To enable people to better cope with the long-term impacts of climate change, the government has taken an initiative to train local government bodies to work towards becoming Climate Smart Villages (CSV).

In a three-day national-level orientation programme that concluded in Kathmandu and Kavre district on Friday, executive officers of local governments were introduced to the concept of climate resilient villages and the ways they can prepare themselves to deal with the consequences of climate change.

The CSV programme started as a pilot project in the fiscal year 2016-17 with 14 climate-change vulnerable districts. It has brought together 41 local governments from across the country to share their experiences and work towards becoming resilient to the adverse effects of climate change.

According to Buddhiraj Ghimire, senior agriculture economist at the Department of Environment, local authorities were trained on the concepts of CSV. “These local councils are already getting budget to implement the CSV programmes.

They lack the basic knowledge on what a climate-change resilient village is, and how they can work to become one,” said Ghimire, adding that the programme oriented them on the concept of a CSV, the solutions it offers and its environment-friendly practices.

During the programme, participants were introduced to the Climate Smart Village guidelines, prepared by the government, which could work as a model for local level authorities to draft similar work plans for themselves. “The CSV guidelines should encourage local level authorities to develop their own work plan so they can implement them as soon as possible. They can also refer to the government’s guidelines,” said Ghimire.

The programme is being supported by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)

and the Department of Environment.