Over the course of the next five years, policy and implementation efforts will be made to support integrated river basin management in Nepal. The Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management (DSCWM) signed a framework of cooperation (FoC) with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) to endorse this five-year commitment.

Through the FoC, the parties will collaborate to develop gender responsive and socially inclusive integrated river basin and watershed management frameworks, identify critical watershed areas, and implement watershed management best practices.

Moreover, DSCWM and ICIMOD will collaborate on possible policy and programme inputs related to integrated watershed/river basin management, freshwater ecosystem, urban catchment management, and upscaling good watershed management practices based on mutual cooperation. ICIMOD helps build institutional capacity to implement watershed management frameworks at various levels, including that of DSCWM staff.

During the signing of the Framework of Cooperation (FoC), Prem Narayan Kandel, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation said, “Through this collaboration we will develop a watershed management framework on a river basin approach. We will work to strengthen understanding of upstream and downstream linkages and issues, inter-sectoral impacts, and watershed management in the new federal system.”

David Molden, Director General, ICIMOD said, “This partnership will build capacities, develop systems, and generate knowledge to enhance river basin and watershed management in Nepal.”

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