Reducing deforestation and forest degradation in Nepal: a strategic environmental and social assessment of Nepal’s REDD+ strategy

In September 2013, the REDD Forestry and Climate Change Cell (REDD Cell) of the Government of Nepal’s Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation (MFSC) commissioned a Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) of the REDD+ Strategy together with an accompanying Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF). It was undertaken by IIED in collaboration with the International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM) and the School of Environmental Science and Management (SchEMS), Nepal. The overall objective of this integrated assessment was to identify opportunities to mitigate environmental and socioeconomic risks under the implementation of a REDD+ mechanism in Nepal. The SESA was also to identify where REDD+ could improve development activities and other environmental measures adopted to combat climate change.