Nepal and the Multilateral Environmental Agreements: A Country Presentation

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Nepal and the Multilateral Environmental
AgreementsA Country Presentation
Sherjang Karki, Naresh Sharma, Radheshyam Adhikari

• Regional Workshop on Integrated Capacity
  Development (Inter-linkage Initiative) for
  Multilateral Environmental Agreements in South
  Asia, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 14-16 February 2005

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Overview

• Nepals sustainable development context
• An account of Nepals participation in MEAs
• Nepals efforts towards MEAs implementation
• An assessment of present institutions and their
  capacities in managing MEAs
• Beginning of NCSA process in Nepal
• Lessons learned so far and the next step

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The Context

• Small, mountainous, beautiful, endowed with huge
  hydrological resources, and diversity in
  climatic, biological, and cultural setting.
• Landlocked, fragile mountains, difficult
  terrains, threats of natural disasters, no viable
  source of mine resources.
• Poverty, low level of modern development
  outcomes, social unrest, political instability.
• Threat due to the impact of environmental
  calamities, poor sector is the most vulnerable.
• HMG/N is committed to address all the problems
  and has adopted PRSP as the main strategy. Nepal
  also has adopted Sustainable Development Agenda
  for Nepal (SDAN).
• Similarly, has been participating in various MEAs
  and other international agreements and
  conventions.
• There are multitude of institutions involved in
  environmental management.
• MOPEs establishment is one key decision and step
  towards strengthening the capacity of Nepal in
  managing the MEAs.

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Nepals participation in MEAs

• Ratified
• UNCBD 23 Nov 1993
• UNFCCC 2 May 1994
• UNCCD 10 Sep 1996
• Acceded
• Vienna Con on Protection of Ozone layer 06 Jul
  1994
• Montreal Protocol 06 Jul 1994
• Basel Convention 15 Oct 1996
• CITES 18 Jun 1975
• Signed
• Stockholm Con on POPs 05 Apr 2002

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MEAs implementation

• UNCBD
• Nepal has prepared the first and second CBD
  National Reports under the UNDP/GEF Enabling
  Activities.
• Furthermore, Nepal prepared the National
  Biodiversity Strategy (NBS) under the Clearing
  House Mechanism and adopted it in 2002. NBS is a
  reflection of HMG/Ns commitment to a more
  cohesive and strategic approach to conservation
  at the landscape level.
• NBS implementation plan (NBSIP) is being
  prepared.
• UNFCCC
• First climate change activity was the preparation
  of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission inventory.
• Nepal has recently submitted its Initial
  National Communication to UNFCCC- is
  comprehensive document covering GHG inventory,
• Second national communication and NAPA are to be
  undertaken.

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MEAs implementation

• UNCCD
• Nepal prepared the first and the second national
  report on the status of implementation of the
  UNCCD in 2000 and 2002, respectively with the
  support of the UNCCD Secretariat.
• HMG/N has also prepared National Action Programme
  (NAP) on land degradation and desertification
  with the support of global mechanism of UNCCD and
  endorsed in February 2004.
• The NAP will provide a basis for the effective
  implementation of the UNCCD related activities.

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Institutions and their capacities

• Nepal is innovative in creating institutions!
  There are many institutions within the government
  who are responsible for managing one or more
  elements of environment.
• Ministry of Population and Environment- Focal
  point for majority of MEAs, but is still a new
  Ministry and has not been able to streamline its
  capacity. This Ministry is largely manned with
  administrators/managers.
• Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation- It is
  most established Ministry with environmental
  mandate and is the focal point for UNCBD. In
  addition to its other forest related divisions it
  also has an Environment Division directly
  responsible for the UNCBD. This Ministry has
  highly technical manpower in the sector.
• Ministry of Science and Technology- This
  Ministry has its bodies named i) Department of
  Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), ii) Alternative
  Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) and Royal Nepal
  Academy for Science and Technology (RONAST).
• DHM deals with meteorological information
  management, weather forecasting and climate
  change as well as is the implementing agencyt
  for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  (IPCC).
• AEPC is the apex organization for all rural and
  renewable energy activities in the country.
• RONAST as an autonomous academic body works
  towards the advancement of science and technology
  for all-round development of the country

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Institutions and their capacities

• Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives- This
  is also very highly technically manned Ministry.
  Its main environmental role is related to action
  programmes in agro-biodiversity conservation and
  wetland related activities.
• Ministry of Water Resources It has recently
  established the Department of Water Induced
  Disaster Prevention (DWIDP). DWIDP has the
  mandate of facilitating research activities,
  zoning of flood-prone areas, developing
  forecasting and warning systems, and river and
  landslide control.
• Ministry of Industries, Commerce and Supplies
  through its department entitled Nepal Bureau of
  Standard and Metrology looks after the Ozone
  activities by establishing an Ozone Unit.
• Other high level coordinating mechanisms include
  i) Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources
  and Environmental Protection (PCNREP), ii)
  National Development Council (NDC), iii) National
  Planning Commission (NPC), iv) Environment
  Protection Council (EPC), v) National Commission
  for Sustainable Development (NCSD) and vi)
  Ministry of Finance.
• There are also so many other institutions with
  some environmental responsibilities at different
  levels.

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NCSA process in Nepal

• NCSA in Nepal is kick-starting amidst the
  multiple institutional existence,
  responsibilities, mandate, capacities,
  competitions and confusions.
• Similarly Nepal already has so many documents as
  policy, strategies, programmes and plans which
  talk about how better the environment could be
  managed.
• The NCSA document should not be one of the many
  documents
• Therefore, the key challenge as well as the
  opportunity in the NCSA process is how to move
  along in such a complex situation.

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NCSA process in Nepal

• The goal of the NCSA project is i) to identify,
  through a country-driven consultative process,
  priorities and needs for capacity building to
  protect the global environment, taking into
  account the three global conventions on
  biodiversity, climate change and
  desertification/land degradation, and ii) to
  explore synergies among and across these areas to
  direct actions towards achieving the goal of
  sustainable development.
• In view of these objectives, the NCSA project
  document is under consideration to be implemented
  through UNDP-GEF using National Execution
  Modality.

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NCSA process in Nepal

• In order to implement the activities of the the
  NCSA project the following institutional set-up
  has been envisioned

Thematic Working Group on Bio-diversity
NCSA Steering Committee
Thematic Working Group on Climate Change
Project Working Committee
Thematic Working Group on Desertification
Programme Management Office
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Lessons so far and the next step

• Too many institutions involved in environment
  sector means very slow decision and action. The
  NCSA project should have already been mid-way
  through but still under negotiations.
• The project formulation exercise has already
  established to a certain extent a level synergy
  among various institutions. A few meetings were
  organized specially due to NCSA which otherwise
  normally would not happen.
• A very close monitoring of the dynamics of the
  institutional interests and involved
  personalities is very important to give its end.
• A fair level of common understanding on the
  implementation modalities of the project has been
  reached and next immediate step is to sign of the
  document by organizing a Local Project Appraisal
  Committee Meeting in UNDP Nepal.

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• Thank you for your kind attention!