Among the most devastating natural disasters experienced by Nepal was the recent 2015 earthquake, which caused heavy loss of human life, buildings and infrastructure. More than 9,000 people lost their lives, and around were 22,000 injured. Reports[1] indicate that 604,930 residential buildings were completely destroyed and 288,856 were partially damaged.

The impact of the earthquake on cultural heritage was also extensive. According to Nepal’s Department of Archaeology, around 750 heritage structures of significant cultural and religious value (e.g. temples and shrines) were affected. For example, Bhaktapur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was identified as one of the 14 most affected districts in the country. Discussions to place it on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger are already underway. 

Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11.4 “Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage” and Nepal’s national strategy for disaster risk management (2009)[2], this Newcastle University institutional project aims to adopt state-of-the-art facilities and approaches for the development of a risk based analysis tool to support the decision making process on heritage protection and management to natural disasters. In the long term, this will contribute directly to the recovery of local people’s livelihoods and the revitalization of economic development.