Dhulikhel, Nov 19, 2025 - Nepal has taken another significant step toward improving land tenure security, inclusive land-use planning, and climate-resilient livelihoods in rural communities. UN-Habitat Nepal, in collaboration with the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (MoLMCPA) and several international and national partners, successfully concluded a two-day consultative workshop on 13-14 November 2025 in Kathmandu.
The workshop brought together senior officials from MoLMCPA, the Land Management Training Centre, Survey Department, Department of Land Management and Archives, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Federal Land Use Council, elected representatives from Deukhuri Valley municipalities, land rights organisations, development partners, and academia including Kathmandu University.
The gathering focused on evaluating mid-term progress and shaping the way forward for the ongoing project, “A Safety Net of Innovative Land Tenure Solutions for Near-Landless Sharecroppers and for a Greener Rural Nepal (L4ACT),” funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the Republic of Korea.
Key Outcomes of the Workshop
1. Strengthening Land Tenure Security
Participants stressed the need to accelerate participatory enumeration processes to secure documentation for landless and near-landless households. Local governments were urged to take a proactive role in verification and recordkeeping, supported technically by the project team.
2. Promoting Land-Based Climate-Resilient Livelihoods
The workshop underscored the importance of expanding Nepal’s land banking model, which enables farmers to formally access and cultivate unused land. Stakeholders highlighted Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) as a crucial tool to break the poverty cycle by increasing productivity and enabling resilient livelihoods for vulnerable rural families.
3. Advancing Risk-Sensitive and Inclusive Land Use Planning
Officials and experts emphasized stronger coordination between local and federal bodies to improve land-use planning. The ongoing inter-ministerial collaboration was cited as an opportunity to demonstrate effective local-level implementation that incorporates risk management and climate considerations.
A Pathway for Replication and Scaling Up
Through panel discussions, plenary engagements, and reflections from local government representatives, the workshop produced actionable strategies for replicating and scaling up land tenure security initiatives, CSA-based livelihood models, and risk-sensitive land use planning across Nepal.
Stakeholders agreed that inclusive land management and climate-responsive approaches are essential for a greener, more equitable rural Nepal - particularly for landless and near-landless sharecroppers who remain highly vulnerable to environmental and economic shocks.
