The purpose of this article is to review a two year long implementation of an electronic health record (EHR) system at the outpatient department of a private hospital in Kathmandu, possibly a first implementation of its kind in Nepal. Procedures: The strategy designed for EHR implementation was based on Professor John P. Kotter's work on successful change management. Main findings: We found that keeping a close watch on the social dynamics affecting adoption decisions among users of the system was crucial for implementing the EHR; this was partly because the project received limited support from an erratically changing hospital leadership and lacked an EHR system suited to the needs of the users. Conclusions: The implementation described in this article is a good lesson on moving from control to drift in information systems implementation, and we hope this work will be useful to health IT professionals working in the space of digital transformation in resource-constrained environments.

The majority of the population in developing countries resides in the rural area. Development itself cannot address the challenges of the rural area since its economic, political and environmental landscape is different from an urban area. The paper attempts to assess the rural dimension aspect of Nepali Agriculture Policy since rural development and agricultural development is closely resembled due to an agrarian-based economy of the country and a large rural population. Therefore, a critical review of National Agriculture Policy, 2004 (NAP-2004) was carried out under “Commercialization of Agriculture”, “Food Security”, “Rural Infrastructure”, “Gender”, “Climate Change” and “Social Inclusion” thematic area. The results showed that NAP-2004 satisfactorily address rural development albeit ample space for improvement. The findings of the paper could be beneficial to policymakers and development workers in the field of rural development and agriculture along with academicians having interest in it.

Riverbed farming (RbF) has emerged as an alternative form of agriculture. This farming supports the poor and marginalized farmers to adapt to climate change, especially in the degraded lands because of floods and flood-induced riverbank erosions every year. The government and non-government organizations (GOs/NGOs) have supported and built capacities of farmers to adopt this as an effective adaptation strategy in the region. This study aims to analyze the determinants of riverbed farming at the household level mainly in Deukhuri valley of Western Terai, Nepal. A total of 150 households were selected randomly for the study in Sisahaniya rural municipality for the household survey. The determinants of the adoption of riverbed farming have been analyzed utilizing independent variables such as age, gender, education, occupation, ethnicity, family size, and others. Education and occupation are positively significant for the adoption of riverbed farming whereas the family size is negatively significant. Agriculture is the main occupation in the area and education helped them to understand the concept and procedure of RbF as alternative farming in the degraded lands. However, not all the family members have actively contributed to the RbF. This is an interesting study that could be expanded with the support of GOs/NGOs.

Currently, the pesticides are the global core concern because it is a boon to farmers against increasing disease-pest and simultaneously, pesticide residue is the major anxiety regarding human health. For that reason, identification and determination of factors affecting the application of pesticides are essential. To identify and evaluate determinants of pesticides application in Nepal, a household survey of 300 households was carried-out and an empirical analysis was done using multivariate probit model. Moreover, powder and liquid forms of pesticides were considered for summer and winter season in vegetable farming, which was assigned as outcome variables. Likewise, socio-economic, demographic, farm-level and perception data were considered as explanatory variables. Use of chemical fertilizers, age and gender of head of household, household size and access to weather information were found the most influencing factors. Moreover, forms of pesticides and growing seasons were found complementary to each other. Therefore, devising the policy options accordingly should balance needs of farmers and health of consumers.

Background: Dermatophytosis, commonly known as tinea, poses a significant public health concern worldwide, especially in environments with poor hygiene and overcrowding, such as prisons. Despite its prevalence and impact on quality of life, there is a lack of research on the knowledge and hygiene practices regarding dermatophytosis among prisoners, particularly in Nepal. Objective: The study aimed to assess prisoners' knowledge, hygiene practice and infection status regarding dermatophytosis in Central Prison, Nepal. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study with a sample size of 184 respondents was designed to collect data using a validated pre-tested questionnaire from September 2023 to January 2024. The collected data was then analysed using IBM SPSS version 21. Knowledge and hygiene practices were measured on an eight and 11-point scale and rated as poor (≤4) and sound (>4), bad (≤6), and good (>6), respectively. Summary data were presented by descriptive, while Chi-square and logistic regression were used for inferential statistics at P < 0.05. Results: The findings revealed moderate knowledge among prisoners regarding dermatophytosis, with significant gaps in understanding its spread and prevention. While most prisoners recognised the importance of treatment, there were misconceptions about the inevitability of contracting dermatophytosis and the role of personal hygiene. Conclusions: Despite good knowledge levels, adherence to recommended hygiene practices was suboptimal, highlighting the need for targeted interventions. The study underscores the importance of addressing knowledge gaps, changing attitudes, and promoting hygienic practices to mitigate the burden of dermatophytosis among prisoners.

Background: Disability and caste are two different forms of oppression, however Dalits and people with disabilities commonly face similar types of marginalities. Dalit women with disabilities may experience double discrimination because of the intersectionality of disability and caste. This study examines whether the disability and caste identity of women together affects and compounds the utilization of maternal healthcare services. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire among a total of 354 Dalit and non-Dalit women, with and without a disability aged between 15 – 49 years. Maternal healthcare service utilization was assessed by Ante-Natal Care (ANC), health facility (HF) delivery, and Post-Natal Care (PNC) during the last pregnancy. Logistic regression was performed to detect the predictors of service utilization and identify whether disability and caste were associated with service utilization. First, disability and caste were fitted separately in models. Secondly, the intersectionality of disability and caste was tested by the inclusion of disability*caste interaction term. Finally, the confounding effect of socio-demographic factors was investigated. Results: Out of surveyed women, 73% had 4+ ANC visits, 65% had HF delivery and 29% had a PNC visit during their last pregnancy. Women with a disability had lower odds of HF delivery (OR 0.50, CI 0.30 – 0.84) and PNC (OR 0.47, CI 0.25 – 0.88) than women without a disability. Adjustment for women’s age and household wealth explained associations in HF delivery by women with disabilities. There was no association between caste and service utilization. Disability overrode caste and there was no other evidence of effect modification by women’s caste status in the utilization. However, a weak interaction effect in the utilization of ANC services was found in the caste group by their education (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.05 – 0.74). Conclusions: Disabled women – whether Dalit or non-Dalit - had lower rates of utilizing all maternal healthcare services than non-disabled women. However, Dalit women with disabilities were more likely to receive PNC than non-Dalit women with disabilities. Increasing equity in maternal healthcare service utilization requires that traditional approaches to service development and program intervention to be re-examined and more nuanced interventions considered to ensure improved access and outcome among all vulnerable groups.

This study assessed farmers’ perception of climate change, estimated the determinants of, and evaluated the relationship among adaptation practices using the multivariate probit model. A survey in 300 agricultural households was carried out covering 10 sample districts considering five agro-ecological zones and a vulnerability index. Four adaptation choices (change in planting date, crop variety, crop type and investment in irrigation) were deemed as outcome variables and socioeconomic, demographic, institutional, farm-level and perceptions variables were deployed as explanatory variables. Their marginal effects were determined for three climatic variables—temperature, precipitation and drought. Age, gender and education of head of household, credit access, farm area, rain-fed farming and tenure, are found to be more influential compared to other factors. All four adaptation-options are found to be complimentary to each other. Importantly, the intensity of impact of dependent variables in different models, and for available adaptation-options, are found to be unequal. Therefore, policy options and support facilities should be devised according to climatic variables and adaptation options to achieve superior results.

Ecosystem services (ES) are increasingly recognized as a means to adapt to the ongoing impact of climate change and associated impacts. However, these ES itself are facing adverse impact of climate change especially in developing countries where most of the people are dependent on these services for their livelihood. Very little is known about the relationship between the climate change and ES. Here we assess the impact of climate change on ecosystem services in ES rich landscape of Panchase Mountain Ecological Region of western Nepal. The study area was divided into three ecoregions from lowland through midland to the upland region. Focus group discussion, and key informant interview were used to elicit the required data for the study, which was further supported by transect walk, field observation and secondary source of information. Major impacts of climate change were observed are, reduced availability of water, reduced food production, forest ecosystem, shifting species composition in forest ecosystem, farmland abandonment, and their associated ecosystem services. We recommend to initiate the management actions to help ES adapt to climate change, and which in return could support the ecosystem itself and people dependent on the ES in adaptation to climate change by providing various goods and services.

The government of Nepal (GoN) has developed and implemented climate policies, plans and frameworks such as NAPA, National Climate Change Policy, LAPA and currently in the process of developing National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). These policies and plans are in different states of its implementation with diverse opinions and perceptions of the stakeholders. The paper has explored these opinions and experiences of climate experts in Nepal on state of climate policies, inter-linkages, roles and responsibilities of ministries/departments, important factors and subjective indicators for effective implementation of the policies. Altogether 30 experts responded the questionnaire sent via the email, LinkedIn and Skype Interview in the 1^st phase of Delphi research technique. The experiences of these experts range from 2-30 years representing government, non-government sectors, media and independent experts. As per most of the experts interviewed, the policies and plans are progressing in strategic direction with national and local priorities. The LAPA is the pioneer framework to address the local climatic issues, originated in Nepal. However, lack of clarity on roles/responsibilities and coordination among the ministries/departments; clear mechanisms for implementation of these policies; lack of sensitization, decentralization and delegation of finance and technologies; capacity of the stakeholders are the major challenges identified.

The ionospheric scintillation is a rapid phase and amplitude fluctuation of satellite signals due to the small-scale irregularity of electron density in the ionosphere. The characterization of the scintillation index in a proper way is a crucial aspect of the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite signals for the purpose of space-based navigation, satellite communication, space weather as well as earth observation applications. In the current study, we analyzed the ionospheric scintillation index during the year of 2018 to 2019 over the Nepal region which locates itself almost being sandwiched between India and China and in the vicinity of low latitudes. The characteristic variations of scintillation occurrence are studied during the several geomagnetic storm and quiet days. The results show that the S4 indexes are varying from the 0.05 to 0.45 during the whole year. The S4 indexes behave higher variations during the whole day in the starting of the year and start to decrease at end of the day as well as at the ending months of the year 2019. The S4 values become completely less during the sunset time, while they have higher values during the sunrise. Especially, the S4 index during the storm days are larger than during the quiet days. It is worthy to note that the variations of S4 index studied in this current study do not follow the sunset property during the year of 2019. Consequently, the causes should be discovered and discussed additionally in the next research paper.

Climate change is a buzzword in the world. Scientist has approved it as global warming with its projection of undesired and unpredicted frequent extreme events and their vulnerabilities not only at present but also at future. There is an assumption of occurrence of adaptive capacity and behavior of farmers in agriculture production activity at some extent to neutralize climate change vulnerabilities of flood and landslides on paddy production. This paper empirically examines the effects of climate change in paddy production and farmer’s adaptive behaviors to neutralize such climatic shocks and events in paddy production by employing CD production function based econometric model. The study employed primary data collected through 642 household surveys. The study finds that climatic shocks and events have huge loss (60%) in paddy production and revenue income in such plot where farmers have not indigenous knowledge and practices. But both small and larger farmers who have adaptive capacity and behavior with their indigenous knowledge have less loss in paddy production and revenue income, although they have heterogeneity in their socio economic characteristics (income, asset holding, literacy, experience, land holding and age). The farmers who have used adaptive behavior have indigenous knowledge and experiences including bamboo wall construction to control flood and landslides and seed change to resist climatic shocks and events. In hilly region, the farmers have not sufficient alternative measures, except both adaptive measures because of their poverty, illiteracy and remote locations. The study finds their higher effective level to minimize vulnerabilities to paddy production and revenue per farm plot, although these adaptive behaviors are cost effective and local entity. Comparatively, bamboo wall construction is more effective measure in the paddy production than others are (seed switch) to minimize the flooding materials from the flood and the landslides. Thus, low cost indigenous adaption behavior of farmers is effective measure to climate change and climate change induced disasters and events vulnerability in paddy production.

Study of spatiotemporal dynamics of temperature is vital to assess changes in climate, especially in the Himalayan region where livelihoods of billions of people living downstream depends on water coming from the melting of snow and glacier ice. To this end, temperature trend analysis is carried out in Narayani river basin, a major river basin of Nepal characterized by three climatic regions: tropical, subtropical and alpine. Temperature data from six stations located within the basin were analyzed. The elevation of these stations ranges from 460 to 3800 m a.s.l. and the time period of available temperature data ranges from 1960–2015. Multiple regression and empirical mode decomposition (EMD) methods were applied to fill in missing data and to detect trends. Annual as well as seasonal trends were analyzed and a Mann-Kendall test was employed to test the statistical significance of detected trends. Results indicate significant cooling trends before 1970s, and warming trends after 1970s in the majority of the stations. The warming trends range from 0.028 ∘" style="position: relative;">∘C year−1" style="position: relative;">−1 to 0.035 ∘" style="position: relative;">∘C year−1" style="position: relative;">−1 with a mean increasing trend of 0.03 ∘" style="position: relative;">∘C year−1" style="position: relative;">−1 after 1971. Seasonal trends show highest warming trends in the monsoon season followed by winter, pre-monsoon, and the post-monsoon season. However, difference in warming rates between different seasons was not significant. An average temperature lapse rate of −0.006 ∘" style="position: relative;">∘C m−1" style="position: relative;">−1 with the steepest value (−0.0064 ∘" style="position: relative;">∘C m−1" style="position: relative;">−1) in pre-monsoon season and least negative (−0.0052 ∘" style="position: relative;">∘C m−1" style="position: relative;">−1) in winter season was observed for this basin. A comparative analysis of the gap-filled data with freely available global climate datasets show reasonable correlation thus confirming the suitability of the gap filling methods.

Climate change is a buzzword in the world. Scientist has approved it as global warming with its projection of undesired and unpredicted frequent extreme events and their vulnerabilities not only at present but also at future. There is an assumption of occurrence of adaptive capacity and behavior of farmers in agriculture production activity at some extent to neutralize climate change vulnerabilities of flood and landslides on paddy production. This paper empirically examines the effects of climate change in paddy production and farmer’s adaptive behaviors to neutralize such climatic shocks and events in paddy production by employing CD production function based econometric model. The study employed primary data collected through 642 household surveys. The study finds that climatic shocks and events have huge loss (60%) in paddy production and revenue income in such plot where farmers have not indigenous knowledge and practices. But both small and larger farmers who have adaptive capacity and behavior with their indigenous knowledge have less loss in paddy production and revenue income, although they have heterogeneity in their socio-economic characteristics (income, asset holding, literacy, experience, land holding and age). The farmers who have used adaptive behavior have indigenous knowledge and experiences including bamboo wall construction to control flood and landslides and seed change to resist climatic shocks and events. In hilly region, the farmers have not sufficient alternative measures, except both adaptive measures because of their poverty, illiteracy and remote locations. The study finds their higher effective level to minimize vulnerabilities to paddy production and revenue per farm plot, although these adaptive behaviors are cost effective and local entity. Comparatively, bamboo wall construction is more effective measure in the paddy production than others are (seed switch) to minimize the flooding materials from the flood and the landslides. Thus, low cost indigenous adaption behavior of farmers is effective measure to climate change and climate change induced disasters and events vulnerability in paddy production.

Distinguishable annual growth rings produce in Pinus roxburghii are an asset to find out the age of individual tree. This paper aimed to determine the age of P. roxburghii through coring samples and test the relationship with forest production. The biomass estimated, girths measured at two different sections and heights measured which allowed to determine the rate of tapering of the stand. The regression analysis was performed to test the relationship between various variables. The mean age of the P. roxburghii stand was found to be 23.97 (~24 years). The result showed the significant (p<0.05) positive correlation coefficient has been seen between age with girth at breast height, biomass, volume and carbon stock. However, no significant (p>0.05) correlation (r = 0.08) was found between age and height of the stand. In contrast, a correlation between diameter at breast height (DBH) was significant (p<0.05) and positive with volume, biomass, but no significant (p>0.05) correlation (r = 0.14) found between DBH and height of the stand. However, height has a significant (p<0.05) positive correlation with biomass. The mean biomass was 375 kg and mean annual increment (MAI) was 15 kg per tree. Rate of tapering of the studied stand predicted to be 3 cm diameter decreased with trunk height running at 100 cm from base to upward of P. roxburghii stand and vice versa. Result suggests that height-age relation is very weak whereas age, DBH, biomass and carbon has a significant correlation signifies that time-based forests' production and potential production estimation can be obtained in a relatively accurate way by utilizing the age of stand. The time-based forest production analysis is pioneer work in Nepal. The study affirms the tree ring count in P. roxburghii would be a credible and accurate method to determine the age of standing trees.

Land degradation is a critical issue globally putting our future generations at risk. The decrease in farm productivity over the years is evidence of land degradation severity in Nepal. Among the many strategies in place, agroforestry, which is an integrated tree-based farming, is widely recommended to address this productivity issue. This paper thoroughly examines what influences the choice of agroforestry adoption by farmers and what discourages the adoption. For this, a total of 288 households were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. Two agroforestry practices were compared with conventional agriculture with the help of the Multinomial Logistic Regression (MNL) model. The likelihood of adoption was found to be influenced by gender; the male-headed households were more likely to adopt the tree-based farming practice. Having a source of off-farm income was positively associated with the adoption decision of farmers. Area of farmland was found being the major constraint to agroforestry adoption for smallholder farmers. Some other variables that affected positively included livestock herd size, provision of extension service, home-to- forest distance, farmers’ group membership and awareness of farmers about environmental benefits of agroforestry. Irrigation was another adoption constraint that the study area farmers were faced with. The households with means of transport and with larger family (household) size were found to be reluctant towards agroforestry adoption. A collective farming practice could be a strategy to engage the smallholder farmers in agroforestry.

The Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA) is a high mountain protected area in eastern Nepal undergoing socio-economic and environmental changes that are unprecedented in the region’s history. In the following paper, we discuss recent changes involving new road construction, climate change, adventure tourism, and the wildlife/forest cover/medicinal plant sectors. Our assessments are based on the collective results of past and recent field research, remote sensing analysis, oral histories, and literature reviews. While similar changes are occurring in mountain protected areas (MPA) throughout Nepal, it is suggested that the KCA differs from other regions in that it still retains the option of conducting detailed feasibility, environmental, and impact assessments prior to the implementation of major change-associated projects, particularly the construction of roads. In turn, the KCA might avoid many of the environmental, social, and economic problems experienced elsewhere in Nepal, while enhancing its status, income-generating capacities, and sustainability as a global destination for adventure, nature, and cultural tourism.

Zinc deficiency, a common malnutrition in children and women is a global public health problem.Burden of zinc deficiencyis more in countries with low meat and high cereal food consumption like Nepal. Nationally representative data on zinc status in Nepal is lacking at present. This study analysed the data from the recent Nepal National Micronutrient status survey 2016(NNMSS-2016) to determinethe prevalence of zinc deficiency and associated risk factors among children aged 6-59 months (n=1462) and non-pregnant women aged 15-49 years(n=1923) from three ecological zones, Hill, Terai, and Mountainof the country. Venous blood was collected from the participants to measure micronutrients such as zinc, markers of anaemia, vitamin A, and markers of inflammation. Stool was collected to assessthe soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) and Helicobacterpylori infection. Socio-demographic, household and other relevant information were collected by a structured questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to examine the predictors of zinc deficiency among the participants.The overall zinc deficiency in children was found to be 22.9% while it was higher in non-pregnant women (24.7%). Predictors associated with zinc deficiency among enrolled children in the study were,living in rural areas (AOR=2.25, 95% CI, [1.13, 4.49]),occurrence of diarrhoea during the two weeks preceding the survey (AOR=1.57, 95% CI, [1.07, 2.30]), household wealth quintile (AOR= 0.48, 95% CI,[0.25, 0.92]) and vitamin A status (AOR=0.49, 95% CI,[0.28, 0.85]. Risk factors associated with zinc deficiency among the non-pregnant women were being underweight (AOR=1.60, 95% CI,[1.15, 2.23]), fever occurrence during two weeks preceding the survey (AOR=1.45, 95% CI,[ 1.06, 1.99]), H. pylori in the stool (AOR=1.32, 95% CI, [1.03, 1.70]), being rich (AOR=0.64, 95% CI,[0.42, 0.98]) and being in the risk of folate deficiency (AOR=0.60, 95% CI,[0.37, 0.96]). We conclude that community focused intervention programs including health and nutrition counselling and livelihood opportunities focusing groups at high-risk may improve the zinc status in Nepal.

Background: Health insurance (HI) run by government is providing health care service to large population. Due to poor accountability, participation and sustainability, cooperative health insurance is becoming more popular and effective in low and middle income and some high-income countries too. In Nepal, there are public and cooperative HI is in practice. The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of public (government) and cooperative HI in relation to benefit packages, population coverage, inclusiveness, health care utilization, and promptness for treatment in these two health insurance models in Nepal. Method: This is an institution based concurrent mixed study consists of qualitative and quantitative variables from public and cooperative groups. We included all public HI operated by government hospitals and cooperatives groups those purchased hospital service in contract. Two separate study tools were applied to access the effectiveness of insurance models. The key questions were asked for the representatives of government and private health insurance. The numeric information consisted of in quantitative data and subjective response was included in qualitative approach. Descriptive statistics and Mean Whitney U test was applied in numeric data and qualitative information were analyzed by inductive approach Results: The study revealed that new enrolment was not increased, health care utilization rate was increased and the benefit package was almost same in both groups. The overall inclusiveness was higher for the government HI, but enrolment from the religious minority, proportion of negotiated amount during treatment were significantly higher (p<0.05). During illness, the response time to reach hospital was significantly faster in cooperative health insurance than government health insurance. Qualitative findings showed that level of participation, accountability, transparency and recording system was better in cooperative health insurance than public. Conclusion: Cooperative HI could be more sustainable and accountable to the community for all; low, middle and high-income countries.

This study aimed to examine the trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity and to determine the associated socioeconomic and household environmental factors among women in Nepal. Using nationally representative data from the 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016 cross-sectional Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHSs) (n = 33,507), the prevalence of overweight–obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) among women aged 15–49 years were examined. From the latest NDHS 2016, non-pregnant women with recorded anthropometric measurements (n = 6165) were included in the final analyses. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the socioeconomic and household environmental factors associated with BMI ≥ 25 and BMI ≥ 30. Between 1996 and 2016, the prevalence of overweight–obesity increased from 1.8% to 19.7%, while the prevalence of obesity increased from 0.2% to 4.1%. Age, marital status, wealth index, province of residence, cooking fuel, refrigerator, and bicycle were significantly associated with having both overweight–obesity and obesity. Similarly, educational status, religion, type of toilet facility, television, and mobile phone were significantly associated with having overweight–obesity. Given the alarming increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Nepalese women, there is an urgent need of interventions addressing these critical socioeconomic and household environmental factors.

Nepal is one of the most seismically active regions in the world, as highlighted by the recent devastating 2015, Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake and a robust assessment of seismic hazard is paramount for the design of earthquake-resistant structures. In this study we present a new probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) model for Nepal. We considered data and findings from recent scientific publications, which allowed us to develop a unified homogenized seismicity catalogue, propose alternative Seismic Source Characterization (SSC) models including up-to-date parameters of major thrust faults like Main Frontal Thrust – MFT and Main Boundary Thrust – MBT, while also considering existing SSC models and various hazard modelling strategies within a logic tree framework. The sensitivity analyses show the hazard levels are generally higher for SSC models integrating the major thrust faults, followed by homogenous volume sources and smoothed seismicity approach. The hazard maps covering entire Nepal is presented as well as the Uniform Hazard Spectra (UHS) for 5 selected locations (Kathmandu, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Nepalganj and Dipayal) at return periods of 475- and 2,475-years considering Vs,30=760 m/s. The results obtained are generally consistent with most recent studies. However, a notable variability in hazard levels and several discrepancies with respect to the Nepal Building Code NBC105: 2020 [1] and Global Hazard Model, GEM [2] are noted and possible causes are discussed.

Background: The methods used in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) household surveys have not changed in four decades; however, LMIC societies have changed substantially and now face unprecedented rates of urbanisation and urbanisation of poverty. This mismatch may result in unintentional exclusion of vulnerable and mobile urban populations. We compare three survey method innovations with standard survey methods in Kathmandu, Dhaka, and Hanoi, and summarize feasibility of our innovative methods in terms of time, cost, skill requirements, and experiences. Methods: We used descriptive statistics and regression techniques to compare respondent characteristics in samples drawn with innovative versus standard survey designs and household definitions, adjusting for sample probability weights and clustering. Feasibility of innovative methods was evaluated using a thematic framework analysis of focus group discussions with survey field staff, and via survey planner budgets. Results: We found that a common household definition excluded single adult (46.9%) and migrant headed households (6.7%), as well as non-married (8.5%), unemployed (10.5%), disabled (9.3%), and studying adults (14.3%). Further, standard two-stage sampling resulted in fewer single adult and non-family households than an innovative area-microcensus design; however, two-stage sampling resulted in more tent and shack dwellers. Our survey innovations provided good value for money and field staff experiences were neutral or positive. Staff recommended streamlining field tools and pairing technical and survey content experts during fieldwork. Conclusions: This evidence of exclusion of vulnerable and mobile urban populations in LMIC household surveys is deeply concerning, and underscores the need to modernize survey methods and practices.

The sympathetic restoration and conservation of built cultural heritage play a significant role in the management and preparedness for future climate scenarios by facilitating adaptive reuse, enhancing cultural resilience, preserving traditional knowledge, and boosting tourism. The importance of restoring damaged heritage sites after an earthquake drew international attention to Nepal after the 2015 Gorka Earthquake. UNESCO established an office in Kathmandu to promote the restoration of tangible and intangible heritage in the area. This included developing structural analyses of buildings with historical and cultural value that due to their nature cannot be intervened with the same methodology as modern buildings. In this paper, the case study of the earthquake-damaged Gopinath temple, is discussed. First, an initial visual inspection phase and the following diagnosis of the structure are discussed. Then, the results from a series of static and dynamic structural analyses performed to determine the safety level of the structure, together with a sensitivity analysis, are presented. A sympathetic intervention proposal capable of increasing the temple safety level and based on the addition of timber plates, has resulted in substantial improvements of the lateral behavior of the structure. The proposed intervention is deemed sustainable and able to increase the resilience of the temple in the face of future hazards.

This paper responds to the research question, “can urban farming help Nepali cities become more sustainable”? Especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, urban residents have begun to realize that food transported from long distances could not always be reliable. Urban farming can help produce fresh food locally and avoid long-distance transportation, and refrigeration. This practice also helps reduce greenhouse gases through plant carbon use efficiency (CUE). Urban farming not only helps city-dwellers towards achieving self-reliance in food production but also in vegetation carbon dynamics (VCD) while supporting the circular economy. Urban farming consists of edible landscapes, which can also be an aesthetic public space. As urban lands command higher prices than agricultural land, urban farming usually happens on residential yards, roofs, balconies, community gardens, and dedicated areas in public parks. Rainwater harvesting, and redirecting can help irrigate urban farms which can be part of rain gardens. The national census of 2021 (CBS 2022, p5) identifies that 66 percent of Nepal’s population live in urban areas. However, the World Bank (2018), shows that only 21 of Nepal’s population was projected to live in urban areas in 2021. It is not debatable that the urbanization process in Nepal is on the rise. Thus, urban agriculture can play an important role to supplement the residents’ food needs. Many cities in Nepal have already successfully adapted to urban farming where residents grow food on their building site, balconies, and rooftop often growing plants on pots, vases, and other types of containers. The UN-Habitat, with the support of European Union and local agencies, has published a rooftop farming training manual (2014) showing the feasibility of urban farming in Nepal.The paper discusses how Public Private Partnership (PPP) can promote urban agriculture and make the process more effective and attractive to urban farming households. It also analyzes how a PPP approach also facilitates the use of better technology, advisory support, and use of research extension activities. This paper draws on literature review, secondary data (e.g., from National Census Nepal 2021) and authors’ professional experiences related to best practices in the areas to analyze the benefits and challenges related to urban farming in Arizona, USA. The paper will provide recommendations for Nepali cities to maximize the benefit provided by urban farming. It is expected to be useful to Nepali policy makers, and government agencies, and nonprofit organizations which promote sustainability, and organic farming.