Governments of Finland, Switzerland and UK have extended NRs 4.45 billion (USD 62 million) to Nepal Government for Multi-Stakeholder Forestry Programme, the first multi stakeholder project undertaken in Nepal’s forestry sector.

In this regard, a Joint Funding Agreement was signed by Krishna Hari Baskota, Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Thomas Gass, Ambassador, Embassy of Switzerland and Dominic O'Neill, Head of DFID, Nepal on behalf of their respective Governments, in the presence of Asko Luukkainen, Ambassador of the Embassy of Finland at the Ministry of Finance, Kathmandu, Nepal.

The Government of Finland has delegated the administration of its funds for the programme to the Embassy of Switzerland.

“The Multi-Stakeholder Forestry Programme is the product of the first multi-stakeholder design process to be undertaken in Nepal’s forestry sector. The Programme will build on the achievements of over 20 years of forestry work of the Government of Nepal supported by the UK, Switzerland and Finland. The Programme is designed for 10 years and to be implemented in two phases. NRs 4.45 billion has been agreed as joint grant funding assistance by these three donors for an initial 4 years,” said a statement issued by Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) in Nepal to inform about the assistance.

The main beneficiaries of the programme will be rural communities in Nepal, especially poor and disadvantaged households and those dependent on forests and most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, the statement added.

The Programme will engage in new and emerging areas such as increasing wealth and job creation by the private sector including farmers, entrepreneurs and financial institutions; helping communities to tackle the impacts of climate change, and building the capacity of local communities to engage in piloting and development of payments for environmental services including carbon trading, according to the statement.

This approved phase is expected to last no longer than 4 years depending on progress with defining and agreeing a “National Entity”. It is anticipated that a follow-up phases will extend from the end of this approved phase until 2021 which will be managed by the “National Entity”.

The Programme will build on the geographical coverage of the UK Livelihoods and Forestry Programme and Nepal Swiss Community Forestry Project from 18 to 23 districts over the first 4 years. The Programme is planned to eventually scale-up to 61 districts over 10 years.

The Programme will be implemented by a wide range of stakeholders including government, non-government, civil society, and the private sector. A Multi-Stakeholder Steering Committee led by the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation will give strategic direction to the Programme. The Programme will work closely with other projects and programmes. nepalnews.com