Kathmandu, Dec 1: Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN)’s Climate Change Partnership Program organized a three-day event titled ‘National Training Workshop on REDD+, GCF, Indigenous Peoples’ Issues and Rights’ on August 14-16, in Pokhara.

Highlighting the objectives of the event, the Program’s National Coordinator Tunga Bhadra Rai said the program was held ‘to make aware and capacitate the NEFIN’s leadership and its District Coordination Councils, and its affiliated indigenous peoples’ organizations and networks, on REDD+ and Green Climate Fund-related activities.”

A total of 42 people (26 men and 16 women) including 11 delegates from DCCs, 17 from IPOs, 10 from the NEFIN Federal Secretariat were in attendance.

At the event, the participants were oriented on latest developments with regard to climate change, related provisions laid out in various agreements and decisions made at Conference of Parties (COPs), under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including the Cancun Agreement and the Paris Agreement.

The workshop also discussed national and international obligations of the Nepal government under international law as to protecting and promoting the country’s indigenous peoples’ rights related to REDD+, GCF and climate finance plans and programs, with a focus on Nepal’s ongoing GCF readiness activities.
A second such workshop was held in Bhaktapur, on November 21-23, 2018, attended by a total of 37 participants (21 men and 16 women) from NEFIN and its affiliated IPOs and networks. Representatives from the REDD Implementation Centre (RIC) and the Nationally Designated Authority for GCF program and IPs experts, among others, held sessions to orient the participants on ongoing REDD+ and GCF initiatives, including the procedure and efforts made so far for accessing GCF.

“These workshops were very effective in making the participants aware of, and building their capacity to deal with, issues pertaining to REDD+ and GCF in the national and international contexts. During these national gatherings, the participants discussed and collectively related issues and came up with their recommendations on the GCF program and the Gender Strategy (the latter being drafted by RIC). We have also formally submitted those recommendations to the government,” said Rai.