The project seeks to enable sub-national bodies to make informed decisions for developing an appropriate strategy for implementing REDD+ PAMs. Through this project, districts in Nepal will be able to develop and use monitoring protocols that allow stakeholders to measure the performance of PAMs, thus enabling them to invest REDD+ resources in the most efficient and cost- effective manner

This work will be implemented in Chitwan district, where it can build on the experience ICIMOD has gained through its Norad-supported community based REDD+ pilot project activities. To develop the PAM indicators, REDD Cell and ICIMOD will hold consultations with stakeholders at the district level while ensuring meaningful participation of the disadvantaged and marginalized groups. Furthermore, this project will also build the capacity of the district REDD focal point to implement the PAMs. The idea is to ultimately replicate this in other REDD districts. Chitwan district was selected as it falls within the Terai Arc Landscape, which is the focus of Nepal’s emissions reductions project idea note (ER-PIN) under the FCPF Carbon Fund, and is therefore a priority area for the REDD Cell/MoFSC.

During the consultation meeting, it was realized that National Park officials and Buffer Zone stakeholders of Chitwan district were not involved in REDD+ discussions. There is hence a need to train and sensitize these important stakeholders.

The project is expected to contribute to integrated land use planning and forest sector planning processes at the district level. The outputs of the project will include a district-level Monitoring Protocol and a template for developing Monitoring Protocols using Proxy Indicators that can be applied at the sub-national level in Nepal and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

The project duration is one year, from November 2014 to October 2015