NEPAL

REDD+ IMPLEMENTATION

Forest Solutions Rewarded: In 2022, the ART-TREES registration of Nepal’s jurisdictional proposal to the LEAF Coalition was accepted. UN-REDD Technical Assistance to the country was discussed with counterparts, and at the time of the preparation of this report, it is being processed with the Ministry of Finance. Government commitment pursuing ART-TREES registration is apparent from the MoU signed between the government and Emergent, which aims to sign the ERPA by April, 2023. UN-REDD experts maintained technical exchanges on elements needed to accompany the government in the preparation of a registration document.

The UN-REDD team is persistently engaging with the REDD+ Implementation Centre to follow up on the likely timing for the project to be approved, allowing for the technical assistance to commence.

CHALLANGES AND SOLUTIONS

The UN-REDD Programme experienced challenges in operationalizing its support in Nepal due to the delays in government project approval, without which even technical nature discussions are unlikely.

To coordinate with the government and other stakeholders in a timely manner, a national coordinator position was established, and will be imminently filled, within the FAO country office.

GENDER AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

UNEP has worked together with ICIMOD, within a separate UN partnership programme, to develop and present the publication, “State of Gender Equality and Climate Change in Nepal.” Published in 2021, the publication provides an in-depth analysis of the forestry sector in Nepal in the context of gender and climate change. Specifically, the findings of this assessment present an overview of the status of gender integration in forest sector, including which policies, strategies and recommendations can further strengthen gender mainstreaming in forests. This is valuable to inform the UN-REDD TA to the government.

PARTNERSHIPS

The UN-REDD team has been in dialogue with the British High Commission’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), assisting in the LEAF jurisdictional project, namely through meetings in August, 2022. The FCDO is supporting the government of Nepal through ICIMOD, an international NGO, with the provision of national consultants to support the formulation of a project document for the LEAF jurisdictional project. Through the meeting, it was agreed the two processes of support would work in a coordinated manner for the implementation of deliverables.

The UN-REDD Programme has been in dialogue with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), supporting the government in the formulation of the initial proposal to the LEAF Coalition. IUCN was identified as the financial intermediary and plays an important role as the accredited entity of a GCF Gandaki project, falling within the jurisdiction of the LEAF proposal. In addition, the UN-REDD Programme has reached out to other donors and partners including the Team Europe Embassy – Germany and the World Bank.