Outcome NPL_D_1.3

By 2027, more people, especially women, youth, children, and the most marginalised and poor, increasingly benefit from and contribute to building an inclusive, sustainable, climate-resilient and green society and reduced impacts of disasters at federal, provincial, and local levels. (UNSDCF Outcome 3)

In the reporting period, some progress was made towards promoting an inclusive, sustainable, climate-resilient, and green society, particularly benefiting women, youth, children, and the marginalized. T he government of Nepal has made strong commitment and efforts towards strengthening gender equality in climate action. This was evidenced by the appointment of Ms. Binita Guragain as the new Gender Focal Point for UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the federal Ministry of Forest and Environment. Ms. Binita was able to strengthen her expertise on gender responsive right-based climate action through her participation in the cross-country learning workshop on “Enhancing capacity from design to action – gender responsive rights-based climate action, organized by UN Women Center for Excellence in Korea. One of they UN Women personnel from Nepal Country Office also facilitated a session on “gender-responsiveness in climate action”. A total of 13 women (five government officials and eight CSO members) enhanced their skills through various international trainings in gender-responsive climate action and disaster risk reduction with financial and technical support from UN Women. Two participants from Women Humanitarian and Disaster Risk Reduction Platform and Women Friendly Disaster Management Group are now conducting the Rapid Gender Assessment (RGA) in the earthquake affected districts namely, Jajarkot and West Rukum, to assess differential needs and concerns of diverse women for recovery phase. These members received training on women's participation and leadership in crisis response and RGA with funding support from UN Women. UN Women has also established a partnership with Feminist Dalit Organization to distribute relief package in the same districts. Women and excluded people in Bajhang district are now accessing information related to post disaster services provided by the local government and service providers. Additionally, the household work burden on these women was reduced with the use of fuel-saving and improved cooking devices provided by UN Women. Further, they also reported notable reduction of indoor air pollution otherwise caused by the traditional cooking stoves, ultimately contributing to their health condition. A total of 250 women affected by earthquake in Bajhang district received relief items including solar radio and fuel-saving cooking devices. This was facilitated by Women for Human Rights, a single women’s group, with funding support from UN Women.

By 2027, more people, especially women, youth, children, and the most marginalised and poor, increasingly benefit from and contribute to building an inclusive, sustainable, climate-resilient and green society and reduced impacts of disasters at federal, provincial, and local levels. (UNSDCF Outcome 3)

Some progress towards this outcome was made. Women including those from the most marginalized backgrounds increasingly benefitted from and contributed to building gender responsive climate resilient and green societies via strengthened capacitates and enabling policy environment. Women in five municipalities of highly climate-vulnerable Bagmati Province (Dhulikhel Municipality, Hariharpurgadhi Rural Municipality, Marin Rural Municipality, Namobuddha Municipality and Bethanchowk Rural Municipality) are now advocating for gender responsive services and resources from their local municipalities in support of strengthening their climate adaptation and resilience capacities. These women were previously provided with capacity strengthening support by UN Women, via REFLECT sessions focusing on the impacts of climate change, disaster risk reduction (DRR), seasonal calendar change, agriculture and women’s rights. The partner reports show that women’s advocacy has been aided by strengthened capacities of duty bears, who are able to understand the climate and DRR impacts and have institutionalized such learnings via creation and integration of gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) concerns in the draft GEDSI Action Plans in five municipalities at local level. These GEDSI considerations are also being institutionalized at the national level. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority is now implementing the Strategic Action Plan for GEDSI in Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) which was adopted in May 2024. Four task teams/committees for GEDSI in DRRM, have been formed in Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi, Amargadhi, and Jay Prithivi municipalities to further localize the implementation of this Strategic Action Plan. Furthermore, the GEDSI Paper prepared by the federal Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE) highlights the key concerns related to gender in the climate agenda. UN Women’s both financial and technical inputs contributed to achieving these results. UN Women in partnership with HIMAWANTI conducted REFLECT trainings for women while providing capacity development support to duty bearers as well as part of gender-responsive climate-smart village project. These capacity building initiatives were informed by the findings from two research UN Women published with CIPRED and IHRR on impacts of climate on indigenous women and climate-smart technologies to reduce women’s time-poverty and drudgery respectively. Further, UN Women in coordination with UNDP and UNICEF, supported the localization of the Strategic Action Plan for GEDSI in DRRM, where UN Women provided technical inputs to draft the Strategic Action Plan for GDESI in DRRM, a milestone document which was recognized in the Asia-Pacific region. These engagements have also secured UN Women’s leadership as the co-lead of Gender thematic groups in the 3rd Nationally Determined Contribution, working alongside MoFE, MoWCSC, UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCO to ensure sectoral and GEDSI targets are ambitious to address women’s climate and disaster impacts. Based on the progress made, the strategy and theory of change for this outcome is largely still applicable. If as expected, these strategies are successful, by 2027, more women and young girls will have built their climate resilience and contributed to building a green society with reduced disaster impacts leading to reduction of human life due to climate change and DRR.

By 2027, more people, especially women, youth, children, and the most marginalised and poor, increasingly benefit from and contribute to building an inclusive, sustainable, climate-resilient and green society and reduced impacts of disasters at federal, provincial, and local levels. (UNSDCF Outcome 3)

Significant progress was made towards this outcome, with clear advancements observed across federal, provincial, local, and community levels in strengthening gender-responsive climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction (DRR), preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience. The reporting period reflected measurable improvements in institutional capacity, community mechanisms, and women’s leadership, collectively contributing to the realization of an inclusive, sustainable, and climate-resilient society. Governments, civil society and community-based organizations adopted enhanced gender-responsive and inclusive climate and disaster risk reduction management (DRRM) practices. Five municipalities endorsed Gender and Climate Action Plans with budget commitments to women-led enterprises and resilience initiatives. Women’s groups, including Dalit and Indigenous collectives, emerged as community leaders advancing climate-smart solutions and local advocacy. Community groups established learning platforms and collective advocacy mechanisms, while municipalities integrated GEDSI-responsive tools into DRRM governance systems. Partner reports, assessments, and government documents confirmed strengthened institutional capacity. At the federal level, GEDSI priorities were integrated into Nepal’s Third Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) implementation plan and the Early Warning for All roadmap. Provincial and municipal duty bearers engaged in reviewing DRRM Strategic Action Plans and preparedness plans, leading to improved GEDSI integration. Local governments in Marin, Hariharpurgadi, Bethanchowk, Dhulikhel, and Namobuddha incorporated gender-responsive priorities into fiscal year plans. Community-level evidence showed sustained gains: Women’s Learning Centers remained active post-project; the Women’s Climate-DRR Manifesto was submitted to Nepal’s COP30 delegation; and a piloted community kitchen served 403 flood-affected individuals, reducing women’s unpaid care burdens. In four municipalities in Bagmati Province, women’s groups also secured public resources from local governments to support women-led enterprises, climate-smart agriculture, and other resilience initiatives. UN Women played a central role through sustained technical, normative, coordination, and operational support. Nationally, it led multi-stakeholder consultations for the NDC-3 plan, contributed to the Early Warning for All technical working group, and supported the Sustainable Mountain Development Framework. At subnational levels, UN Women strengthened duty bearers’ capacity for GEDSI-responsive DRRM planning, cluster coordination, and simulations. It also supported partners (HIMAWANTI, ClimAdapt, CDAFN, ROYM) in learning sessions, municipal dialogues, and community kitchens. UN Women generated foundational knowledge products, including the "State of Gender Equality and Climate Change in Nepal (2025)" and the "Gender-Responsive Assessment of Climate-Induced Loss and Damage," in collaboration with ICIMOD and UNEP. Eight institutional SOPs and guidance tools further strengthened humanitarian programming. Government agencies such as NDRRMA, MoWCSC, and local governments provided leadership in integrating GEDSI into DRRM plans. Partners like ROYM and HIMAWANTI facilitated community preparedness, evidence generation, and outreach. UNDRR, UNEP, FAO, UNDP, UNICEF, and ICIMOD provided technical cooperation. Donors including ECHO, Finland, and UNDRR enabled scaling of urban preparedness and inclusive frameworks. BIMSTEC regional engagement allowed Nepal to align national progress with subregional climate-DRR strategies. The original theory of change remains valid. Strengthening institutional capacities, generating evidence, and empowering women’s organizations are effective drivers of gender-responsive climate change adaptation, DRR preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience and creating strong linkages with women’s economic empowerment. The pathway linking capacity strengthening, evidence-based policymaking, and institutional reform continues to yield results. As interventions mature, broader impacts are anticipated in women’s resilience, leadership, and equitable access to climate and DRR services. Strengthened local governance, community mechanisms, and regional collaboration are expected to contribute to sustained, inclusive, gender-responsive and climate resilient economy, directly advancing national commitments.