Strengthening natural hazard preparedness in Nepal: Insights from stakeholder and community engagement.

Abstract

Nepal faces many natural hazards, including floods, landslides, earthquakes, and extreme weather, which severely impact infrastructure, public health, and community resilience. In 2025, we conducted a formative stakeholder and community engagement exercise to inform research on strengthening local preparedness. This included consultative meetings with national agencies, local government, and community members in two hazard-affected municipalities. Field notes from the meetings were thematically analysed to identify priority themes. Findings indicated that national legal and policy frameworks exist, but implementation at municipal and ward levels remains inconsistent and hindered by limited institutional capacity. Local actions were largely focused on relief and reconstruction rather than disaster preparedness and risk reduction. Community members and local officials described limited awareness of preventive strategies but strong willingness to engage in preparedness planning. Stakeholders identified priorities including improved coordination, legal literacy, locally tailored early-warning communication, and better data systems. These findings will inform co-development of a practical preparedness resource.