UN Fund Sets Aside $20m for Nepal's Flood, Its First Ever, Under 1% of Cost

Nepal has become the first country ever to receive a disaster allocation from the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, the UN mechanism set up to help vulnerable countries recover from climate disasters, after its board voted unanimously on Thursday, October 22, to set aside $20 million for the country's August flood catastrophe, Nepali Times and TechTimes reported.

Add $1.6 million in administrative fees and the total comes to $21.6 million, Nepali Times reported. None of it has reached Nepal yet. The board only set the money aside. Nepal must still file a formal project proposal, which goes before the fund's next regular board meeting in the Philippines in December, ThePrint and TechTimes reported. Only after that approval can disbursement begin.

The money responds to the disaster of August 26, when a rock and ice avalanche broke off Langtang Lirung, a 7,234 metre peak in Rasuwa district, and sent a wall of water and debris through the Bhotekoshi and Trisuli river systems, TechTimes reported. It tore through hydropower dams, buried riverside villages and cut roads and bridges across several districts, TechTimes reported. The floods struck Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, ThePrint reported.

How many people died is still unsettled. Nepali Times reported remains of 1,500 victims recovered and at least 5,000 people still unaccounted for. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development put the toll at 1,451 confirmed dead and 5,745 still missing, TechTimes reported. ThePrint reported more than 2,000 dead and 5,000 missing. About 60,000 people across 15,000 households were directly affected, and 757 private homes were destroyed, TechTimes reported.

Nepal's Finance Minister Swarnim Waglé and Agriculture, Forests and Environment Minister Gita Chaudhary wrote to the fund five days after the flood seeking urgent help, Nepali Times reported. Maheshwar Dhakal of Nepal's Ministry of Forests and Environment, who serves with the fund for the Least Developed Countries group, called the vote a "landmark decision" reflecting "climate justice and collective responsibility," Nepali Times reported. But Germany's board member and the EU's Jan Dusik said the Nepal grant must not be treated as a precedent for other countries, and Japan's representative called it "truly exceptional," TechTimes reported. Pakistan's Ali Sheikh pushed back, telling the board "please do not define the boundaries for learning," TechTimes reported.

How much of Nepal's damage the money covers depends on which number is used. Nepali Times put it at 0.4%, dividing by a $4.7 billion reconstruction estimate. TechTimes reported Nepal's joint assessment by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority and the National Planning Commission put that cost at about $4.77 billion. ThePrint put it at 0.7% of Nepal's estimated losses, citing Carbon Brief. TechTimes reported physical damage and economic losses of roughly $2.7 billion. Either way, it is a fraction of what Nepal says it needs. Watershed scientist Madhukar Upadhyay told Nepali Times: "Our strategy shouldn't be to ask for money every time there is a disaster, it will never be sufficient and the funds are shrinking."

What the coverage missed

A $36.1 million Green Climate Fund project to cut glacial lake flood risk, including early warnings for four of Nepal's most dangerous lakes, took seven years from Nepal's application to win approval, TechTimes reported. UNDP, which announced the approval, describes it as a seven year project. Nepal Wire could not confirm when Nepal first applied.

What we still do not know

• When the $20 million will actually reach Nepal, and whether any of it arrives before the December board meeting. The fund's secretariat and Nepal's Ministry of Forests and Environment could answer.
• The government's own single death and missing count, given figures ranging from 1,451 to over 2,000 dead across outlets. Nepal Police and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority could answer.
• Which Nepali agency will administer the money, and what it will charge beyond the board's $1.6 million in fees. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority and the fund's secretariat could answer.