The Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) organized a 3-day policy planning training from November 7 to 9, 2023 to share evidence-based insights and recommendations for policy planning in Gandaki province to develop a 5-year climate-resilient development plan. The event was supported USAID's Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Capacity and Influence (PRCI) and Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative (CACCI) in coordination with the Provincial Policy and Planning Commission (PPPC), Government of Nepal (GoN). The workshop aimed to train diverse stakeholders involved in policy planning process to develop a climate-resilient development plan and to provide Result Based Management Training (RBM). 17 participants participated in the training including senior officials from the Office of the Chief Ministers and Council of Ministers, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Management (MoALM), Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development and Transport Management (MPIDTM), Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment (MITFE), Provincial Policy Planning Commission (PPPC), local bodies such as Modi Rural Municipality (Parbat district), Putalibazar Municipality (Syangja district), Institute of Forestry (IOF, Tribhuvan University), National Farmers Group Federation (NFGF) and some local NGO participations (LIBIRD).
The impact of climate change is evident in the mountain belts and river basins of Gandaki that has affected on agriculture, environment, water, tourism, social sectors, livelihoods of millions and overall development of province. Hence, the idea was to blend the agriculture, forest, environment, disaster preparedness plan and other crucial in-line ministries such as tourism, information, infrastructures, transportation, and industry for the overall development plan of the province. During the event sessions, the PPPC and line-ministries were preparing their second 5th year plan. It was that the Results Based Management (RBM) training in climate resilient development themes would bring synergy in the planning process as well as bring Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and related projects in near future.
Technical Session Summary
The technical session, led by Dr. Suresh Babu, Senior Research Fellow and Head of Capacity Strengthening, IFPRI, featured diverse perspectives on climate-resilient development planning. Dr. Babu shared comprehensive insights on theoretical and practical dimensions of evidence-based policy, stressing the intricate relationship between vision, mission, goals, strategy, plan, programs, and projects in the provincial planning of Gandaki. He highlighted the pivotal role of NGOs, academic and research institutes in developing targets while establishing crucial linkages between sectoral plans and provincial plans. He also emphasized on translating global goals, and how Nepal can help to implement some of the common visions into the national and provincial goals that help to ease in implementation of programs at the local level. He delved into incorporating climate resilience thinking into planning, using RBM to connect the dots. He also highlighted the link between climate change and food security system, suggesting analysis and evaluation of gaps within the past 5-year plan that overlooked climate change and disaster aspects. Furthermore, he stressed the need to identify priority areas, track and implement plans and modify them. In his final session, Dr. Babu introduced the Global Crops and Livestock Guidelines - Standards for Supporting Crop-related Livelihoods in Emergencies (SEADS) and Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) manual as essential guidelines for crops and livestock intervention respectively and the need to find connection between emergency and long-term development plans and integrate disaster aspect in development planning. Overall, Dr. Babu’s session identifies steps involved in planning development plans and revealed the need to contextualize global goals to priority areas in provincial policy planning.
Mr. Bishal Ghimire, Secretary (Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Environment and Forest, Gandaki Province) and Ms. Deepa Poudel, Assistant Professor (Institute of Forestry (IoF)) Pokhara highlighted the importance of green, blue, and grey environment in Gandaki province and need for taking them into account while planning and called the need for more collaboration and coordination to skip working in silos for the ministry. Ms. Poudel mentioned tourism in Gandaki as having great growth opportunity and its direct link to the rural livelihood. Discussion was held on lack of good governance rather than resources as the major cause for lack of implementation of climate change plans and policies. Ms. Hira Devi Sharma cited the lack of stakeholders’ dedication and interest on the extension system and awareness creation to farmers. Ms. Sharma also called for need to identify pocket zones, self-sufficient model, and investment from the Government.
Mr. Sankar Prasad Pandit, Secretary (Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development and Transport Management, Gandaki province) delivered a session on Climate Resilient Development Plan and Roles of Infrastructure during which Mr. Pandit shared the impacts of unplanned infrastructure in Hills and the ministry’s role in refining mitigation plans that have been taken for implementation at provincial level. However, he also mentioned the inadequate financial resources in municipalities and rural municipalities that hindering implementation at local levels.
During the second half of the technical session, Dr. Grishma Neupane, Senior Trainer, Livestock Training Centre (Ministry of Agriculture and Land Management, Gandaki Province) highlighted agricultural policies for Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA). Dr. Neupane discussed production and productivity increase as the main objective of CSA policies in Nepal and stressed the need to enhance food products consumed along with their nutritional values and contribute to nutritional security. Dr. Neupane shared (a) adaption to consequences by prioritizing certain sectors and (b) GHG Neutralization as additional objectives of CSA and introduced the most important practices in CSA such as: National Climate Change Policy 2019, Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS) 2015-2035, Climate Change Financing Framework (CCFF, 2017), For Gandaki: Agricultural Biodiversity and Organic Agriculture Promotion Strategy Action Plan 2023. Dr. Neupane also summarized the prioritized activities for CSA practices in agricultural and livestock sector that can be targeted while policymaking (For example: feed management, precision feeding, pasture management). Dr. Devendra Gauchan, Agriculture Specialist and Agricultural Economist shed light on policy gaps related to agroforestry, emphasizing the challenges faced by farmers in tree cutting and sales despite legal permission, attributing these issues to inadequate private land registration and the complexities of proving land ownership. He also touched upon discussions on policy-level issues where relevant stakeholders are absent in agroforestry policy planning. Dr. Gauchan also advocated for digitalization in CSA, suggesting Geographic Information Systems (GIS) satellite imaging for mapping suitable crops and utilizing digital databases for planning.
Other issues highlighted by the invited speakers focused on the importance of reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from paddy plantations, engagement in carbon markets, and the pivotal role of digital infrastructure in agriculture such as enabling weather prediction, monitoring soil health and water usage, and enhancing market access. The need for contextualizing initiatives to the local context and integrating indigenous knowledge into future planning processes and mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in development plans and practices was also emphasized.
Next steps
An important follow up to the training is practical implementation of insights gained. The next step is to work with local stakeholders to systematically integrate climate-resilient strategies and RBM principles into broader provincial planning.