Destruction from the flooding has been devastating, impacting all aspects of daily life, and getting assistance and information to the people who need it most has become one of the greatest challenges.

Dipak Lama, a station manager based in the Dhunche district headquarters of Rasuwa, described how even local radio stations struggled to continue communicating with communities when the disaster struck.
 

“On the very same morning, we had information from the police about the flood, and we were in the middle of sharing information through the radio, but the electricity went off, as the electricity office was destroyed by then,” Lama told Cultural Survival.

Local FM radio is a vital source of information for communities cut off from conventional communication systems. Yet, even radio operations face challenges due to a lack of battery backup and solar power. In remote settlements, residents need information about rescue operations, safe routes, food distribution, and emergency services, but damaged infrastructure makes communication increasingly difficult.

The disaster has also intensified debate over climate change and state responsibility. Environmentalists have classified the Bhotekoshi disaster as climate-induced, and Dr. Maheshwar Dhakal, Head of the Climate Change Management Division under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment, said the catastrophic loss of life and property resulted from forces to which Nepal has contributed very little.
 

“The loss of life and property we suffered in the Bhote Koshi flood is purely a climate-induced disaster,” Dhakal said, arguing that developed and industrialized countries have emitted vast quantities of carbon while Nepal’s contributions remain less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Indigenous Peoples’ rights activists are calling for disaster response and climate adaptation strategies to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and values. As development projects, including dams and hydropower facilities, make lands fragile, Indigenous Peoples are calling for Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), protection of traditional ecological knowledge, and greater attention to forests, biodiversity, soil conservation, and traditional practices that can reduce vulnerability to landslides and erosion.
 

We continue to stand beside our partners in Nepal, channeling funds toward humanitarian aid that is Indigenous-led and locally determined, but we need your help to reach our $10,000 goal. 

Your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000 through a grant from The Fund for Nonviolence, helping us respond to the needs of our partners. You can provide support and give Indigenous communities greater agency in determining their journey towards recovery.

If you haven’t already, please consider donating today – your contribution will help ensure that urgent assistance reaches Indigenous communities whose livelihoods, territories, and cultural systems are under threat.

Thank you for standing with our Indigenous partners in Nepal.