Who We Are

2.1 BESL

Who We are

Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD) is a non-profit making, non-governmental organisation established in 1995, registered at the District Administration Office, Kaski (Registration # 217/052/053), and affiliated to the Social Welfare Council, Nepal (Registration # 3394). LI-BIRD is committed to capitalizing on local resources, innovations, and institutions for sustainable management of natural resources for improving livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

LI-BIRD continues to work along the research – development continuum, and its commitment to results remains unshakable. LI-BIRD is a pioneer organisation in developing and strengthening participatory research methodologies in agro-biodiversity and natural resource management, playing an instrumental role in institutionalising these approaches in the national systems. LI-BIRD’s expertise is increasingly sought by government, UN, and international agencies. The new strategic plan’s focus on investing in knowledge, innovation and solutions, building leaders, and developing new partnerships with both the public and private sectors, speaks loudly to our working philosophy and culture.

LI-BIRD’s new 5-year strategic plan builds on the key lessons learned from the implementation of previous strategies. The new strategy put emphasis on inclusive economic growth for income and employment, and integrates disaster risk management and emergency response in our programmes. The new strategic plan aligns our ambitions with the national priorities, especially Nepal’s 20 Year Agriculture Development Strategy, and international priorities articulated in the Sustainable Development Goals.

In this strategy period, we will package key learnings for scaling-up, forge partnerships that can advance LI-BIRD’s learnings through large scale implementation, strengthen institutional governance, and increase work efficiency through systematisation and automation of our systems.

Our Vision

LI-BIRD envisions a society where people are resilient, healthy, food secure and live with dignity.

Our Mission

LI-BIRD’s mission is to diversify choices and secure livelihoods of smallholder farmers through innovative approaches to research and development in agriculture, biodiversity and natural resources.

Our Core Values

Local Initiative: We value local knowledge and culture, local initiatives and innovations, and participation of local communities and institutions in all aspects of our work.

Integrity: We act consistently with our vision. We are honest, transparent and accountable, and accept responsibility for our collective and individual actions.

Biodiversity: We believe in conserving biodiversity and improving ecosystem health as assets for reducing vulnerability and building resilient livelihoods.

Investment for future: We believe in investing in human capital, institutions and natural resources to protect the environment for the prosperity of present and future generations.

Respect: We respect capabilities, opinions, and values of individuals, socially excluded groups, communities, development partners, stakeholders, staff, and our members.

Diversity: We value diversity in terms of people, ethnicity, culture, social norms, partners, staff, and our members.

Our Impact Goal

Contribute to reducing poverty by strengthening resilient livelihood systems, improving ecosystem health and services, and ensuring food, nutrition and income security of smallholder farmers, especially women and youths..

Our Programming Principles

The following programming principles will inform and guide the way we work in all of our programmes:

Principle 1: Demonstrate and deliver tangible benefit to target groups

Principle 2: Promote participation of multi-sectoral stakeholders in research and development to generate scalable solutions

Principle 3: Align actions with national priorities to contribute to national food security and sustainable development goals

Principle 4: Generate synergies and leverage resources for achieving cost-effectiveness and impact at scale

Principle 5: Create an enabling environment by empowering communities, institutions and networks

Our Impact Group

Our impact group is the population upon which LI-BIRD’s projects and programmes aim to have a positive impact, with long-term commitment. Our impact group is smallholder farmers, especially women and youths, who depend on agriculture, biodiversity and natural resources for their livelihoods. The lasting changes we can bring in their lives will determine the extent of our success.

Our target groups are:

  • Communities in highly food deficit rural areas;
  • Women and youths, especially aspirant and returnee migrants;
  • Climate-vulnerable and disaster-prone communities;
  • Disaster affected individuals and communities;
  • Landless and land poor communities; and
  • Farmers living in rural-urban interface and road corridor areas.