look news india
Kathmandu, 05 October (HS). According to the agreement with the World Bank, Nepal will get Rs 1600 crore from the sale of carbon within this month. According to the Ministry of Forest and Environment, Nepal is going to get this amount to reduce carbon dioxide through the forests of 13 districts of Terai from 2018 to 2024.
Under the Terai Land Perimeter Programme, Nepal will get Rs 1600 crore for storing 24 lakh tonnes of carbon from the Bagmati River in Sarlahi district of Madhesh to the Mahakali River in the Indian border of Sudurpaschim Pradesh. According to Forest Ministry spokesperson Badriraj Dhungana, the World Bank has informed Nepal to pay this amount by the end of October.
He said that when the agreement in this regard was initially signed with the World Bank, it was agreed that the money would come through the Forest Development Fund under the Forest Ministry. But citing the legal provisions of the country, the Finance Ministry has set a condition of depositing such funds directly in the Central Reserve Fund instead of bringing them to any ministry. The Finance Ministry has said in its comment that only after the money comes to the Central Reserve Fund, it should be transferred to the Forest Development Fund. The World Bank has corresponded with the Government requesting it to clarify this matter.
World Bank rules provide for spending 80 percent of the income received from carbon trading on local beneficiary tribal/tribal communities. Forest Ministry spokesperson Dhungana said that the government has approved a scheme for this. He said that in 2018, Nepal's National Red Plus Strategy, National Forest Base Level, was approved specifically with respect to carbon trading. Then a carbon emission reduction program has been prepared to share the benefits of carbon trading in 13 districts of Terai region from 2019 to 2024
Navraj Pudasaini, head and joint secretary of this center, said that the program has been implemented in 17 lakh hectare area of 13 districts. An average of 167 tonnes of carbon has been stored per hectare from Nepal's forest area. According to Joint Secretary Pudasaini, carbon emission reduction program has been implemented in 13 districts of Terai region of Nepal and a target has been set to reduce carbon dioxide gas emissions by 34.2 million tonnes by 2028. The first phase has already reduced 2.3 million tonnes of carbon emissions, measured in 2023.