Nepal First S Asian Nation to Launch `Climate Resilience'

Following a South Asian regional conference this week on climate change risks, Nepal is the first of nine countries to begin a global pilot programme to explore and design adaptation options funded under the $6 billion Climate Investment Fund (CIF).

The pilot programme for Climate Resilience, a $600 million fund under the CIF umbrella, is implemented through Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank (WB) and work began in Kathmandu today. The programme is designed to help countries explore innovations and options for adapting to the growing impact of climate change.

In one vivid example, the farmers of Nepal have already observed that important fruit crops like apples and peaches are failing at current altitudes and are now doing better on higher slopes. "The pilot initiative should gather local wisdom and build on current knowledge and experiences about how communities can effectively adapt to the changing forces of climate," said Richard Damania, World Bank's Regional Climate Change Coordinator.

The Nepal pilot begins with a series of workshops engaging government, community organisations, the private sector and international donors. An important part of its design will be to consult Nepal's stakeholders as widely as possible.

"We'll look at how the climate is impacting, for example, agricultural production, people's health, availability of water in Nepal's rivers and how the country's plans and policies need to be adjusted to encourage more sustainable development,"

said Cindy Malvicini, Water Resources Management Specialist from ADB.

Damania added that it was also important to make sure that projects are not locked into one sector or only a few but span different areas affected by climate change risk ranging from agriculture to water, health and infrastructure.

Funding for climate resilience projects in Nepal will be in the form of grants with concessional lending also available.