Nepal Climate Change Support Programme

With Practical Action Consulting, we are supporting the UK Department for International Development (DFID) with designing a second phase of Nepal’s Climate Change Support Programme (NCCSP) in collaboration with the Government of Nepal.

NCCSP is a government-led programme to support adaptation planning and implementation at the local level, working in 14 highly climate vulnerable districts. The programme supports communities to develop Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPAs), working through government planning and financing systems. It also funds implementation and monitoring of LAPA activities which vary according to the needs and priorities of the community- for instance, irrigation systems, improved seeds, or flood defences.

Activities include designing a Theory of Change, piloting programme interventions, and developing implementation modalities including approaches to fiduciary safeguards and monitoring and evaluation.

Challenges

Nepal is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in the world. Its vulnerability is due to geographical and socio-economic characteristics, and institutional weakness. Small-scale, subsistence agriculture is the mainstay of Nepal’s economy: this sector is highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters, and lack of coping capacity is compounded by widespread poverty, low literacy, and food insecurity. Most common climate-related disasters include floods, landslides, and waterborne diseases. The country is also highly earthquake prone.

Our approach

Activities include:

• producing a Theory of Change for NCCSP Phase II in close consultation with government and DFID stakeholders;
• convening LAPA learning workshop with other LAPA implementers;
• reviews of relevant policy and regulatory elements and, relevant literature;
• developing analysis and options for intervention types, geographical targeting, measuring resilience and fiduciary mechanisms;
• piloting of community planning mechanisms; and
• developing project documents that will guide implementers of the project.

There is regular collaboration and information sharing with key stakeholders in the Government of Nepal, including the Ministry of Population and Environment, Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development and the Ministry of Finance, as well as sub-national governments and institutions, during project design.

Outcomes

NCCSP Phase II is an important government-led climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction project in Nepal, with outcomes particularly focusing on the poorest and most vulnerable communities. The programme also aims to support resilient economic development opportunities in the country.