STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE IN SOUTH ASIA WITH IMPROVED INFRASTRUCTURE Supporting governments in establishing comprehensive disaster risk management in infrastructure projects AT A GLANCE Region: South Asia Risks: Earthquakes and floods Areas of Engagement: Promoting resilient infrastructure, Enabling resilient recovery Deepening assistance to governments in South Asia to reduce disaster risks by convening not only the deep technical expertise required, but also addressing system-wide perspectives on the processes of resilience in the infrastructure sector. Electrical lines, Kathmandu, Nepal. © Simone D. McCourtie | World Bank. High seismic activity threathens resilience of least one natural disaster. The social and economic costs of infrastructure such hazards have been staggering with almost 230,000 people Much of South Asia is located in one of the most seismically dead and US$45 billion in damages between 1970 and 2008. active regions in the world. More than 600 million people live along the fault-line across the Himalayan belt that runs through Infrastructure that lacks sufficient disaster resilience is a major Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan1. On April 25, threat to life and property and can delay recovery and interrupt 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Nepal followed economic activity. Infrastructure planned and designed without less than one month later by 7.3 magnitude earthquake. due consideration to disaster risks contributes to increased Together, these earthquakes caused more than 8,700 deaths and losses. In South Asia, infrastructure investment is likely to some 25,000 injuries with physical losses totaling over US$7 peak in the coming decades, which brings the question of billion2. South Asia is also highly prone to weather and water- appropriate design and planning sharply into focus.   related disasters such as flooding, drought, and cyclones. For example, floods on average are the largest source of annual losses in India; costing an estimated US$7 billion every year.3 Effective contigency planning for critical infrastructure can mitigate interruptions Continued urbanization and economic growth are resulting To address these challenges, the Japan-World Bank Program in more people and assets being exposed to natural hazards. for Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in Developing In the past two decades, over 50 percent of South Asians Countries (hereinafter referred to as the Japan Program) (approximately 750 million people) have been affected by at provided a US$1.2 million grant in 2018 to the South Asia region 1   https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/south-asia-should-prepare-now-next-disaster-1 2   https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2020/09/29/post-earthquake-reconstruction-in-nepal-rebuilding-lives-one-home-at-a-time 3 (UNISDR, 2014). RESULTS IN RESILIENCE SERIES 55 million people living with strengthened infrastructure across South Asia Srisailam Dam Reservior, India. ©Fouzia Begum | istock.com to enhance resilience of infrastructure to climate and disaster dam inspection. In addition, this activity helped in developing risks through knowledge exchanges, leveraging global best a Rapid Risk Assessment Framework for dams across India. practices and improving capacity of governments. By engaging Both outputs contribute to strengthening resilience of critical Japanese experts and sharing their experiences enhancing infrastructure. resilience of infrastructure, South Asian countries were able to develop tools and standards to improve planning, design, Similarly, in Nepal, which is vulnerable to floods and construction, and operation and maintenance of infrastructure, earthquakes, considerable challenges exist in providing as well as to deepen emergency preparedness and response. adequate and reliable electricity supply. To address these energy challenges, the Government of Nepal (GoN) and other To that end, India was interested in enhancing operation Nepali stakeholders, along with 18 Japanese experts from eight and monitoring of dams and establishing disaster-resilient organizations including government institutions, the Japanese maintenance procedures. Dam conditions may affect the Embassy in Nepal, JICA, development partners, the private safety of the structures and pose risks to life and properties sector and academia, attended a two-day workshop, “Enhancing of people downstream. In response to this interest, the Climate/Disaster Resilient Renewable Energy Distributed Power Indian government’s Central Water Commission (CWC) with System”. This workshop was held in Kathmandu in September assistance from the World Bank, began the Dam Rehabilitation 2019 and focused on the key considerations necessary to and Improvement Project (DRIP), a six-year, US$350-million establish a resilient mini-grid system. Nepali officials shared program, which identified building against seismic risk as a an overview of their mini-grid projects, which while they have main priority. Large-scale earthquakes have been recorded been benefiting the households in the rural areas in Nepal, they in the region each year, and engineers and policymakers saw have also been interrupted by the various disasters. During one that inspection, reporting, and updates in this area are critical of five sessions held with Japanese experts, participants then needs. To address these critical needs the Tokyo DRM Hub learned that the Sendai Micro-grid in Japan survived one of the and the World Bank team coordinated a knowledge exchange foremost earthquakes in 2011, without any interruption. The between India and Japan where an Indian delegation made success of the Sendai Micro-grid relied on the strict laws and a technical exposure visit to Japan. Country experts shared regulations applied to electrical facilities, earthquake resistant knowledge of water resources engineering as well as reviewed design standards, combination of different types of energy the operations and maintenance methods employed by Japan sources, and most importantly, the contribution of well-trained Water Agencies (JWA). JWA in collaboration with the Indian engineers. Delegation from the CWC and the World Bank team worked together to prepare an Earthquake Emergency Inspection By learning about these best practices in Japan, key technical Manual for Dam Field Engineers after Seismic Event, which staff from the GoN and other stakeholders developed the offers a detailed check list and manual for post-earthquake capacity to establish their own resilient renewable energy © GKTODAY including building the institutional and regulatory frameworks necessary to support disaster resilient renewable energy distributed power systems. GoN also developed resilient technical designs and standards for its generation facilities. This knowledge exchange prompted proactive discussions outside of the official engagement between the governments of Nepal and Japan leading to another technical assistance grant from the Japan Program—Disaster and Climate Resilient Renewable Energy Power Systems in Nepal-- which builds upon and furthers the work from this engagement. ► STRONGER SYSTEMS ESTABLISHED To continue improving the safety and performance of existing dams and strengthening institutional capacity, the grant provided the collaboration necessary to create an Earthquake Emergency Inspection Manual for Dam Field Engineers after Seismic Events, which offers a detailed check list and manual for post-earthquake dam inspection across India, strengthening systems to operate and maintain dams. LESSON LEARNED: ► CAPACITY INCREASED ACROSS SECTORS Across the region over 800 people involved in infrastructure ► KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGES BRING RESILIENCE TO sectors were trained including over 100 women. Knowledge PRACTICE exchanges and workshops held throughout the grant Ensuring that resilient systems are established and well provided the opportunity to increase capacity around operated, including procedures to manage and recover resilience. For example, there is significant demand for from shocks is a key take away from this engagement. Emergency Preparedness and Response training across the Therefore, opportunities to learn and exchange with peers region. To meet that demand, 58 participants from all eight from around the world, such as the one facilitated by South Asian countries attended a workshop in Bangkok in this grant, provide meaningful contributions to bringing July 2019 where they learned from Japanese counterparts resilience to practice. the planning and development processes involved in establishing an Emergency Operations Center. “Nepal is one of the most vulnerable countries to disasters and the impact of global climate change. The workshop is a valuable opportunity to support both the public and private sector to provide resilient and sustainable energy services in Nepal, especially successful off-grid electricity supply,” Faris H. Hadad-Zervos, the World Bank Country Director for Nepal and Sri Lanka. Contact Information Ignacio Urrutia iurrutia@worldbank.org RESULTS IN RESILIENCE SERIES