SDG Localization through Integration of Climate Change in Agricultural Planning and Budgeting at the National and Sub-national Levels

Agriculture contributes to about one third of Nepal’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs about two-thirds of the population directly or indirectly. Agriculture being highly vulnerable to climate change, experiences far-reaching impacts with implications on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1: Food security, Nutrition and Hunger and other SDGs. Since these impacts directly affect the livelihoods of a large number of people depending upon agriculture, it is important to integrate climate change in agriculture plans at all levels of government—local, provincial and federal. The Government of Nepal (GoN) has recently made various efforts to integrate climate change in planning and budgeting across the sectors in order to make development programs climate responsive. Several guidelines have been formulated and policy reforms introduced to help the ministries in prioritization, budget allocation and expenditure tracking to support their climate goals.