Grants awarded in Nepal

USD 315,000 has been given out in grants to five NGOs working in eastern Nepal.

1. Grantee: Ilam Co-operation Council (ICC)
Project: Strengthening civil society on corridor management
Amount: USD 60,000
Duration: 2 years (2007-2009)

This project focuses on strengthening civil society participation in all stages of corridor management in selected sites in the Kangchenjunga Singalila Complex. The project also proposes to build community capacity on issues of access to and management of forest resources. The project aims to reduce threats to forests from encroachment, over grazing, unsustainable harvesting of forest resources.

2. Grantee: Namsaling Community Development Centre (NCDC)
Project: Livelihood Development
Amount: USD 80,000
Duration: 2 years (2007-2009)

This project focuses on reducing pressure on unsustainable use of forest resources through low-cost livelihood options that are conservation friendly. Activities will be implemented through the local institutions, such as community forest user groups, in coordination with local government bodies.

3. Grantee: Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal (ESON)
Project: Inventory of plant biodiversity and conservation strategies for threatened species and habitats
Amount: USD 35,000
Duration: 1 year (2007-2008)

The key focus of the project is to identify endemic or rare and threatened plant species’ habitats in the Kangchenjunga-Singalila ridge of eastern Nepal, an area with a rich plant biodiversity. The project also aims to develop strategies to conserve these sites through scientific and participatory community-based approaches. It will generate awareness among communities on sustainable harvesting of plants, and identify policy gaps in conservation.

4. Grantee: Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN)
Project: Developing civil society networks to conserve key avian biodiversity areas
Amount: USD 70,000
Duration: 2 years (2007 – 2009)

The project will catalyse the development of civil society networks that manage, monitor and mitigate threats to avian biodiversity conservation in the Kangchenjunga-Singhalila Complex. This will be achieved by piloting innovative, local and sustainable approaches in selected project sites within key biodiversity areas that have already been identified. These approaches will include establishment of local community conservation groups or Site Support Groups with access to micro-grants for grassroots conservation actions, such as demonstration models of natural-resource-use practices compatible with biodiversity conservation.

5. Grantee: Environmental Camps for Conservation Awareness (ECCA)
Project: Grassroots participation for biodiversity conservation
Amount: USD 70,000
Duration: 2 years (2007 – 2009)

The main focus of the project is to build partnerships among different stakeholders to incorporate biodiversity conservation perspectives in managing forests outside protected areas within the Kangchenjunga-Singhalila Complex. This would include advocacy with the government at the local and national level, raising awareness, and building capacity at the local level to plan and monitor biodiversity in key project sites.