KATHMANDU — Nepal is set to receive $45 million under a World Bank program rewarding it for protecting its forests, but the communities on the frontlines of that effort could miss out, stakeholders say. That could potentially turn this inaugural payment from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) into an expensive experiment with minimal benefits for local communities, they warn. “At the heart of the issue is the involvement of too many government institutions such as the Ministry of Finance, the Forest Development Fund, the Ministry of Forest and Environment, the provincial governments, and potentially the divisional forest offices,” said lawyer Dilraj Khanal, who specializes in natural resources. Because the money doesn’t go directly from the World Bank’s FCPF to the communities involved in forest protection, it risks being bogged down and slashed at every stage of the different government ministries and departments it has to pass through. The initial payment of $45 million is part of the total $1.3 billion global fund for the 2.4 million tons of carbon stored in the forests of the 13 districts that make up the Terai Arc landscape, the lowland area of Nepal that’s home to the iconic Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris). That sum equates to the avoided emissions from protecting forests between 2018 and 2024, calculated at a rate of $5 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent under the REDD+ program to save forests, restore biodiversity, and promote sustainable economic growth. For Nepal to get paid, it has to show proof…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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