Standard Project Report 2016
The deliveries continued even after the Logistics Cluster was deactivated in April; because of the early start of the monsoon season at the end of May, which created access challenges from frequent landslides, the deliveries had to be halted. The local markets had subsequently revived in the earthquake-affected districts in post-monsoon 2016, and people had already re-started commercial activities. Considering the potential negative impact of humanitarian supplies on recently revived markets, the balance of 151 mt of food and non-food items was not delivered and was returned to the respective agencies.
The Government District Development Committee’ s( DDC) requests to rebuild trails and access routes consisted of 79 km of rural roads and 200 km of trails in Sindhupalchowk district which WFP planned to rebuild. During 2016, WFP’ s engineering unit rehabilitated and handed over 31 km of rural roads and 29 km of walking trails in Sindhupalchowk, providing access to 7,046 households, resulting in achievement of 39 percent and 14 percent of the total planned, respectively. From the resources allocated to expanding trail work in 2016, engineering assessments of 131 km of trails were also completed in Dhading District and the selection of local contractors for the construction is to be completed in 2017. Similarly, RAO assessed eight walking trails of 170 km covering four districts in Sindhupalchowk, Gorkha, Dhading and Nuwakot, which will create access for 3,057 households when repaired. Additionally, two suspended bridges were also assessed for future rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sindhupalchowk. A total of 6,181 households will benefit from the construction of these eight walking trails in Dhading District once they are completed. These activities are in addition to the TRB assessments done in 2015 and are based on requests by district authorities.
To improve the capacity of local partners, particularly contractors and labourers engaged in trail rehabilitation, WFP conducted regular technical orientations and on-site technical supervision. This knowledge transfer is envisaged to help local communities maintain their village roads and trails by undertaking post-monsoon repairs each year. Through such repairs, the community not only have continued access to main community services such as medical centres, schools and markets, but also gain other business opportunities from trekking and tourism which will eventually lead to improving household income and benefiting the economy of the local communities.
To strengthen the HSA in Kathmandu and the Gorkha Logistics Hub, pending ground construction work was completed in 2016. From these two platforms, WFP offered transportation, storage and office space to the humanitarian community from mid-August 2016 onward on a full cost recovery basis. The World Health Organization( WHO) and United Nations Children’ s Fund( UNICEF) currently use these storage services.
Operational Partnerships
The Logistics Cluster played a vital role in routinely sharing key information with partners regarding road and trail conditions, customs procedures, the situation on the fuel crisis and other logistics bottlenecks. As lead of the Logistics Cluster, WFP and cluster partners benefited from the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs at the HSA meetings, where they offered insight and advice on issues faced by different humanitarian organizations. On behalf of the humanitarian community and in close coordination with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs( OCHA), WFP regularly consulted with the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding customs procedures for import of relief items into the country. The Logistics Cluster maintained a website where various information products, including meeting notes, transport maps, and infographics were made available to partners. Cluster members regularly participated in the inter-cluster coordination meetings chaired by OCHA. Through this forum, the Logistics Cluster advised the humanitarian community on physical access constraints and provided logistics updates to help them to develop their response plans particularly during the fuel crisis.
In 2015, Plan International, GOAL and Handicap International initially managed the field hubs in Charikot, Banepa, Dhading Besi, Bidur( Nuwakot District) and Dunche( Rasuwa District), which were in districts affected by the earthquakes. After February 2016, WFP took over the management of the Banepa and Charikot hubs and Bidur, while Dunche and Dhading Besi were deactivated due to decreased needs.
RAO’ s primary objective was to support severely-affected people to enable them to access much needed food and provide employment opportunities to sustain their livelihoods. This component of the project focused mainly on the earthquake-affected districts of Sindhupalchowk, Dhading, Gorkha, Rasuwa and Dolakha. WFP implemented project activities together with non-governmental organizations( NGOs) such as SAPPROS( Support Activities for Poor Producers of Nepal) and DEPROSC( Development Project Service Center). WFP also worked with different partners such as Nepal Mountaineering Association( NMA), Trekking Agency Association of Nepal( TAAN) and other private sector partners such as Asian Trekking Pvt. Ltd, Tamakoshi Heavy Equipment Pvt. Ltd, Nubri Manaslu Treks and Expeditions Pvt. Ltd, Climate Alliance of Himalayan Communities( CAHC) and Mission Express, all of which were selected through WFP tendering processes for efficient transportation of food and non-food items to various destinations.
Nepal, State of( NP) 19 Single Country Special Operation- 200848