Nepal’s community-based organisation wins ‘Local Adaptation Champion Award’ at COP27

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT: The Community Development and Advocacy Forum Nepal (CDAFN) working in various districts of Madhes Province in Nepal has received Local Adaptation Champion Award. The Forum received the award in the local innovation category under the Local Adaptation Champion Awards, organised by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) based in the Netherlands. Four winners of the Local Adaptation Champions Awards were announced on Saturday at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. The awards recognise locally-led efforts to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change across four categories — financial governance, inclusive leadership, capacity and knowledge, and local innovation. Each winner will receive €15,000 in funds to further the work they are doing in the spirit of the locally led adaptation principles. They will also have access to a global network of changemakers. Addressing the award distribution programme virtually, Ban Ki-Moon, former UN Secretary General of the United Nations and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Global Centre on Adaptation, said that the local government and community would make an important contribution to local adaptation and that suggested making the development plans inclusive. Speaking at the prize distribution ceremony, Secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Environment, Pem Narayan Kandel said that Nepal is doing climate actions as specified in the National Climate Adaptation Policy. The Forum has been working with development partners and local government of Madhes province to promote conservation, development, river system management, forest and wildlife protection, river bed fruit farming and garden and vegetable farming. “Our intervention addresses the pressing issues associated with the livelihoods of the local community along the river basin from upstream Siwalik hills to downstream tarai,” said Nagdev Yadav, President of the Community Development & Advocacy Forum Nepal. “Groundwater is the only source of drinking water and irrigation for the communities in downstream areas, therefore rehabilitation efforts further upstream improve erosion and sedimentation control also makes water available for people downstream.” “From mango, litchi, lemon and papaya to vegetables, degraded and dry riverbanks have been turned into green areas immediate and long-term income has been ensured to the landless and smallholders, benefitting more than 10,000 households. Before people had to dig or go far away to find drinking water. Now, communities have witnessed the results themselves: from growing only rice in one year, now they can grow maize, wheat, vegetables and fruits and they have seen the benefits on their nutrition and harvests.”