Category: News

It has been imperative to discuss and identify challenges and opportunities of biodiversity conservation in Nepal and seek ways on how conserving biodiversity in managed forest complements in achieving wider biodiversity goals while supporting local livelihood. Blending expert presentations and views along with innovative ideas of aspiring students, ForestAction in collaboration with Kathmandu Forestry College (KAFCOL) and Institute of Science and Technology (IOST) organized an interaction program to discuss the significance and needs of biodiversity conservation in natural managed forest. Students were provided with the opportunity to present their project work on various issues of biodiversity conservation in anthropogenic landscapes, followed by discussion.

The Director General (DG) of DNPWC, Dr. Maheshwar Dhakal, Dr Srijana Baral and Dr. Lila Nath Sharma from ForestAction were among the speakers in the program. Professor Emeritus Dr RP Chaudhary delivered his remarks on the need for biodiversity conservation and urged young professionals to take the lead in the conservation field. Likewise, Prof Dr Bharat Babu Shrestha commented on students’ project work and shed light on integrating conservation and production on managed forest.

Over 110 Masters Student and early career researchers from 12 different institutions were present during the program. The program was part of Darwin Initiative UK funded project “Linking Science to Management: Restoring Community Forests in Nepal”.

 

ForestAction Nepal and Department of Plant Resources (DPR) jointly organized a two-day workshop (24-25 March, 2023) to discuss the future prospects of research on plant resources in Nepal. The workshop was chaired by Dr. Radha Wagle, Director General of DPR and attended by senior officials from Ministry of Forest and Environment, researchers from DPR and faculties from Tribhuvan University. Dr Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha and Professor Emeritus Dr Ram Prasad Chaudhary provided critical input on the plant resource strategy prepared by DPR.

Drawing from the Jalthal biodiversity project Dr. Lila Nath Sharma highlighted research opportunities in plant science and biodiversity in Nepal. Likewise, Dr Uttam Babu Shrestha emphasized on the global and national scenario of research priority to achieve global biodiversity goals and contribution to human well-being. Broader discussion on various aspects of plant research in Nepal highlighted the need for better collaboration among stakeholders and effective communication of research results to wider audiences.

   

ForestAction Nepal organized a week-long (11-16 Feb 2023) training program on Environment and Biodiversity Conservation Leadership in Chitwan. The training was aimed at developing leadership among future leaders on contemporary environmental issues. The training discussed various aspects – causes to impacts, of biodiversity loss, climate crises and environmental pollution. Participants were provided with the most updated information on development, conservation and human right related issues. The training was successful in providing some critical perspectives and insights on the complex relationship between development biodiversity conservation, human rights and environmental crises.

20 different experts from academia and development and conservation organizations delivered the training in the form of interactive lectures, project work, exposure visits and panel discussions. 23 participants, two thirds of which were women, between the ages of 22-30, from various parts of Nepal and from various academic backgrounds participated in the training. The program was part of Darwin Initiative UK funded project “Linking Science to Management: Restoring Community Forests in Nepal”.

  

The Project Economic Empowerment of Women through Forest Solutions (WEE-FS), IDRC funded project intends to achieve gender equality in the low-carbon world by developing low-carbon enterprise models and enhancing women’s capacity to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. One-day orientation was organized on the theme of diverse perspectives of climate change to understand the global and national discourses on climate change adaptation, enhance staff’s understanding of the impacts of climate change on women and marginalized communities, and the significance of adopting low-carbon technology for climate mitigation and adaptation. Mr. Rahul Karki, Executive Coordinator-ForestAction Nepal welcomed the participants. The program was coordinated by Srijana Baral and Ms. Aarati Khatri moderated the program and introduced the speakers.

 The first session on Global discourses on Climate change was presented by Mr. Manjeet Dhakal, Head of LDC Support Team | Director, South Asia Office. He sparked the brief discussion on Climate change discourses and Nepal’s responses to the global discourses (NAPA, NAP, LAPA, NDCs, Loss and damage, Climate change from a historical perspective, representation on international platforms like UNFCCC and COP and more on what science tells about climate change.

The second session was on the Differential impacts of climate change. Ms. Dibya Devi Gurung, Gender, Diversity, Social Inclusion, and Natural Resource Management Specialist. Board Member, Green Peace South Asia, shared her experiences of differential impacts on women, indigenous communities, and participating and non-participating groups. She emphasized inter-sectional and intra-sectional analysis for addressing the impacts of climate change.

Finally, Dr. Radha Wagle, Director General, Department of Plant Resources shared her exemplary journey in representing Nepal on international platforms, her struggles and contribution in shaping major documents like NDC, NAPA, LAPA preparation, mainstreaming gender in the Forestry sector, Nepal’s position on the climate agenda, Climate change issues in policies and plans, Nepal’s negotiations in COPs- experiences and many more.

The event was concluded with a vote of thanks from Dr. Naya Sharma Poudel, Environment, and Governance Specialist.

ForestAction Nepal, together with its conglomerate partners, ICCA Network Nepal and ICCA Youth Network Nepal, hosted the Fourth National Gathering, which was attended by individuals from 27 different sites representing different cultures and ethnic backgrounds at Nakkhu, Lalitpur. The gathering was a part of a larger effort to document and promote Indigenous Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) in Nepal.

In addition to empowering indigenous people, this 2-day (March 25-26, 2023) event facilitated intercultural dialogue and collaboration, as well as share experiences, best practices, and strategies for protecting and preserving their local environments. It also served as an opportunity to showcase the work of ICCA Network Nepal and ICCA Youth Network Nepal in advocating and safeguarding the indigenous people’s rights.

Forest Action Nepal’s “Economic Empowerment of Women through Forest Solutions”- a project implemented by ForestAction along with HIMAWANTI, AFFON and FENFIT and funded by IDRC Canada hosted an educational/learning exposure visit for women leaders from Madhesh and Lumbini Province on 24^th January, 2023. The World Bank team including- Ms. Meerim Shakirova- Team Leader- “Forestry for Prosperity” Project, Deputy Mayors, community forest women leaders, representatives from Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN); Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Nepal (DGM)/Rural Reconstruction Nepal, Focal Persons- Forestry for prosperity from Province, journalists participated in one-day visit to the research sites. The visit was conducted to demonstrate the possibilities of women leadership and empowerment through low carbon enterprise different activities in forestry.

Before departing to the field, the team were briefed on the project, it’s approach, intervention and outcomes. The first half of the visit was concentrated on discussing women empowerment and barriers for women leadership in Amarjyoti CFUG- Devchuli Municipality. The women leaders from the CF executives and the women entrepreneur groups shared their experiences and learning on how women, especially the dalits and their issues got institutionalized and how they benefit from the project and community forestry interventions. Focusing on the cases from Duna tapari leaf plates and bowl enterprise and ginger-turmeric farming, the women shared their stories of struggle and success. The concerns and discussion on the sustainable harvesting, engaging dalit women in duna tapari enterprises and competing with the non-local products especially cheap plastic products for securing markets were major concerns which were addressed strategically by the women entrepreneurs.  The team of women leaders also visited the community forest and ginger -turmeric production sites, duna tapari production process and interacted on the forest management modalities and benefits that women could extract from the forest.

The second visit was made to Namuna Women CFUG in Devchuli Municipality. A brief interaction with CFUG members and women entrepreneurs took place inside the community forest. The major objective of visiting the forest was to explore how women priorities are being reflected in the forest development and management. The women in CFUG had used barren land through non-timber forest products plantations e.g. lemon grass, tejpat (bayleaves trees), fruits, amriso (broom grass) plantation of trees like rakta chadan (sandal trees) which are useful to them on daily basis. Thakal (straw bags and hats producers) handicraft group shared the ups and downs of their enterprise establishment stories. They shared how rural women groups can be mis-guided and manipulated by the elite women across the value chain and by different actors. The Thakal entrepreneurs highlighted the exposure and trainings they have received from the project. The WOCAN Associate also visited the trade fair in Daldale and observed how the women entrepreneurs were expanding their market. Finally, the visit team appreciated how both women and men in community forestry were working together for women empowerment.

 

 

 

Alliance of Agriculture for Food/ForestAction Nepal, in collaboration with Centre for Crop Development and Agrobiodiversity Conservation (CCDABC), Uddhyog Badijya Sangh Chitwan and Jilla Prangarik Sangh Chitwan co-organized a seminar entitled “खाना तथा वातावरणीय संकट: विद्यमान अवस्था र समाधानका उपायहरु” on 17 January 2023. The main objective of this event was to discuss and bring the issues of food, public and environmental health, biodiversity into public debate. This event was organized as a side event during Chitwan Mahostav, in the context of National Agrobiodiversity Year 2079. The list of panel members included Dr. Ram Krishna Shrestha (CCDABC), Dr. Aruna Upreti (Public health expert), Prof. Dr. Arjun Kumar Shrestha (Agriculture and Forestry University), and Dr. Krishna Prasad Paudel (AAF/ForestAction). All of the panelist focused on the urgent need of addressing the issues of growing food and environmental crisis.

A group of artists also performed Geeti Natak (An infotainment) portraying the problems and challenges being faced by the farmers.

 

Ms. Kanchan Lama, the Principal Investigator of “Economic Empowerment of Women through Forest Solutions” (WEE-FS) project (IDRC funded) at ForestAction Nepal participated as a panelist in the event on “Driving Gender Equality through Climate Action” (14^th Nov2022). The event was a part of the Canadian Pavilion events held at the COP 27 in the city of Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. The panel, consisting of five speakers from the globe, highlighted the importance of addressing the gaps in women’s unconditional access to natural resources which are universally maintained by women and are the sources of livelihood for the indigenous communities, primarily women. Ms. Lama shared about the lessons learned through implementation of the low carbon, forest-based enterprise development interventions in a complicated socio-economic and environmental context of a poverty-stricken country like Nepal. She stressed on the issue of systematic deprivation of women from their rights to use the natural resources for productive purposes. She called for special attention to establish women as right holders of land and other productive assets for managing effective climate resilient action on the ground. As a takeaway message from the panel, she appealed to the global leaders of climate action to establish a “women climate adaptation fund” to facilitate an exclusively committed global action to support women in their climate resilient actions.