Karnali Province is the least developed province of Nepal with respect to human and physical capital. Food insecurity, extreme climate, difficult and fragile geography, prone to natural calamities such as drought and landslides are key factors that exacerbate the economic development of the region. Further, the province is highly affected by climate change impacts due to its diverse and difficult geography. Though the province has declared the region as an organic zone to capture its rich biodiversity and potential for high-value agriculture commodities, including temperate (apple, pear, plum, etc.) and sub-tropical fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants, and livestock, the low adaptive capacity of communities to climate change impacts and an inadequate technical capacity of local and provincial governments is hindering to realize the actual benefits. Thus, climate-resilient and ecological agriculture-related initiatives are of utmost importance to be promoted on a wider scale across the province to minimize climate change impacts and enhance the livelihoods of communities. 

The “Green Karnali” project aims to build resilient livelihoods of smallholder farmers, especially women and youths, through the promotion of climate and gender-friendly agroecology-based farming approaches and green enterprises. The project is expected to closely work with local and provincial governments to enhance production and establish climate-resilient and agroecology-based agriculture and livestock farming system and green enterprises and strengthen the marketing system benefitting smallholder farmers, especially women and youth. The project is implemented in Surkhet, Dailekh, and Achham districts with the financial support of DANIDA through DanChruchAid (DCA) Nepal and is built on previous works done by LI-BIRD and SOSEC on building climate-resilient livelihoods in the region. The target groups of the project include smallholder farmers particularly women and youth, community-based organizations including farmers cooperatives, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and their networks active in agriculture, livelihoods, and climate actions, and local, provincial, and federal government agencies, officials, and representatives.

The project is expected to promote and establish replicable climate-resilient agriculture models with a package of practices that are well recognized and scaled up by showcasing at ground level and influencing the local and provincial governments’ policies and plans to integrate them into their regular programs. Demonstration of climate-resilient models, advocacy, documentation, and capacity building of target groups and government stakeholders on climate and gender-responsive resilient agriculture are key components of the project.