World Bank to support forest-dependent indigenous peoples and local communities

The World Bank (WB) is providing grant support of $4.5 million to strengthen the capacity of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in Nepal’s forest sector. 

The World Bank and Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN) today signed a $4.5 million grant agreement to strengthen the capacity of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in Nepal’s forest sector. The five-year Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Nepal project will help enhance the capacity of IPLCs to participate in Nepal’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) processes at the local, national, and global levels for the sustainable management of forests, according to the World Bank. “This will help create livelihood opportunities and increase the income of forest-dependent communities in the Madhesh and Lumbini Provinces.”

Rural Reconstruction Nepal is the national executing agency for the project.

World Bank Operations Manager for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka Lada Strelkova and president of Rural Reconstruction Nepal Dr Arjun Karki signed the agreement. “This project supports Nepal’s Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities through a dedicated funding mechanism that will promote and protect their customary institutions that are crucial for the sustainable management of natural resources and climate resilience,” said World Bank Operations Manager for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka Lada Strelkova, after signing the agreement. “The project contributes significantly to Nepal’s transition to Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID) for sustainable recovery, growth, and jobs.”

The DGM Nepal project aims to provide long-term benefits to IPLCs from the sustainable use of forests, including adding value to products and more active involvement in Nepal’s policy-making process.

“The project provides much-needed support to forest-dependent indigenous peoples and local communities to enhance their resilience and build livelihoods through small-scale forest and non-forest-based business and employment opportunities,” said president of Rural Reconstruction Nepal Dr Arjun Kumar Karki, on the occasion.

IPLCs are both beneficiaries and active proponents and participants in the project. During implementation, they will preside over the use of the grant resources in Nepal through a National Steering Committee (NSC) to provide strategic and leadership guidance to the RRN as executing agency. The NSC is a 14-member team of representative NGOs identified through a self-selection process with an equal representation of IPLC representatives as decision-making members.

“This project is an excellent example of the innovation and leadership of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Nepal,” said Natural Resources Management Specialist at the World Bank Meerim Shakirova, on the occasion. “Notably, it demonstrates that they can lead the design and implementation of development projects, meeting the expectations of the communities they represent as well as the requirements of the World Bank, donors, and partners.”

The DGM Nepal project is funded by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Forest Investment Programme (FIP) implemented by the World Bank to enhance the role of IPLCs in protecting the forests they depend on.

“Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Nepal are a critical pillar for climate action,” co-chair of the National Steering Committee Bharati Pathak said, adding that they believe the project will improve their capacity and skills to have a greater role in forest-related decisions at the country and international levels.

“If forest-dependent indigenous peoples and local communities from Madhesh and Lumbini Provinces can generate income from forest-related activities and foster innovation through this project’s capacity building and competitive grants mechanism, it will encourage IPLCs to ensure that their traditional knowledge, norms, and values are recognized alongside with the customary law,” said co-chair of the National Steering Committee  Jagat Baram added.

Japanese grant assistance for DRR Project in Chitwan

 The government of Japan has extended $707,953 (around Rs 82.6 million), to Shapla Neer - Citizens’ Committee in Japan for Overseas Support, under the grant assistance for Japanese NGO Projects Schemes. Shapla Neer – an international NGO based in Japan – will work with a Nepali partner NGO, Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN), to implement the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Strengthening Project in Chitwan District, according to a press note issued by the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu.

A grant contract relating to the project was signed and exchanged on February 5, 2021 by ambassador of Japan to Nepal Saigo Masamichi and country representative of Shapla Neer Nepal Office Katsui Hiromi, at the Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu, the press note reads, adding that the grant assistance will be used to strengthen community resilience to disasters in Madi Municipality, a flood prone area in Chitwan district.

The project will coordinate closely with local government, stakeholders and community members to achieve capacity development of local government and communities, establishment and maintenance of infrastructure, and DRR public awareness activities.

“The project – under capacity development of local government and communities – plans to develop the capacity of local institutions such as the Local Disaster Management Committees (LDMCs), Ward Disaster Management Committees (WDMCs) and Community Disaster Management Committees (CDMCs) on disaster risk reduction, and facilitate the cooperation between these committees and other stakeholders,” it reads, adding that the project will – under establishment and maintenance of infrastructure –establish and maintain infrastructure. “The project will support construction of river widening, gabions, and embankments, as well as retention walls and drainage systems.”

CDMCs will establish the maintenance system to keep the structures functional.

Likewise, under DRR public awareness activities, the project will prepare and distribute a self-learning brochure on DRR among government bodies, stakeholders and other NGOs, it added.

The Embassy of Japan in Nepal claimed that it expects the project to contribute towards improving DRR in the local communities in Chitwan and will develop as a good practice for DRR in other districts in Nepal. It is also confident that the project will contribute towards furthering the cordial friendship between the peoples of Japan and Nepal.