The REDD+ Himalaya Initiative of ICIMOD was formally launched during an inception meeting on ‘REDD+ Himalayas: Developing and using experience in implementing REDD+ in the Himalayas’ held from 8-9 June 2015 in Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal.

The Initiative is a regional level project supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), and jointly implemented by ICIMOD and Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, with the objective of improving the conditions for implementing REDD+ measures to mitigate climate change that are socially and environmentally sound in the four Himalayan countries of Bhutan, India, Myanmar, and Nepal.

In Nepal, the project focuses on strengthening capacities of the actors for REDD+ implementation at subnational level and also exchanging experience and mutual learning on good REDD implementation practices for South-South Cooperation.

The chief of the Foreign Aid Coordination Division of Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MFSC), Bishwa Nath Oli, said the project is fully owned by the Government of Nepal as it has followed foreign aid policy of Ministry of Finance. “This is the third cooperation between ICIMOD and us, and we hope this collaboration will bring the logical conclusions,” he said.

The Chief of REDD Implementation Centre, Man Bahadur Khadka, said Nepal’s efforts in the field of REDD+ is highly recognized and appreciated by the international community. “Three pilots were successfully carried out in the districts of Dolakha, Gorkha, and Chitwan, and now we are able to continue the work in the same districts to ensure the result-based action,” he said, thanking the MFSC and ICIMOD for their support.

The Government of Nepal through MFSC is executing the project through REDD Implementation Centre to achieve the targeted outputs by 2018.

The Terms of Reference for National Coordination Committee and Programme Management Unit were drafted and agreed upon by all the core members. The Financial Control and Disbursement Modality for ICIMOD-MFSC on the project was also discussed and agreed. Project activities for 2015 were approved and the budget allocation was done.

The coordinator of the REDD+ Initiative at ICIMOD, Dr Bhaskar Singh Karky, said the new partnership through the approved agreement between ICIMOD and MFSC has given the road map for the project. “This project forms the basis for future REDD activities in the pilot districts,” he said.

There was strong ownership of the project from the government side with commitment expressed for the successful implementation of the project by REDD implementation Centre,  MFSC, Regional Directorate of Forests of Western and Central Development Region, respective District Forest Officers, Protected Area Authority, and community forest user groups.