ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on grounded and inductive research addressing the actions, value basis and emerging rights from the perspective of local communities as well as institutional responses in the post-earthquake context. The Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site comprises seven groups of monuments and their urban or natural contexts, which include the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur; the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhunath and Boudhanath; and the Hindu temples of Pashupati and Changu Narayan. Four broad areas of relations of rights were adapted and refined by grounded research by the Nepal research team: place, resource and property rights; civic engagement, community consultation and participation; indigenous, ethnic and cultural rights, including continuity, diversity and transformation; and safety, livelihood and development rights. Policies and means for building rehabilitation and resilience are tested when human settlements are hit by disaster. Key concerns include the preparedness, readiness and robustness of participation and local involvement when faced with post-disaster efforts.
