BUILDING BACK SAFER AND GREENER

The document outlines a 'build back safer and greener' framework for Nepal, focusing on minimizing environmental damage during post-disaster recovery. It provides sector-specific guidance on settlements, building construction, waste management, energy, infrastructure, WASH, agriculture, and education. Key strategies include the use of soil bioengineering for landslide stabilization, integrated settlement planning, and the promotion of renewable energy to reduce pressure on forests. The guide emphasizes cross-cutting issues such as gender equality, social inclusion (GESI), and climate change adaptation to enhance long-term community resilience.

• Green recovery and reconstruction is defined as the adoption of practices that avoid placing additional pressure on the environment and strengthen ecosystems to safeguard livelihoods and reduce future disaster risk.
• The 2015 earthquake in Nepal caused extensive damage, including the destruction of over 700,000 houses, 8,000 school buildings, 6,000 government buildings, and 1,000 health facilities.
• Integrated Settlement Planning (ISP) is recommended as a two-step process consisting of land use planning to regulate land use and physical planning to optimize infrastructure.
• Inappropriate extraction of sand, gravel, and stone from riverbeds can lead to riverbed erosion, collapse of banks, increased sedimentation, and worsened downstream flooding.
• The guide promotes the use of Improved Cook Stoves (ICSs), biogas, and solar power to reduce carbon emissions and the workload of women and girls who collect fuel.
• Infrastructure reconstruction should prioritize labor-based methods and the 'mitigation hierarchy' of avoidance, minimization, and compensation to reduce environmental impacts.
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) recovery should adopt a watershed perspective and consider ecological sanitation options like Urine Diversion Dehydration Toilets (UDDTs) to prevent groundwater pollution.
• Livelihood recovery should prioritize the distribution of tested, government-approved crop varieties and vaccinated livestock to avoid introducing invasive species or diseases.
• Climate change is increasing the frequency of hazards in Nepal, with average temperatures increasing by 0.06°C per year between 1977 and 1994.
• Soil bioengineering is presented as a low-cost, sustainable alternative to 'hard' engineering for stabilizing shallow landslides using live and dead plant materials.
• Flood risk management should shift from conventional 'flood control' to a holistic 'flood risk management' approach that prioritizes non-structural methods and river basin planning.
• The Hariyo Ban Program trained over 1,000 people, including members of District Disaster Relief Committees (DDRCs), engineers, and Members of Parliament, on green recovery practices.

APA

WWF International (n.d.). BUILDING BACK SAFER AND GREENER. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/446/1d5sy6429d_building_back_safer_and_greener___a_guide_to_sound_environmental_pr_MIEYbBA.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. BUILDING BACK SAFER AND GREENER. n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/446/1d5sy6429d_building_back_safer_and_greener___a_guide_to_sound_environmental_pr_MIEYbBA.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=BUILDING BACK SAFER AND GREENER |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/446/1d5sy6429d_building_back_safer_and_greener___a_guide_to_sound_environmental_pr_MIEYbBA.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternationalndbuilding, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{BUILDING BACK SAFER AND GREENER}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/446/1d5sy6429d_building_back_safer_and_greener___a_guide_to_sound_environmental_pr_MIEYbBA.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }