At the fifth Responsible Business Forum, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today called on business leaders to take a greater role in the new development era in order to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This Forum, opened in Singapore by UNDP and Global Initiatives, aims to address a sea change in the nature of development funding by creating a new partnership for sustainable development.

While foreign funding (Official Development Assistance) is still essential for the development system, it now accounts for 0.7 percent of total financial flows in Asia-Pacific (down from 13.5 percent in 1990), while domestic public and private finance accounts for 89 percent, according to a UNDP report launched last month.

It is one year since every country in the world signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals. They form a blueprint for addressing the most significant challenges facing our planet and its people. Challenges like climate change. This is likely to be the hottest year on record and here in Asia, climate change is a cause of the natural disasters that have claimed half a million lives in the last decade. Challenges like inequality, which has been growing for four-fifths of Asia-Pacific’s population over the last 20 years. Challenges brought on by the accelerating process of ageing, which will make it harder for many Asian states to provide basic services to their people. The 17 SDGs will address these challenges and other interlinked issues, including education, hunger and security. But governments cannot implement this blueprint on their own. Nor can the UN and other development organizations.

Kathmandu Nepal’s parliamentarians have launched an informal forum to promote and implement the agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals, which concluded in 2015, the SDGs comprise long-term development objectives agreed upon by all 193 member-states of...

Kathmandu Persons with disabilities (PWDs) and other stakeholders have suggested new areas for amendment in the proposed Disability Bill. The concerns were put forth to lawmakers at an interaction programme held in Kathmandu on Friday with UNDP’s support. Speaking at the programme, one of the participants, Dr....

The timely help of UNDP's Rapid Enterprise and Livelihood Recovery Project has enabled micro entrepreneurs in Kubu kasthali, raise from the dust of rumbles to catch the pace of their lost prosperity in the devastating Earthquake. Saraswati Karki hand her husband lived a very poor life until a decade ago. Despite...

The Knowledge Exchange is part of a week-long Regional SDG Forum hosted by UNDP in Bangkok from 21 to 27 October. The Forum features also a conference on youth engagement in SDG implementation and a meeting on finance for development focused on how countries can mobilize the required financing for the envisioned transformation to sustainability.

In 2013, the Government of Nepal began implementing a National Climate Change Support Programme in 14 remote districts, under the guidance of the Ministry of Population and Environment, and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development. Facing longstanding challenges with programme delivery, the Government sought external technical support, opting for UNDP as a partner, given its expertise and long history of engagement in the country. For the first time in Nepal, the programme used a co-financing approach, drawing on financing provided to the Government by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Union. The move signals Nepal’s urgent need to adapt to climate change as it strives to graduate from a least developed to a middle-income country by 2022.

On 19 September, 2015, Nepal took a significant democratic step with the promulgation of its long-awaited Constitution adopted by the popularly elected Constituent Assembly. Eight years in the making, the Constitution of Nepal fulfills a significant achievement for the country as the Constituent Assembly reached an agreement passing the landmark set of principles upon which Nepal will be governed.

The Government of Nepal, UNDP and the Food and Agriculture Organization on Monday launched a new project to integrate climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector. According to a 2015 study ‡, the impact of climate change on Nepal’s agriculture is likely to reduce GDP by about 0.8 per cent per year in 2050. Amongst other things, this will come from more intense and frequent droughts that can damage crops and reduce yields. The cumulative impact of the losses in the agriculture sector would be a GDP lower by 13% than it would otherwise have been.

Transitional justice experts and survivors from post-conflict countries, including Nepal, Cambodia and Guatemala have underscored the urgency for addressing pending cases of conflict-related sexual violence to secure lasting and sustainable peace. Experts speaking at a two-day conference at the end of September...

Locals from Briddhim VDC in Rasuwa district provide labour to reconstruct a road vital to tourism

In Nepal, people with disabilities often feel excluded from many areas of daily life. Accessing government services is one area in which they feel limited and their rights overlooked. “We have been hearing special facilities to be provided to disabled persons in public facilities like transportation, education, health, etc....

Despite making a negligible contribution to global warming, Nepal is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. Climate change threatens to save almost 10 per cent off projected annual gross domestic product (GDP) by 2100, according to the ADB. Prudent public spending and fiscal management...

A new drinking water scheme has brought relief to the earthquake survivor residents of Bhotechaur-2 in Sindhupalchowk district “We survived the earthquake but now we might die of thirst,” bemoaned Fulmaya Tamang of Bhotechaur VDC-2 in Sindhupalchowk district. “We lived through the loss of our homes and our...

In June of last year, a month after the devastating earthquakes of April-May, the government decided to resume classes for students so as to not further impede their studies. But for many students, including those of Gorakhnath Lower Secondary School in Panauti, Kavre district, classes were held amidst the...

The August heat and a thin tarpaulin do not deter the beneficiaries of a recently completed vegetable collection and marketing centre from cheering their "highly meaningful" success at Kalyanpur VDC in Nuwakot. Assisted by UNDP Nepal and the Government of Mauritius, the earthquake- ravaged community has...

The UN in Nepal, on Wednesday, marked the opening of the first 'all gender restroom' on its premises in Pulchowk. The 'all gender restroom' aims to complement the restroom gender binary and provide an alternative for third gender persons. UNDP Assistant Administrator Jens Wandel inaugurated the restroom -- which...

Thank you, General Secretary of the Parliament Manohar Bhattarai and Member of Parliament Mr. Gagan Thapa. Members of parliament, ladies and gentlemen, members of the media – thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today. You may wonder, what brings me here to Nepal? It is of course a...

When the rains failed him for the second year in a row, Jiwan Mahato blamed the rain god. A subsistence farmer from Madi, in the south of Nepal, Mahato’s paddy crops had failed again.  Like most of the 20 million subsistence farmers of Nepal, Mahato had no other source of income to feed his six-member family. As...

As we mark World Environment Day today, strong collaborative actions among nations and international institutions for conserving natural environment and combating climate change effects and impacts have been realized more urgent. This urgency is reflected in the global environmental commitments made during the...

Photo Essay

The room is full of people. Women and men of all ages sit cross-legged on the floor, some with children on their laps. The afternoon sun streams in through the windows and outside, the wind stirs up dust on the dry streets of Mehalkuna, Surkhet. Inside the room, a legal awareness programme is concluding. Local...

  “Together is the most important word in the world today: nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, after meeting with communities recovering from the 2015 earthquake in Sindhupalchowk, one of the districts hit hardest by the disaster. Deputy...

Life already on the edge due to high poverty and lack of basic services, the 2015 earthquake was a hammer blow to most people in Sindhupalchowk and several other mountain districts of Nepal. For subsistent farmers of Sipapokhare village in Sindhupalchowk, the lifeline of their livelihood: Shoramure Ripini Irrigation...

Eight young women entrepreneurs, armed with determination and confidence in their skills, prove to be role models for their village which was flattened by the April 2015 earthquake.

Demographic change in Asia and the Pacific is happening at a rate the world has never seen. An explosion in the working age population and a fall in birth rates that took a century in Europe are happening here in just 30 years.

For residents of Haldekalika VDC in Nuwakot district, earthquake relief was late in coming. Even five months after the April 2015 earthquake, the village’s 995 families had yet to receive relief packages from the government due to a dispute between the political parties active in the region. The political parties in...

The report, entitled “Shaping the Future: How Changing Demographics Can Power Human Development”, notes that Asia-Pacific countries now have more working-aged people and fewer dependents than at any point in history, providing a springboard for growth. Region-wide, 68 percent of people are of working age and only 32 percent are dependents.

By Renaud Meyer, UNDP Nepal Country Director One year ago today, I was playing soccer with my two boys in Kathmandu when at 11:56 the ground started to roll like waves on the ocean. We were struck by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. By the end of that scary day filled with immediate and strong aftershocks, we...

A new technology introduced by the Government of Nepal and UNDP on systematizing the building permit system offers new hopes to ease and fast forward the re/construction process, while also ensuring a greater compliance of the national building code. Nepalis wishing to build new structures can now officially...

When the earthquake struck Nepal one year ago 25 April, the community of Kimpokhari in Kavre lost many loved ones, homes and infrastructure. They also lost a precious resource: their water source.   Despite the widespread destruction to their homes and livelihoods, for residents like Devika Bishworkarma, losing...

Nepal’s judicial leadership places high priority on integrity as a reform agenda, gears for a self-assessment of its integrity mechanism KATHMANDU, April 10, 2016 Judicial leadership of Nepal has expressed commitment to continue systemic reforms and promote accountability mechanism for safeguarding judicial integrity...

Each year, over 1,400 young Nepalis leave Nepal to join the labour market in the Gulf and East Asian countries. When they return after few years of hard work, they bring home some cash and a strong determination to put their money to use at home in Nepal. However, many struggle to find adequate economic...

The Joint Assessment of Food Security, Livelihoods and Early Recovery is a sample survey of more than 4,000 households in 11 earthquake-affected districts in Nepal conducted in September-October 2015. It is a follow-up to the baseline assessment conducted in May 2015 in the immediate aftermath of the April 25...

With an ongoing fuel crisis across the country, the demand for bio briquette has shoot up as an alternative source for cooking and heating. Over 85 percent of these bio briquettes come from Sindhupalchowk district. Sher Kumari Shrestha, resident of Attarpur village in Sikre earns her living by making the bio...

Following the 2015 earthquake, communities in the hardest hit areas in Nepal scrambled to survive. In Gairibisaune, Kavre, not only did 23 people lose their lives, but the small farming community lost 500 houses, 500 cattle and precious infrastructure like irrigation systems. Bouncing back seemed insurmountable for...

Hundreds of micro entrepreneurs affected by the April and May Earthquakes have bounced back and revitalized their seasonal vegetable farming with the support of UNDP’s early recovery earthquake programme, Rapid Enterprise and Livelihoods Recovery Project (RELRP) with financial support from the Australian Aid....

By Kamal Raj Sigdel, UNDP Nepal On a misty May morning this year, we headed to Sindhupalchowk, one of the districts devastated by the April 25th Nepal Earthquake. We wove up serpentine roads, and past hamlets that had turned to rubble. Just two weeks had passed and we were to begin helping people here recover...

  Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Local Development and Federal Affairs Hon'ble Kamal Thapa launched the Electronic Building Permit System (e-BPS) today [06 Dec 2015] amid a gathering convened by Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC).  This official launch marks the full operation of e-BPS in...

Lhakpa Lama contracted polio when he was two years old. The virus twisted his limbs and caused him to walk with a limp. Being from a small village in the remote hills of Sindhupalchowk, Lama faced hardship and challenges in living with his disability. But he didn’t let what he couldn’t do get in the way of what he...

1 December, 2015: Nepal is on the brink of breaking the AIDS epidemic, and we have no time to lose. As the Joint UN HIV Team in Nepal marks World AIDS Day 2015, we look forward to accelerating the drive to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Today, almost 40,000 people are living with HIV in Nepal. The number of new cases...

On 30 November 2015, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) China, as part of the Sharing and Learning on Community Based Disaster Management in Asia Project (CBDM Asia Phase II), co-hosted a ‘Multi-stakeholder Partnership in Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) Workshop’ in Chengdu, China....

The crowds were waiting, excited. The moment UNDP team arrived the villagers took turn to accord a traditional welcome at Putalikath in Gairimudi Village, Dolakha. People walked for hours to appreciate the reconstruction of damaged irrigation canals and water systems by the earthquakes. Standing in the crowd was...

Testament to the fact that the April disaster did not destroy their skills, micro-entrepreneurs in Dolakha have held a mini-exhibition promoting their products The district of Dolakha was hit hard by the April earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks. Despite the tragedy and its many consequences,...

Bimala Bajagain, a farmer and mother of three, wears a fading red kurta and appears older than her age at 35. She offers us plates of salted guavas at the porch of her quake-damaged house. By mid-day, October’s warm sun boils over Kalchebesi village of Kavrepalanchok district. Bajagain insists we also savour a...

Amidst rising violence and strained community ties, a number of community security initiatives in Banke and Kanchanpur districts stressed the need to promote peace and harmony On August 9, 2015, Nepal’s four major political parties reached an agreement to divide the country into six provinces, as per the...

Nepal has made history with its first female President. Bidhya Devi Bhandari was elected by Parliament in October 2015. She is joined by Onsari Gharti Magar, Nepal’s first female Parliament Speaker. For the first time in Nepal’s history, women are gaining ground in the seats of power. Enshrined in the new...

When Narayan Datta Lamichhane transformed his rice field into a mango and litchi orchard, his neighbours couldn’t understand why he would give up a crop that had worked well for them for so long. After a bout of inclement weather in which the neighbour’s rice paddy didn’t grow, Lamichhane said his orchard didn’t...

From 6am until 9am, Dawa Ghale of Dhunche, Rasuwa, is busy preparing and serving tea to morning goers for mere Rs 10. This is her only means of survival to support her family after her restaurant was buried in the rubble in the devastating April Earthquake. Dawa, however, continues to serve tea in her temporary...

Political party leaders and civil society representatives have emphasized the need for rekindling approaches to address land issue from a new dimension. During the conference Addressing Land Issues: Innovative Approaches in late October, delegates from across Nepal gathered to discuss new ways to approach land...

The fourth edition (October 2015 - March 2016) of UNDP Nepal's publication, "Development Advocate Nepal" with the theme "Towards a resilient Nepal".

Strawberry farmers who lost their livelihoods in the April earthquake are now looking to recover their harvests with support from UNDP’s RELRP project

Much of the remote village of Irkhu in Sindhupalchok still lies in ruins as a result of the 7.8 earthquake that shook Nepal on 25th April 2015. Buildings including homes, schools, health posts and offices were brought to a rubble. There was very little for the villagers to look up to except for their formidable hopes...

It was a Saturday last April, just before noon, when the earthquake began. Jamie McGoldrick, the UN resident coordinator in Nepal, had just returned from the gym to his house in Kathmandu. “I was in a large house, but it seemed to jump at least three feet into the air, and moved like a ship in two ways, back and...

United Nations entities call on States to act urgently to end violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI)[1] adults, adolescents and children. All people have an equal right to live free from violence, persecution, discrimination and stigma. International human rights law...

Nepalgunj - Amid spiralling tensions across the country, the Local Peace Committee (LPC) in Banke district has taken initiative to promote calm and deescalate conflict. Tensions have been running high in the Tarai ever since various political parties and civil society groups took to the streets demanding a review of...

Minister for Industry Hon. Mahesh Basnet has said the progress towards enlisting Micro Enterprise Development (MED) as a devolved sector is crucial achievement for Nepal's poverty alleviation efforts. Addressing a workshop organized by the Ministry of Industry in Kathmandu last week, Minister Basnet said MED is an...

At a five-day training session in Sindhupalchowk, local masons were taught the many benefits, along with the ease and low cost, of building earthquake-resistant houses. The massive destruction wrought by the April 25 earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks illustrated the various shortcomings in construction...

  UNDP had supported the constitution-drafting process throughout and was committed to make a meaningful contribution to the public consultation in the spirit of fostering participation and giving voice to the people despite of the challenging time frame. An innovative and cost-effective method of public...

Shoddy construction practices, the use of sub-standard material, and non-compliance with the existing Building Code have been cited as major reasons for the great number of lives lost in the April 25 earthquake. Nepal’s private sector construction companies have pledged to play a more proactive role in ensuring...

Gairimudi sits atop a stunning mountain in Dolakha district. Home to 550 families across three wards, the village had one death, many injuries and few standing buildings when the second of two large earthquakes struck Nepal in May. Prem Das Shrestha, a retired teacher, has lived in Gairimudi his entire life. His home,...

Santa Bahadur Bogati of Sindhukot- 4, Sindhupalchok, one of the micro entrepreneurs badly affected by the April 25 earthquake is already back in his business. He epitomizes the resilience of Nepalese society. Bogati hails from Dalit community who have been historically marginalized and deprived as ‘untouchables’....

One Sunday morning in June, William Vastine, who leads a team of 78 UNDP-trained demolition workers and 1,300 local community members, received a handwritten letter from Buddhist monks requesting help to remove the debris from their quake-stricken monastery. “Dear sir, the earthquake has damaged our holy Gumba....

Kathmandu, Nepal—UNDP and Constituent Assembly and Legislature Parliament Secretariat (CA/ LP) have entered a renewed partnership to strengthen parliamentary law making and oversight function while making the parliament more responsive to the voices of the citizens. In the presence of Constituent Assembly Chair...

A new cohort of 20 lawyers has completed a six-month internship programme, jointly organised by the Nepal Bar Association (NBA) and the UNDP’s Rule of Law and Human Rights Programme (RoLHR). The first batch in 2014 comprised of 15 law graduates. "The internship programme has been instrumental for young lawyers...

In April and May, two earthquakes destroyed large swaths of Nepal leaving 3 million people homeless. As they moved into tents and temporary shelters, the risks of fire and health hazards related to cooking have increased. A UNDP-award winner and local inventor, Madhukar KC, who designed an energy efficient cooking...

Kathmandu — The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed an agreement for a US$ 5.4 million grant for micro enterprise and livelihoods recovery, in the aftermath of the devastating April 25 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks....

Even as Nepal tries to grapple with the aftermath of a powerful earthquake and its aftershocks, UNDP is already working with the Government of Nepal and private sector to mitigate the risk of another looming danger: The Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) which threatens millions downstream. A team including...

The man on the phone sounded frantic. His house had collapsed in the big earthquake that had hit Nepal, he said. Now he was summoning Saritha Rai who had built his family home, to come and survey the destruction. And he was demanding his money back. Rai, a mason, was trained to build earthquake resistant homes by...