Antalya (Türkiye), November 12 – Nepal has pledged to strengthen locally led climate adaptation through the Least Developed Countries Initiative for Effective Adaptation and Resilience (LIFE-AR).
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment Geeta Chaudhary made the commitment while addressing the official announcement of the LIFE-AR Facility at the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) on November 11.
She said LIFE-AR was more than a funding mechanism placing vulnerable communities at the centre of climate planning, decisions and delivery while supporting local priorities.
Citing the disaster that struck the Rasuwa-Bhotekoshi region on August 26, 2026, Chaudhary said preliminary estimates put the death toll at more than 1,457 with 5,285 people still missing. Around 15,000 households or 60,000 people were directly affected.
A preliminary assessment by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority estimates that recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction will require about $4.78 billion equivalent to nearly 10 percent of Nepal’s gross domestic product.
Chaudhary called for timely, accessible, predictable and grant-based climate finance alongside stronger institutions, technical capacity, climate information services and early-warning systems.
Nepal signed an MoU with LIFE-AR on May 8, 2026 and is now working on its establishment. It will host the initiative’s 15th board meeting in Kathmandu next year, she said.
