(First Circular)

The 11th Asian Regional Conference of IAEG

"Engineering Geology for Geodisaster Management"
28-30 November 2017
Kathmandu, Nepal
Background
Engineering geology is one of the most important branches of geological science and it
has a decent history of development. In the last 100 years, engineering geology has
developed extensively but basic theories and principles still remain the same and what
have changed in recent times are experimental techniques, numerical modeling, and field
instrumentations.
The gap in practice of engineering geological studies between developed and
developing nations is immensely wide. Many developing countries do not adequately
consider engineering geological issues in infrastructure development. Nepal lacks proper
engineering geological study guidelines for infrastructure development despite having
established various national level organizations as well as producing geologists through
a university graduate course. Geodisasters such as earthquakes, landslides, and floods
frequent in Nepal are some of the major development hurdles; these also have not been
adequately studied and explored from engineering geological perspective. It is therefore
important that the engineering geological research and technological knowhow that
developed countries possess is transferred to the developing nations. As a country in the
Himalaya, Nepal particularly suffers from frequent landslides and floods on an annual
basis, but the threat of a great earthquake, which was expected to hit any part of Nepal
within the next 10-20 years, was far greater than the decades of landslide and flood
damages. In this persuasion, it was unfortunate that on the April 25, 2015, a major
earthquake of Mw 7.8 (the Gorkha Earthquake) hit central Nepal causing a loss of 8995+
lives. Aftershocks after the main event also killed many people. Preliminary estimation of
economic loss from this earthquake is more than 6 billion US$. Now, Nepal is in the
reconstruction phase and many engineering geological issues are not discussed well
among the practitioners and researchers. It was noticed that bridging between
practitioners and researchers for engineering geological evaluation is arduous and

reconstruction activities have already started without proper understanding of

engineering geological settings of the terrain.
For last 50 years, the International Association for Engineering Geology and Environment
(IAEG) brings together all engineering geological professionals and researchers into a
single forum through various regional and international conferences and it is serving
excellently to further development of engineering geology discipline and promoting
many national groups around the globe. Nepal Geological Society also has an affiliation
with IAEG as Nepal National Group and it is assisting IAEG by conducting various IAEG
related conferences.
In this context, Nepal Geological Society (NGS) along with its partner organizations in
Nepal is going to organize the 11th IAEG Asian Regional Conference (ARC-11) in
Kathmandu, Nepal on 28-30 November 2017. This series of international conference has
been an instrumental forum for the advancement of Engineering Geology in Asia.
Geoscientists and engineers around the globe have contributed and have largely
benefited from each other during the Asian Regional Conferences of IAEG in the past.
The forthcoming event is going to be yet another building block to enhance the geoengineering knowledge and to understand further the Engineering Geology in this part
of the globe. This is the second time that an IAEG Asian Regional Conference is going to
be held in Nepal a popular destination for geo-scientists and tourists. The conference
is a forum of all geoscientists and engineers for a collegial discussion and sharing of new
research findings in the field of Engineering Geology and geodisasters. Nepal Geological
Society has received an overwhelming response from geoscientists around the globe, so
this event will certainly be another milestone in the history of ARC. This first circular has
been issued in order to provide important information about the Conference. As preregistration is now open through the conference website, all the geoscientists and
engineers working in the field of Engineering Geology and Geodisaters are kindly
requested to submit their pre-registration form together with their few details within the
stated deadline. Your kind cooperation in this regard will greatly help the organizers plan
and execute this important event successfully. ONLY online registration will be
acceptable.

Symposium Venue
The IAEG ARC-11 will take place in an important city of Nepal - Kathmandu. With an
estimated population of about three million, the city of Kathmandu is the biggest and
biggest city in Nepal. Lalitpur and Bhaktapur are neighbor cities of Kathmandu, which
altogether make the Kathmandu valley. It has historically important cultural monuments
that attract millions of international and domestic tourists every year. The valley
encompassing the three major and two minor urban settlements and several rural
settlements accommodates nearly 20% of the nations population. At an average altitude
of 1350 meters, the Kathmandu Valley ground is ancient lake sediment that at its deepest
point measures some 600 meters in some places. All the major events of the ARC-11 will
be held in Kathmandu, while the field excursion will be held in various locations of Nepal.

Kathmandu - city of temples and World Heritages

Pokhara - city of lakes and mountains

Symposium Format
Following the past formats of the IAEG ARC, thematic oral and poster sessions have been
planned within a single venue. Parallel sessions will be provided for various themes in
order to provide all participants an opportunity to present from all presentations.
Conference excursions
To provide an opportunity particularly to all international participants, the conference
program has been planned to include four field programs as follows.
2017.11.27: Pre-conference tour
Ex-1; A full day historical monument and geomorphological tour of Kathmandu Valley
2017.12.01-03: Post- conference tours
Ex-2: Kathmandu-Pokhara roadside landslides and slope Protection work and Pokhara
valley tour (three days)
Ex-2: The Gorkha Earthquake 2015 Epicenter area visit (two days)
Ex-3: Arniko Highway landslides and slope protection work)
Details of all excursions will be given in second circular.
Conference Plan
27 Nov. 2017 (Mon)

Pre-conference excursions

28 Nov. 2017 (Tue)

Inaugural program followed by technical sessions and Welcome

Reception

29 Nov. 2017 (Wed)

Technical Sessions

30 Nov. 2017 (Thu)

Technical Sessions

1-3 December 2017

Post-conference Excursions

Important Dates
10 Nov 2016

End of pre-registration

15 Nov 2016

Conference 2nd circular and abstract submission (obligatory online

submission)

15 Mar 2017

Conference 3rd circular Conference Early Bird registrations and payment

of registration fees

30 Sept 2017 Final abstract submission (obligatory online submission)

01 Oct 2017

Presenters' registration deadline, Field Excursion bookings close and 'Early

Bird' registrations close

01 Oct 2017

Standard registrations open and Conference 4th circular

15 Nov 2017

Conference final circular

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26 Nov 2017

Standard registration closes

27 Nov 2017

Conference on site registration and full payment of registration fee

Abstracts of only those authors or presenters who have already paid their registration fee
within the deadline will be published in the abstract volume of the Journal of Nepal
Geological Society, which will be distributed to all the registered participants during the
conference.
Full papers will be published in the Journal of Nepal Geological Society after peer review
process and will be available on 1 April 2018.
Registration
All interested participants are requested to fill pre-registration form available in the
conference website. Details on registration fee will be provided in the second circular,
and will be decided based on number of pre-registered participants and their
suggestions.
Registration fee will cover access to all presentation sessions and field excursions, a copy
of abstract volume, one dinner, conference lunches, and tea/coffee during the breaks. It
does not cover the cost of other dinners and hotel accommodations.
Conference theme
Nepal Geological Society has planned for the main theme of the conference as
Engineering Geology for Geodisaster Management. Sub-themes of the conference
include:
1. Landslides

Landslides, Debris flows, and Rock fall

Landslide hazard and risk evaluation

Landslide risk reduction

Slope stability

Urbanization on mountain slopes

2. Neotectonics

Active fault and associated earthquakes

Himalayan tectonics
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Crustal dynamics and recent earthquake sources

3. Geohazards in Asia

Flood hazards

Volcanic hazards

Tsunami hazards

4. Engineering Geology in sustainable development

5. Foundation, underground geology, groundwater
6. Tunneling for geodisaster management
7. New Technology

Remote Sensing and Geodesy for geohazard management

New technology and equipment for geohazards

8. 2015-Gorkha Earthquake

Engineering geological consequences

Ground response

Damage assessment

Earthquake-induced landslide

Seismic hazard and low cost design for earthquake safe buildings

9. Climate modeling for geohazard assessment

10. Geohazards and their management:

High altitude rock slope failure

Snow avalanche

Flood hazard management

Glacial lake outburst

Rockfall hazard mitigation practices

11. Case studies for geohazard management

Nepalese participants
All Nepalese participants are requested to contact the organizers at [email protected]
or visit the 11th IAEG Asian Regional Conference (ARC-11) Secretariat for details on the
registration procedure. Pre-registration for Nepali participants is available through home
page of Conference website.

Climate
Climate in Kathmandu at the end of November is pleasant. Mornings and evenings are
often cold, but the day time is pleasantly warm. It is advised that the participants bring
warm clothes.
Passport and Visa Requirement
All the foreign participants are advised to contact the Nepalese Embassy or Consulate in
their respective countries to get visa for entering into Nepal. They must have valid
passport and Visa to enter into Nepal. Visa can also be obtained in the Tribhuvan
International Airport (Kathmandu) on arrival. For those of you planning to acquire a visa
upon arrival at the airport, please bring with you two passport-sized photographs and
US$25 cash for the visa fee. Gratis Visa is available for SAARC nationals visiting Nepal
since 2014. We request you to claim Gratis Visa if it is applicable to you.
Currency
US Dollar, Canadian Dollar, British Pound, Euro, Australian Dollar, Japanese Yen,
Singapore Dollar, Indian Rupee and Chinese Yuan can be exchanged in the banks, Star
Hotels, and authorized Money Changer. As of April 12, 2016, US$ 1 is equivalent to NRs
105.00 and, it may subject to change.
Organizers
Lead Organizer:

Nepal Geological Society

Associated Partners (to be confirmed):

Nepal Academy of Science and Technology
Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Nepal
Department of Irrigation, Government of Nepal
Geodisaster Research Center, Central Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University
Department of Geology, Tri-Chandra Campus, Tribhuvan University
Nepal Electricity Authority
Nepal Geotechnical Society
Nepal Hydrogeological Association
Nepal Tunneling Association
Himalayan Landslide Society
Nepal Landslide Society
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Nepal Engineering Association

Society of Hydrologist and Meteorologist
International Partners (to be confirmed):
International Consortium of Geo-disaster Reduction (ICGdR)
Center for Disaster Management Informatics Research, Ehime University
Faculty of Engineering, Kagawa University, Japan
Trumer Schutzbauten, Austria
Japan Society of Engineering Geology
Indian Society of Engineering Geology
Organizing Committee
Chair:

Dr. Danda Pani Adhikari, President, NGS

Convener:

Prof. Dr. Megh Raj Dhital

Co-convener:

Dr. Ranjan Kumar Dahal

Conference Secretary:

Dr. Prem Thapa, Secretary, NGS

Members:
Achyut Koirala, Nepal Geological Society
Ajab Singh Mahara, Nepal Electricity Authority
Ashok Sigdel, Nepal Geological Society
Basanta Raj Adhikari, IoE, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Churna Bahadur Oli, Ministry of Irrigation
Dilendra Pathak, Nepal Geological Society
Dibya Ratna Kansakar, Nepal Geological Society
Dilip Sadaula, Ministry of Energy
Dinesh Napit, Department of Mines and Geology
Dinesh Pathak, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Govinda Sharma Pokharel, Nepal Geological Society
Hari Ghimire, Nepal Geological Society
Kabita Karki, Nepal Geological Society
Krishna Upadhyaya, Nepal Geological Society
Kumud Raj Kafle, Kathmandu University, Nepal
Lalu Prasad Poudel, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Lila Nath Rimal, Nepal Geological Society
Madan Ratna Manandhar, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
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Monika Jha, Nepal Geological Society

Moti Bahadur Kunwar, Nepal Geological Society
Mukunda Raj Poudel, Nepal Geological Society
Naresh Kazi Tamrakar, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Nir Shakya, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Rajendra Prasad Khanal, Department of Mines and Geology
Ram Hari Sharma, Nepal Geological Society
Roshan Raj Bhattarai, Nepal Geological Society
Sagar Kumar Rai, Ministry of Irrigation
San Mukesh Amatya, Nepal
Sandeep Saha, Nepal Geological Society
Sobit Thapalia, Nepal Geological Society
Som Nath Sapkota, Department of Mines and Geology
Subash Chandra Sunuwar, Nepal Geological Society
Subodh Dhakal, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Suresh Raj Upreti, Nepal Hydrogeological Association
Sushmita Bhandari, Nepal Geological Society
Tara Nidhi Bhattarai, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Tika Ram Poudel, Nepal Electricity Authority, Nepal
Tuk Lal Adhikari, Nepal Geotechnical Society, Nepal
Avisory Members:
Mr. Achyuta Nanda Bhandari, Nepal Landslide Society
Dr. Amod Mani Dixit, National Society for Earthquake Technology
Porf. Dr. Bishal Nath Upreti, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology
Mr. Jagadishwor Nath Shrestha, Nepal Geological Society
Mr. Jagat Kumar Bhusal, Society of Hydrologist and Meteorologist
Prof. Dr. Jibaraj Pokharel, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology
Mr. Krishna Prasad Kaphle, Nepal Geological Society
Dr. Ramesh Man Tuladhar, Nepal Geological Society
Prof. Dr. Tirtha Raj Khaniya, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Prof. Dr. Vishnu Dangol, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
International Advisory Members:
Prof. Dr. Prof. Scott Burns, President IAEG
Prof. Dr. Faquan Wu, Secretary, IAEG
Prof. Dr. Martin Culshaw, IAEG
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Prof. Dr. Ryuichi Yatabe, Ehime University, Japan

Prof. Dr. Ikuo Towhata, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Prof. Dr. Masahiro Chigira, Kyoto Univeristy
Prof. Dr. Masakatsu Miyajima, Kanazawa University, Japan
Prof. Dr. Shuichi Hasegawa, Kagawa University, Japan
Prof. Dr. Fawu Wang, Shimane University, Japan
Prof. Dr. Tonglu Li, Changan University, China
Prof. Dr. Monique Fort, Paris Diderot University, Paris
Mr. Mandapalli Raju, Director General, Geological Survey of India
Dr. Yogendra Deva, Vice President-Asia, IAEG
Prof. Dr. Wei Shan, Northeast Forestry University, China
A/Prof. Dr. Teuku Faisal Fathani, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
Mr. Ramesh Narain Misra, Indian Society of Engineering Geology
Dr. Gopal Dhawan, Indian Society of Engineering Geology
Mr Imran Sayeed, Indian Society of Engineering Geology
Dr. Janusz Wasowski, IRPI, Italy
Dr. Yasuhiko Wakizaka, Japan Society of Engineering Geology
Dr. Hisatoshi Ito, Japan Society of Engineering Geology
Mr. Takao Chaishi, Japan Society of Engineering Geology
A/Prof. Dr. Netra Prakash Bhandary, Ehime University, Japan
Prof. Dr. Hemanta Hazarika, Kyushu University, Japan
Prof. Dr. Hiroshi Yagi, Yamagata University, Japan
A/Prof. Dr. Binod Tiwari, California State University, Fullerton, USA
Prof. Dr. Ko-Fei Liu, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Dr. Ngdishi Asih, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
Association of IAEG and Nepal Geological Society
IAEG and Nepal Geological Society have a long history of association. IAEG Nepal
National Group was formed in 1998 and till date, IAEG Nepal National Group has 53
members. In 1999, Nepal hosted a major event of IAEG in Kathmandu and it was
inaugurated by late His Majesty King. It was a huge event of IAEG and Nepal national
group proved that Nepal can host IAEG events very successfully. In 2005, Nepal
organized 5th Asian Regional Conference and was a major success too. NGS is very
much convinced that the forthcoming 11th Asian Regional Conference of IAEG will be
another successful event.
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Contact:
The 11th Asian Regional Conference of IAEG
Conference Office
Nepal Geological Society, Lainchaur, Kathmandu, Nepal
Email: [email protected]
Email cc to: [email protected]
Cell: +977-9741056762
Cell: +977-9841353936
Cell: +977-9851060464
Phone: +97715536174, +5536165
Contact information

Dr. Danda Pani Adhikari

Chair
President, Nepal Geological Society
Tel.: +977- 9841712360
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

Prof. Dr. Megh Raj Dhital

Convener
Cell: +977-9741056762
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Ranjan Kumar Dahal

Co-Convener
Tel.: 977- 9851060464
Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Dr. Prem Bahadur Thapa

Secretariat
General Secretary
Nepal Geological Society
Tel.: +977- 9841353936
Email: [email protected]
Conference Web:
www.iaegarc11ngs.com

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