-Bhishma Raj Ojha
The Ministry of Forests and Environment has launched the Integrated Landscape Management to secure Nepal’s Protected Areas and Critical Corridors (ILaM) at an event in Kathmandu today.
This USD 6.6 million (NRS. 726 million) project will be implemented in the Terai Arc Landscape for a period of five years. The project seeks to build national capacity and an enabling environment for cross-sectoral coordination to promote forest and landscape conservation, facilitate integrated planning for Protected Area Buffer Zones and Critical Corridors, and support sustainable management of forests in the Terai Arc Landscape. The project will also manage human-wildlife conflict and adopt social safeguards for indigenous and marginalized communities. The project is financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with WWF-US acting as the project implementation agency and WWF-Nepal as its local counterpart.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Forests and Environment Shakti Bahadur Basnet said, “We will bring similar projects in the Natural Resource Management Sector in the future to enhance the livelihood of local communities and in turn, the country.”
Secretary at Ministry of Forests and Environment Dr. Bishwa Nath Oli, stated that, “This is a unique opportunity to apply the three-tiered government structure in sustainable conservation of biodiversity, serving as a precedent for future landscape level conservation approaches.”
GEF is one of the oldest funding mechanisms established by global communities to address environmental challenges and ensure global environmental benefits.
Countries receiving GEF funds are expected to use the fund to implement actions identified under their national action plan for international conventions they are parties to. Furthermore, this fund will be used to implement several of the programs identified by international conventions such as Biodiversity (CBD) and Climate Change (UNFCCC) to which Nepal is party to.
“WWF is honored to partner with the Ministry of Forests and Environment and the Global Environment Facility to promote integrated landscape management across the Terai Arc to deliver forest, wildlife and livelihood benefits in the Bardia-Banke complex under the ILaM Project.”, said Renae Stenhouse, Director, WWF GEF Agency.
Dr. Ghana S. Gurung, Country Representative, WWF Nepal also expressed the honor of having gained the trust of the government to initiate the project based on learnings from former projects such as GEF-5.
The launch event was attended by senior government officials including Dr. Sindhu Dhungana, Chief, Planning, Monitoring and Coordination Division, Ministry of Forests and Environment, partner organizations, representatives of INGOs and media.