[{"bbox": [96, 152, 1134, 206], "category": "Text", "text": "risk reduction and climate adaptation (a limited number of these urban municipalities could be outside of the two target provinces depending on selection criteria, including on female leadership)."}, {"bbox": [96, 217, 1134, 325], "category": "Text", "text": "The action will build on female leadership at the local level, working directly with deputy mayors (78 % female in the 2022 election) and ensuring gender and inclusion targets, also with regard to diverse ethnic and caste groups. The action will also will contribute significantly to Nepal's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), where halting deforestation and increasing forest coverage are critical to achieve Nepal's targets."}, {"bbox": [85, 350, 340, 382], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [96, 398, 544, 426], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Environmental protection and land use planning"}, {"bbox": [96, 437, 1134, 517], "category": "Text", "text": "Lands, assets, uses and rights related to agriculture, forests, cultural heritage, and water are usually relatively well demarcated, though often still without proper documentation. There is no direct legal recognition of customary lands rights of indigenous peoples in Nepal."}, {"bbox": [96, 528, 1134, 849], "category": "Text", "text": "The increased commercial use of natural resources (including illegal logging, illegal poaching, road construction, etc.) and its pressure on biodiversity, the increased population pressure areas around urban centres, and hazards like landslides, fires and floods, create risks that require land use planning. Inclusive, rights-based and sustainable land use planning is crucial for conservation of the land, forests, water and biodiversity, which in turn benefits the communities' economic, social and cultural development, sustainable livelihoods, improved health and increased quality of life. Lower-caste, ethnic minority and indigenous peoples' communities, and women-led households are much more vulnerable to shocks as they tend to live more often on marginal and hazard-prone lands, and cannot defend themselves if the natural resources they depend on are encroached upon by more powerful actors. Poor governance and horizontal inequalities and exclusion affect access to natural resources, particularly land. The lack of documented land use makes it harder to reach and document clear agreements on areas that are at risk, where there's a specific value (p.e. ecosystem services), or that are needed for new purposes (roads, markets, waste disposal)."}, {"bbox": [96, 858, 1134, 1046], "category": "Text", "text": "Biodiversity in the targeted provinces is not extensively studied and data is limited. The forestry and water management components take care of the most important issue, i.e. habitat conservation through springshed protection, forest management and afforestation, etc. The municipalities nevertheless require a more definite idea of biodiversity issues at hand, and a rapid appraisal of potential needs. For example, community forestry should increase the promotion of biodiversity within forests and reduce the preference for economically viable species; and human-wildlife conflicts should be identified to address undetected issues that require extra specific measures, while respecting the needs, rights and dignity of local communities and their livelihoods."}, {"bbox": [96, 1057, 1134, 1191], "category": "Text", "text": "Concerning pollution control and Total Sanitation, despite Nepal having declared Open Defecation Free status, it remains an issue that it is difficult to police. The pollution and clogging of trail sides, public land, roadsides, bazaars and water sources with plastic wrappers and other waste is an indicator of increased wealth, road accessibility and reliance on imported goods, but requires much more attention to stave off an increase of human health, biodiversity, and drainage issues."}, {"bbox": [96, 1204, 1083, 1257], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Identification of main stakeholders and corresponding institutional and/or organisational issues (mandates, potential roles, and capacities) to be covered by the action:"}, {"bbox": [96, 1268, 1134, 1429], "category": "Text", "text": "The main stakeholders at the side of duty-bearers are the Federal Ministry of Land management, and the Ministry of Forest and environment at the federal level. At the local level, municipalities and the local governments are also considered as duty-bearers, who have the clear mandate to regulate land use planning. The ministries and the local governments lack capacity to ensure the implementation of their different policies and plans. In particular, at local level it is difficult to find and keep knowledgeable human resources. The community at large as users of the land and natural resources, the different user groups (see below) are considered as rights holders."}, {"bbox": [96, 1497, 179, 1523], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Forestry"}, {"bbox": [96, 1535, 1134, 1617], "category": "Text", "text": "Nepal has about 6 million ha of forests, which corresponds to 40% of the total land area of the country, and another 4% of land covered by sparse trees and shrub vegetation categorised as 'other wooded land'. The Forest Sector Strategy 2016 establishes the aim is to maintain over 40% forest coverage."}, {"bbox": [1037, 1680, 1142, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 6 of 21"}]