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As part of the REDD+ program, for the past decade, Nepal has been working with the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility on its Emission Reductions Program (ER-Program). The ER-Program was designed for a program area covering 13 districts in the Terai Arc Landscape. Approved in 2018, the Emission Reductions Program Document (ERPD) identified six major drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the program area: unsustainable and illegal harvesting of timber and fuelwood; overgrazing; forest fires; encroachment and conversion of forest land for other land uses; resettlement; and infrastructure development. The ER-Program aims to address these drivers and help the conservation and enhancement of existing forest carbon stock through the sustainable management of forest resources. To do so, seven program interventions have been designed, ranging from localized and improved community-based forest management, through private sector engagement in the forestry sector and alternative energy promotion, to integrated land-use planning. The February 2021 Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) between the Government of Nepal and the World Bank has paved the way for official implementation of these interventions on the ground. These interventions unlock the potentiality of up to USD 45 million in results-based payments for emission reductions of up to nine million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2025. Accordingly, the ER-Program is expected to address the drivers of emissions-causing deforestation and forest degradation and enhance forest carbon stock, ultimately paving the way for results-based payments for future emissions reductions.

Government of Nepal (GoN) has been prioritizing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy as the most important strategy after a sudden outbreak of Brown Plant Hopper (BPH) and heavy loss in rice production. GoN has been continuing IPM programs with the successful completion of different phases like technical cooperation, marketing and institutionalization. Awareness creation among multisectoral stakeholders is the most and major outcome through IPM program in Nepal. Plantwise, a global program led by CABI, has been working with GoN since 2013, for the improvement of plant health system. This program has also a good impact in the promotion of nonchemical strategies of pest management. Despite of having many national programs, efforts of GoN as well as different non-governmental and community based organizations; a significant progress has not been seen in the use of biological pesticides. This paper has tried to analyze the role of different stakeholders in the promotion of bio-pesticides along with other non-chemical management strategies viz. the trend of recommendations by plant doctors with the information retrieved from Plantwise Online Management System (POMS), perception of farmers as well as agro-input suppliers to the bio-pesticides, plant clinic interventions for bio-pesticides promotion, and policy review for finding reasons for less use of bio-pesticides in the field. Around 200 farmers who visited plant clinics and 50 agro-inputs suppliers from different regions were randomly selected for the survey with the developed questionaire. This paper is a preliminary review of secondary information on relevant policies, acts, regulations, etc. Major problem has been observed in agro-input suppliers among the whole cycle of biopesticide use.

A 50 year old woman from Nepal had clinical features suggestive of meningitis. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis was normal except for the presence of cryptococcal antigen. The inclusion of test for Cryptococcus in the CSF helped in making the diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis in our patient who was apparently immunocompetent. Treatment with liposomal amphotericin B could not be started on time due to financial constraints. The patient had a stroke and further deteriorated. Liposomal amphotericin B is stocked by the government of Nepal for free supply to patients with visceral leishmaniasis, but the policy does not allow the drug to be dispensed for other infections. The family members of our patient acquired the drug within a few days from a government center using their political connections and following administering the treatment the patient improved. This case demonstrates the utility of considering cryptococcal meningitis as a differential diagnosis, and including tests for Cryptococcus when dealing with immunocompetent patients presenting with meningitis. It also demonstrates the effects of the sociopolitical situation on health care delivery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Nepal.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted social, economic, and environmental systems worldwide, slowing down and reversing the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs belong to the 2030 Agenda to transform our world by tackling humankind's challenges to ensure well-being, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. We explore the potential impacts of the pandemic on SDGs for Nepal. We followed a knowledge co-creation process with experts from various professional backgrounds, involving five steps: online survey, online workshop, assessment of expert's opinions, review and validation, and revision and synthesis. The pandemic has negatively impacted most SDGs in the short term. Particularly, the targets of SDG 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 have and will continue to have weakly to moderately restricting impacts. However, a few targets of SDG 2, 3, 6, and 11 could also have weakly promoting impacts. The negative impacts have resulted from impeding factors linked to the pandemic. Many of the negative impacts may subside in the medium and long terms. The key five impeding factors are lockdowns, underemployment and unemployment, closure of institutions and facilities, diluted focus and funds for non-COVID-19-related issues, and anticipated reduction in support from development partners. The pandemic has also opened a window of opportunity for sustainable transformation, which is short-lived and narrow. These opportunities are lessons learned for planning and action, socio-economic recovery plan, use of information and communication technologies and the digital economy, reverse migration and "brain gain," and local governments' exercising authorities. ; The current pandemic has impacts on social, economic, and environmental systems, including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs consist of 17 interlinked goals that aim to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. We studied the pandemic's impacts on SDGs for Nepal by following a knowledge co-creation process. For ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted social, economic, and environmental systems worldwide, slowing down and reversing the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs belong to the 2030 Agenda to transform our world by tackling humankind's challenges to ensure well-being, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. We explore the potential impacts of the pandemic on SDGs for Nepal. We followed a knowledge co-creation process with experts from various professional backgrounds, involving five steps: online survey, online workshop, assessment of expert's opinions, review and validation, and revision and synthesis. The pandemic has negatively impacted most SDGs in the short term. Particularly, the targets of SDG 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 have and will continue to have weakly to moderately restricting impacts. However, a few targets of SDG 2, 3, 6, and 11 could also have weakly promoting impacts. The negative impacts have resulted from impeding factors linked to the pandemic. Many of the negative impacts may subside in the medium and long terms. The key five impeding factors are lockdowns, underemployment and unemployment, closure of institutions and facilities, diluted focus and funds for non-COVID-19-related issues, and anticipated reduction in support from development partners. The pandemic has also opened a window of opportunity for sustainable transformation, which is short-lived and narrow. These opportunities are lessons learned for planning and action, socio-economic recovery plan, use of information and communication technologies and the digital economy, reverse migration and 'brain gain,' and local governments' exercising authorities.