First things first: Rebuilding right and rebuilding better in Nepal

The cost of the damage brought about by Nepal’s massive twin earthquakes, which took place April 25 and May 12, is estimated to be at around $10 billion — or half of the country’s gross domestic product in 2014.

While large infrastructure such as the main airport, dams and communication and electricity networks endured the back-to-back disasters, hundreds of cultural heritage sites and more than 500,000 houses were destroyed — displacing millions of people and leaving development organizations, the Nepalese government and the international community with the gargantuan task of reconstructing and rebuilding the country.

At a donor conference in Kathmandu in June, international donors pledged to provide $4.4 billion of the $6.7 billion needed to fuel the reconstruction and recovery efforts in Nepal. And as the country moves from immediate disaster relief toward the recovery phase, there is much talk about “rebuilding right” and “building back better.”