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Nepal Status Paper United Nations Conference on SustainableDevelopment 2012 (Rio+20)

Synopsis

National Planning CommissionGovernment of Nepal

Singhadurbar, KathmanduNovember 2011


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eam for the preparation of the ational tatus aper for nited ations Conference on ustainable

evelopment

teering Committee

Chairperson: Mr eependra Bahadur shetry ice Chair ational lanning Commission

Technical CommitteeChairperson: Mr uba aj Bhusal ecretary ational lanning Commission

roject Coordinator and ocal erson of N A

Mr urushottam himire oint ecretary ational lanning Commission

Authors

rofessor ovind epal h ( eam eader/ conomic illar

Mr rabhu Budhathoki h ( nvironmental illar

Ms ibya urung ( ocial illar

eviewers

Mr inesh Chandra evkota h ormer ice Chair C ( ead eviewer

Mr anesh aj oshi ecretary h M CA ( eviewer conomic illar

Mr rishna yawali ecretary M nv ( eviewer nvironmental illar

Ms Arju euba ana h ( eviewer ocial illar

Mr Madhav arki h C M ( eviewer ey Messages

acilitator

0U 7HN -XQJ 0DKDW $VLD 3DFLF 0RXQWDLQ 1HWZRUN 1RGH 0DQDJHU ,&,02'

Copyright 20overnment of epal ational lanning Commissionathmandu epal

All rights reserved. o part of this publication may be reproduced stored in retrieval system or transmittedin any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise without prior

permission of C.

Citation: C ( : epal tatus aper nited ations Conference on ustainable evelopment ( io+ ynopsis. athmandu epal: ational lanning Commission

repared by ational lanning Commission ( Cupported by nternational Centre for ntegrated Mountain evelopment ( C M and

nited ations evelopment rogramme (

rinted in Nepal by

illside ress ( td.

athmandu epal 9 4 55


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Contents

oreword and Acknowledgements v

Acronyms and Abbreviations vii

ummary

reen conomy

nstitutional ramework for ustainable evelopment

New and emerging challenges

Special needs of mountain countries 4

Closing the implementation gap 5Cooperation mechanisms, partnership arrangements

Priorities for strengthening the three pillars of sustainable development

conomic illar

ocial illar

nvironment illar

Background 9

eview of olicies, rogress, and nstitutional rameworks

Economic pillar Agriculture and food security 4xports and imports 5atterns of consumption and production overty reduction ncome inequality 8

emittance 9nergy and transport ourism

Social pillar ational laws polices plans and programs 4unger and income opportunities 5Access to health services Access to water and sanitation

Access to education 9 8

Access to forest and bio diversity resources 8


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Migration and its social implications 9ender and social inclusion mechanisms 9rogress towards the M s

Environmental pillar he CB state policies and development plans

CB and the key environmental sectors orest biodiversity and watershed nvironment and climate 4Agricultural biodiversity 5ustainable mountain development land management and

infrastructure development s and other stakeholders

Challenges and pportunitiesChallenges

aps in building economic capacities aps in gender and social inclusion 8aps in maintaining environmental sustainability 9

Opportunities 4conomic sector 4ocial sector 4

nvironmental sector 4

reen conomy: ssues, Barriers and olutions 44

Key issues and barriers in promoting green economy 44

Proposed solutions/drivers to remove barriers 45

Major ecommendations and Key Messages for ustainable evelopment 4

Green economy and poverty reduction 4

Institutional framework 48

Political commitment for sustainable development 49

Addressing new and emerging challenges 5

Sustainable mountain development 5

Financing 5

eferences 5


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used productively and wisely for renewing political commitment formulating concrete action plans and building an effective system of global governance to coordinate efforts for deliveringon the conference commitments.

appreciate the contributions made by the expert team of rofessor ovind epal h ( eameader Mr rabhu Budhathoki h and Ms ibya urung in preparing the Backgroundand ynopsis eports. also acknowledge the inputs provided by the reviewers r inesh C.evkota h onorable Ms Arju euwa h Mr rishna yawali Mr anesh aj oshih and Mr Madhav arki h . Mr ek ung Mahat from C M deserves special thanks for facilitating the report preparation process offering information and documentation support. liketo thank also Mr anam Aksha and Mr udas harma for logistics support. inally commendthe coordination work of Mr uba aj Bhusal and Mr urushottam himire. also appreciate thesupport extended by and C M towards the preparation of this report.

eependra Bahadur shetryice Chair


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i summary

his document follows the guidance note of the Co chairs of the C Bureau and theoutcome is based on discussions and deliberations with representatives from civil societygovernment and non governmental organisations communities and parliamentarians. A teeringCommittee chaired by the ice Chair of ational lanning Commission ( C overnmentof epal including secretaries from different ministries and representatives of development

partners intergovernmental organizations s s CB s experts and other stakeholderswas formed for preparing the io+ Country eport. he teering Committee formed a ask orce chaired by the ecretary at the C with seven oint ecretaries of key ministries tofacilitate and coordinate the process. An expert panel backed up the preparatory process thatalso involved consultations with parliamentarians government agencies and technical partners

s CB s media and youth.

7ZHQW\ YH UHSUHVHQWDWLYHV IURP PD RU VWDNHKROGHU JURXSV JRYHUQPHQW DJHQFL SDUWQHUV DWWHQGHG WKH UVW PHHWLQJ RI WKH 7DVN )RUFH 6HSWHPEHU DQG QDO process scope methodology and timelines for preparing the document. Based on the guidelinesDQ H[SHUW JURXS SUHSDUHG WKH UVW GUDIW LQ 2FWREHU WKDW ZDV UHYLHZHG E\ WKteering Committee members and experts. he second draft was shared at the national expertgroup meeting to ensure that all the three pillars of sustainable development economic socialand environmental were adequately addressed.

A ational Multi stakeholder Consultation workshop held on ctober was attended by more than representatives of different stakeholder groups including parliamentariansIRUPHU PLQLVWHUV DQG SROLF\ PDNHUV JRYHUQPHQW VHFUHWDULHV DQG VHQLRU RIFLDrepresentative of the experts at C M and representatives of media youth / sCB s the business community independent experts and Major roups of io+ . heworkshop discussed key questions in the eneral Content of the uidance ote as well asWKH VSHFLF DVSHFWV RI HDVW 'HYHORSHG DQG PRXQWDLQRXV FRXQWULHV 7KH GLVFXVWKH LVVXHV DQG WKHPHV XQGHU WKH 6SHFLF OHPHQWV RI *XLGDQFH 1RWH 7KH IROORsummarise key messages from epal to the io+ Conference.

epals main expectation from io+ is a renewed commitment of Member tates for preserving the io principles and fostering an implementable consensus for narrowing down theimplementation gaps in the io declaration and other associated commitments and addressingnew and emerging challenges fairly and equitably based on the principle of common butdifferentiated responsibilities. epal also expects a clear articulation by the io+ summit of the commitment to ensure a balanced and integrated approach for addressing all three pillars of sustainable development with poverty alleviation and inter generational human wellbeing at the

centre. epals position on the two io+ themes and other components are elaborated in thefollowing sections.


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N e p a l S t a t u s

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reen conomy

. he green economy should be an instrument for sustainable development poverty reductionand inclusive and equitable economic growth. conomic growth must be sustainablesupported by well functioning markets and preferential access for green products at pricesWKDW UHHFW WKH VFDUFLW\ YDOXH RI QDWXUDO UHVRXUFHV )XUWKHU SURSHUW\GHQHG WR HQDEOH DQG HQFRXUDJH WUXH VWDNHKROGHUV WR XVH QDWXUDO UHVRindividually and collectively.

7KHUH PXVW DOVR EH SURYLVLRQV IRU WHFKQRORJ\ DGDSWDWLRQ DQG WUDQVIHU HDV building and favorable terms of trade and transit facilities to Cs in order to facilitateeconomic transformation that is needed for sustainable development.

. roven people centred pro poor sustainable and green development interventions should be planned considering tenurial security and property rights of indigenous people and

local communities to land and other natural resources. his would also require nationalcommitment to enact appropriate legal and policy frameworks.

4. eveloping countries in general and mountainous Cs in particular need support for adopting and customising policies and strategies and special provisions for meeting their DGGLWLRQDO QDQFLDO WHFKQLFDO DQG FDSDFLW\ EXLOGLQJ UHTXLUHPHQWV

5. nsustainable consumption patterns particularly in developed countries must be changedas the trend is also catching up in urban centres of developing countries.

. reen economy should encourage the formulation and implementation of policies andmechanisms that are conducive in engaging governments private sector and the civil societyin green enterprises. raining capacity building and targeted interventions includingQDQFLQJ DQG FUHGLW IDFLOLWLHV FDQ KHOS WR LQFUHDVH SDUWLFLSDWLRQ DQG Hand socially excluded groups and promote gender and social equity in education skills andentrepreneurship development health care child welfare and social security.

. he Cs and mountainous countries have very low capacity to control and manage the

expanding ecological footprints of globalisation. pecial safeguard measures and globalcommitment is needed to ensure the protection of natural resources of environmentallyvulnerable countries for protecting livelihoods that are being affected by both economicglobalisation and global climate change.

nstitutional ramework for ustainable evelopment

. he institutional framework for sustainable development must include provisions for WHFKQRORJ\ DGDSWDWLRQ DQG WUDQVIHU HDV\ QDQFHV FDSDFLW\ EXLOGLQJ DQG IDof trade and transit facilities to Cs for attaining the economic transformation needed for sustainable development.


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i s. here is an emerging consensus on the need to have coherence coordination and improvedservice delivery in M As intergovernmental bodies the system and other internationalorganisations. here is also a realisation that the nvironmental illar is relatively weak compared to the other pillars of sustainable development because of its fragmentedgovernance structure.

. epal considers the importance and relevance of creating a specialised agency a orldnvironment rganisation as the global technical arm of the system. his agency canfocus attention on implementing M As building in country capacity for addressing existingand emerging threats of environmental degradation and promoting sustainable approachesfor poverty reduction. he proposed agency should have regional and country presence.

1HSDO LV D UP EHOLHYHU LQ WKH RQH 1 DSSURDFK DQG FDOOV IRU FRRUGLQDWHG Dsystems and mechanism at all levels.

4. urther green technologies in developed countries are generally in the private domainand come under the ntellectual roperty ights regime making the costs prohibitive. Anappropriate mechanism is therefore urgently required for ensuing affordable access toappropriate technologies to Cs and for setting up technology research and developmentcentres in Cs for developing adapting and transferring technologies suitable to their contexts priorities and needs and also for addressing limitations imposed by landlockedand mountainous geographical conditions.

New and emerging challenges

. here is a need to agree on a framework of action during io+ and have among othersa timeline for implementing sustainable development commitments with a set of actionablegoals. he poor and mountainous countries contribute least to global warming but are themost vulnerable to climate change and erratic weather patterns. But their capacity to addressthe problems is limited. herefore the global community needs to develop mechanismsto support the most vulnerable countries in effectively addressing the adverse impacts of climate change and for using the opportunities resulting from it to improve livelihoods andachieve climate resilient development.

. he ability of vulnerable countries to address different global crises is limited and thereforethe need for a mechanism to help such countries to overcome crises and improve resilience.

epal believes this can be achieved through proper and effective integration of stanbulrogram of Action for Cs in the global sustainable development agenda.

. hile using natural resources (hydropower generation and biodiversity conservation for HFRQRPLF JDLQV FDUH PXVW EH WDNHQ WR HQVXUH IDLU DQG HTXLWDEOH EHQHW VKcommunities and indigenous people whose life and livelihoods directly or indirectly dependon the resources or ecosystem services.

4. Both income inequality and poverty reduction need to be addressed sustainably taking intoaccount the need to democratise ownership control and decision making over productive


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natural resources and assets. here has to be an appropriate mix of democratic and inclusivemodels such as cooperatives collective and community based and driven ventures and

publicprivate enterprises for ensuring that the economic activities contribute to thedevelopmental goals of the community and society.

5. Cs such as epal need support for strengthening innovation capacity to generate

appropriate technologies enhance extension services and improve market infrastructuresfor increasing the productivity of agriculture and natural resources. t is also necessary todevelop easily adoptable and resilient technologies that meet the needs of the poor womenand excluded groups and communities.

. Both farm and non farm linkages need to be strengthened by improving connectivitycreating post harvest infrastructures and facilities promoting value adding small and microHQWHUSULVHV 60 V DQG LQFUHDVLQJ PDUNHWLQJ DQG GLVWULEXWLRQ HIFLHQF\

. espite constraints epal has made considerable progress in implementing programsrelated to natural resources management renewable energy health and education and

poverty reduction. t can do better given its comparative advantages and natural resourcesendowment for developing sustainable agriculture eco tourism water resourcesrenewable energy non timber forest products community forestry and biodiversityFRQVHUYDWLRQ RZHYHU LW QHHGV DGGLWLRQDO VXSSRUW QDQFHV WHFKQRORJ\ Wcapacity development for sustaining the achievements and scaling up the successful pilotinterventions.

Special needs of mountain countries

A green economy should offer new trade opportunities to developing countries and not becomea pretext for green protectionism. nstead it must be designed as an opportunity to promoteand enhance the technical and institutional capacity in Cs for pursuing a green growth baseddevelopmental agenda. he transition to a green economy has to be gradual and inclusive for allstakeholders. urther there has to be fair cost sharing to assist Cs in making a just transitionto a green economy. epals economy that is largely green can remain green even while reducing

SRYHUW\ LI VXIFLHQW LQWHUQDWLRQDO VXSSRUW LV DYDLODEOH LQ WHUPV RI QDQFHand technology transfer. A green economy would entail developing national accounting systemsWR PHDVXUH KXPDQ ZHOIDUH EHQHWV RU WKH WUXH YDOXH RI HFRV\VWHP VHUYLFHV EHnational regional and global economies and environment. aluation of environmental servicesWKRXJK GLIFXOW LV D SUHFRQGLWLRQ IRU HVWDEOLVKLQJ SD\PHQW IRU HQYLURQPHQWDince mountain ecosystems are important for every one including downstream residents andthe larger environment io+ needs to agree on updating the Mountain Agenda (Chapter of Agenda that was adopted in 99 .

he international community needs to recognise upstream downstream interdependency andcome up with enhanced policies institutional structures funding mechanisms and supportsystems that promote multi stakeholder involvement in managing trans boundary resources.


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i sMountain ecosystems need better recognition for the services they provide and this wouldrequire greater attention on livelihood issues faced by mountain communities and onmaintaining/enhancing ecosystem services. he framework of the green economy does notaddress the concerns of mountain regions particularly those in Cs. his needs to be corrected

by

HFRJQLVLQJ WKH GLUHFW DQG LQGLUHFW EHQHWV GHULYHG IURP PRXQWDLQV E\ QDW plans and policies;

ncorporating the value of ecosystem services in national plans accounting anddecision making;

stablishing global regional national and local mechanisms to compensate and rewardmountain communities for the services they provide;stablishing favourable conditions for improving markets for mountain ecosystem goods andservices; and for inclusion of equity concerns in the green economy in hills and mountains;

and nsuring access to resources and ownership rights for mountain communities especially

women indigenous communities and marginalised groups.

he efforts of mountain communities need to be complemented for ensuring continuedenvironmental stewardship that is needed to assure availability of fresh water biodiversitycultural diversity and space for tourism recreation and spiritual renewal as well as for copingwith effects of climate and environmental changes.

epals experience in promoting community based resources management particularlycommunity forestry is an appropriate model for improving mountain livelihoods and mitigatingand adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change. he achievements so far can be enhancedfor promoting low carbon development by creating green jobs and environmental services related

businesses such as + and .

Closing the implementation gap

he Cs lag behind in sustainable development partly because international support has not been effective and adequate. heir progress has tapered due to the lack of proper and timelyimplementation of commitments made by the international community. he Cs have capacityFRQVWUDLQWV LQDGHTXDWH DQG ORZ DFFHVV WR QDQFLDO VXSSRUW DQG IDFH FRQWLin the international trading system. hey also shoulder debt burdens compounded by inadequateGHEW UHOLHI PHDVXUHV DQG UHFHLYH QHJOLJLEOH )', LQRZV ,PSOHPHQWDEOH FRPPLWPWKH 1RUWK IRU DGHTXDWH QDQFLQJ DFFRUGLQJ WR FRPPRQ EXW GLIIHUHQWLDWHG UHVSappropriate technology cooperation and need based capacity building are vital for assistingdeveloping countries for making a just transition to sustainable development pathways. t is vitalWKDW GHYHORSHG FRXQWULHV IXOOO WKHLU SUHYLRXV FRPPLWPHQWV SDUWLFXODUO\

providing the . 5 . percent of ross ational ncome ( as development aid to Cs.


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he Cs need to use funds for promoting community driven green enterprises such as organicfarming biogas and solar energy; and seed banking watershed management and on farmimprovement of crop varieties and animal breeds through collective and gender equality andsocial inclusion ( sensitive value chain approaches.

Cooperation mechanisms, partnership arrangementsffective implementation tools and cooperation and partnership arrangements are neededfor narrowing down the implementation gaps. his requires more coordinated integratedand results oriented efforts at both national and international levels for arranging adequateQDQFHV HQVXULQJ DSSURSULDWH WHFKQRORJ\ WUDQVIHUV VXSSRUWLQJ FDSDFLW\ EXLO

promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns. ood practices information andknowledge and experiences need to be shared for replicating and scaling up successful modelsIRU HPSRZHULQJ ZRPHQ DQG IRU HQKDQFLQJ VFLHQWLF DQG WHFKQRORJLFDO FRRSHUDWL

participation of scientists from Cs in collaborative technology development.

eveloped countries need to take concrete steps to reduce and cancel debt remove trade barriersand open up their markets. urther a global mechanism needs to be developed to assess theimpacts of new technologies on health biodiversity and environment. uch mechanisms need to

provide resources for building capacity of the Cs and communities especially on assessingand monitoring the impacts.

6L]HDEOH LQYHVWPHQW ZLOO QHHG WR RZ LQWR WKH JUHHQ VHFWRUV LQ WKH '&V KLOUHVRXUFH PRELOL]DWLRQ ZLOO SOD\ D NH\ UROH HQKDQFHG DFFHVV WR LQWHUQDWLRQDnew and additional resources is crucial. here is also an urgent need for greater synergy andFRPSOHPHQWDULWLHV EHWZHHQ QDQFLQJ IRU FOLPDWH FKDQJH DQG VXVWDLQDEOH GHY

Priorities for strengthening the three pillars of sustainable development

epal strongly feels that the three pillars of sustainable development need to be further strengthened and integrated.

conomic illar

epal has made good progress in terms of poverty reduction and towards attaining the M s but there is a long way to make the development sustainable. conomic growth for reducing poverty was the policy focus in epal for the past years. t aimed at creating an environmentconducive for free enterprise with some social protection measures for disadvantaged groups.he period saw private sector investment in hydropower transport education healthWHOHFRPPXQLFDWLRQ FLYLO DYLDWLRQ DQG QDQFLDO LQWHUPHGLDWLRQ RZHYHU GLVLQHTXDOLWLHV DOVR JUHZ DQG HYHQ WULJJHUHG VRFLDO FRQLFWV ZKLFK KDYH GDPSHwidened income inequality.


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i sBackground

he eneral Assembly is organizing the Conference on ustainable evelopment (Cor the io+ or arth ummit in io de aneiro in . io+ aims to buildon previous global summits: the nited ations Conference on the uman nvironment intockholm ( 9 the Conference on nvironment and evelopment in io de aneiro ( 99and the orld ummit on ustainable evelopment in ohannesburg ( . here is noXQLYHUVDOO\ DFFHSWHG GHQLWLRQ RI VXVWDLQDEOH GHYHORSPHQW EXW WKHUH LV JHis development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs ( C 98 . he io+ conferences objectives areto: a secure renewed global commitment for sustainable development b assess the progressand gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of major summit commitments on sustainabledevelopment and c address new and emerging challenges.

he implementation of Agenda and other multilateral environmental agreements (M Ashave had some positive outcomes. n the two decades after the arth ummit ( 99 the averageOLYLQJ VWDQGDUGV KDYH LPSURYHG VLJQLFDQWO\ ZLWK JOREDO SHU FDSLWD *URVV 'RPH( doubling in real terms between 99 and 8 before being affected by the recession.More people have been able to meet their

basic needs and the world is believed to be on track towards meeting the M of halving extreme poverty by 5. herehave also been some impressive outcomesrelated to the social and economic pillarswhile progress on the environmental pillar has lagged. owever the arth ummits

promise to make environmental protectionan integral part of the development processUHPDLQV XQIXOOOHG DQG $JHQGD LWVHOI KDV

been forgotten ( vans and teven .igure shows the and emissions since

99 .

epal has made good progress in terms of poverty reduction and towards achieving most of theM s. But the country still has a long way to go in terms of sustainable development as both thesocial and environmental pillars remain weak.

epal landlocked and mountainous with an area of 4 8 square kilometers and . million people (CB c is a party to various conventions on sustainable development. epal has a

low uman evelopment ndex ( of .4 8 ( and a per capita nominal of 6' WKH HVWLPDWHG *'3 IRU VFDO \HDU LV SHUFHQW &%6 D 0RUH WKDQone third of the is derived from agriculture.

igure : and emissions since io992

ource: van and teven

CO 2 emissions (metric tons per capita)

GDP per capita (current US$)

World Bank, OECD & Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center

10,000

9,000

8,000

7,000

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5,000

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0

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he country lies in the transitional region between ndo Malayan and alearctic bio geographicalrealms. ts unique geographical position and the altitudinal and climatic variations have resultedin nine bio climatic zones from tropical to naval within a vertical span of less than km.

epal includes four of the lobal eco regions critical landscapes of international biologicalimportance and ranks 5th in biodiversity with about 8 ecosystems 5 vegetation types and 5forest types ( A 999 . he country harbors around three percent of the recorded faunal speciesin the world and one percent of the global faunal species ( /M 8 . Most of epaliterritory (8 comprises of the hills and mountains. Mount verest in epal and other imalayan

peaks function as the water towers of Asia and feed the regions largest rivers that nourish hundredsRI PLOOLRQV RI SHRSOH GRZQVWUHDP 2YHU ULYHUV RZ WKURXJK 1HSDOL WHUULWRU\

epals economy depends largely on natural resources but the distribution of resources and usein socio economic development remains uneven. he country has caste and ethnic groupsLQFOXGLQJ WZR XQLGHQWLHG JURXSV VSHDNLQJ ODQJXDJHV 1'3 )XUWKHU ZKLOH 1

has introduced policies to ensure fairer distribution implementation has remained slow becausethe country has also been involved in a political transition since for transforming theunitary system of government into a federal republic.

epal has attempted to realign its policies and institutions with the international commitmentsfor sustainable development. t introduced sustainable development in national planning in theixth lan ( 98 98 and fully translated it into actions in the ighth lan. his plans mainobjective was to achieve sustainable economic growth poverty alleviation and reduction of

regional imbalances. he inth lan ( 99 / emphasized the need for development activitiesto be sustainable and for establishing links between environment and poverty. t reiterated theimplementation of Agriculture erspective lan (A and revised the orest ector Master langiving communities a greater role in natural resources management.

ustainable evelopment Agenda for epal ( A has been an important strategy for promoting environmental management and sustainable development. t calls for effectivelyintegrating the sustainable development approach in planning with peoples participation andalso proposes some long term targets in infrastructure social and environmental sectors to beattained by . he enth lan ( / internalized the A strategies. Adhering to the Acommitment epal adopted the easehold orestry olicy uidelines ; Collaborativeorest Management uidelines 4; and revised the ater esource olicy . All of these policies and guidelines focus on community participation resource sharing sustainable useof resources and privatization of services good governance and transparency.

he hree ear nterim lan ( / 8 9/ formulated after the eoples Movement( emphasized protection restoration and sensible use of natural resources and promoting

1 Nepal went through a decade long internal conflict from 1996-2006.


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12

he report involved desk study and consultations under the guidance and technical inputsof the government and other national and regional agencies. he body of report focuses onelaborating the three pillars of sustainable development economic social and environmental.nder each pillar there is a review of policies and progress against epals commitmentWR VXVWDLQDEOH GHYHORSPHQW LGHQWLFDWLRQ RI FKDOOHQJHV DQG JDSV DQDO\VLVRSSRUWXQLWLHV DQG FRQFOXVLRQV DQG QGLQJV 7KH UHSRUW FRQFOXGHV ZLWK WKH N

policy recommendations on green economy for sustainable development and poverty reductioninstitutional framework and political commitment for sustainable development for addressingnew and emerging challenges. he economic social and environmental pillars are interlinkedand development of one pillar impacts the others. he impacts depend on the approach and typeof development interventions and more success is likely where the processes are integrated andsynergized. ( ee Chart in page

eview of olicies, rogress, and nstitutional rameworks Economic pillar

here are concerns that the prevailing economic development model built on policies suchas privatization export led development structural adjustment deregulation substitution of technology for nature and driven by the goal of growth suffers from a series of market andLQVWLWXWLRQDO IDLOXUHV WKDW UHQGHU LW LQHIFLHQW XQVXVWDLQDEOH LQHTXLWfor advancing sustainable development goals ( . everal concurrent global criseshave unfolded during the last decade: climate change biodiversity loss fuel food and water VKRUWDJHV DQG PRUH UHFHQWO\ WKH PHOWGRZQ RI WKH JOREDO QDQFLDO V\VWHP *OR

been rethinking growth and development strategies since 8 in response to the twin challengesof a global economic downturn and increasing environmental degradation. ublic opinion isnow swaying towards the belief that green growth can promote economic development whileresponding to climate change loss of natural capital and resources and addressing developmentobjectives (C .

n the past years epal focused primarily on economic development and poverty reduction.

3ROLF\ DQG OHJLVODWLRQ LQ WKH UVW \HDUV DWWHPSWHG WR FUHDWH DQ HQYLURQPHeconomy with some shallow social protection measures for disadvantaged groups. uring theseyears amidst the failure of a majority of public sector enterprises there was private sector investment in hydropower transportation education health telecommunication civil aviation

EDQNLQJ DQG QDQFLDO LQVWLWXWLRQV WHOHFRPPXQLFDWLRQ DQG PDVV FRPPXQLFDWL SULYDWH VHFWRU KDV \HW WR EHFRPH FRPSHWLWLYH )RU GHFDGHV 1HSDOV *'3 KDV XFW

5 percent per year. he growth rate was 4.9 percent . percent .4 percent and 4.5 percentduring the ighth inth enth and the hree ear nterim lan respectively ( igure . epal

could not achieve the planned rates owing mainly to political instability that overshadowedeconomic issues since the mid 99 s. he weak infrastructure including electricity and uneasylabor relations have also contributed to the low growth. he agriculture growth rates were three

percent . percent . percent and . percent respectively during the period ( igure .


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raditional farming practices dependenceon the monsoon growing shortages of farmlabor and poor access to markets are somemajor factors leading to the low growth.

he structure of epali economy has been changing. he service sector hasgrown while the share of industry andagriculture sectors has declined. he shareof agricultural decreased from 4 . 8

percent in 99 /9 to 5. percent in

/ . imilarly the share of the industrialsector decreased from .5 percent in99 /9 to 4.58 percent in / .

eport reparation rocess

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,GHQWLFDWLRQ DQG FKDOOHQJHV RI NH\ LVVXHV EDUULHUV DQG FKDopportunities of transitions to the green economy

raft report

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documents 99

ecommendations to strengthen nationalsustainable agenda

igure : Average growth rate

ource: arious issues of conomic surveyMinistry of inance

0

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45

6

Eighth Plan Ninth P lan Tenth Plan Three Year Interim Plan

P e r c e n

t a g e

GDP growth Rate Agriculture growth rate


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owever the share of services increasedfrom 4. 9 percent in 99 /9 to 49.

percent in / ( igure . ervicesector growth was brought about mainly byFKDQJHV LQ WKH QDQFLDO LQWHUPHGLDWLRQ DQGeducation sub sectors. he implication of the slow growth in agriculture is shrinkingof employment and income generatingopportunities and the inability to foster broad

based growth. As result only a small sectionRI WKH SRSXODWLRQ KDV EHHQ EHQHWWLQJ IURPthe existing development and economic

policies.

arious international conventions stress the sustainable development agenda. he signatoriesincluding epal are therefore ethically bound to incorporate the promises in planning and toimplement the plans with national efforts and international cooperation. radication of povertycreation of employment and income generation opportunities sustainable agriculture and ruralGHYHORSPHQW GLYHUVLFDWLRQ RI PRXQWDLQ HFRQRPLHV VXVWDLQDEOH WRXULVP IRRfood security increasing access of the rural people particularly women small farmers landlessand indigenous people to resources credit technology and markets; integration of rural energyDQG SRYHUW\ DQG HTXLWDEOH VKDULQJ RI EHQHWV DUH VRPH RI WKH PD RU HFRQRPLF DQ

supported by the international instruments.

Agriculture and food security

Building on the orld ood ummit ( ome eclaration 99 and the M targets ( 995 epal adopted food and nutrition security in the inth lan ( 99 . urther both

the nterim Constitution and the hree ear nterim lan ( ( aim for foodsovereignty.

he Agricultural erspective lan (A ( 995 5 emphasizes the realignment of investmentin selected priority inputs and outputs and is expected to generate strong multiplier effectson output and employment also in the non farm sectors. he ational Agricultural olicy( A 4 with the primary goal of attaining food security and improving livelihoods bytransforming subsistence agriculture into a commercialized and competitive system remainsWKH RIFLDO SROLF\ IUDPHZRUN IRU DOO LQWHUYHQWLRQV LQ WKH VHFWRU ,W KDV EHHQVHFWRU DQG FRPPRGLW\ VSHFLF SROLFLHV VXFK DV WKH 1DWLRQDO 6HHG 3ROLF\ 1DWLolicy ational rrigation olicy ational ater lan 5 Agricultural Business

promotion policy Commercial Agriculture olicy Agriculture Bio diversity olicy

2 FAO definition of food security: a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical,social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs andfood preferences for an active and healthy life.

0

10

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50

60

1990/91 1995/96 2000/01 2005/06 2010/11

Agriculture sector Industry sector Service sector

igure : Changing structure of theeconomy

ource: CB


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yarns medicines electrical goods transportequipment and spares and edible oils. n

WKH WUDGH GHFLW ZLWK ,QGLD ZLGHQHG by s 4. billion (55.4 with China s 4 . billion ( . and with other countries narrowed by . to s 8.

billion ( igure 4 .

atterns of consumption and production

$JHQGD UHFRPPHQGV YH DFWLRQV IRUsustainable consumption and production:D HQFRXUDJLQJ JUHDWHU HIFLHQF\ LQ WKH XVHof energy and resources; b minimizing the

generation of waste; c assisting individualsto make environmentally sound consumer decisions; d showing leadership through government purchasing; and e moving towardsenvironmentally sound pricing.

epals economy is gradually becoming consumption oriented mainly pushed by remittanceincome thereby causing a decline in savings and investment rates. Consumption to ratiothat was 88. percent in / went up to 9 . percent in / . As a result the rateof domestic savings has come down to . percent from . percent. A consumption orientedeconomy leads to dependency resulting in shortages of resources for investment particularlyin environmental sustainability. ence creating the foundation for economic growth throughenhanced savings and investments by discouraging unnecessary consumption remains an issue( /M . he changing consumption pattern has also begun to have adverse impactson environmental resources (urban air quality rivers and soil .

he government has formulated many policies and enacted laws and regulations related toenvironment and climate change. hese include the oil and ater Conservation Act 98 ater

esources Act 99 ndustrial nterprises Act 99 ehicle and ransport Management Act99 and egulations 99 ( irst Amendment in 4 orest Act 99 and egulations 995ocal elf overnance Act 999 and ocal elf overnance egulations 999 and zoneepleting ubstance Consumption egulations . hese instruments are being implementedfor promoting sustainable consumption and production.

he economic and environmental policies are gradually focusing on promoting renewableresources particularly renewable energy. epal is implementing major programs to enhance

SURGXFWLYLW\ DQG UHVRXUFH FRQVHUYDWLRQ DQG DOVR LQXHQFH FRQVXPSWLRQ SDW programs on romotion and evelopment of enewable nergy Cropping ntensity androductivity nhancement igh alue Agriculture Commodities roduction and evelopmentCommunity orestry evelopment rograms Bio diversity Conservation and atershed

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

N R s

i n b i l l i o n

India # China P.R.Others Total

ource: rade and xport romotion Centre

igure 4: 1HSDOV WUDGH GHFLW2005 06-2009 0


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i sManagement rogram nergy ector Assistance rogram nvironment ector upport rogramand nergy Conservation rograms.

espite these efforts the share of renewable energy and hydropower is still less than three SHUFHQW RI 1HSDOV WRWDO HQHUJ\ VXSSO\ 0DQ\ LQGXVWULHV DOVR FRQWLQXH WR GLVFdirectly and/or indirectly into land or nearby rivers violating standards and pollute nearby riversagricultural land and soil. urther farming activities are still carried out on marginal landscausing soil erosion and pollution of water bodies. n the urban centers the use of old vehiclesand an increasing number of new vehicles have increased pollution while the use of petroleum

products has continued to rise. lsewhere riverbeds have been depleting due to poorly regulatedmining and quarrying. n the uplands terraces account for three fourths of the total cultivatedarea and terrace farming constitutes an important aspect of epali agriculture (www.unescap.org/ A / C/conference/bg_np_ _wmt.htm . But increasing population pressure has led tounsustainable use of natural resources including overgrazing and deforestation. rosion in the

uplands can cause a range of environmental problems in the lowlands that can be devastating tocrop yields.

overty reduction

A development policy that focuses mainly on increasing the production of goods withoutaddressing the sustainability of the resources on which production is based will sooner or later run into declining productivity which could also have an adverse impact on poverty (Chapter Agenda .

overty alleviation has been the main focus of development in epal since 95 when thecountry began planned development. hile the inth lan ( 99 developed a year framework for reducing poverty the enth lan ( formulated as a overty eductiontrategy aper was focused on reducing poverty. hese efforts contributed to bringing the

poverty level down to 5.4 percent by 9. he Approach aper for the has the objectiveRI UHGXFLQJ LQHTXDOLW\ DQG SRYHUW\ WKURXJK GLJQLHG DQG SURWDEOH HPSOR\PHQWexpanding inclusive productive and targeted programs.

he number of epalis living below thenational poverty line decreased from 4

percent in 99 to .8 percent in ( igure 5 and to 5.4 percent in 9(CB 9 . espite the achievementthere still are structural problems suchas economic disparities and inequitableaccess to productive resources and meansGLVWULEXWLRQDO FRQLFWV DQG VKRUWIDOOV LQgood governance. imilarly there is a hugedisparity in the rural and urban poverty

41.7630.85

21.55

9.55

43.27

34.62

1995/96 2003/04

Nepal Urban Rural

igure 5: ncidence of poverty

ource: CB 4


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i sQHUJ\ LQWHQVLW\ LV D PHDVXUH RI WKH HQHUJ\ HIFLHQF\ RI D QDWLRQV HFRQRP\ ,W LV Fas units of energy per unit of . igh energy intensity indicates a high cost of convertingenergy into and low energy intensity indicates a lower cost. he overall energy intensity isdeclining whereas the energy intensity for commercial energy is increasing ( igure

epal has formulated various policies andstrategies to create an enabling environmentfor generating and expanding energyservices using hydropower and other renewable resources. he ater esourcesAct 99 ater esources trategy and ational ater lan 5 the ask orce eports for enerating Mydropower in ears and 5 M

ydropower in ears are some of those policies and plans. he Approach aper for the containsstrategies and working policies for thedevelopment transmission and distributionof energy. he strategy focuses on

publicprivate partnership for developing

hydropower renewable energy andtransmission lines particularly climatechange friendly development. urther it hasalso proposed a policy to promote peopleshydropower under local governments.

Transport: ransport is a basic requirementfor socio economic development. A reviewof progress in road building shows thatthe road network has expanded in last year but the pace has been slow. wing toWKH GLIFXOW WHUUDLQ DQG JHRJUDSK\ LW LV QRWeasy to build roads in the ill and Mountainregions. epal has 455 km of roads( igure including about 5 km of district roads and 5 km of urban roads( igure 4 . nly of the roads are

blacktopped the remainder is gravel (and earthen (45 ( C ( igure .

0

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T o e

/ M N

R s

Energy use per unit of GDP (toe/mRs)

Commercial energy use per unit of GDP (toe/mRs)

igure : nergy intensity

ource: C/ C

32%

23%

45%

Black topped Graveled Earthen

igure : oad infrastructure in Nepal

ource: /M

1

2

3

4

3194

2283

3435

8912

6874

5036

9545

21455

2010/11 1991/92

igure 4: tatus of road infrastructure in992 and 20

ource: /M


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he Approach aper indicates that more than 5 km of road tracks have been opened.According to the ural oad Maintenance lan 9 and the ural ransport nfrastructureector wide Approach ( Ap aper epal has about 4 9 km of maintainable localroads paved ( graveled ( 9 and earthen ( 8 . About 5 percent of the roads can beused around the year and 44 percent only in the dry season.

eventy one of epals 5 districts are connected to the strategic road network. epal has 5km of urban roads. ach kilometer of public road serves about 89 people. ikewise each km of the strategic road network including district and urban roads serves people. n additionthere are about km of trails and 4 trail bridges that serve about million ruralresidents.

he epartment of oads riority nvestment lan ( indicates that about9 percent of people in the ills and Mountains are more than a four hour walk away from the

nearest all weather road; in the plains ( erai about percent are located within a two hour walk from an all weather road percent of the plains population is beyond the two hour limit. nextreme cases in the igh imalayas and Mountains even today it can take up to days to walk to the nearest road head.

he number of motor vehicles has also increased. he total number of vehicles increased from5 4 in 99 to 9 44 in / and 59 in / . wo wheelers (motor cycles5 outnumber other vehicles followed by light vehicles such as cars jeeps and vans ( .

he important government programs that seek to increase access in rural areas are: ural Accessmprovement and ecentralization roject ural oads econstruction and ehabilitationupport rogram istrict oad upport rogram ural Community nfrastructure orksrogram ecentralized ural nfrastructure and ivelihood mprovement roject ural Accessrogram hase uspension Bridge ector wise and ocal evel oad Bridge rogramCommunity Access mprovement rogram and the ocal nfrastructure evelopment for ivelihood mprovement roject.

he integration of environmental concerns in transport management is a major highlight of the ational ransport olicy . he policy gives highest priority to promoting electric vehicles.7KH SURSHU PDLQWHQDQFH RI URDGV HTXDOL]DWLRQ RI WUDIF GHQVLW\ ZLWKLQ WKH FD

preference for mass transport compliance with environmental requirements and operating publictransport on a competitive basis are some other policy highlights. he project on Air ualityManagement of athmandu alley is focusing on promoting electric vehicles reviewing vehicleemission standards and the monitoring mechanism. he epartment of ransport Managementis assessing the carrying capacity of athmandu alley roads and developing a Computerized

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National laws, polices, plans and programs

epal has developed several progressive and innovative laws policies and plans on sustainabledevelopment. he periodic plans nterim Constitution sector policies programs andVHUYLFH GHOLYHU\ PHFKDQLVPV UHHFW WKH JRYHUQPHQWV FRPPLWPHQW WR VXVWDLQMulti stakeholder participatory and consultative approaches were adopted to prepare thesedocuments particularly for those prepared after . he nterim Constitution and the ( were prepared following consultations among diverse stakeholders. he policies

promote the institutionalization of an inclusive and democratic local governance systemmaximizing peoples participation based on decentralization devolution of power and equitabledistribution of resources.

he nterim Constitution addresses social development through devolutionGHFHQWUDOL]DWLRQ JHQGHU HTXDOLW\ DQG VRFLDO LQFOXVLRQ ,W JXDUDQWHHV VRFLD

action for the marginalized and socially excluded groups (women alits anajatis Muslims theMadhesi community the transgender group the disabled and other excluded or disadvantagedgroups . t has also recognized the right to food security and sovereignty as a basic human rightalthough this is yet to be endorsed with appropriate legislation.

he government and the development partners have conducted several studies and assessmentson sustainable development in epal. he epal Capacity elf Assessment eport and Actionlan ( 8 highlight the capacity development needs for effectively implementing the iocommitments. owever this document is very weak from the social development perspective.he ender and ocial xclusion Assessment ( A ( olume and (jointly carried out

by the A B and orld Bank is a landmark document in terms of data analysis andinformation on gender and social inclusion.

he ( / / has stressed inclusion and makes the states role more prominentthan before. he main objective of the is to reduce existing inequality and poverty byLQFUHDVLQJ GLJQLHG DQG SURWDEOH HPSOR\PHQW WKURXJK WKH H[SDQVLRQ RI LQFOXVand targeted programs. t emphasizes increasing production and productivity of agriculture and

livestock for improving the social and economic status of rural residents.

epal has progressive sectoral policies on social development. owever the effectiveness of these policies varies across sectors. All sectoral policies seek to enhance access and equity issuesand have provisions to target women the poor and excluded groups. All sectors have designatedgender focal points and some sectors such as forestry agriculture health and local developmenthave developed their own ender quality and ocial nclusion ( strategies. he ectoride Approach has been adopted by the health education and transportation sectors and this hashelped in fostering donor harmonization and for focusing on gender and social inclusion issues.he Ministry of inance has formed a ender esponsive Budgeting ( B committee.


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evelopment rogramme (M which has gained good experiences in sustainably usingnatural resources for income generation; the ivelihood orestry rogram ( epal wissCommunity orestry rogram erai Arc andscape rogram etc. are initiatives that have madeefforts to link natural resource conservation with livelihood improvement.

Access to health serviceshe health sector has been successful in addressing the needs of the poor women and excludedgroups through pro poor and targeted free health care policies and programs. he Aama (Mother

program addresses maternal health issues. he average life expectancy of epalis is 59.8 years( .9 years for males and 59.8 years for females . Between 995 and 9 infant mortality rate( M has declined from 4 deaths per live births in to 4 in 8. ikewise theXQGHU YH PRUWDOLW\ UDWH 0 KDV GURSSHG IURP GHDWKV SHU OLYH ELUWKV LQ5 in 9. he Maternal Mortality ate (MM decreased by percent from 4 5 deaths per

live births in to 9 in 8 ( C . he percentage of births attended by askilled attendant rose from seven percent in 99 to 8.8 percent in . owever despite theseachievements about six epali women die every day from maternal causes and the rate remainsone of the highest in the world ( A B and B .

urther the successes in the health sector are not uniform across gender and caste ethnicityand location. ide disparities persist both in the process and outcome indicators. he nationalaverage for the 5M was 5 deaths per live births but it was . for alits (formerlyuntouchable caste group ; M for Brahmin (the so called high caste group was 5 .5 per

live births and for alits. imilarly the average life expectancy for alits was 5 .years and even worse 4 years for alit women whereas for Brahmin women it was . years.verall infection in adults aged 5 49 years seems to be declining from in 5 to4 585 in . he government supplies materials for positive people for use in treatment

prevention and care thus improving the capacity of public and private institutions in deliveringquality services ( C/ C . owever these services are inadequate and not easilyaccessible to the poor and people from excluded groups and in remote rural areas. Access isconstrained by distance high costs social/power relations and language barriers. infection

also has strong linkages with migration. omen have become vulnerable to infections as aconsequence of high male migration especially in epals ar and Mid western regions wherethe men migrate seasonally for work in ndia.

Access to water and sanitation

he number of households with access to safe drinking water has increased to 8 percent from.4 percent since 995/9 (CB b . ocial and poverty mapping has helped to promote and

HQVXUH HTXLWDEOH DFFHVV WR DWHU 6XSSO\ DQG 6DQLWDWLRQ 66 IDFLOLWLHV 7KH DI

policies and efforts by projects/programs such as the ural ater upply and anitation undevelopment Board ( B Community Based ater upply and anitation rogramme


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2 0 1 2 ( R i o + 2 0 ) S y n o p s

i s(CB mall own ater upply and anitation ector roject ( and epalater for ealth ( A have assisted women the poor and excluded groups to access theservices including paid jobs and training opportunities ( A B and B .

he access to improved drinking water and improved sanitation facilities such as toilets varyacross social groups and urban and rural areas. he epartment of ater upply and eweragedatabase shows that the national average for households using improved water sources is8 percent but the usage among urban households is 94 percent and it is 8 percent in ruralhouseholds. urther 8 percent of the urban households have toilets against percent for ruralhouseholds. Almost half of epals population still defecates in the open. Access to sanitationin the richest quintile is about 8 percent while that for the poorest quintile is only percent( C in A B B . imilarly access to sanitation for ewars a socialJURXS LV SHUFHQW FRPSDUHG WR RQO\ YH SHUFHQW IRU 0DGKHVL 'DOLWV %HQQHWW

Access to education

2YHUDOO 1HSDO KDV PDGH VLJQLFDQW LPSURYHPHQWV LQ HGXFDWLRQ WKURXJK SURJUHand programs. or example policies such as free primary education strengthening decentralizedmanagement; building data collection systems a user friendly system for collectingGLVDJJUHJDWHG GDWD RQ JHQGHU 'DOLWV DQG RWKHU H[FOXGHG JURXSV VFKRODUVKLSand in kind (uniforms textbooks meals and oil support for girls and students from poor andmarginalized groups social mobilization and advocacy campaigns Community Managednformation ystem (CM social audits including social mapping to increase opportunitiesfor civil society to monitor the activities of the chool Management Committees and epartmentof ducation have all contributed to the improvements.

he net enrolment rate ( has increased from 4. in 99 to 9 . in ; students whostart in grade and reach grade 5 increased from 8 in 99 to .9 in and literacy rateof 5 4 year olds increased from 4 . in 99 to 8 .5 in ( C/ C .he overall literacy rate among 5 4 year olds (formal and non formal has increased from9.4 percent in 5 (M to 8 .5 percent in ( C/ C . hese

improvements however are not uniform across the region caste ethnicity and gender ( epal 9 . or example the of the richest quintile was 8 percent while that of the poorest group was 5 percent in primary school; the enrolment of girls (including alits other H[FOXGHG FDVWH DQG HWKQLF JURXSV DW DOO OHYHOV KDV LPSURYHG EXW WKH UDWHVIRU PDOHV WKDQ IHPDOHV LQ DOO DJH JURXSV IRU IHPDOHV RYHU YH \HDUV FRPSDUHGfor males of same age . he arai Madhesh has much lower levels of education except for the Madhesi Brahmin/Chhetri whose men and women have the highest education attainmentcompared to other groups. he largest gender gaps in literacy exist in the arai/Madhesh region( A B and B .


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i sMigration and its social implications

Migration for work in foreign countries has helped improve the economy. emittances have provided more money to families particularly for spending on health and education. n epalmore men migrate compared to women triggering social and economic changes particularlyfor women. ith more men migrating agriculture has largely become feminized. ne study( C unpublished suggests that the absence of men has given women more freedomwhereas in some cases the mobility of women has been restricted. n remote villages of hotangdistrict men migrating to audi Arabia want their women to stay at home and not be involved inagriculture and other social activities. hey feel that with the remittance money workers send thewomen should stop working and often control the activities of women through mobile phones.ural women with low education and very limited skills have also begun migrating for work outside the country particularly to the Arab tates to work as domestic help. hese womenare exposed to vulnerabilities such as harsh working conditions sexual harassment and

inadequate legal protection. hey also have low knowledge about their destination countries.here is therefore a need for strengthening laws and mechanisms to protect the migrant workers

particularly rural women.

ender and social inclusion mechanisms

epal has established mechanisms to address poverty gender equality and social exclusion at thenational and local levels.

National level mechanisms: At the national level the ocial evelopment ivision within the ational lanning Commission ( C and the ender quality and nvironment ivisionwithin the evelopment ivision of C are responsible for addressing gender and socialinclusion in plans and policies. he Ministry of omen Children and ocial elfare (M CKDV RPHQ 'HYHORSPHQW 2IFHV LQ GLVWULFWV 6LPLODUO\ WKH 0LQLVWU\ RI RFDO 'HYHOhas a alit and an Adivasi anajati (indigenous people coordination committee. epal alsohas institutions such as the ational alit Commission ational omens Commission and

ational oundation for the evelopment of ndigenous ationalities ( . he C andall ministries and their departments have ender ocal oints ( s . he government has alsointroduced new provisions that require Community orestry ser Committees to have 5 percentwomen (there also are representation requirements for alits and indigenous peoples members. istrict level mechanisms: $W WKH GLVWULFW OHYHO EHVLGHV WKH RPHQ 'HYHORSPHQW 2IFLV DOVR D 6RFLDO 'HYHORSPHQW 2IFH ZLWKLQ WKH 'LVWULFW 'HYHORSPHQW &RPPLWWHHvarious watchdog committees such as the istrict Coordination Committee for indigenous peopleand alits with representation from political parties. he ender Mainstreaming Coordination&RPPLWWHH *0&& XQGHU WKH RPHQ 'HYHORSPHQW 2IFH '2 LV WDVNHG ZLWK PRQLWRUL

and coordinating district level gender work. At the C level there is the ntegrated lanningCommittee ( C and Citizens orum. he ocal elf overnance Act ( A 999 empowers


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i s Environmental pillar

epals environmental policies and programs have generally aimed at making a good match between economic development and conservation. epal is a signatory to more than environment related international conventions and agreements including the Convention on%LRORJLFDO 'LYHUVLW\ &%' WKH 1 &RQYHQWLRQ RQ &RPEDWLQJ 'HVHUWLFDWLRQ 1&994 and ramework Convention on Climate Change ( CCC 99 and the yotorotocol 99 .

rinciple 5 of the io eclaration stresses that peace development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible. ts key commitments include integration of environment and development in decision making effective legislation and institutions to pursuesustainable development environmental impact assessment of development projects provision tomake polluters pay for costs of clean up recognition of the role of women youth indigenous and

local people in environmental management and development and application of a precautionaryapproach to environmental decision making. t requires states to reduce and eliminateunsustainable patterns of production and consumption and to promote appropriate demographic

policies to achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people ( rinciple8 . Agenda has 4 Chapters about a third of them deal with conservation of resources for GHYHORSPHQW 0RUH VSHFLFDOO\ FKDSWHUV DQG UHFRPPHQG SURJUDPVand plan of actions related to the protection of the atmosphere planning and management of land resources combating deforestation managing fragile ecosystems sustainable mountaindevelopment conservation of biological diversity and protection of the quality and supply of freshwater resources respectively.

he most important achievement of the Convention on nvironment and evelopmentZDV WKH QHDU XQLYHUVDO DJUHHPHQW RQ &%' WKH UVW JOREDO SDFW FRPPLWWLQJ W

ELRGLYHUVLW\ DFKLHYLQJ VXVWDLQDEOH XVH DQG IDLU DQG HTXLWDEOH EHQHW VKDUL participation in management. ince its adoption in 99 the Convention has been serving as a blueprint for national conservation actions.

7KH 1&&' DLPV WR IRUJH D JOREDO SDUWQHUVKLS WR UHYHUVH DQG SUHYHQW GHVHUWLdegradation and to mitigate the effects of drought to support poverty reduction and environmentalsustainability. he strategic objectives set by the CC for the period from 8 to 8 arei to improve the living conditions of affected populations ii to improve the condition of affectedHFRV\VWHPV LLL WR JHQHUDWH JOREDO EHQHWV WKURXJK HIIHFWLYH LPSOHPHQWDWLRand iv to mobilize resources to support implementation of the Convention through effective

partnerships between national and international actors.

he CCC recognizes that climate change is an urgent and potentially irreversible threat tohuman societies and the planet and requires all arties to address it urgently ( ecision /C . .t requires arties to enact effective environmental laws to protect the climate system for the


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i sresponsibility. ikewise the enth lan ( gave special attention to environmental protection and pollution control while developing infrastructures and using natural resources for economic growth. he ( / 8 9/ and the ( / / indicate greater responsiveness to global environmental conventions and commitments. he stressedimplementation of commitments and the recognizes the direct link between environmentalsustainability living standards and the economic growth. he plan commits resources to priorityareas that support broad based inclusive and sustainable development and also stresses the needfor an integrated environmental policy and the integration of environmental conservation insocio economic development policy and programs.

ne priority of the is to minimize the impacts of climate change. Accordingly thegovernment will encourage the concept of green development to minimize activities thatcontribute to climate change and for reducing the negative impacts on human wellbeing.

epal has formed various institutions ational Council for the Conservation of atural andCultural esources ( CC C ( 989 the nvironment rotection Council ( C ( 99

ational Commission on ustainable evelopment ( C ( and Climate Change Council(CCC ( 9 to coordinate the implementation of various international commitments. heincorporation of the strategic directions provided by the commitments and decisions of the highOHYHO FRPPLWWHHV FDQ EH REVHUYHG LQ VXEVHTXHQW YH \HDU SODQV DQG WKH SROLF

CB and the key environmental sectors

arious sectoral and cross sectoral policies and strategies have been introduced to facilitate theimplementation of environmental conventions. he policies and strategies designed to implementvarious provisions of the CB CC and CCC are broadly clustered into four sectors/themes for analysis.

orest, biodiversity and watershed

he governments forestry agencies are responsible for managing forests watersheds and protected areas. he Ministry of orests and oil Conservation as national CB focal point has been pursuing policies and strategies for implementing the commitments. he epal Biodiversity

trategy ( B epal Biodiversity trategy mplementation lan ( ational Biosafety ramework ( orestry ector olicy ( erbs and on imber orest roductsolicy ( ational etland olicy ater esource trategy epal etc. aresome key policy instruments. Besides the AA stresses forests and biodiversity conservation atthe watershed and landscape levels.

ome of the main strategies of forestry agencies to address CB commitments are as follows:

Aim at maintaining 4 percent of the national territory under forest cover romoting decentralization devolution participatory and rights based approach to forestry

management and biodiversity conservation.


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romoting ecosystem based management approach to biodiversity conservationConserving important watersheds for agriculture and hydroelectricity development

,PSOHPHQWLQJ %XIIHU =RQH PDQDJHPHQW SROLF\ WR VKDUH FRQVHUYDWLRQ EHQHWVcommunities and for expanding conservation beyond protected areas

romoting forest/green enterprises to reduce rural poverty xpanding protected areas to protect endangered and rare species and to increase ecological

representations under protected areas. epal has already surpassed the biodiversitytarget for protected area coverage by bringing more than of national territory under

protected areas mplementing diverse resource governance regimes. epal has been implementing at least

four types of protected area governance systems: protected areas with Buffer one managed conservation area community managed conservation and government managedconservation.mplementing species conservation action plans: ne orned hinoceros Conservation

Action lan ( iger Conservation Action lan ( 8 now eopardConservation Action lan ( 5 5 ulture Conservation lan ( 9 etc. and

stablishing amsar sites to ensure long term conservation of wetland biodiversity andsurrounding ecosystems

Besides epal has formed a ational iger Conservation Committee chaired by the rimeMinister ( and has established a orest and Climate Cell and initiated + initiatives.he country has also begun the bio diversity registration program. t has also approved a

ational Bio safety ramework and olicy to protect bio diversity and human health fromWKH XQIDYRUDEOH LPSDFWV RI LPSRUWV SURGXFWLRQ DQG WKH XVH RI JHQHWLFDOO\ PRG( M s .

nvironment and climate

ince the signing of the CB in 99 epal has been strengthening the institutional and legalframeworks for effective protection of biodiversity. After io 99 epal established theMinistry of nvironment and a high level nvironment rotection Council ( C and also

enacted the nvironment rotection Act 99 and the nvironment rotection egulations99 . epal has prepared and implemented guidelines on nvironmental mpact Assessment( A and trategic nvironmental mpact ( A for assessing the impact of all development

projects.

n response to the growing climate change concerns in 9 epal formed a high level5 member Climate Change Council chaired by the rime Minister. A separate Climate ChangeManagement ivision was then established at the Ministry of nvironment ( /Mo nv .urther there is a multi stakeholder Climate Change nitiatives Coordination Committee(MCC CC representing relevant ministries and institutions / s academia private sectorand donors for coordinating climate change activities and collaborative programs.


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i sformally known as the ing Mahendra rust for ature Conservation ( M C ; epal orumof nvironmental ournalists ( and ocal nitiatives for Biodiversity esearch andevelopment ( B . he C has been managing three conservation areas includingAnnapurna Conservation Area. here also are a few international s active in implementingthe global conservation commitments. hese include orld ildlife und (nternational nion for ature Conservation ( C he Mountain nstitute ractical ActionCA epal etc. hese organizations work through government agencies and also support local

s and CB s in implementing conservation and sustainable development activities.

Challenges and pportunities

Challenges

aps in building economic capacities

olicy and institutional gaps: epals conservation policies have been designed at differentlevels of the government hierarchy and even though they have helped in environmentalconservation and economic growth there also are gaps that have hindered effectiveimplementation. ome of the gaps include a the lack of a policy to identify the poor andfor providing special facilities on the basis of the identity b the policy gaps for effectivelyDGGUHVVLQJ WKH HPHUJLQJ JOREDO FKDOOHQJHV F WKH SROLF\ JDS LQ WKH PHFKDQLVP RI

between the state developer and local communities on the use of local natural resources and d

WKH RFFDVLRQDO FRQLFWV EHWZHHQ SROLFLHV DQG DFWV WKDW WHQG WR WDNH D ORQ

he institutional gaps include the lack of holistic and integrated approaches limited sustainabledevelopment focus lack of effective multi stakeholder mechanisms and limited multistakeholders participation. ther issues are the focus on a top down approach in implementationlack of effective monitoring mechanisms and weak inter sectoral and interagency coordination.hese gaps have delayed decision making leading to poor implementation lack of an enablingenvironment for private sector participation poor compliance to environmental and socialsafeguards in construction projects inadequate devolution to local bodies as envisaged byGHFHQWUDOL]DWLRQ SROLF\ DQG LQDGHTXDWH UHVRXUFHV KXPDQ DQG QDQFLDO DQG Weffectively implementing the M As. his is more so in the case of M As related to species andHFRV\VWHP FRQVHUYDWLRQ VXVWDLQDEOH XVH DQG EHQHW VKDULQJ DQG FOLPDWH FK

he political instability in the country has prevented actions for narrowing down the policy gaps. epal has been trying to prepare a new constitution since 8 which has also been delayed byinstability. he inability of successive governments to hold local elections since May hasalso resulted in absence of elected local representation. hese have resulted in poor governance

and frequent transfers of government staffs and weak law and order and the outcome has affected project implementation. he protracted political transition has also begun to strain the economythat has reported low growth throughout the period. he review of economic performance for the


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purpose of this report suggests that conventional growth may not be the answer to the problemsand therefore the need to embrace the green growth path.

aps in gender and social inclusion

he gaps in gender and social inclusion are as follows.

/LPLWHG FDSDELOLWLHV DQG RSSRUWXQLWLHV WR HQVXUH EHQHWV IURP FRPPHUFLDOL]DWLagriculture, forestry and energy resources: he constraints faced by women the poor andH[FOXGHG JURXSV PDNH LW GLIFXOW RU WKHP WR SDUWLFLSDWH LQ EXVLQHVV HQWHUSUnecessary for commercialisation.

nfavourable policies for harvesting natural resources: he policies and mechanisms for harvesting natural resources particularly non timber forest products ( are not conducive

for the poor women and the excluded groups.

Ad-hoc implementation of micro-enterprises and income-generation activities: Mostmicro enterprises and income generating activities are implemented as livelihood improvementcomponents of larger rural development programs bringing no/minimal changes in incomesRI WDUJHWHG JURXSV 3URSHU DQDO\VLV DQG LGHQWLFDWLRQ RI SURGXFWV PDUNHWV FLQYHVWPHQW LQ WHUPV RI WHFKQRORJ\ LQIUDVWUXFWXUH QDQFHV HWF LV ODFNLQJ $V

programs make investments on short term and ad hoc enterprises/income generation activitieswhich have higher operational costs and even result in waste of resources and duplication.

ight to natural resources: he right to and ownership of natural resources particularlyforests in epals proposed federal structure is an emerging issue. his will have implicationson people and groups directly dependent on natural resources particularly indigenous peopleDQG VRFLDOO\ H[FOXGHG JURXSV 7KRXJK 1HSDO KDV UDWLHG , 2 WKH SROLF\ IUDPHZRUNmechanisms on indigenous peoples right over the natural resources remain unclear. his if notDGGUHVVHG DGHTXDWHO\ FRXOG UHVXOW LQ FRQLFWV

eak service delivery : Most of the well intentioned policies plans and programs have failed toUHDFK DQG EHQHW ZRPHQ DQG WKH H[FOXGHG JURXSV SDUWLFXODUO\ LQ UHPRWH DUHDdue to the weak service delivery mechanism and implementation.

nder-representation and inadequate participation: he under representation and passive participation of women and the socially excluded groups in economic political and legalLQVWLWXWLRQV ERWK DW QDWLRQDO DQG ORFDO OHYHOV KDV UHVXOWHG LQ GHFLWV Lmany inequalities to go unchallenged.

ack of system for collecting desegregated data and weak monitoring: epal does not havea sound system of collecting desegregated data from the perspective to feed into policy


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i s planning and monitoring remains weak. urther the understanding of principles is also poor across state institutions at all levels.

orest Carbon Trading: epal is in the process of preparing methodologies mechanismsand programs for . owever in a situation of unequal representation and participationwithin the forest user groups and unsettled issues relating to indigenous peoples rights over thenatural resources it could result in further exclusion and marginalization of women the poor andmembers of excluded groups.

aps in maintaining environmental sustainability

espite achievements there still are challenges in the implementation of CB and other conventions. here are gaps in the understanding and knowledge about the conventions amongstakeholders in terms of adequate enabling policies and institutional mechanisms to implement

them and in implementation capacity. hese are reasons why epal despite being a landlockedDQG PRXQWDLQRXV '& KDV VR IDU EHHQ XQDEOH WR DFFHVV EHQHWV SDUWLFXODUO\ Rfunds for sustainable development.

aps in awareness, knowledge and capacity: he government has no coherent strategy for communicating the importance of environmental conservation. Most of the in service trainingsare designed to plan and implement programs independently rather than in integrated waysresulting in a silo syndrome. here also are problems within government ministries andagencies in translating M As into operational programs.

aps in policies and implementation mechanisms: nvironmental issues do not receive asmuch priority in government for lack of inter agency coordination ( C . he ationalCapacity elf Assessment report has pointed out inadequate environmental integration andcoordination of policies programs and plans as the single most important cause for inadequateimplementation of international conventions ( /M 8 . Another reason for weak implementation is inadequate investment in the environmental sectors.

eak implementation: he government acknowledges that meaningful implementation of theustainable evelopment Agenda for epal ( A has remained elusive ( /M 8 .6LPLODUO\ RI ELRGLYHUVLW\ WDUJHWV LQ WKH &%' IRU RQO\ YH ZHUH DFKLHYDEOH *21

9 . he ( / / acknowledges that the chance of achieving environmentaltargets of the M s are fair for biodiversity and forests and weak for climate change and HPLVVLRQ 7KH %DJPDWL LYHU LQ 1HSDOV FDSLWDO LV DOPRVW GHDGGXH WR GHFUHDVHencroachment and release of untreated sewages. ikewise the population of hdiayal crocodiles has

been declining and sighting of fresh water dolphin in the arayani iver in Chitwan has becomerare. he pollution of the river has been increasing as most industries situated along its banksGLVFKDUJH KLJKO\ WR[LF HIXHQWV GLUHFWO\ LQ WKH ULYHUV RZLQJ WKURXJK WKH &KLW


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i sspecies are bikh (Aconytum spicatumchiraita ( wertia chirata atamasi 1DUGRVWDFK\V JUDQGLRUD DQGkutki 3LFURUKL]D VFURSKXODULLRUD 6RPH RI WKH

popular low altitude species are Tejpat (Cinnamomum tamala kurilo (Asparagusrecemosus rittha ( apindus mukorossiand timur ( anthxylum armatum .

More than species of plants are tradedcommercially for making aromatic productsessential oils cosmetics and toiletries plantEHUV RLOV JXPV DQG UHVLQV KHUEDO G\HVIRRG DQG DYRUV SDSHU DQG SXOS DQG ZRRG

for cottage industries. ome of these sare of high value and come in low volumeswhile the others are relatively bulky andhave lower value.

7KH PDLQ GLIFXOWLHV IRU IDUPHUV KDUYHVWLQJ s are getting reliable information processing technologies and market access.

ince many high value s are foundin very remote areas their processing andmarketing costs are high. he support services available for processing and marketing of sare inadequate for small fair trade businesses and are often traded illegally. urther most localtraders do not have access to the capital required for processing and marketing of the s.

Tourism: epal aims to increase the contribution of tourism to to 5 in fromaround in . he long term objective of tourism is to attain sustainable development byHPSKDVL]LQJ RQ PDUNHW DQG SURGXFW GLYHUVLFDWLRQ IRU HQKDQFLQJ LQFRPH JHQHUDalleviation; strengthening upgrading and developing accessibility/ connectivity to provideenhanced safe reliable and adequate air and road services to both domestic and internationalvisitors; and conservation of historical cultural religious and archaeological heritage andnatural resources. epali tourism needs to focus on a developing natural religious historicalsports and medical products b developing hill stations and home stay c promoting touristfriendly affordable hotels and services and d expanding road networks and communication andimproving security. epals tourism targets are given in able .

ydropower and renewable energy: epal has abundant water resources and a huge potentialof generating hydropower. t is estimated that epal has about 4 M of commercially

Box : conomic otential of NT s

epal has species that are harvestedfor commercial purposes. ver of these arehigh value s that are traded in national andinternational markets. s support the livelihoods

of a majority of mountain people in west epal.

he bulk of the s especially medical andaromatic plants are exported to ndia. epals export was estimated at over s .5 billion ( 5million in / ( ubedi . epal collected

s 4.4 million s . million and s 4.4million in taxes from s in / 4 4/ 5

5/ respectively ( . epal however does

not have a system for systematically tracking incomeand employment generated from s. stimatessuggest that the sub sector can generate .55million person days of employment for local peopleequivalent to six months or 8 days of employmenteach year for 4 5 persons ( andey ubedihungana .


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i s ap in the interface of science and public policy. nadequate research training andengagement of academia in environmental policy making.

nstitutional and technical weaknesses and gaps in collecting baseline data and carryingRXW VFLHQWLF DQDO\VLV RI HQYLURQPHQWDO LVVXHV VXFK DV ELRGLYHUVLW\ FOLPDdegradation and ecosystem services.

ilo approach in policy making planning and implementation among government agencies. ,QDGHTXDWH SROLFLHV DQG SROLF\ LQDGHTXDFLHV 3ROLF\ FRQWUDGLFWLRQV RYHUO

remain major barriers to mainstreaming the sustainable development agenda. ,QHIFLHQW XVH RI OLPLWHG UHVRXUFHV DULVLQJ IURP WKH GLV RLQWHG LPSOHPHQWD

plans and programs. ack of compatible legal and long term sectoral policy frameworks to promote green and low

carbon economy. nadequate investment in the environmental sector. nadequate capacity at local government institutions for enforcing standards.

xistence of strong fossil fuel lobby that could create problems in promoting clean and green public and private transport technologies and systems.

eak enforcement of environmental standards to control industrial and urban pollution.ow capacity for carrying out international negotiations and for accessing national andglobal funds and lack of quality human resources to develop and implement green economyactivities.arger systemic problems affecting environmental sustainability. efores

nepal status paper final feb2012 smallest

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