[{"bbox": [96, 151, 1134, 206], "category": "Text", "text": "Priority Area 3: Good Governance, Sector Governance and Civil Society (150). Likewise, the Action contributes to the achievement of SDG 13 (main SDG) and SDGs 5, 1, 8, 10, 12, 15 and 17."}, {"bbox": [86, 259, 506, 291], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 1.3 Zone benefitting from the Action"}, {"bbox": [86, 304, 822, 333], "category": "Text", "text": "The Action shall be carried out in Nepal, included in the list of ODA recipients."}, {"bbox": [86, 359, 324, 392], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [86, 424, 236, 451], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [96, 469, 1136, 899], "category": "Text", "text": "Nepal is a landlocked Least Developed Country (LDC) in the Himalayas, endowed with an extremely diverse geography, climate, population, and biodiversity. It is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, ranking 4th globally in climate risk (2021 Global Climate Risk Index). While recent data shows improvements in living standards, 20.7% of the population still lives in poverty², with Sudurpaschim and Karnali Provinces facing the highest rates Nepal ranks 106th out of 156 countries in the 2021 Global Gender Gap index, and 118th out of 160 countries in the Gender Inequality index 2017.³ Nepal Census 2021 put the prevalence of persons with disabilities at 2.2%, which is most likely underestimated. Agriculture, employing 65% of the labor force (ILO 2017) but contributing only 21% to GDP (WB 2022), is the backbone of Nepal's economy but is highly affected by climate change challenges. Rising temperatures and more frequent droughts affect agricultural productivity, particularly as 70% of the agricultural land is rain-fed. Erratic precipitation patterns lead to increased floods and landslides, further impacting agriculture. Agriculture productivity is generally low and very vulnerable to climate change, particularly in the most remote areas. Climate change is expected to increase its aggravating factors on the country's food security situation as warming in Nepal is projected to be higher than global average, with a projected warm, by 2080, of 1.2°C–4.2°C, under the highest emission scenario. Unequal access to land and water, heavy reliance on rain and lack of irrigation systems, subsistence farming practices, and a scarcity of agricultural resources further impact on the low agriculture productivity."}, {"bbox": [96, 908, 1136, 1177], "category": "Text", "text": "In rural areas, the migration of male population presents an additional challenge, leaving women responsible for local agricultural production and exposing them to an excessive workload or leaving lands fallow, with consequences on communities' food security. With long term and seasonal outmigration, women make up over 80% of agricultural workers although women entrepreneurship is much lower than men's (only 29% of businesses are led by women) (FAO 2019). Women face lower wages, unequal land ownership which limits their access to credit, technology, resources and traditional norms and last but not least time-poverty. Women and girls with disabilities face additional challenges, which are exacerbated due to stigma and discrimination which prevail in rural parts of Nepal. Addressing gender gaps in agriculture is crucial for enhancing food and nutrition security at the household and community levels, particularly in far-western rural regions facing chronic food deficits due to poverty, high market prices, low agricultural production, inadequate infrastructure, and climate change."}, {"bbox": [96, 1186, 1136, 1534], "category": "Text", "text": "The impending graduation from LDC status in 2026, alongside the federal agenda introduced in 2015, poses key challenges, compounded by increasing regional disparities and a predominantly rural population reliant on agriculture, which is increasingly vulnerable to climate change. The new federal system gives local governments more responsibilities and provides access to funding; however, the major challenge for municipalities and provincial authorities, is to ensure climate resilient economic development; and how to bring it into municipal plans and establish the necessary institutional framework and ecosystem to develop high-performing, sustainable, nutrition-sensitive and climate-resilient value chains. Existing approaches often overlook gender-specific constrains, are not disability-inclusive, and do not address specific discriminations such as caste and ethnic origin, which hinder progress in addressing overall inequalities. Local and Provincial second round elections since the new federal reform, held in 2022, have put in place mandate holders for the next 5 years. This should lead to more stability during that period and facilitate partnerships for Development Partners in their support to transpose national plans and legislation at local level, strengthen the democratic system and deliver on the development agenda."}, {"bbox": [86, 1596, 574, 1622], "category": "Footnote", "text": "² 4th Nepal Living Standards Survey 2022-23, World Bank"}, {"bbox": [86, 1622, 522, 1646], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ Country Level Implementation Plan – CLIP Nepal"}, {"bbox": [1027, 1655, 1145, 1682], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 4 of 23"}]