PROJECT PLAN for years 2012 - 2014 Please note the instructions for filling in this project plan form in the Application guide or the internet: http://global.finland/english/ngo/index.htm

new project

continuation of on-going project, MFA project code_________, project initiation year _______

project is based on earlier forms of co-operation, years_______

the planning of project has been supported by MFA preparation trip allowance, year________

Organisation: 1. Basic information on the Project

1.1 Name of organisation registered in Finland

Maailman Luonnonsäätiö Suomen Rahasto, (WWF Suomi)

1.2 Name of Project in Finnish

Hyvää työtä terveessä ympäristössä – Työntekijöiden järjestäytyminen ja koulutus luonnonvarojen kestävän käytön takaamiseksi

1.3 Name of Project in English

Good work, healthy environment- Mobilisation of workers to become champions of sustainable management of natural resources through organised unions.

1.4 Name of Project in other relevant language

1.5 Location of Project (country, province, village/municipality)

Nepal (national), Terai Arc Landscape (TAL), Sacred Himalayan Landscape (SHL)

1.6 Name of the local partner organisation

WWF Nepal Programme Office

1.7 Contact details of local partner organisation

(Mr) Anil Manandhar Country Representative WWF Nepal anil.manandhar@wwfnepal.org Tel: +977 1 4434820 Fax: +977 1 4438458

1.8 Representatives of the co-operation Partner responsible for the Project and their contact information, if other than above

(Dr) Ghana Gurung Conservation Programme Director WWF Nepal ghana.gurung@wwfnepal.org Tel: +977 1 434820 Fax: Fax: +977 1 4438458

1.9 Internet home pages of the co-operation Partner and/or the Project (if any)

www.wwfnepal.org

1.10 Planned initiation and termination dates (on a yearly level) of the Project

January 1. 2012- December 31. 2014

×

Please answer the following question and fill in the budget summary (1.13) only after answering all other questions on the form.

1.11 Summary of the Project plan. Describe here briefly (max. 700 characters) the development problem that this project is addressing, its immediate objective and the practical means through which these objectives are to be reached:

Effective participation of the formal and informal forestry sector workers and local communities is essential to ensure successful implementation of sustainable forest management and biodiversity protection in Nepal. Many forest workers working under CFUGs have been found unorganized, resulting in problems with health and safety issues and rights of workers. In addition, the workers have lack of knowledge on sustainable harvesting and other forest management methods. This project will strengthen the rights and safety of forest trade union members and improve the ecological values of forests by educating the wood workers on sustainable forest management and biodiversity protection.

Figure 1. Project approach

1.12 If this Project is the continuation of an earlier project, please describe here the main results of

- WORKER’S RIGHTS- OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY- ORGANISATION- EMPOWERMENT

-SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF FORESTS AND NR-CONSERVATION-SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS- CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION

UNIONS WWF

OutreachStrengthened civil societyStrong institutionsSocial mobilisiation

Sustainably managed forestsReduced forest firesClimate proofed developmentGreen jobs and livelihood opportunities

MEMBERS

MEMBERSMEMBERS

GOOD WORK & HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT

the earlier stages of the Project.

N/A

1.13 Budget Summary

year 2012 2013 2014

Self-financing of the Organisation

26 945 27 988 27 353

Project support application 152 686 158 595 154 998

Total costs 179 631 186 583 182 351

1.14 Other funding of the Project (if any). If the Project receives other funding, please state here the amount and the source of the funding:

Amount Source

2. Local Partner Organisation and nature of co-operation

2.1. Please describe the criteria used in choosing the co-operation Partner.

The cooperation partner chosen is WWF Nepal, an affiliate of the WWF Global network. It is a highly credible and visible conservation organization in Nepal and has been playing pivotal role in Nepal since 1967 to conserve natural resources and ecological processes through concerted actions at local, national and international levels. Field projects of WWF Nepal currently cover more than 38% of the area of the country, majority of which are trans boundary in nature (GON 2004, 2006). As such, it is one of the key WWF network offices in the region and houses regional coordinators/experts to number of key programs. This makes the organization a regional hub for expertise including livelihood related issues. Prioritized as the development cooperation partner of WWF Finland, WWF Nepal has long term association with the Government of Finland and has already acquired four consecutive phases of technical and financial support (2003 – 2012) from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) with the very successful donor rating in terms of sustainable management of natural resources. This track record is supported by external evaluations and third party audits. The role of WWF Nepal has been instrumental even during insurgency with wider acceptance from the government, local communities and other partners. The organization has maintained strong alliance with the Governmental, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, local Community Based Organizations and grass-root communities in Nepal. WWF Nepal has built stable partnerships with government line agencies; Ministry of Environment (MoE), Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Department of Forest, relevant stakeholders and partners and local communities including Buffer Zone (BZ) and Community Forestry Coordination Committees (CFCC). The longstanding relationship between the applicant organisation and WWF Nepal is also a one that is easy to build on. Over the years, both organisations have developed good communication and trust among themselves, which are crucial especially at times, when there are unexpected situations that often occur during project implementation. Therefore, risk management has also been considered as a major factor in the partner selection criteria.

2.2 Has the Organisation previously worked with this Partner? If so, please describe the nature of this co-operation and when it took place?

Yes, WWF Finland and WWF Nepal have worked together for many years implementing various activities in Terai Arc Landscape and Sacred Himalayan Landscape. WWF Finland, with its long-standing partnership with the Government of Finland has been instrumental in bringing out the landscape restoration in the Terai Arc landscape, snow leopard conservation in the mountains, improving the livelihoods of the communities through small and medium enterprises and establishing REDD mechanisms on the ground and linking them effectively into national processes. The lessons learnt from the implementation of these projects on the ground advocate the effective participation of the formal and informal forestry sector workers and local communities to ensure successful implementation on the ground. In addition, number of forest workers working under CFUGs have been found to be unorganized resulting in minimal attention to occupational health and safety issues and rights of workers. Thus the proposed project will play a crucial role in building linkages between sustainable development of forestry sector while ensuring the rights of wood workers are adequately addressed. WWF Finland under MFA support has worked with WWF Nepal on the following projects since 2003 till date:

1. “Strengthening restoration of biological corridor in the Terai Arc Landscape, Nepal” (2003-2008) has been continued for third consecutive phase (2009-2011) for “Participatory development of livelihoods, natural resource management approaches and innovative community conservation in Terai Arc, Nepal”. The project aims at restoration of the degraded corridors, biogas installations, sustainable livelihoods, education and awareness and capacity build up. 2. “Conservation of the elusive and endangered Snow leopard (Uncia uncia) in priority sites of the Sacred Himalayan Landscape, Nepal” (July 2005-Dec 2008). Some of the major achievements of the project include establishment of a community-based livestock insurance scheme Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer zone, pilot construction of prototype of predator proof cattle sheds in Upper Dolpo and establishment of community-based mechanism of monitoring poaching and trade of endangered species like snow leopard. The project ended in 2009. 3. REDD- “Reducing poverty in Nepal, through innovative and equitable carbon financing mechanism”(REDD Phase I: 2009-2010), focused on avoided deforestation and forest degradation” The REDD phase I funding has been instrumental in a way that it has been a platform to build the learning to take up REDD issues on a national level and how Nepal could benefit from it. Through this support, WWF Nepal has realized on-the-ground implementation of forest carbon inventory which is a benchmark and a pioneer initiative on its own in the entire country. WWF Finland will also be working very closely with the Nepal office to share experiences to other developing countries (south-south cooperation) and other developed countries (north-south cooperation) 4. “Integrated River Basin Management at Koshi River – Safeguarding the lives of millions” (2010-2012) which focuses on ensuring sustainable freshwater supply and associated ecosystem services to the poor people living in and around the Koshi basin in Nepal, and for people that are depending on the same in India. 5. REDD- “Reducing poverty in Nepal, through innovative and equitable carbon financing mechanism”(REDD Phase II: 2011-2013), addresses the problem of emissions from deforestation and degradation, loss of biodiversity and lack of incentives for forest conservation in Nepal. It aims at establishing a functional, transparent and equitable benefit sharing mechanism based on REDD Plus to effectively contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, conserving biodiversity and improving the livelihoods of forest dependent people of Nepal. The project focuses on developing the capacity of local communities, government and civil society on REDD Plus, establishing a forest carbon database in TAL and SHL and developing methodologies to implement functional REDD Plus mechanism. 6. “Integrating Sexual and Reproductive Health and Biodiversity Conservation for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in Nepal”(2011-2013) to implement and integrated population, health and environment (PHE) project, using human rights based approach as the framework. The project envisions sustainable management of natural resources and increased access to sexual and reproductive health services contribute to improved livelihood conditions of 434,647 population living in critical areas and bottlenecks of Terai Arc Landscape. WWF Finland has been a central actor in facilitating WWF’s global network initiative called “Living Himalayas Initiative”, which is aiming at preserving the unique biodiversity in the Eastern Himalayas in the regions of three countries; Nepal, Bhutan and India. WWF Nepal is part of this regional programme bringing in important knowledge and resources.

2.3 Additional information on the co-operation Partner.

WWF Nepal is a well established conservation organization in Nepal. Prior to the establishment of Nepal office in May 1993, WWF supported the conservation work in Nepal from WWF US office. At the moment, WWF Nepal is manned with more than 56 full time staff based both in the centre and in the field and runs five major conservation projects, covering more than 38% of the area of the country. The core competency of the staff ranges from decades of experience in forestry and biodiversity conservation to technical capabilities in the areas of climate change adaptation, forest carbon and renewable energy and there are designated staff members who specialize in the areas of livelihoods/ community development, conservation education, wildlife trade control and policy and advocacy. The role of WWF, government of Nepal and local communities with respect to delivering conservation results in the ground is depicted in Figure 2. Figure 3 and 4 shows its working modality and organogram respectively.

· Scientific Knowledge

· Fundraising

When applicable:

· Authority

· Legal Mandate

· Capacity to deliver

· Mandate

WWF Nepal brings:Government of Nepal

brings: Community brings:

MoFSC, MoEST,

WECS

WWF

Projects

SWC Countersigns

Communities

· Funds $$

· Support Staff (Technical

and financial)

· Procedures & tools

· Reporting guidelines

· Staff support

whenever applicable

· Matching funds (kind & cash)

· Outputs

· Reports

WWF Nepal gives: Government of Nepal

gives: Community gives:

Reports

Funds $$/

Technical

Assistance

Reports

Funds $$

Project Implementation by WWF Nepal and Communities

Figure 2: Project Implementation by WWF Nepal and Communities

Figure 3: Working modality of WWF with government and community based organisations

Figure 4: Organogram of WWF Nepal

2.4 How will the co-operation Partner participate in the implementation of the Project (e.g. does it provide labour, economic resources, other assets)?

The cooperation partner WWF Nepal along with its other implementing partners will participate in project implementation through following deliberations o Designing, planning and implementing the project in coordination with SASK, NAC, CUPPEC,

CAWUN, TAL and SHL project staff, WWF Finland, Department of Forest (DoF), Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), CFUGs (Community Forestry User Groups), CFCCs (Community Forestry Coordination Committees), BZUCs (Buffer Zone User Committees), BZUGs (Buffer Zone User Groups), grass-root beneficiaries

o Conduct base line survey, final evaluation and focus group discussions o Implementation of project strategies and activities according to the plan o Fund management and accountability with respect to expenditure of project funds o Regular monitoring and supervision of project activities and outcomes o Management of mid-term and final evaluation o Submission of periodic and final reports on project activities and outcomes according to the donor's

requirements. o Submission of quarterly, annual and final financial and progress reports. o Annual submission of organizational audited accounts to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland

and WWF Finland Human resource: WWF Nepal will be responsible for the coordination of overall project activities. The Director- Policy and Support will oversee the project coordination and WWF will hire/recruit technical expert on part time or full time basis as per the requirement of the project. The coordinators for TAL and SHL program will be responsible for project implementation and will coordinate with the centre and field staff on the same. SASK will facilitate the implementation of the red components through NAC, CUPPEC and CAWUN. . Administrative and logistic support: WWF Nepal will work through its existing project offices in TAL and SHL and will arrange administrative and logistic support as and when required. Material support: Both WWF Nepal and SASK will manage training and awareness materials in the form of manuals, brochures, audio visuals etc.

Outreach: WWF will hire relevant consultants to complete appropriate tasks to complete the project and will work with relevant stakeholders and partners to deliver on the project activities at the central, regional and local level.

2.5 Are there other parties involved in the co-operation (e.g. Finnish, local or international organisations or officials)? If so, please describe their role and involvement in the Project.

Government line ministries: Department of Forest (DoF), Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) The project will work closely with DoF and DNPWC in implementing green activities in the project sites. Trainings, awareness raising programs and ground implementation will occur in coordination with the departments. Community based organizations

· CFCCs: Community Forest Coordination Committees

· CFUG: Community Forest User Group

· BZMC: Buffer Zone Management Council

· BZUG: Buffer Zone User Groups

· Local CBOs/ NGOs

Community Based Forest Fire Management (CBFiM): Trainers from CBFiM will be consulted for providing trainings on forest fires to the forest based trade union groups

Trade Unions: Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland (SASK)

The Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland (SASK) was founded in 1986 by the central organization of Finnish trade unions and its affiliated unions. Since then, it has become a widely representative solidarity body of the Finnish trade union movement in managing overseas development assistance projects in the area of labour and trade union development. Currently SASK manages over 55 projects in 40 different countries. Using trade union solidarity as its platform, SASK aims to promote social and economic equality in developing countries by supporting labour and trade union organizations. SASK believes that a strong and democratic trade union movement is a cornerstone of a functional civil society. This can be achieved through promoting independent and strong trade unions that are governed and financed by their members. SASK works in close partnership with other Trade Union Solidarity Support Organisations (TUSSO) including those in Nordic countries to ensure that resources can be better coordinated to enhance benefits.

Building and Wood Workers International (BWI)

The BWI is the Global Union Federation grouping of free and democratic unions with members in the building, building materials, wood, forestry and allied sectors. The BWI comprises of around 328 trade unions representing approximately 12 million members in 130 countries. Its main mission is to promote the development of trade unions in the wood and forestry, construction, plumbing, and painting sectors globally; and to promote and enforce workers rights in the context of sustainable development. The forestry and construction unions from Finland are also members of BWI. There are two affiliates, CAWUN and CUPPEC, of BWI in Nepal.

Construction and Allied Workers Union in Nepal (CAWUN)

The Construction and Allied Workers Union in Nepal draws its membership of workers from six sectors which are related to the construction and building industry. They are as follows (i) wood and forest sector, (ii) electricity and energy sector, (iii) furniture sector, (iv) water and plumbing sector, (v) construction sector and (vi) allied sectors including painting, flooring etc. Currently it has 120,000 members and an organizational set up in 43 districts. CAWUN is affiliated to the Nepal Trade Union Congress – Independent (NTUC-I), the national centre which is politically affiliated to a centrist party in Nepal.

Central Union of Painters, Plumbers, Electro and Construction (CUPPEC)

The Central Union of Painters, Plumbers, Electro and Construction Workers – Nepal is also a national federation of workers from the construction sector with a total membership of 85,000. It organizes the masons, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, house painters, hoarding board and sign board makers, workers in marble and chip factories, and workers who work on bridges, roads, canals, buildings,

hydropower, furnaces, gardens, mines, and wood. The federation has been expanded to 52 districts. CUPPEC is nationally affiliated to GEFONT, which is politically allied to the centre left party in Nepal which has a similar ideology as the Social Democratic Party in Finland.

Nepal Affiliated Committee (NAC)

The BWI facilitated the establishment of the Nepal Affiliated Committee which is made up of 4 members each from CAWUN and CUPPEC. The committee was formed to promote industrial peace, reduce unnecessary competition for membership, and seek commons areas for partnership. The chair of the committee is rotated between the two organizations on a two year tenure basis. The NAC is well placed and experienced to facilitate and manage projects. For this project also, NAC will play a central facilitating role in mobilizing and organizing forest based trade unions.

3. Background and sustainability of the Project

3.1 How was the Project idea initiated? Is it e.g. a part of a larger Program?

With the onset of global threats such as climate change over world’s scarce and most valued resources such as forests, species and freshwater, WWF worldwide today has broadened its approaches of reaching out to all levels of stakeholders in the society to ensure that every individual is a part of this global movement of conserving our natural resources. For a developing country like Nepal, the issue is even more pressing as the local populace whose livelihood depends on these resources actually at times knowingly and unknowingly contribute to its loss. Throughout the implementation of diverse projects under TAL and SHL, it has been strongly felt that landscape level conservation is possible only with a united support of all level of stakeholders and right-holders active in the landscape. Some of the existing and potential threats to biodiversity conservation such as forest fires, poaching, illegal harvesting and trade etc remain to be a consistent challenge for the long term conservation efforts of the Government and organizations like WWF. While WWF is already working on issues such as forest restoration and protection and incentive mechanisms like REDD with the participation of local communities, the inclusion of organized groups like trade unions will be beneficial in order to achieve long term visions of landscape level conservation. The project idea was thus initiated on the basis that workers affiliated to forest trade unions have better understanding and know-how of conserving and sustainably managing forest resources. The idea of integrating forest workers of trade unions with the conservation sphere through this project is in itself a very innovative. It is probably the first time that the two biggest stakeholders in the forestry sector, one on conservation side and the other on the harvesting and utilization side have joined hands to ensure that conservation and social security are blend into one to bring out results that foster sustainable forest management and put a check on degradation and deforestation. WWF, SASK and Trade union partnership for the project was a result of thorough brainstorming sessions to produce a project that promotes conservation education and awareness to a larger section while also ensuring social safety of workers whose livelihoods depend on this sector.

3.2 Describe briefly the environment in which the Project will be implemented.

The history of trade union movement in Nepal is of recent origin. There were no trade unions in Nepal before 1945 as the country was under the family rule of Ranas. Nepal had followed closed-door economy having almost no relations with the outside world. In 1946 All Nepal Trade Union Congress (ANTUC) was formed and in 1947, Biratnagar Workers Union (BWU) was set up in the same year which initiated the first workers’ movement for the establishment of democracy in 1950. In 1951 ANTUC and BWU became united and formed the first trade union federation in Nepal. The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) in 1953 granted membership to ANTUC. After the democratic change of 1950, the

freedom of association allowed opportunities for many voluntary organisations in the country and workers too felt the need to be united under one umbrella to fight against the exploitation of the management and the government. The Nepalese political history took a new turn in 1960 when the King staged a putsch, banned the political parties and trade unions and established a non-party Panchayat system in 1962. This system limited the freedom of expression and association but envisioned creating exploitation-free society through the harmonisation and co-ordination of the interests of different classes. For this, six different class organisations including Nepal Labour organisation were created. As this organisation was controlled by the system and also that the central body was heavily politicised, the objective of ensuring the labour welfare remained unfulfilled. Still, some of the noticeable achievements were also made during this period in the field of labour administration, such as, establishment of a separate labour ministry, department and some labour offices and the admission of Nepal into the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as a member. Multi-party democracy was restored in the spring of 1990 in the country after the success of people's movement, in which many professional organisations, including workers, had actively participated. Three major federations existing in the country are Nepal Trade Union Congress - Independent (NTUC-I), All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF) and the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT). These three trade unions have a membership of over 1.7 million representing over 85% of organised workers in Nepal. All the trade union national centres in Nepal organise workers based on sectoral disciplines called ‘federations’ so that they can better represent in the collective bargaining. In Nepal, the wood workers are combined together with construction, plumbing, painting, electric and related sector workers. The GEFONT affiliated national centre which represents forest workers is called CUPPEC and the one associated with NTUC-I is called CAWUN. These unions represent the wood and forestry workers in Nepal. They are internationally affiliated to the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI). The leaders of CUPPEC and CAWUN receive mentoring and international networking experience through BWI leaders. In order to facilitate industrial peace and remove unnecessary competition, BWI has helped to set up a coordination committee of CAWUN and CUPPEC called the Nepal Affiliate Committee (NAC). It coordinates and facilitates the organising and trade union development activities in Nepal for this sector. The organisation is formed and managed by an NAC board comprised of equal members each from CAWUN and CUPPEC. The team is led by CAWUN and CUPPEC on a 2 year rotational basis. The decisions are made on a consensual basis. On the social aspect, unplanned migration (hill to Terai, rural-urban and international) has created significant social problems, such as environmental degradation, pressure on social services and loss of job opportunities. The adoption of liberal economic policies without adequate preparation has hindered native industries, which are still at the embryonic stages. Half of the population is under the poverty line. Women are one of the most disadvantaged segments of the population. They are not in the mainstream of development. Their life expectancy is less than that of the male population. The average life expectancy of the Nepalese is also one of the lowest in the world. Unchecked population growth has a tremendous negative impact on forest resources and the environment. Landslides, forest degradation, and water and air pollution are prodigious problems. Political stability was assumed to be a precondition to economic progress, but three decades of the Panchayat system did not result in any economic progress.It has been argued that ethnic and caste groups are mutually inclusive constructs, not mutually exclusive constructs. It is debated that the conventional ethnic-caste paradigm of understanding the Nepali society is a faulty and unscientific approach. Community forestry has had some positive impact on the management of forests, and it has been found that the more the beneficiary farmers participate in forest management, the better the forest is managed. But the handing over of the national forests to the forest user groups has been a slow process. The status of forests in terms of the crown percentage has declined. The Nepali government is hesitant to

commercialize the forest resources. It is fair to say that the government is probably losing more by not scientifically harvesting and managing the forest resources than by preserving most of the over-matured forest resources, including the hardwood timber. Water resources have not been harnessed properly. Progress irrigation development has been very slow -- most of the farming in Nepal is still dependent on monsoon rain. Though farmer-managed irrigation systems have been found to be more effective and efficient, the government has yet been unable to modify its larger-scale irrigation efforts to achieve similar effectiveness.

3.3 What is the general state of development in the field of the Project in the area? How does the local government function in this field and in these issues? How does the local government participate in the implementation of the Project - or limit it?

Nepal is home to some of the poorest people in the world. UNDP’s Human Development Index ranks the country at 138 out of 169 (UNDP, 2010). With nearly 31% people subsisting below 1$ day income, level of poverty prevalence is especially a concern for the country’s overall development, because over 80% of 27 million Nepalese that live in rural areas are invariably dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods and production systems. The TAL boundary encompasses 14 districts out of the 75 across 4 development regions namely the Central Development Region, Western Development Region, Mid-West development region and the far west development region. The total population is approximately 7 million of which 80% is agriculture dependant. TAL is a home to some of the world’s last remaining populations of Bengal tiger, one horned rhinos and Asian elephants who share their territory with local people who are heavily dependent on these natural resources for their subsistence. With limited off-farm opportunities, the majority of households rely on farming in very small landholdings. Better off households tend to use forests for production and profit whereas the poor have few assets, and are heavily dependant on forests for their subsistence livelihoods like fuel wood, fodder and non-timber forest products (NTFPs). The project will work across six districts in TAL, namely Kailali, Bardiya, Chitwan, Makwanpur, Bara and Nawalparasi. The SHL boundary encompasses 18 districts out of the 75 across 2 development regions namely the central and the eastern Development Region. Although SHL is presently sparsely populated with about 5 million people, its inhabitants face abject poverty. According to estimations, the bulk of its over 60% inhabitants below the poverty line are indigenous mountain people. Forestry, agriculture and tourism are dominant livelihood strategies adopted by over 80% people in SHL. Remoteness, poor communications and infrastructures also impede the development of market linkages for forest and agricultural products in the mountains. SHL inhabits key Himalayan species that includes Snow Leopards, Red Panda, Himalayan Thar and number of endemic plants and animals. The project will work in Rasuwa, Kavre and Sindhupalchok districts in SHL. The central level works will be carried out in Kathmandu. Striking a balance between the conservation and sustainable development of the local people is the major challenge in the landscapes. WWF as the proponent of the project will work with local NGO, CBO and government line agencies to expedite the projects activities. NAC will implement the activities with the support of its district line agencies in the project districts.

Figure 5: Project working areas in TAL and SHL

Status of local government

Nepal is transforming into a federal country. Thus local government will be the most powerful entity in the local context. However, until the new constitution is in place and the power is shared with the local government, the local government works under decentralized mechanism. The District Development Committee (DDC) functions as a district executant and village development council as the local body. At present, there is no elected body as such due to delay in election. Thus, the VDC committee has been formed by consensus of major political parties. The central government makes its presence in the districts through district level line agencies. District Forest Office (DFOs), Protected Areas Offices, District Education Office (DEO), District Women’s Office (DWO), Women Development Section (WDO) etc. represent key government line agencies to expedite and monitor general state affaire in the local context. The project will develop strong partnerships with VDCs to implement the project activities. Several conservation related activities will be developed based on the felt need as exhibited by the VDC planning process. The DDC, VDC and district line agencies will be part of joint planning and monitoring for the project activities. The VDC has a mechanism in place where all the district line agencies report on the progress of the development actions.

3.4 How has the Project been planned?

The project is the outcome of a strong felt need for a unique kind of partnership to address the complex issue of environment conservation and improving people’s livelihoods. The conservation sector was looking forward to reach out to the large section of society that controls the politics, environment and policy pattern of the country. Similarly, the trade union sector was working to transfer the recognition of being merely a political body into a responsible formation of the society that caters the needs to meet current challenges, including environmental and natural resource management. SASK and WWF both realized that together they can bring these two sections of society to work for the mutual benefit of the society and environment. So, several rounds of meeting and deliberations took place before actually conceptualizing a joint project. Thus, the whole project concept has been planned based on the deliberations from the resource persons from conservation and trade union sector. Efforts have been made to find the project strategies that cross across the interest and need of both the parties. The project planning process is best described as a bottom up participatory approach. The project concept is based on the needs of the grassroot level - the workers and people who have experienced frequent workplace injuries, ranging from minor injuries to fatalities. At the same time, communities are suffering from the impact of deforestation and degradation of their ecosystem. Workers and their communities are looking for ways to reduce these injuries, as well as improve their environment. From the beginning, a number of tripartite problem identification and project planning workshops were held. Two workshops, one in August 2010 and April 2011, were significant in terms of identifying major issues, developing strategies and implementation plans. One significant aspect of these meetings is also its role in building mutual understanding and trust between trade unions and the WWF. The project concept has been endorsed by the senior leaders of the trade unions as well as the senior conservation persons and institutions in and out of the country. WWF Finland and SASK have also had several sessions and discussions to develop and support this innovative partnership and they have also signed a separate Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration that covers also this project.

3.5 Describe the most essential problems of the beneficiaries that the Project is meant to address.

The following are the issues and problems from the perspective of the workers: (i) Lack of knowledge or capacity of workers in environmental management and conservation – the workers are aware of the environmental problems caused by the degradation of natural resources, but do not know how to ameliorate the situation despite their desire to do so. In addition, there is also a gap in understanding the linkage between the environment and livelihoods of the people. (ii) Workplace accidents – broken limbs and cuts in the hands and legs are common problems. To the part of forest workers, major accidents due to workers being struck by falling branches and trunks are also prevalent. These accidents not only inflict physical damage, but in many cases, workers are unable to continue working due to their disability. This impacts on the whole family as these workers are commonly the breadwinners. (iii) Violation of workers’ rights – most of the workers in forestry sectors are temporary or contract workers who are generally employed with verbal contracts. Any entitlements or benefits are given on the whim of contractors/employers. There is no adherence to minimum wages, overtime payment, job security and occupational health and safety guidelines. Payment is commonly on piece rates, thereby encouraging further the degradation of the environment as immature trees are targeted in order to boost income.

(iv) Workplace harassment – the lack of written contracts and agreements has led to the perpetuation of sexual harassment. Workers are afraid to speak up due to the fear of losing their jobs. This also discourages women from joining the industry. (v) Lack of organised workers – this means that workers are unable to seek fairer compensation from their employers. From the conservation perspective most common problem are: i) Collateral damage of environment: During the work several workers restore to collect forests products, burn the forest area, hunt or fell the establishing saplings for various purposes. The knowledge of conservation will help change the attitude and behaviour of the of forest workers in the first place. ii) Impact of climate change: The forest workers are more vulnerable to the adverse impact of climate change. The joint work will help change their understanding and teach them to adapt with the changing context. In addition, the same knowledge will be useful in changing the behaviour so that their works may cause minimum impact to the environment. iii) Improving forest conditions: The project will work towards improving the forest condition through promotion of sustainable forest management practices and reducing the incidences of forest offences so that it will have a multi fold impact on biodiversity, environment and people’s life. Iv) Forest encroachment: One of the major problems in conservation sector could be best addressed by working with workers unions who have several members who could support stop control the forest encroachment in the forest areas.

3.6 What are the risks that can compromise the outcome of the Project? How is the Project organisation planning to minimize these risks?

Risk 1: Political instability of the country While the country is just recovering from the wounds of the decade long armed insurgency, the struggle is still on to achieve overall political consensus. Power struggle amongst major political parties continue to pose hindrances in carrying out project field works. Democratic governance may be jeopardised if the major parties and their supporters are not able to find common ground to build on. Although the country has already taken a step towards federalism, uncertainties still prevail as to how long it would take to build a new constitution that would drive country’s natural and economic development processes. NRM sector continues to be under the pressure of how new regime would affect the division of natural resources and how on-the-ground activities could be implemented without drawing political lines.in the country. Solution 1: The project will be planned and implemented with the Community Forestry User groups (CFUGs), Community Forestry Coordination Committees (CFCC), Buffer Zone user groups/Council (BZUG/BZUC) in the project area that will ensure smooth functioning regardless of external disturbances. The capacity of these groups will be built in participatory decision making and conflict resolution to facilitate the implementation of the project. Local forest and conservation authorities, as well as civil society organisations will be involved so that all are kept informed of the purpose and process of the project. This will ensure the continuity of the project even if there is a change of political parties Risk 2: Unions and WWF may not find that it is appropriate to work together Solution 2: To ensure that this project is effectively executed with appropriate modalities, monthly group

meetings will be held to review the joint implementation process. This will enable problems to be solved regularly using a partnership model. The project will be implemented on the understanding that this will be an experiential learning project so that an active reflection and evaluation framework are used jointly by both partners in the spirit of cooperation. The aim is to link the project partners at a later stage to the Wood Workers International, a global union for forestry workers. It has vast experience of working with different bilateral and multilateral partners in the world to enhance cooperation between the partners and stakeholders.

3.7 Will the Project create a new institution or procedure or is it going to support some existing structure?

The Project will not create any new institutions, but rather it will strengthen the existing institutions from the relevant government line agencies to the local partners that include CBOs, NGOs, CFCC and CFUG, BZMC and BZUG working on forest and climate issues on a national, regional and local level. WWF Nepal has a well established implementation model for project execution in its priority conservation landscapes. Additionally, the project will primarily support the existing structure of the trade union through building capacity in project planning, management, negotiation, finance and accounting. The Nepal Affiliated Committee is a unique organisation in Nepal which promotes industrial harmony of workers from different political backgrounds in Nepal. If it is successful, it will become a model for future collaborative work in other sectors in Nepal. The project will also look at mechanisms to support occupational health and safety models and structure on the ground while utilizing the grassroots level organising to disseminate conservation awareness. All these structures will operate within the broader framework of Global Unions working in the forestry sector. They will continue to support these mechanisms even after the project ends.

3.8 How and when will the responsibility of the Project be transferred to the local government, local organisation or to the beneficiaries?

NAC is an officially registered organisation linked to the national trade union federations and global union federations. The global union federations have a longer term goal to assist in organising wood workers in Nepal. The aim of this project is to capacitate not only forest based trade unions, but individual wood workers as well, who in a long run are able to understand the crucial linkages of conservation and sustainability of the wood industry. Since the proposed activities under this project are directly implemented by the beneficiaries themselves, the project will already facilitate a process to ensure a smooth transition of knowledge and skills in a concurrent manner to the beneficiaries over its implementation period.

MFA

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Figure: Project working modality under SASK-WWF partnership

Fund flow

Reporting

coordination

4. Beneficiaries

4.1 Who are the direct beneficiaries of the Project? How many are they (approx.)?

There are 205,000 members of CAWUN and CUPPEC combined (CAWUN = 120,000 and CUPPEC = 85,000). Of these, 28,000 are women. They belong to two national centres, the NTUC-I (Nepal Trade Union Congress Independent) and GEFONT (General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions) which have an additional membership of 376,000 and 350,000 respectively.

4.2. Who are the indirect beneficiaries of the Project?

Indirect beneficiaries are the National Trade union sectors in Nepal. In addition Community based organizations like Community Forest Coordination committee (CFCC), CBOs, Community forestry user groups, poor, marginalized and disadvantaged groups and women indirectly benefit from this project .In fact, community of the project target area which mostly depends on forest resources can be also included as other indirect beneficiaries. If the project support applied for is less than 20.000 €, please answer the following question:

4.3 How do the beneficiaries themselves participate in the Project?

If the project support applied for is 20.000 € or more, please answer the following question:

4.4 Define the nature of participation in the Project by each group of beneficiaries.

The project implementation is guided by the principles of participatory learning and doing, where stakeholders are involved in all stages of the project cycle, not only to promote a sense of ownership for the project’s success, but also to inculcate the culture of empowerment through democratic decision making, specifically focused on strengthening of civil society. The stakeholders will go through a regular process of critical reflection, and creating new knowledge for action. The main groups involved are as follows: CAWUN and CUPPEC will be involved in both Red and Green activities such as training sessions, seminars, workshops, rallies and campaigns on conservation. They will be involved in each stage of the project cycle such as problem identification, project design, survey studies, implementation and monitoring. They will be selecting participants for these activities. In addition, they will be organising workers to join the union and supporting union members who have already signed up. Another important role they will play is to monitor workers to ensure that they are implementing what they have learnt. CAWUN and CUPPEC will be supporting NAC to coordinate these activities. Nepal Affiliated Committee (NAC) will be facilitating, coordinating and monitoring the activities implemented by CAWUN and CUPPEC. It will also ensure industrial peace and promote conflict resolution in disputes. The NAC will report to the project steering committee. Wood Workers (both organized and unorganized) in the project areas will take part in selected training session, seminars, workshops and campaigns. CAWUN and CUPPEC will ensure that these workers implement what they have learnt. They will also be monitored on the implementation or application of their new knowledge and information. For example, CAWUN and CUPPEC will ensure that those who learnt how to harvest trees safely practice these new skills in order to reduce accidents/injuries. The active role played by the trade unions to promote the well being of workers will motivate the workers to join trade unions and remain members in order to enjoy the benefits of being organised.

CFUGs/ CFCCs – can be direct and indirect beneficiaries depending on their level of participation in the project activities and also their relationship with the trade unions. Those who do not take part directly in the project activities will also benefit indirectly as a forest user through policies and practices which help to conserve the forests. It is anticipated that the active presence of the NAC will assist in reducing conflict amongst the forest users affiliated to different political parties. In addition, the improved practices will result in a reduction in forest fires and smuggling of flora and fauna, thereby improving the conservation efforts of the community. 5. Objective, plan of action, monitoring and information Objectives

5.1 What is the long-term development objective of the Project?

By 2015, the conservation sector and forest based trade unions have a functional cooperation in place to ensure the sustainable development of forestry sector in Nepal

5.2 What is the direct objective of the Project? (Limited by the area of implementation and the group of beneficiaries)

By 2014, 1. Enhance awareness and understanding of the forest based trade unions on sustainable forest

management

2. Contribute to strengthening/creation of forest trade unions with increased memberships, safe working conditions and capacity in the forest conservation

3. Improve the ecological conditions of the forests as a result of better management methods used by the forest trade union members

4. Improve the capacity of government agencies and trade unions to advocate and lobby for policies

which support sustainable forestry development to address climate change in Nepal

If the project support applied for is 20.000 € or more, please answer the following question: (those applying for a smaller amount of support may also answer if they wish)

5.3. What are the results targeted by this Project?

Result 1.1: Forest trade unions have been provided trainings on sustainable forest management (SFM) Result 2.1: Overall reduction in work place accidents achieved Result 2.2: Increased forest based trade union members and their networks Result 3.1: Improved forest conditions with scientific management (reduction in forest fires - both intensity and extent and illegal extraction, practice sustainable harvesting/ efficient use of forest products, improved forest growing stock) Result 4.1: Enhanced understanding of forest based trade unions on implications of climate change in the forestry sector

Result 4.2: Strengthened capacity of government staff in understanding the crucial role of trade unions in addressing sustainable forest management in the face of climate change Result 4.3: Development of a policy document highlighting the role of trade unions for Nepal’s sustainable forestry management in the face of climate change Implementation

5.4 Describe the activities by which the results and immediate objectives are to be accomplished. If possible, please also give a rough timetable (by year) of project implementation.

If the

project support applied for is less than 20.000 €, please answer the following question:

5.5 What has been agreed with the Partner about the separation of responsiblities in the implementation of the Project?

N/A If the project support applied for is 20.000 € or more, please answer the following question:

5.6 Describe the implementation and monitoring organisation of the Project and the responsibility of each party therein.

S.N. Activity Detail Year I Year II Year III

1 Result 1.1: Forest trade unions have been provided trainings on sustainable forest management

1.1 Training need assessment

1.2 Develop theory and practical training packages

1.3 Provide technical trainings (the theory and practical training package) on sustainable forest management including the protection of biodiversity and water values in and close to the forests

1.4 Media mobilization and publications through media trips to project sites, radio programs, articles on trade unions and sustainable development in leading national dailies, communication roles of trade unions in conservation in the public domain through brochures, hoarding etc

1.5 Organize conservation campaigns to mobilize trade union members to work in eg; forest fire management, anti -poaching groups and as forest protection informants

1.6 Planning and organizing conservation literacy classed for trade union members

1.7 Develop conservation leaders within trade union members

2 Result Area 3.1: Improved forest conditions with scientific management (reduction in forest fires- both intensity and extent and illegal extraction, practice sustainable harvesting/ efficient use of forest products, improved forest growing stock)

2.1 Survey mapping and analysis of forest conditions for issue identification

2.2 Develop forest fire fighting squads with fire-fighting tools and provide technical training

2.3 Construction and management of fire-lines (piloting only)

2.4 Provide technical training and material support for sustainable harvesting and minimize forest waste in selected sites

2.5 Organize trainings/seminars/workshops on biodiversity conservation, water resource protection and how to operate when noticing illegal logging or poaching

2.6 Conduct field monitoring to follow how well the training and education is adopted in the everyday work of the trade union members

3 Result Area 4.1: Enhanced understanding of forest based trade unions on implications of climate change in the forestry sector

3.1 Conducting awareness raising programs and trainings on basic understanding of climate change and its implications in the forestry sector

3.2 Facilitate establishment of a dedicated climate change cell within NAC

4 Result Area 4.2: Strengthened capacity of government staff in understanding the crucial role of trade unions in addressing sustainable forest management in the face of climate change

4.1 Interaction meetings and stakeholder dialogues of officials from DoF and Ministry of Forest with forest based trade unions in the project areas

4.2 Exposure visits in understanding role of trade unions in SFM

5 Result Area 4.3: Development of a policy document highlighting the role of trade unions for Nepal’s sustainable forestry management in the face of climate change

5.1 Assessment of potential green job in the project areas

5.2 Central level advocacy for creating green jobs and establishment of green enterprises fund

5.3 Advocacy on generating seasonal green employment

5.4 Conducting education programs on green jobs for wood workers

Implementation: WWF Nepal program will be responsible for overall implementation of conservation (green) activities while SASK through its implementing arms like CAWUN and CUPPEC will be accountable for implementation of purely trade union related (red) activities. WWF is guided by its TAL and SHL strategic plan and implementation modality and works closely with government line agencies such as DoF and DNPWC in the project areas. Implementation of the proposed activities will be facilitated through WWF’s field offices in TAL and SHL. The field offices will also coordinate with the district government agencies and local government offices and other partner agencies working in the area. WWF and SASK will jointly prepare project implementation plan in consultation and participation of central and local level stakeholders which will include detailed program activities and the budget for each aligning with the project document. N.B. The logical framework and proposal submitted for this project include also the responsibilities that will implemented and financed by SASK and local unions, albeit funding will be only sought for the WWF implemented components with this proposal. Reporting: Technical reports as per requirement of the donor agency will be prepared and submitted within the stipulated time frame by WWF Nepal Program. Field offices report to WWF Nepal that provides annual and semi-annual technical reports to WWF Finland. These reports will be shared with SASK and they will do the same with WWF, in order to enable cohesive monitoring. Monitoring: The project will be an integral part of the on-going landscape programs. The monitoring will therefore be carried out at different tiers in a participatory way. The CBOs prepare their annual plans and report back the programmatic and financial progress in quarterly basis with support from extension officers. Good governance is strictly followed. The project staffs in TAL and SHL ensures the review and reflection, reporting and information gathering, and sharing with implementing partners including community. At the central level, there is a rigorous mechanism of bi-annual review, quarterly reporting, joint monitoring and sharing. WWF Nepal central office has a separate Monitoring and Database Unit, which will be responsible for technical planning and monitoring of the project in the field. Effective implementation of the project will be monitored regularly through joint monitoring of WWF-Nepal program and Government appointed Coordinators. The finance department of WWF Nepal will carry out quarterly financial monitoring of the project and develop quarterly financial report to be sent to the WWF Finland. The field project offices have been continually providing capacity building trainings to the CBOs on good governance, participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation, database, financial record keeping, reporting among others. This in turn ensures effective and efficient implementation, and rigorous monitoring of the activities. Evaluation: WWF-Nepal Program and WWF Finland will appoint an external evaluation team to evaluate the overall success of the project at the end of the project period. Monitoring

5.7 How do the responsible persons of the Finnish organisation follow the implementation of the Project and the use of financial resources? How do they participate in its implementation?

WWF Finland has dedicated a project coordinator to follow the coordination of the project from WWF Finland side. She has expertise in sustainable forest management, biodiversity protection and climate

issues. She will coordinate the technical responsibilities related to this project.

1) Project coordinator (Ms. Maija Kaukonen): Has been appointed from the WWF Finland’s International Development programme team, and will act as the technical lead on WWF Finland’s behalf. She will monitor the technical progress of this project continuously through liaising with WWF Nepal staff. The project coordinator from WWF Finland is a forestry expert, who has a strong background in sustainable forest management and biodiversity protection. She will provide technical backstopping to field partners and disseminate best practises and latest information to partners and other stakeholders. Coordinator will also visit the project in Nepal on annual basis, where pertinent issues related to the project will be discussed, and annual planning will be carried out in situ. Coordinator will also monitor financial performance of the project with the Administrator, prepares mandatory reports and leads communication (internal and external) related to the project. Since the project is closely linked with the drivers of deforestation in Nepal (e.g. forest fires, illegal and unsustainable logging), which are also key issues to be addressed under the national REDD programme, the coordinator will also ensure that there is communication and synergy between WWF’s REDD activities and this project. Coordinator will also liaise with the appointed technical counterpart in SASK Finland. More specifically, the project coordinator is responsible for following and preparing:

a. Consultants’ reports b. Annual planning and site monitoring visits c. Quarterly financial reports (together with Administrator) d. Semi-annual and annual technical reports e. Audit reports (together with Administrator) f. Best practise material provided by academia and research institutions g. Collaboration with SASK counterparts

2) Administrator (Tanja Pirinen): This person is responsible for ensuring high quality management

of the project, including the specific requirements set by MFA. Administrator also monitors the financial performance of the project, based on communication with the relevant WWF Nepal staff and reports. The Administrator will use the following tools for monitoring and quality control:

a. Quarterly financial reports (together with Coordinator) b. Semi-annual and annual technical reports c. Audit reports (together with Coordinator) d. WWF Finland quality manual and associated tools (e.g. from WWF Network)

3) Head of International Development Programme (Sami Tornikoski): He will supervise the

project coordinator and is responsible for the project to follow the goals of the international development programme of WWF Finland. He will also make sure that the experiences of the project will be shared in the wider WWF network. He will be also the responsible person for the SASK partnership regarding this project.

4) The financial department of WWF Finland will monitor the financial performance of the project,

and provides support related to annual audits. They will be available to provide finance related support to the staff in WWF Finland and WWF Nepal, and are responsible for keeping up with project accounting in WWF Finland.

5.8 How do the local co-operation Partners follow the implementation of the Project and the use of financial resources?

WWF Nepal, according to GoN, is considered as an international non-governmental organization (INGO). It operates in Nepal according to the covenants of a General Agreement with the Social

Welfare Council (SWC), the statutory and nodal agency authorised by the Government of Nepal to facilitate the work of INGOs. This General Agreement governs WWF Nepal’s overall operations in Nepal and facilitates the running of its projects and programmes through local partners, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community based organizations (CBOs) and government agencies. Of the Government agencies, WWF Nepal’s closest long-term partner is the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MFSC). The MFSC is responsible for the conservation of biodiversity in Nepal including the management of forests and protected areas. In the last couple of years, WWF Nepal has also established close working relation with the Ministry of Environment, (MoE), responsible for environment and climate change issues and Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS), responsible for water and energy issues and WWF Nepal has signed a formal Scope of Cooperation (SoC) with each of them. To further enhance the effectiveness of projects and programs, and to make them more sustainable, WWF Nepal has been forming community based organisations (CBOs) and helping them to build their capacity to run sustainable development activities. Unlike the Ministries of Government of Nepal or international agencies, CBOs will exist in communities perennially. From this year, WWF Nepal has strategically prioritised working directly with CBOs and local NGOs to compliment ongoing activities and sustain past achievements. The 13 year armed conflict period in Nepal has called developmental organizations to focus attention on transparency and accountability of their actions. In the current political transition period, for organization like WWF working in the public domain, it is important that it maintains its political neutrality and be more transparent, accountable, and inclusive in its operation and decision making processes. Keeping this in the view, WWF Nepal will conduct regular public auditing of its projects and programs and will guide the CBOs to do the same for the activities they implement. For the use of financial resources, WWF Nepal will prepare specific agreements with the concerned CBOs. The partnering CBOs will be responsible to conduct annual financial audit by a certified accountant and also undertake regular auditing in public of its operation and activities. Partnering CBOs will be liable to give quarterly project progress reports to WWF Nepal. WWF Nepal will give adequate support to CBOs for planning and implementing project activities. The following diagram depicts the implementation of the agreement with CBOs:

Figure 11: WWF Nepal’s relationship with CSOs.

5.9 What kind of numerical or other data will be collected on the advancement of the Project?

The type of numerical and qualitative data that will be generated from this project are:

WWF Nepal

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with Communities

· Baseline data on existing workplace accidents in the selected project sites

· New membership from the CFUGs/ CFCCs into the trade unions

· Data on survey mapping and forest conditions analysis

· Data on forest fire prevention activity

· Data on potential green jobs in the project areas

· Field monitoring data on how well new methods are adopted

5.10 Where and how will the accounting and audit of the Project be arranged?

The project accounting takes place in WWF Nepal. WWF Nepal has strong administrative and financial team. This statement can be supported by the total volume of financing going through WWF Nepal, as well as the audit reports provided by independent auditors for specific projects, both for specific projects as well as for the whole office. WWF Finland will check and transfer expenditure figures into its own accounting, based on quarterly financial reports. This is also the time for necessary adjustments, based on WWF Finland’s control systems related to financial performance, as well as guidelines provided by the MFA. The project will be audited by an accredited auditor annually in Nepal, as per the standard guidelines and schedule required by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Accredited auditor (PWC) will also carry out annual audit of the project in Finland. This statement will be based on the evaluations carried out in Nepal, as well as audit of WWF Finland. The statement will be annexed to the annual reports sent to MFA as per the set deadline.

5.11 Will the organisation evaluate the Project during its implementation or afterwards? If the answer is yes, please describe how it will be carried out.

WWF Nepal and SASK will evaluate the project in two phases through internal and external support.

i) Mid Term evaluation will be done internally to assess the process and progress of implementation, it’s potential to deliver expected output and achieve the objective of project within the given time frame. Based on this, the project will develop appropriate strategies and approaches to align them with the goal and objectives.

ii) Final evaluation will be done by the third parties who are not affiliated with WWF Nepal and

SASK and will be conducted towards the end or the termination of project. Internal staff of both the organizations will be involved in the process.

Information

5.12 Describe how the organisation will inform about the Project. Give details on the goals, target groups, information material and information channels.

WWF follows a network standard in preparing the periodic reports and communication materials and also prepares donor specific reports. Similarly, regarding the projects on the ground, local CBOs also develop and disseminate their periodic reports within the communities. In addition, WWF regularly develops and shares success stories and lessons learnt through the implementation of the field project activities to a wider audience nationally and internationally. The main goal behind sharing of information on the project is to avoid duplication and foster replication through the lessons learnt.

The target groups will be various stakeholders like donors and relevant embassies, parliament members, government line agencies at national, regional and local level, local communities, indigenous groups, women groups, dalits and community based organizations, media, and academic institutions. Since this project is very innovative of its kind in both conservation and trade union sector, the project will maximize its information dissemination to all its target groups. Print (reports, booklets and documents,) and audio and video (videos and photographs) will be used to disseminate the information of the project activities across various levels of the stakeholders. Workshops, seminars, radio and TV will be used as information channels to disseminate the information. WWF will invite participants from government institutions, donors, bilateral and multilateral agencies academia, media youth groups, IPs communities and women groups and WWF Finland to share information on the project (pre and post completion). Trade unions globally including in Finland and Nepal are interested to see how climate change and environmental issues can be addressed beyond the normal dichotomy of ‘jobs or the environment’. Trade union members in Finland are aware of the necessity of such a project and SASK will be sharing the results at least in six monthly basis directly with the trade unions, and in particular the forestry, construction and allied workers union. SASK is also a member of the Global Platform of Trade Union Solidarity Support Organisations, and it will share the project results with the other members, including with the Nordic/Dutch trade unions and Asia Pacific regional groups. SASK will disseminate information about the project in Nepal through the Joint Trade Union Coordination Centre; and in South Asia through its labour networks.

Since there is an increasing to invest in green economy at global scale, which is also one of the top agenda items on the Rio +20 Summit in 2012, this project develop communications materials to be used in Finland and internationally. These materials will focus on case examples and sharing best practices. WWF is working with international workers unions already regarding the sustainable development agenda, which provides an opportunity to use already existing international networks and channels to share information. The communications products will be mainly: - Publications (printed and electronic) - More frequent web based products (blogs, case studies and examples) The products will be developed jointly with the local partners in Nepal, as well as WWF Finland and SASK. Unions have also large number of member magazines and websites in Finland, and SASK has strong relationship with a number of them, for which the type of work and collaboration used in this project will be also professionally useful and interesting. Both SASK and WWF Finland will use their existing communication channels (respective websites and period publications) to promote the project and raise awareness in Finland. More detailed communications strategy based on the above framework will be developed before the project starts, and it will be also guided by the inception phase that runs until the end of December 2011.

6. Free-form description of the Project and its operation (optional: if the other questions in this form are not suitable or sufficient to describe the Project, please use this space to give additional information)

8. Development objectives and cross-cutting themes of the Project

8.1. What is/are the development objective(s) of the Project? Mark one main objective and max. 3 other significant objectives:

Main objective Other objective

Abolishing extreme poverty and famine

Extending elementary education to all

Improvement of gender equality and the situation of women

Diminishing infant mortality

Improving the health of pregnant women

Work against HIV/Aids

Work against malaria and other significant illnesses

X Sustainable development of the environment

Access to clean water

Improving living conditions in the slums

Improving the working conditions of the private sector and increasing economic interaction

X Advancing democracy, human rights and good governance

Advancing the state of peace and security

Developing a just and regulated international trade and financial system

Solving the debt problem of developing countries using national and international means

Bringing the benefits of using new technology and especially information technology to developing countries in co-operation with the private sector

X None of the above. Other, explain. Improving the rights and working conditions of forest trade union members

If the project support applied for is 20.000 € or more, please answer the following question:

8.2 How does the Project plan take into account the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) or other equivalent national plans of the developing country concerned? If it has not been taken into account, please justify:

Current development plan of Nepal is called “Three year plan approach paper (2010/11-2012/13). This project addresses number of key components in this plan, and their respective objectives and strategies. http://www.npc.gov.np/uploads/publications/20110322143546.pdf At the top level, the strategy outlines its focus as: “To achieve employment-centric, poverty alleviation oriented, sustainable and broad based economic growth with the joint efforts of government, private and community/cooperative sectors”. This is well aligned with the key objectives of this project.

In addition to the above, the project addresses strongly the following specific components in the Three year plan:

· Poverty

· Labor

· Forest and Soil conservation

· Decentralization, Autonomous Governance and Local Development

· Environment and climate change

· Good governance

8.3. Cross-cutting themes of development policy

The dvelopmen policy program of the Finnish government contains a number of cross-cutting themes that are to be taken into account in all development activities.

Instructions: In the column "impact" please mark a sign as advised below according to the impact this Project is estimated to have. Justify with one sentence the most important positive and negative impacts of the Project.

Options:

++ significant positive impact

+ positive impact

0 no impact

- negative impact

Themes Impact Justification/Additional information

Impact on the Environment

Access to clean water and sanitation +

Environmental distress (soil, water, atmosphere, waste) ++

Climate change and forest fire issues are some key elements that will be addressed to reduce and adapt to distress on natural resources (soil, water, forests)

Protection of biodiversity ++ Same as above, and effective SFM will contribute to reduced pressure on high biodiversity areas

Sustainable use of natural resources (incl. Energy, consumption, erosion) ++

Sustainable forest management is one of the key thematic focus areas of this project

Reducing gender inequality

Division of work between men and women ++

This project will promote women’s equal access to unions, and provides training on gender equality

Women's access to income and their right to possess ++

Women will be equally treated by the unions and their rights will be promoted to improve equality.

Women's participation in decision making ++

Women will have equal participation in the decision-making of this project, and also their access to decision making in unions will be promoted by the project, by using different mechanisms

Sexual health and reproductive rights 0

Reducing violence ++

Organised workers will have also less conflicts at work. This has been already proven in community forestry in Nepal.

Equal opportunities to education +

Supporting the most vulnerable groups (the disabled, ethnic or religious minorities, aboriginals, children)

The most vulnerable groups as members of the community (the attitudes towards the most vulnerable) ++

Indigenous and marginalised communities will have equal access to the unions and they are also project beneficiaries in the target areas. Project will identify the Poor, Vulnerable and Socially Excluded (PVSE) groups during early stages of the project, in order to be able to provide them access and benefits

Empowerment of the most vulnerable groups +

Equal rights of the most vulnerable groups +

Good governance and enhancing democracy

Reducing corruption

Strengthening the local skills on good governance ++

The project has strong capacity building components for local authorities concerning good governance, specifically related to workers and natural resources. This is accompanied by increasing communities capacity to engage and take part in decision-making

Transparency of financial management and information (among implementors) +

Improving information exchange in the civil society ++

The project will develop platforms (e.g. through unions) to share information, knowledge and best practises.

Improving involvement in the civil society ++

This project builds on workers participation and uses the civil society as an engine for development, through better organisation and understanding of their rights.