Improving understanding of flooding and resilience in the Terai, Nepal

Rivers sourced from the Himalaya irrigate the Indo-Gangetic Plain via major river networks that support approximately 10% of the global population and their livelihoods. However, many of these rivers are also the source of devastating floods. This brief captures the collaboration between an interdisciplinary team of geoscientists, engineers, social scientists and architects from the University of Edinburgh alongside practitioners from the NGO Practical Action and the Nepal Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. The teams applied new science and appropriate technology, and conducted research with communities to better understand flood risk in the Karnali river basin, Western Nepal from an interdisciplinary perspective.