About Us

Background

Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands in Nepal (CSUWN), also known as "Wetlands project", is a joint undertaking of the Government of Nepal (GoN), Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MFSC) is the executing agency. CSUWN was initiated in January 2008 and will continue till June 2013. The two pilot project sites are Ghodaghodi Lake Area (GLA) in the far-western region and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR) in the eastern region of Nepal.

The project addresses the root causes of wetland degradation and loss of wetland habitats by integrating wetland management and conservation issues into national policies and plans, by strengthening national capacity and linking national actions with activities at the two demonstration sites.

CSUWN undertakes a combination of technical and institutional capacity building strategies from central to local levels. The project further supports the activities on collaborative management to enhance the access of women, poor and socially excluded (WPSE) groups as well as indigenous and wetland dependent communities (WDCs) to wetland resources for sustainable livelihoods. 

CSUWN attempts to address a range of economic, ecological and social challenges at the two project field sites to combine conservation and development needs for local and global environmental benefits. 

Goal

To ensure the maintenance and enhancement of wetland biodiversity and environmental goods and services for improved local livelihoods in Nepal.

Objective

To strengthen national and local capacity on ecosystem management and sustainable use of wetlands biodiversity in Nepal.

Expected Outcomes and their outputs

• Wetland biodiversity conservation values integrated into national policy and planning framework.
  • Inter-sectral co-ordination mechanism for wetland management strengthened
  • Wetland values and management principles intergrated into national policy and planning frameworks


• Strengthened national institutional, technical and economic capacity and awareness for wetland biodiversity conservation and sustainable use
  • Technical Knowledge base of sectoral planners for wetland management enhanced
  • Institutional capacity of key sectoral Ministries on wetland management strengthened
  • Awareness on wetland values and issues amongst decision makers, local people and their representatives enhanced


• Enhanced collaborative management of wetland resources for conservation and sustainable livelihoods
  • Model collaborative management system for conservation and sustainable use of wetland resources in two pilot sites developed and established
  • District Forest Office, Reserve and local partners implement collaborative conservation programs
  • Buffer Zone Management Committee and Community Forest Users Groups implement sustainable development and livelihood programs contributing to wetland conservation

Strategy

The project attempts to address the root causes of wetlands degradation and loss by

• Strengthening national policy, capacity and awareness on wetlands
• Linking national actions at two demonstration sites.
• Employing existing inter-sectoral and multi-stakeholder structures and mechanisms wherever possible.
• Planning activities to influence wetlands policy and practice

Approach

The main approaches utilized by the project to achieve its goal and objective is:

• Using existing structure and mechanisms
• Focusing on wetland conservation and meeting the livelihood needs of Wetland Dependent Communities
• Forging Partnerships with DDCs, VDCs, BZ institutions, other UNDP supported projects, CFUGs, CBOs, other institutions and civil societies to engender support for conservation and development.