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    Critical Perspectives on National Adaptation Programmes of Action

    (NAPA) -Nepal Project DocumentAn Interpretation on the Politics of Climate Change Adaptation in LDCs

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    Abstract:This paper explores the relationships between the impact of climate change and thedevelopment trends in the least developed counties (LDCs). Climate change adaptationprojects, strategies, the trends of aid interventions, aid effectiveness, the trends of resiliencein the situation of transition economics is interpreted through political economy perspectives.It assesses the politics of climate change adaptation in least developed countries. The powerrelationship among the actors of climate change adaptation programmes in LDCs is analyzedso as to explore its socio-economic and socio-political dimensions. This paper is based on thetheoretical framework of critical perspectives on development theories and practiceswhereas political economy of climate change governance, power relations and aideffectiveness is the analytical framework.

    Key words: Political economy, climate change, least developed countries.

    JEL classification codes: P26, Q54, Q 56

    1The Critical Perspectives on Development Theories and Practices

    & The Political Economy Perspectives on Governance, Aid Effectiveness and Power

    Relations among Stakeholders of CC adaptation Regime

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    Kharmand S Kharma

    lly signed by L Kma and S K SharmaCN = L K Sharma and

    harma, C = VA, O =wide Foundation /, OU = Research andopmenton: I am the author ofocument2010.05.20 09:43:595'

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    b) Forestry sector: by afforestation and reforestation, expansion of protected area andcommunity forest

    c) Agriculture sector: It is estimated that 80% of the population are based in theagriculture, fertilizer use is a huge source of CH4 emission, changing Urea may be abetter measure

    d) Other sectors: Natural forest sector, water resource sector, health sectorThere is growing unanimity amongst scientists and politicians that human-induced climatechange is threatening human development, with poor communities in developing countriesthe most at risk. Nepals geography makes it more vulnerable than most countries to thenegative impacts of climate change. Consistent rises in annual mean temperature (at twice theglobal average rate), less frequent but more intense rainfall events, the increasing frequencyand intensity of floods, changes in the start and end of the monsoon, the growing threat fromglacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), longer dry spells and drought events, and increasinglystrong storms have all been experienced in Nepal in the past decades. These trends not onlydamage and cause the loss of human lives, livelihoods and property, but also threaten Nepalsdevelopment progress and put the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals at

    risk. The effects of climate change in Nepal have far reaching consequences beyond itsborders. Nepals location in the headwaters of the Ganges Basin means that the impact ofincreased and catastrophic flooding is already being felt by the 500 million inhabitants of thebasin to the south. The melting ofglaciers is also reducing the store of water that these hugepopulations rely on.

    Importance of NAPA towards achieving the MDGs:

    Climate change is likely to increase hunger and poverty (MDG 1) in developing countriessuch as Nepal by reducing food production, by causing more natural disasters (to which thepoor tend to be most vulnerable) and by causing malaria, Kalajaar (MDG 6) to spread intothe hills. On the other hand forest conservation, the appropriate development of Nepalswater resources, and the development of other sources of clean energy could provide thecountry with access to international carbon funds for financing new hydropower capacity andother sources of clean energy.So, NAPA must address the adaptation programs in the circumference of these contents. Inthis chapter it is interesting to overview the agreement done by Nepal government and UNDPto prepare this NAPA. Later on, this analysis would mention its idea to be included. It hasmentioned the brief descriptions of the agreement paper in the boxes. These arguments aretried to be clarified on the basis of contemporary theories and practices.

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    B. Content Analysis

    I. Linking notion of Sustainable Development to Climate Change AdaptationRegime and NAPA goals/objectives

    Source: NAPA project Document, Nepal, Available at:http://www.undp.org.np/pdf/projectdocs/NAPA%20project%20document.pdf

    Sustainability is a word coined in front of development to mean it economic growth for allpeople for some generations to come. Development was synonym for economic progresstill 1950s but the gap created by the industrialization in the social sector was creatingpressure to change it. After 1960s development added social issues and it changed themeaning of development to be economic progress with social upliftment of the people ofdifferent geography in different status and condition. In the decade of 80s it was found thatwithout addressing environment, development cant go ahead for ever and in these days

    development with social, economic and environmental endeavor is named as sustainabledevelopment.

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    Classical Marxian Critique:

    The first critique on the sustainable development explanations is as a reactionist tool to obstacle the world

    revolution. Classical Marxists see this sustainable development as problem of distribution created by the

    capitalism. Pollution and degradation of the resources is due to the exploitation of human and natural resources

    by the capitalist class practices.Neo-Marxian critique:

    The Neo-Marxist explanation blames sustainable development as an illusion to continue the distribution of thewealth and power relation of the capitalist camps. The colonial interests are being continued in the name of thissustainable development. According to them their discrimination and exploitation created this world of poor andrich nations not only class division within the society.Source: Adams W.M (1990). Environment and Sustainability in the Third World, Green Development, Routledge, London and NewYork , ISBN 0-415-00443-8

    Mainstream idea of the sustainable development

    Environmental concern within the economic development was taken as the externality of

    nature in economic calculations. The natural resources of the industrial nations were about tofinish in the earlier centuries and colonization was started by the industrial European nations.Colonies had resources as well as a huge population to consume their products also.

    Redclift: Meaning of sustainable development

    The second critique is developed with the idea that these two contradictory words sustainability and developmentare attached mechanically for only some years. This fitting cant go long enough. This idea counts down the age ofsustainable development. It claims that sustainability of environment is impossible in economic growth andequitable social development. Carrying capacity of the earth, environmental rights of all population andconsumerism, climate change and its impact etc are threatening the earth. Again developed nations arent ready toreduce pressures on the earth.

    Source: Redclift, M. (1992). "The Meaning of Sustainable Development." Geoforum Vol 23, N0.3, PP 395-403.Steven Sanderson:

    Post colonial states had exercised it very hopefully but the product is poverty induced environmental degradation

    is dense in the region now. Public land in some European and china like countries didnt continue because of the

    lost efficiency. Then what? He suggested privatization, land reformation but not in single track agricultural but

    with non agricultural methods like trainings, organizations like cooperatives, roads should go simultaneously.

    In the conclusion he recommends to take in care of the global political and economic institutions and its

    interference in the local level and prepare policies respecting local institutions, structures and their effects in the

    products. In sort application of think globally act locally works in the land use change and environment friendly

    productions.

    Source: S. Sanderson (1993): Political-Economic Institutions, chapter 13 in Changes in Land Use and Land Cover: A GlobalPerspective Edited by WILLIAM B. MEYER and B. L. TURNER II, Cambridge University Press;http://landscape.forest.wisc.edu/courses/readings/Sanderson.pdf

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    So, explorations towards new lands and resources of all kinds had liquidated the pressures ofthe exploitation. But liberation of those colonized states synchronized them in small area andthe exploitation accelerated rapidly. Due to the wars they had to intensify the products. Theadverse impacts of the development started to show their reaction. The pesticides used inagriculture, population explosion, landslides of the degraded land, disease outburst, water

    and food crisis, deforestation etc made individuals to think alternatives of the developmentprocesses and products. In the same time industrialization has crossed to some third worldcountries also.

    Eco-Feminist critique:

    Eco-feminist suggests having equity tools to achieve the sustainable development. Their argument is

    the patriarchal practices are responsible for the discrimination of the nature, women and

    underprivileged class. The reproductive nature of women and nature are being exploited by these

    economic theories to achieve growth, efficiency. It is impossible to sustain in this way, and

    sustainability should be seen in the gender relations too. If same neo classical economy continues with

    liberalization, sustainability wont be achieved.

    Source: Harcourt, Wendy (Ed.). 1994. Feminist Perspectives on Sustainable Development: Shifting Knowledge Boundaries. Zed

    Books with Society for International Development

    Greens and Gandhians and others critique:

    In the environmental issues Gandhian and Greens blame the consumerism, urbanization, industrialization. In

    sustainable development they seek a space for environmental ethics. Deep ecologists blame on over- population

    and over exploitation of the natural resources. Sustainability faces obstacle due to population and pollution. This

    is Neo-Malthusian explanation also. Natural science ecologists see problem in the over-population and in the

    solution is in conservation process. They see solutions on the engineering ways, management of fragile

    ecosystems as the component of sustainable development

    Source: Adams W.M (1990), Environment and Sustainability in the Third World, Green Development, Routledge, London and NewYork , ISBN 0-415-00443-8

    Post- modern critique:

    Another critique is very new and states the sustainable development as the continuation of the similar discoursetheory of the conventional explanations. This idea is led by post modern scientists like Laxman Yapa. Accordingto his idea poverty is seen as economic problem. If so, it must have economic solutions. According classicaleconomics or Marxian or sustainable development theories poverty can be solved by economic growth buteconomic growth needs scarcity and that objective scarcity is defined as poverty. So whenever we see poverty asmaterial scarcity it will never be solved. So, what else? Yapa claims in his article can post modern discoursetheory help alleviate poverty, yes! that poverty is socially constructed in the third world due to the formermalpractices of development. The poverty sector is netted in technical, social, ecological, cultural, political andacademia as the nodes of a nexus. So these elements have created poverty as a discursive natured. The dominanttraditional discourse cant address the poverty sector because they try inside but poverty is created outside, itdisempowers the poor, creates scarcity and misleads the people having good will. So, a new definition andpractices of development is required because a conceptual triangle of economic, social and environmental nodesdefined by the sustainable discourse theory is not achievable.Source:Yapa L. (1995), Can Postmodern Discourse Theory Help Alleviate Poverty? Yes!

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    II. NAPA Nepal documenta) Real situation is not analyzed in situation analysis

    Although the first section, part I is titled situation analysis it starts link of Nepal with the

    UNFCCC but lacks on social situation analysis. Nepal is in the process to formulate newconstitution by the constitutional assembly for restructuring the regime, devolution of powerthrough federality. So this nation is facing transitional phase after armed struggle. Thedocument mentioned post conflict outcomes but does not entered whether the conflict wassocial, political or beyond these? Obviously it was socio-economic conflict. The demandswere for social justice, complete democracy, equality and economic well being etc. In thisparagraph it has to reflect a scenario of Federal Republic of Nepal and consequences on thenatural resources, environmental rights of the people, distribution of resources to addresspopulation and poverty related issues etc. So the changing context of Nepal was anopportunity for the formulation of NAPA, but looks it has lost the chance.

    Situation analysis should cover economic and social structures, geo-strategic position, natural resourceendowment, demographic shifts, climate change and technological progress. These are the Structures,which should be defined as the long-term contextual factors. Generally, these are not readily influenced,either because of the time scale needed, or because they are determined outside the country.The situation of institutional settings and their capabilities should be mapped within the situation analysis. Itshould clarify the relationships and coverage of formal rules and informal power relations. Confusion andtensions existed between formal rules and informal power relations can make social and political situationunpredictable and prone to conflict. This can be reflected in the analysis ofinstitutions, which can beformalin the sense of constitutional rules and codified laws, or informal in the sense of political, social and culturalnorms. In settings where formal institutions (e.g. the rule of law, elections, separation of powers) are weaklyembedded and enforced, informal norms often explain how things really get done. In Situation analysis it isalso important to map the relative influences of Agents, including internal actors such as political leaders,

    civil servants, political parties, business associations, trade unions, NGOs, CBOs etc., and external actorssuch as foreign governments, regional organizations, donors and multinational corporations.

    Source: Country Level Analysis, DFIDs Drivers of Change (DoC) approach for Political Economy Analysis(Political Economy Analysis: How to Note,DFID practice paper, July 2009)

    b) More technical, as traditionalProjects of Nepal are always blamed having more technical isolated from the ground reality.Demographic diversity in Nepal is the most significant figure. Central and single attemptscant handle the reality. Development process also needs the continuation of the earlierpractices which these types of multilateral or bilateral attempts loose. These types ofoutsiders attempts of development loose the continuation of the local peoples assimilationand attempts on development. So the huge probability of mobilization of the local resourcesis lacked and this NAPA has continued the tradition.

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    The situation has suggested that comprehensive approaches should be adopted to formulate the programmesof Action. The chain of benefit distribution, the situation of the accessibility and the context of livelihoodsshould be effectively addressed. Where livelihoods analysis can address the socioeconomic and politicalsituation supporting political economy analysis , particularly where it seeks to link the local level to themeso (sub-national) and macro (national and international) levels.This should identify the power relations, governance structures and exchange relationships within ClimateChange Adaptation Regime.

    Such approaches should be focused on cross-sectoral relationships, and should take into account the totalityof economic, political, social and cultural factors affecting peoples lives and livelihoods, from the local upto the national and international levels. It thus has the potential to complement or be combined with moretraditional trends of programmes and projects development.

    Political economy analysis is concerned with the interaction of political and economic processes in a

    society: the distribution of power and wealth between different groups and individuals, and the processes

    that create, sustain and transform these relationships over time.

    Source: Overseas Development Institute, London, 2003; Power, livelihoods and conflict: case studies in political economy analysis

    for humanitarian action, Edited by Sarah Collinson, HPG (H U M A N I T A R I A N P O L I C Y G R O U P), Report 13

    Suggested Framework for Situation analysis, Source: AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING THE

    POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SECTORS AND POLICY ARENAS, Joy Moncrieffe and Cecilia Luttrell, Overseas Development

    Institute, 2005; http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/2989.pdf

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    c) Question of stewardship, ownership

    Source: NAPA project Document, Nepal, Available at:http://www.undp.org.np/pdf/projectdocs/NAPA%20project%20document.pdf

    Active participation of the stakeholders in all levels is the one of the important indicators of asuccessful project. Consensus, one of the governance principle and democratic practice aswell, lacked projects life can not be as long as expected. It should be started from the veryearlier steps of the planning process. The key strategy (see, in box) is only to make

    stakeholders participate in the steps of implementation process, not in planning or evaluationprocess. If so, the ownership of the project becomes vacuumed. It has not mentionedparticipation of the popular forces (Political parties, civil societies, CBOs and differentorganic groups and marginalized segments) during the preparation of the concept paper orproposal. No political party has commitment on it. A project handled by the technocratswont win stewardship among the people. Evaluation and monitoring also wont be effectivewhen it isolates concerned people from the total process.

    To enhance the stewardship and ownership of the broad categories of stakeholders towards planning theprogrammes of action and its implementation, following questions should be addressed;

    Who are the stakeholders?What are the formal/informal roles and mandates of different actors?What is the operational mechanism of central, regional and local authorities?What is the balance between private and public ownership?What is the mechanism of financing and aid allocation?What are the interests of stakeholders?How is the benefits distributed?What are the possibilities of unintended consequences like corruptions, rent-seeking behavior etc.?What are the remedial and reform strategies?What are the strategies for managing and resolving conflict situation?Who will be responsible for monitoring and evaluation?Who are the decision makers?

    What will be the long term goal {future situation (win-win or win-loose, or loose-loose?? Among thestakeholders) from the development of programmes of action?

    Source: AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SECTORS ANDPOLICY ARENAS, Joy Moncrieffe and Cecilia Luttrell, Overseas Development Institute, 2005http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/2989.pdf

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    D) Shadowed by the stereotyping, traditional ideas

    Nepals political division was to continue the feudal power relations of the king or the localelites. It has no meaning for either economic development or environmental development.The NAPA followed the same again. Experts have reservation on the three eco-regions also.Trans-Himalayan region has different geographical, social and cultural variations. NAPA

    has entertained the same stereotypic division which has no meaning in the adaptationprograms on the GCC. It would be better if it had planned on the basis of watershed regionsor eco-regions. Then discussions which are going on would be more specific and operational.

    E) Budgetary management: always belief crisis

    The signed agreement has submitted a budget sheet for the allocation of US$ 1,325000.00.Most of the fund goes to the structural arrangements, salaries and allowances in the differentnames. Within them also a huge amount goes to some international experts (e.g., US$315,000 for two staff for 1.5 years), so fund returns in the same direction from which it hascome.4 Some structures are mentioned there as NIM5 for management arrangements, whichgives no meaning and sense to the stakeholders. So, the information and ideas created here

    come from their knowledge not from the experiences of the grass root people living in thevulnerable regions. The adverse impacts of the climate change are scattered in the remote,poor, illiterate and underprivileged groups. So, digging the truth form such sections needsallocation of the budget in the same regions but project will move around the center and newelites. Those elites are questioned always to be biased to the needy groups.

    What support for aid is likely to exist inside donors for such future directions?

    Foreign policy goals centre on combating immediate disturbances, such as conflicts, emergenciesand global environmental threats like climate change. The difficulty in pursuing these goalssuggests that a collective action problem is the basic barrier to sustainable aid. Benefits of aid are so

    dispersed that donor political interests are hard to marshal.How to overcome the collective action problem is complicated, to say the least; paths to doing sowill vary according to the political system of various donors and the assets available to mobilizepopulations within their existing national creeds.

    Donors have four motivations for sustaining aid. These provide opportunities in various donors formobilizing support, domestically and transnationally. These are: (i) the pursuit of global publicgoods, (ii) economic development benefits for donors, (iii) domestic special interests and (iv)increased willingness of recipients to accept conditionality.

    Development - economic, social, and sustainable - without an effective state is impossible (World

    Bank 1997a, as in Hopkins)

    Source: POLITICAL ECONOMY OF FOREIGN AID,Raymond F. Hopkins; available at:www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/rhopkin1/research/PolEconFA.pdf

    4See details: NAPA project Document, Nepal, Available at:

    http://www.undp.org.np/pdf/projectdocs/NAPA%20project%20document.pdf

    5NIM as abbreviation is not clear itself, there is no full form of NIM throughout the document.

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    F) Escaped from the own issue of CF

    Nepals issue after Bali Mandate is REDD, because CDM of Kyoto Protocol is not sufficientto address our efforts done in the reduction of carbon emission. Community forestry isNepals endeavor among the third world nations. It is our strong arguments to claim carbon

    dollar. Our NAPA is silent in this issue. If we get that fund it can also be mobilized in theadaptation programs of the vulnerable sectors. The project focuses on the donations livingour rights due to our own contribution in the global level. This time is to prepare strategiesto struggle for our rights after 2012, post KP. In this regard, the current document has notmentioned the right based advocacy approach for the compensation strategies of CC regime.

    As an essence, in the name of NAPA, a document will be prepared. In this process, expertsfrom Kathmandu, international community and some well known universities, technocrats,civil societies will participate , share some data, some workshops, seminars will beorganized. A group of elites having same interests will be gathered in the different names ofstakeholders. They will prepare national adaptation plan of action as the donors suggest.They wont have sufficient discussion and exclude different voices, use data weapon(license is also within their access not others because they are products of the same elites andinterests) to dominate others idea. They will prepare such a document in which they will havea safer role to entertain for some years.

    Project documents concerned with the Aid, Policy, and Growth should focus on the aid effectiveness atfirst. Distinct study on right based aid is the first requirement while talking about the Climate ChangeAdaptation Programmes of Action in LDCs.

    (The third-generation work in aid, policy and growth recognizes that development is a complex process

    with interactions between economic and non-economic variables. The past decade has seen enormouschanges in the world economic environment and the economic systems in place in many countries.Using past performance as an indicator of future performance is especially dubious in this environment,given the existing limited understanding of the interplay between aid, macroeconomic policy andpolitical economy variables. In sum, the unresolved issue in assessing aid effectiveness is not whetheraid works, but how and whether we can make the different kinds of aid instruments at hand work betterin varying country circumstances.)

    Source: AID EFFECTIVENESS DISPUTED, by Henrik Hansen and Finn Tarp, Available at:

    http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/economics/credit/research/papers/cp.99.10.pdf

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    Strategies to be adopted

    NAPA is in the documentation process. It is hoped that after submission of NAPA toUNFCCC, Nepal will start to get technical and financial cooperation from various donoragencies as specified in the document. It will be the main stream program for years for theadaptation processes of adverse impacts of climate change. It should be a genuine document

    and every related person should be responsible for this task, because it should not be atechnical general document or we can easily review it if problem come. It will guide all theprograms, funds, procedures etc. For this purpose, some key statements are proposed here torevise the core document.

    a) Participation of the prioritized stakeholders in the planning process

    Strategic analysis on the document should focus on;1. The wider historical, socio-economic and cultural environment of Nepal, including the political

    process of the reconstruction of the fragile state (Present context).2. The immediate pressures coming from the groups and interests who influence on the decisions of

    implementation process.3. The processes, both formal and informal, through which decisions are made.4. the continuing discourses of the political processes of the country which determines the future

    plans and projections

    Source: The Politics of Development Framework, (Political Economy Analysis: How to Note,DFID practice paper, July 2009)

    It is clear that this preparatory process is going to be more technical, it can be corrected bythe broad participations of the political, social sectors, indigenous community, conflictaffected etc. Technical sector is important in the organization process of the outcomes asrequired. If we can guarantee that the document is prepared by the broad participation, it willbe worthy and other steps of the programs also can be hoped simplified to implement.

    b) Redefine the situation analysisThe situation analysis is to be redefined. We have to project what will be the adaptationprograms efficiency when our nation is restructured. The political division remained isdifficult to solve the environment related problems. For example, if we have to deal withGLOFs, they are divided in two districts because our old division is based on the mountainsand rivers. In the devolution process it will be different so, new division in federality has tobe addressed with broad participation of the stakeholders.

    Analysis should focus further at;

    Regional economic and political arrangements., Relations and/or conflict with neighboring countries,Situation of trade , Migration flows and remittances from overseas, Role of donors, Drivers of good

    governance including global media, international human rights norms, Multistakeholders initiative etc.

    Source: International Drivers of Change; Political Economy Analysis: How to Note,DFID practice paper, July2009

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    Broad discussion should be welcomedWhile the process the information, agenda of discussion, finding etc should be disclosed bythe electronic, popular media etc. This makes open environment for discussion, ownership

    will be enlarged. It creates positive stewardship later on.

    Further agenda of discussion among the concerned stakeholders from every sphere of the society can beguided with the key domains and questions presented in the framework suggested by: World Bank ProblemDriven Governance and Political Economy; as shown below. The key tasks are;

    (i) Identifying the problem, opportunity or vulnerability to be addressed,(ii) Mapping out the institutional and governance arrangements and weaknesses, and(iii) Drilling down to the political economy drivers, both to identify obstacles to progressive change

    and to understand where a drive for positive change could emerge from.

    Source: PROBLEM-DRIVEN GOVERNANCE AND POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS, GOOD PRACTICE FRAMEWORK,SEPTEMBER 2009 by WORLD BANK; available at:http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTPUBLICSECTORANDGOVERNANCE/Resources/PGPEbook121509.pdf?&resourceurlname=PGPEbook121509.pdf

    c) Justification of the salary, cost etc should be made transparentThe cost of the projects looks to be tilted in the salary and service sectors. It is mostcontroversial issue related to international sectors assistance. Logics should be cleared. Whya government officer has to be paid more in the projects. What is the logic behind it? Othernations have started tender bidding for the human resources, why not in Nepal. Efficientpersons with competitive cost should be hired. All the costs should be justifiable. This time isto advocate transparency; some parliamentary or civil societys public auditing system can beestablished for such cooperation sectors.

    d) Justification of the international human/ and material resourcesThis is another controversial issue, what is the logic behind hiring specified foreign experts?Logic behind it should be cleared. Human and material resources should be recruited in thereference of efficiency. There may be national sensitivity or interest which is required to bementioned.

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    This is the tragedy in which the West already spent $2.3 trillion on foreign aid over the last 5 decades and still had not managed to get 12-cent medicines to children to prevent half of all malaria deaths.The West spent $2.3 trillion and still had not managed to get $4 bed nets to poor families. The West spent $2.3 trillion and still had not managed to get $3 to each new mother to prevent 5 million childdeaths.

    Economist William Easterly (2006) - online magazine Cato Unbound, Available at:http://www.cato-unbound.org/2006/04/03/william-easterly/why-doesnt-aid-work/

    e) Distribution of the service and information centers all over the nationNearly our Kathmandu centered cascading practice remained in the institution and structuresof development are blamed as one of the causes of backwardness. All the bilateral andmultilateral assisting organizations are also agreed on it. But they are also following the sameas we did earlier. What are the logics to continue such practices? We are talking about theGLOFs and snow melting related data developed in the middle hills. NAPA must discardthese practices. Saving funds from useless dissipation to unnecessary sectors, information

    center can be established in proper place where we get quality data.

    g) Clearance is required in the outcomes (page one)We are preparing NAPA for climate change. It must make clear on the targeted sector andoutputs. In the signed paper the area selected is written the conflict affected area. It ismurky. Which area in Nepal is conflict affected area particularly? Which conflict? Sociallyconstructed or natural disaster created conflict? NAPA must have some limitations; it mustchoose the projects which are due to climate change. All conflicts are not climate changerelated. Then we have to be far from populist jargons. In TYIP6 conflict affected area, peopleare in priority. It does not mean that we have to keep every thing in the same periphery.

    Source: NAPA project Document, Nepal, Available at:htt ://www.und .or .n / df/ ro ectdocs/NAPA%20 ro ect%20document. df

    We know the climate changed vulnerabilities are denser in the Himalayan regions. It is due tothe specialties remained over there other than in the mid-hilly regions. Maoist conflict wasscattered in the western mid-hilly regions, first. Terai has another conflict which spread lateron. Terai is also vulnerable due to floods and depositions caused by the land slides of the

    hills. Then, how NAPA benefits can be distributed in the western mid-hills leavingmountainous and Terai regions, saying that they are conflict affected area?

    6 Three Years Interim Plan (TYIP) is current national development plan of Nepal Government.

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    Conclusion

    NAPA is in the preparation phase. The document which has been reviewed is juststrategically prepared document which can be modified during operational phase. In theoperational stage if we include agreed, authentic and dynamic concepts remained in theground, then it can be made more valuable and meaningful document. The venture of right

    based aid and its effectiveness are the major points to be focused while preparing plans andprogrammes of action. It should assure the equity in the distribution of the benefits andaddress the effectiveness of the aid for the climate change adaptation programmes/projects inNepal. The project documents, plans, strategies and actions should be guided with broadervision and perspectives to address the multilayered issues of socioeconomic and politicalsituation of the state. The implementation programmes should be guided with the principlesof good governance so as to ensure the accountability of the responsible structures,institutions and agents in the climate change adaptation regime in LDCs. The ongoingventure of climate change adaptation should closely look at the modality and conditionalityof the aid and hence should specify it. Similarly the CC adaptation regime among the LDCsshould focus on the context of vulnerability of LDCs towards the adverse impacts of Climate

    Change while each national program should ensure the participation and access of thecommunities and individuals concerned with it. The relationships, responsibilities andauthorities of all the stakeholders of the global climate change regime should be wellmentioned. It is really difficult for the people of LDCs to entertain the continuation ofcolonial power relations in each and every development interventions. Critically, this is thesign of paradigm shift in Development.

    Authors:

    7Mr. Laxman K. Sharma (Environment Education and Sustainable Development

    EESD/ Kathmandu University)

    8Mr. Sundar K Sharma (Human and Natural Resources Studies-HNRS/ Kathmandu

    University)

    7Adopted content analysis of NAPA through critical perspectives on development theories and practices

    8Adopted Political Economy perspectives in content analysis

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    Abbreviations:

    CBOs: Community Based OrganizationsCC: Climate Change

    CDM: Clean Development MechanismDFID: Department for International DevelopmentDoC: Drivers of ChangeGCC: Global Climate ChangeGHG: Green House GasODI: Overseas Development InstituteINC: Initial National CommunicationKP: Kyoto ProtocolLDCs: Least Developed CountriesNAPA: National Adaptation Programmes of ActionNGOs: Non-Governmental Organizations

    REDD: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest DegradationSD: Sustainable DevelopmentTYIP: Three Year Interim PlanUNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

    16