The Hariyo Ban Program

The Hariyo Ban program is an initiative designed to benefit nature and people in Nepal with the financial support of $ 30 million from USAID for 5 years. It is being implemented with a consortium of international and national NGOs: WWF (lead), CARE, National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), and the Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN). Government of Nepal is a key partner and beneficiary of Hariyo Ban Program as are local communities. The program also partners with other NGOs, academic institutions and the private sector. The program covers east-west Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) and the north-south Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape (CHAL) in the country.
The program aims to reduce adverse impacts of climate change and threats to biodiversity in Nepal through three integrated objectives: 1) to reduce threats to biodiversity in targeted landscapes; 2) to build the structures, capacity and operations necessary for an effective sustainable landscape management, especially REDD+ readiness; and 3) to increase an ability of target human and ecological communities to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. Livelihoods, governance, and gender and social inclusion are three cross cutting themes of Hariyo Ban that has to integrate in all its activities.
Hariyo Ban has three main components that are closely linked; Biodiversity conservation, Sustainable landscape, Climate change adaptation, livelihoods, gender and social inclusion are important cross-cutting themes for the program. Hariyoban’s success will largely depend on the integration and synergy of the three main components, and the interweaving of the cross-cutting themes. Successful biodiversity conservation through protection of habitat for key species, such as tigers, can help build ecosystem resiliency and combat environmental degradation and deforestation.