[{"bbox": [96, 152, 1135, 260], "category": "Text", "text": "Despite the great progress that Nepal has achieved in most development indicators at national level, the rate of development is geographically unequal. The new federal structure promulgated in the 2015 Constitution presented an opportunity to tackle the gender, ethnic and geographic disparities and create an enabling environment for economic growth. Karnali and Sudurpashchim are two of the provinces with lower Human Development Index."}, {"bbox": [96, 270, 1135, 484], "category": "Text", "text": "Climate parameters in Nepal are changing, as average temperatures rise and droughts become more frequent. Precipitation is becoming erratic, with increasing floods and landslides, and impacting agricultural production, which has low levels of irrigation. Access to water and land is unequal, exacerbating exclusion of women, lower castes and indigenous peoples and exacerbating social conflictivity. Moreover, their land rights might be threatened by lack of titling, lack of recognition of communal use, land acquisitions and evictions from protected areas. Existing legal frameworks for managing natural resources, such as forests, such as community forest user groups, have not fully transitioned to the new federal structure leaving entire ecosystems poorly managed and more vulnerable to degradation and to climate change."}, {"bbox": [96, 494, 1135, 762], "category": "Text", "text": "The principal assets of rural municipalities and communities therein are their natural resources: water, land and forests, which they have a mandate to control. After focusing their first mandate on education and health, currently municipalities are formulating their local “Acts on Environment and Natural Resource Management”, that in the terminology of the government of Nepal will cover plans related to land, water, air, minerals, forests, fisheries, and wild flora and fauna, including ecosystem services and actively harnessing natural resources to provide better quality of human life, as well as protection of ecosystem diversity and biodiversity. However, in addition to the lack of a clear framework, they are also facing difficulties with quantity and quality of staff to expand their services into these areas. On the other hand, the provincial governments are not able to support rural municipalities to perform their functions. Linkages between the provinces and municipalities are not functional yet, and neither are the provinces' upward linkages to the Federal Ministries and Line Agencies."}, {"bbox": [96, 772, 1135, 854], "category": "Text", "text": "For urban municipalities, demographic pressure and management of hazards, especially those linked to climate change, remains an important issue. Growth due to rural to urban migration, and lack of urban planning, increase the exposure of the most vulnerable people to hazards."}, {"bbox": [96, 864, 1135, 1132], "category": "Text", "text": "This action intends to support the capacity of local governments and communities to manage their natural resources in regards to adaptation to climate change. The action aims to ensure that local and provincial governments in Sudurpashchim and Karnali provinces in the West of Nepal adapt to climate change and adopt resilient management of their natural capital (water, forests), with disaster risk reduction practices. It takes advantage on the transformative window of opportunity of the implementation of the new federal system, where local governments have increased funding and responsibilities, but need support to maximise impact, while ensuring sustainability and inclusion. In particular, the inclusion of women and other excluded groups (indigenous peoples, Dalits etc.) in decision-making structures and processes is necessary to enhance resilient management of natural resources, reduce tensions and local conflicts and increase gender sensitive disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation practices."}, {"bbox": [96, 1141, 1135, 1250], "category": "Text", "text": "The action continues previous EU and Finland funded interventions¹¹ in West Nepal, which started in the sector of Integrated Water Resources Management in 2006 and have achieved excellent results in access to water and sanitation. These interventions combined technical assistance and funds that increased local governments' capacity to deliver inclusive, gender sensitive and transparent basic services."}, {"bbox": [96, 1260, 1135, 1396], "category": "Text", "text": "Based on the increasing challenges of climate change, this last phase will build on the proven methodology and expand the scope into other sectors such as forestry and disaster risk reduction, under the umbrella of adaptation to climate change. Following Nepal's 2019 National Climate Change Policy, Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPA) are being prepared or updated for each municipality, including actions that will support specific programmes of Nepal's National Adaptation plan 2021-2050."}, {"bbox": [96, 1405, 1135, 1567], "category": "Text", "text": "The action will support local governments on a demand basis, with a combination of technical assistance and small grants for infrastructure, including natural infrastructure (p.e. planting for landslide prevention, bioswales to increase water penetration, afforestation with selected species etc.). To access the support, local governments will have to contribute financially, as well as adhere to principles of transparency, accountability and sustainability, and inclusion and engagement of local communities. The action will target mostly rural municipalities for sustainable natural resources management and disaster risk reduction, and some urban municipalities for disaster"}, {"bbox": [86, 1634, 861, 1660], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹¹ Water, Energy, Agriculture: Village livelihoods Enhancement in the Mid - Far West (WAVE)"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1680, 1142, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 21"}]