Hybrid Flood Resilience in a Tharu Riverbank Settlement: Community Adaptation to Disaster-Risk-Reduction Interventions in Western Nepal

Abstract

Flood-prone indigenous communities increasingly face the challenge of sustaining traditional knowledge systems while adapting to externally introduced disaster risk reduction initiatives. This study explores the interaction between indigenous flood knowledge and externally introduced disaster risk reduction interventions among the Tharu, an indigenous people of Nepal along the Mohana River in Dhangadhi. Adopting a qualitative case study design, this study draws on semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, focus group discussion and field observations to explore changes and community adaptations emerging through external interventions. The study is based on participants’ retrospective accounts of the major flood events of 2064 B.S. and 2078 B.S. Thematic analysis revealed three interconnected themes: (1) external interventions and introduced changes for Disaster Risk Reduction, (2) community adaptation and hybrid flood resilience, and (3) outcomes, inequalities, and structural constraints. Findings show that external interventions have strengthened rather than replaced indigenous knowledge systems by enhancing early warning systems, residential protection, and institutional coordination. Tharu community leaders, appointed changemakers and local government play key roles in translating interventions into collective action, while community-driven measures, such as go bags, emergency savings, and flood-resistant housing, reinforce resilience. However, these outcomes remain uneven, as housing and agricultural land continue to experience fragmented protection in the absence of large-scale structural mitigation. Competing interests within the community and limited financial resources have constrained the implementation of permanent nature-based solutions, including tree-based protection and gabion walls. This study contributes to the growing literature on hybrid resilience by demonstrating that effective disaster preparedness emerges through the integration of indigenous knowledge, social networks, collective flood memory, and sustained institutional support.