Provincial-level stakeholder consultation meeting for GESI-responsive natural resource management planning

Women are active users of natural resources; yet their voices are rarely sought during planning to manage these resources. This is also the case for other disadvantaged groups, including minority social and ethnic communities in Nepal. Through the Kailash Sacred Landscape Initiative, ICIMOD and HIMAWANTI Nepal worked with two rural municipalities of Nepal – Saipal in Bajhang District, and Byas in Darchula District – to prepare GESI-responsive five-year action plans for natural resource management. The plans were prepared with the active engagement of the respective rural municipality chairpersons, ward representatives, and other stakeholders representing both community as well as government agencies. Special emphasis was placed on securing the participation of women and Dalit community members in the planning process. The five-year plans were then presented to relevant stakeholders in their respective district headquarters.To secure the upscaling of the GESI-responsive natural resource management planning process, this one-day consultation meeting is being conducted in Dhangadi, Sudurpaschim Province, with the following objectives:

• Share the five-year GESI-responsive natural resource management action plans of Byas and Saipal rural municipalities with provincial-level stakeholders
• Present the training manual for preparing GESI-responsive natural resource management plans for further uptake of the process