Understanding Private Sector for its Engagement on Risk Reduction

Cecial Adhikari, Consortium Manager, PRAGATI - Urban DRR Project

The risk to lives and properties in the urban areas in Nepal is increasing due to high population density, unplanned development practices, unsafe construction, and lack of urban planning, poverty, and high inequality in terms of access to public services. This has been exacerbated by the unhealthy living conditions and more importantly vulnerability and exposure to multiple hazards. The urban areas in Nepal are proliferating with haphazardly constructed substandard buildings, non-engineered dwellings as well as uncontrolled land use. Therefore, urban at its own dynamics has many complexities with multiple stakeholders.

An urban disaster risk reduction project is being implemented in the two new municipalities in Kathmandu Valley with the financial support from European Union through Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid. The project also aims on private sector engagements on disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness. The project is working with three major stakeholders - municipality, private sector and communities.

Urbanization is a complex process that includes a host of governmental and private sector players. The starting point on private sector engagement for the project was understanding or unpacking the Sector!! Whom do we partner with, who is the most appropriate, what are our intended outcomes, how do we achieve those, what is their motivation etc. The project had made following assumption: “Pre-disaster preparedness of the Private Sector and their participation is not effective and that this impacts their businesses and hinders effective response during the disaster."

The project is only 12 months old, yet it has already made several interventions both at the local level and national level regarding private sector engagement. The interventions can be grouped into 1. Mapping of the private sector – identifying who are the most relevant actors during the response and their capacity 2. Stock taking – understanding what has already been done and motivations 3. Discussion platform – bringing together government at the local and national level and the private sector to discuss on its engagements on the Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency preparedness 4. Capacity Building – the representatives of the private sector participated in various training such as identification of risk, search and rescue, first aid and firefighting 5. Participation - private sector participation in the DRM structures at the municipality level 6. Business continuity – the private sector can only be able to support if their business is resilient therefore the project had provided technical support on development of continuity and contingency plan 7. Advocacy – the project is working with the umbrella organization for standing MoUs or code of conduct.

The private sector has contributed in the risk mitigation infrastructures and open space development. The major initial learning with the private sector is recognition of their role and appropriate communications to trigger their stereotype behavior. Though it is too early to conclude that the project has been able to unpack the entire sector – but have been able to establish a deeper understanding, which should be a continuous process. 

 This brief note is a part of learning series from PRAGATI – Urban DRR Project being implemented in consortium led by DanChurchAid (DCA) with Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA Nepal) and Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO Nepal) along with National Disaster Risk Reduction Center (NDRC) and Friends Service Council Nepal (FSCN)