Integrating Traditional and Local Knowledge for Nature‑Based Disaster Management

Challenge

Disaster‑prone river basins face recurrent damages when development and disaster plans ignore local context and nature-based options.

Solution

Document, validate, and apply traditional and local knowledge to inform risk‑aware, ecosystem‑based planning.

Overview

Supported by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), this project examined how communities in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh live with floods, landslides, and salinity, and documented practical, traditional and local knowledge that reduces risk.

Prakash Kumar Paudel (Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Nepal) led a multi‑country effort to compile, analyze, and communicate traditional and local knowledge (TLK) for disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the three countries. The work extracted community practices into focused policy briefs and peer-reviewed publications that show how nature, culture, and local institutions can guide safer development and everyday risk management.

The project framed actions around ecosystem-based approaches, such as stabilizing slopes with vegetation and harvesting rainwater. For floodplains, the project recommended ecosystem-based use with minimum infrastructure, focusing on agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and nature-based tourism, and it advanced DRR through risk-informed development, clear guidance to integrate local knowledge, meaningful community participation, and stronger institutional capacity.

Study context and approach

The project synthesized TLK across multiple settings in the Himalayan river basin and drew on village-level cases to produce actionable recommendations for local governments. In Nepal’s Koshi and Arun river areas, it examined how community institutions, land‑use choices, and cultural beliefs shape risk decisions.

In coastal Bangladesh, it documented indigenous weather forecasting and practical salinity management for farming and water supply. The project reviewed local crop varieties in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh that tolerate floods or drought and can reduce risk when supported by policy.

Traditional institutions and cultural knowledge

Along the Koshi, communities manage floods through local institutions that use indigenous resources and knowledge. Government-led initiatives have often ignored these institutions, leading to missed opportunities to use proven and widely accepted local practices. Cultural beliefs, myths, and faith shape risk perception and collective action, and integrating them into public plans strengthens community response to DRR.

Agriculture and land use in hazard-prone areas

Local crop diversity offers risk buffering. In India’s Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the local deepwater rice elongates its stem as floodwaters rise and can grow in about five to six feet of water, but cultivation has declined and the variety cannot withstand water levels beyond roughly six to seven feet.

In Nepal’s hills, farmers stabilize slopes through hedgerows, bamboo, and agroforestry on verges and steep sections, while reserving unstable patches for perennial vegetation. On river floodplains, tailored programs that prioritize agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and nature-based tourism under an ecosystem-based approach with minimal infrastructure were recommended.

In coastal Bangladesh, documented practices include raised-bed farming, mulching, rainwater harvesting, water-reservoir development, and long-distance piped irrigation to convey stored freshwater to fields.

Policy and engagement

The project called for local governments to conduct comprehensive risk assessments for every development project, incorporate local knowledge into development planning through clear guidelines, ensure meaningful community participation from the start, and build institutional capacity for disaster risk management.

Recommendations emphasized restoring and funding traditional institutions for community-based DRR, recognizing and supporting local crop varieties that provide traits such as flood or drought tolerance, issuing practical guidance for vegetation-based slope stabilization, and pairing indigenous forecasting with modern meteorology.

Integrating TLK into standard planning can lower costs compared with heavy engineering alone, while strengthening daily preparedness and recovery.

Outcomes and results

• Produced policy briefs that translate TLK into practical measures for DRR across Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, covering institutions, culture, agriculture, land use, and early warning.
• Developed a web portal for sharing EbA to DRR, and integrating into local, national, and regional disaster mitigation plans.
• Developed a framework to (1) categorize traditional ecological knowledge to disaster risk reduction and (2) assess integration of eco-DRR and TLK into national policies.
• Case examples span flood‑prone villages along the Koshi and Arun rivers in Nepal, coastal districts in Bangladesh, and farming systems in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India, providing location‑specific practices that agencies can adopt.
• Outputs provided clear recommendations for local governments on risk‑aware development, vegetation‑based slope stabilization, salinity management, rainwater harvesting, and support for resilient local crop varieties.
• The work highlighted how recognizing cultural beliefs and faith, and strengthening community institutions, can improve preparedness, response, and recovery when integrated into public plans.

Project details

Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) under its Collaborative Regional Research Programme (CRRP). Acknowledgements also go to Bangladesh Agricultural University, as well as local government bodies, including Khadbari Municipality in Nepal, and researchers from Thailand and the United States.

Related information

• Project Permalink
• Project Final Report
• Paudel, P. K., Lamichhane, A., Acharya, K. P., & Bastola, R. (2023). Ecosystem restoration reduces community vulnerability to water-induced disasters: Need to rethink Chure conservation in Nepal. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 90, 103647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103647
• Paudel, P. K., Bohara, M., Timilsina, R. R. C., Bastola, R. (2023). Strengthening traditional institutions for community-based disaster risk reduction.  Policy Brief No. 02. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. https://www.apn-gcr.org/publication/policy-brief-strengthening-traditional-institutions-for-community-based-disaster-risk-reduction/
• Paudel, P. K., Bohara, M., Timilsina, R. R. C., Bastola, R.(2023). Disaster-proofing our communities: The urgent need for local governments to prioritize development based on risk assessment. Policy Brief No. 01. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. https://www.apn-gcr.org/publication/policy-brief-disaster-proofing-our-communities-the-urgent-need-for-local-governments-to-prioritize-development-based-on-risk-assessment/
• Paudel, P. K., Bohara, M. (2023). Reinvigorating neglected land: a policy brief for harnessing economic opportunities in river floodplains. Policy Brief No. 04. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. https://www.apn-gcr.org/publication/policy-brief-reinvigorating-neglected-land-a-policy-brief-for-harnessing-economic-opportunities-in-river-floodplains/
• Paudel, P. K., Bohara, M., Timilsina, R. R. C. (2023). Local crop varieties strengthen community resilience to disasters: a policy brief for Nepal, India and Bangladesh. Policy Brief No.03. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. https://www.apn-gcr.org/publication/policy-brief-local-crop-varieties-strengthen-community-resilience-to-disasters-a-policy-brief-for-nepal-india-and-bangladesh/
• Bohara, M., Paudel, P. K. (2023). Traditional knowledge of planting vegetation on verges and slopes for slope stabilization needs to be promoted in the local development program. Policy Brief No.05. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. https://www.apn-gcr.org/publication/policy-brief-traditional-knowledge-of-planting-vegetation-on-verges-and-slopes-for-slope-stabilization-needs-to-be-promoted-in-the-local-development-program/
• Abedin, M. A., Kibria, M.G. (2023). Indigenous knowledge and weather forecasting: A weapon to predict extreme weather events. Policy Brief No.07. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. Abedin, M. A., Kibria, M.G. (2023). Indigenous knowledge and weather forecasting: A weapon to predict extreme weather events. Policy Brief No.07. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. Abedin, M. A., Kibria, M.G. (2023). Indigenous knowledge and weather forecasting: A weapon to predict extreme weather events. Policy Brief No.07. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. https://www.apn-gcr.org/publication/policy-brief-local-practices-to-mitigate-salinity-problem-in-coastal-bangladesh-lesson-from-the-ground-reality/
• Abedin, M. A., Kibria, M.G. (2023). Indigenous knowledge and weather forecasting: A weapon to predict extreme weather events. Policy Brief No.06. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. Abedin, M. A., Kibria, M.G. (2023). Indigenous knowledge and weather forecasting: A weapon to predict extreme weather events. Policy Brief No.06. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. https://www.apn-gcr.org/publication/policy-brief-indigenous-knowledge-and-weather-forecasting-a-weapon-to-predict-extreme-weather-events/
• Paudel, P. K. , Bohara, M. (2023). Disasters in the Mountains of Nepal: The Impact of Poorly Planned Development Irrespective of Landforms. Policy Brief No.08. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. Paudel, P. K. , Bohara, M. (2023). Disasters in the Mountains of Nepal: The Impact of Poorly Planned Development Irrespective of Landforms. Policy Brief No.08. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. https://www.apn-gcr.org/publication/policy-brief-disasters-in-the-mountains-of-nepal-the-impact-of-poorly-planned-development-irrespective-of-landforms/
• Timilsina, R. R. C., Paudel, P. K. (2023). The Role of Cultural Beliefs, Myths, and Faith Needs to Be Acknowledged in Strengthening Community Response to Disaster Risk Reduction. Policy Brief No.09. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. Timilsina, R. R. C., Paudel, P. K. (2023). The Role of Cultural Beliefs, Myths, and Faith Needs to Be Acknowledged in Strengthening Community Response to Disaster Risk Reduction. Policy Brief No.09. Center for Conservation Biology, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. https://www.apn-gcr.org/publication/policy-brief-the-role-of-cultural-beliefs-myths-and-faith-needs-to-be-acknowledged-in-strengthening-community-response-to-disaster-risk-reduction/
• Paudel, P.K., Dhakal, S., & Sharma, S. (2024). Pathways of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction: A global review of empirical evidence. Science of The Total Environment, 929(). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172721
• Paudel, P. K., Parajuli, S., Bohara, M., Kibria, M. G., Abedin, Md. A., & Sinha, R. (2024). Mainstreaming ecosystem-based approaches into disaster risk reduction policies: a comparative study of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. In Policy Design and Practice (pp. 1–19). Informa UK Limited. https://doi.org/10.1080/25741292.2024.2368919
• Paudel, P. K., Parajuli, S., Sinha, R., Bohara, M., Abedin, Md. A., Adhikari, B. R., Gautam, S., Bastola, R., Pal, I., & Huntington, H. P. (2024). Integrating traditional and local knowledge into disaster risk reduction policies: Insights from Nepal, India and Bangladesh. Environmental Science & Policy (Vol. 159, p. 103825). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103825
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