds the greatest proportion of Nepal’s population, exhibits relatively low levels of resilience when compared to the rest of the county. The results from this analysis provide empirical evidence with the potential to help decision-makers in the allocation of scarce resources to increase resilience at the local level.

Suggested Citation

  • Sanam K. Aksha & Christopher T. Emrich, 2020. "Benchmarking Community Disaster Resilience in Nepal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-22, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:6:p:1985-:d:333689
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/6/1985/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/6/1985/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cohen, Odeya & Leykin, Dima & Lahad, Mooli & Goldberg, Avishay & Aharonson-Daniel, Limor, 2013. "The conjoint community resiliency assessment measure as a baseline for profiling and predicting community resilience for emergencies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 80(9), pages 1732-1741.
    2. Susan Cutter, 2016. "The landscape of disaster resilience indicators in the USA," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 80(2), pages 741-758, January.
    3. Wenmin Qin & Aiwen Lin & Jian Fang & Lunche Wang & Man Li, 2017. "Spatial and temporal evolution of community resilience to natural hazards in the coastal areas of China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 89(1), pages 331-349, October.
    4. Ramesh Paudyal & Brijesh Thapa & Suman Shree Neupane & Birendra KC, 2018. "Factors Associated with Conservation Participation by Local Communities in Gaurishankar Conservation Area Project, Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, September.
    5. Henry Kaiser, 1974. "An index of factorial simplicity," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 39(1), pages 31-36, March.
    6. D.K. Yoon & Jung Eun Kang & Samuel D. Brody, 2016. "A measurement of community disaster resilience in Korea," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(3), pages 436-460, March.
    7. Hartwig De Haen & Günter Hemrich, 2007. "The economics of natural disasters: implications and challenges for food security," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 37(s1), pages 31-45, December.
    8. Susan L. Cutter & Bryan J. Boruff & W. Lynn Shirley, 2003. "Social Vulnerability to Environmental Hazards," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 84(2), pages 242-261, June.
    9. Maxx Dilley & Robert S. Chen & Uwe Deichmann & Arthur L. Lerner-Lam & Margaret Arnold, 2005. "Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7376.
    10. Laura Siebeneck & Sudha Arlikatti & Simon Andrew, 2015. "Using provincial baseline indicators to model geographic variations of disaster resilience in Thailand," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 79(2), pages 955-975, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jianhong Fan & You Mo & Yunnan Cai & Yabo Zhao & Dongchen Su, 2021. "Evaluation of Community Resilience in Rural China—Taking Licheng Subdistrict, Guangzhou as an Example," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-15, May.
    2. Jing Wang & Ying Wang & Geng Lin, 2024. "Study on Rural Classification and Resilience Evaluation Based on PSR Model: A Case Study of Lvshunkou District, Dalian City, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Christine Camacho & Roger T. Webb & Peter Bower & Luke Munford, 2024. "Adapting the Baseline Resilience Indicators for Communities (BRIC) Framework for England: Development of a Community Resilience Index," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(8), pages 1-25, August.
    4. Ying Zhou & Qihao Su & Yulian Li & Xingwei Li, 2022. "Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of Multi-Hazard Resilience in Ecologically Fragile Areas of Southwest China: A Case Study in Aba," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-21, September.
    5. Siqing Shan & Feng Zhao, 2023. "Social media-based urban disaster recovery and resilience analysis of the Henan deluge," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 118(1), pages 377-405, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paul M. Johnson & Corey E. Brady & Craig Philip & Hiba Baroud & Janey V. Camp & Mark Abkowitz, 2020. "A Factor Analysis Approach Toward Reconciling Community Vulnerability and Resilience Indices for Natural Hazards," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(9), pages 1795-1810, September.
    2. Chien-Hao Sung & Shyue-Cherng Liaw, 2021. "Using Spatial Pattern Analysis to Explore the Relationship between Vulnerability and Resilience to Natural Hazards," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-16, May.
    3. Timothy Sim & Ziqiang Han & Chunlan Guo & Jocelyn Lau & Junlei Yu & Guiwu Su, 2021. "Disaster preparedness, perceived community resilience, and place of rural villages in northwest China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 108(1), pages 907-923, August.
    4. Firas Gerges & Hani Nassif & Xiaolong Geng & Holly A. Michael & Michel C. Boufadel, 2022. "GIS-based approach for evaluating a community intrinsic resilience index," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 111(2), pages 1271-1299, March.
    5. Hongwei Li & Erqi Xu & Hongqi Zhang, 2021. "High-resolution assessment of urban disaster resilience: a case study of Futian District, Shenzhen, China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 108(1), pages 1001-1024, August.
    6. Joan Pauline Talubo & Roy Alvin Malenab & Stephen Morse & Devendra Saroj, 2022. "Practitioners’ Participatory Development of Indicators for Island Community Resilience to Disasters," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-28, March.
    7. Stefan Kienberger & Thomas Blaschke & Rukhe Zaidi, 2013. "A framework for spatio-temporal scales and concepts from different disciplines: the ‘vulnerability cube’," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 68(3), pages 1343-1369, September.
    8. Yang Wei & Tetsuo Kidokoro & Fumihiko Seta & Bo Shu, 2024. "Spatial-Temporal Assessment of Urban Resilience to Disasters: A Case Study in Chengdu, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-24, April.
    9. Leslie Gillespie‐Marthaler & Katherine Nelson & Hiba Baroud & Mark Abkowitz, 2019. "Selecting Indicators for Assessing Community Sustainable Resilience," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(11), pages 2479-2498, November.
    10. Qiaoyun Yang & Dan Yang & Peng Li & Shilu Liang & Zhenghu Zhang, 2021. "A Bibliometric and Visual Analysis of Global Community Resilience Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-25, October.
    11. Chongming Wang & Brent Yarnal, 2012. "The vulnerability of the elderly to hurricane hazards in Sarasota, Florida," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 63(2), pages 349-373, September.
    12. Casey Zuzak & Matthew Mowrer & Emily Goodenough & Jordan Burns & Nicholas Ranalli & Jesse Rozelle, 2022. "The national risk index: establishing a nationwide baseline for natural hazard risk in the US," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 114(2), pages 2331-2355, November.
    13. Umer Khayyam, 2020. "Floods: impacts on livelihood, economic status and poverty in the north-west region of Pakistan," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 102(3), pages 1033-1056, July.
    14. Kylie Mason & Kirstin Lindberg & Carolin Haenfling & Allan Schori & Helene Marsters & Deborah Read & Barry Borman, 2021. "Social Vulnerability Indicators for Flooding in Aotearoa New Zealand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-31, April.
    15. Qingmu Su & Hsueh-Sheng Chang & Shin-En Pai, 2022. "A Comparative Study of the Resilience of Urban and Rural Areas under Climate Change," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-14, July.
    16. Kuan-Hui Elaine Lin & Hsiang-Chieh Lee & Thung-Hong Lin, 2017. "How does resilience matter? An empirical verification of the relationships between resilience and vulnerability," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 88(2), pages 1229-1250, September.
    17. Malgosia Madajewicz, 2020. "Who is vulnerable and who is resilient to coastal flooding? Lessons from Hurricane Sandy in New York City," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 2029-2053, December.
    18. Odeya Cohen & Stav Shapira & Limor Aharonson-Daniel & Judith Shamian, 2019. "Confidence in Health-Services Availability during Disasters and Emergency Situations—Does it Matter?—Lessons Learned from an Israeli Population Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-12, September.
    19. María Ibarrarán & Matthias Ruth & Sanjana Ahmad & Marisa London, 2009. "Climate change and natural disasters: macroeconomic performance and distributional impacts," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 549-569, June.
    20. Christian Geiß & Hannes Taubenböck, 2013. "Remote sensing contributing to assess earthquake risk: from a literature review towards a roadmap," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 68(1), pages 7-48, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:6:p:1985-:d:333689. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.