Title: Challenges of Implementing Disaster Risk Reduction Activities by Local Governments: A Case Study of Shankharapur Municipality in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal Image of Collapsed Building in Shankarapur Municipality after 2015 Gorkha Earthquake The promulgation of Nepal's new constitution in 2015 has given mandatory responsibilities to the local governments (municipalities) to deal with all kinds of disasters within the municipalities. The Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act (2017) has clearly highlighted their roles and responsibilities. Since this is a new provision, the stakeholders are concerned if the municipalities can handle such an important task. Considering this concern into account, the main objectives of this research are to identify the major challenges that the municipalities are facing and to identify the policy recommendations to overcome them. A case study was conducted in Shankharapur Municipality in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The methodology adopted was des
Is Sparrow a pest? One of the most common species of birds found around the globe is Sparrow. Sparrows are associated with being urban dwellers as they enjoy being around humans and have adopted being around us. Although small, these Birds are an important part of our life. During the "Great Leap forward", between the year 1952-1962, a campaign was launched to eradicate different pests called the “Four Pest Campaign” in China. Sparrow was one of the pests in the list as it eats the grain and rice produced from the hard labor of the people. Around 1 Billion sparrows were killed during the campaign. As essentially the goal was to drive the sparrow into extinction. Sparrow feeds on grains and seeds but they also feed on the pest that destroys the harvest of the farmers. The role of Sparrow in balancing the ecosystem was realized, when Locutus came in destroyed all the harvest causing great famine. The novel agricultural technique used the great leap forward also exaggerat