CIER is heading into its third and final year of the Climate Leadership for Indigenous Women in Nepal (CLAN) initiative.

Throughout the course of this international initiative, the Nepalese women and youth have been leading the implementation of innovative on-the-ground projects designed to adapt to local climate change impacts. With partners from Salasan Consulting Ltd., the National Indigenous Women’s Forum (NIWF), Janajati (Indigenous) Nepalese women, and Indigenous-Canadian climate advisors, CIER is facilitating knowledge exchange to help build resilient communities and mitigate the devastating impacts of landslides, drought, food scarcity, severe flooding, and invasive species in rural Nepal. 

To date, the project has mobilized 750 women across 25 climate groups with two designated climate leaders per group. The groups have received training to lead advocacy and awareness efforts that address local climate and social issues, building capacity within their communities, and strengthening connections with local governments. Leadership and financial training, climate literacy workshops, and funding application guidance are only a few of the many examples of sustainability-focused components prioritized during the second year of the project.  

Additional success stories directly from project partners in Nepal include: 

• Seventeen climate groups have seen a 95% survival rate of fruit tree saplings in multi-layer plantation efforts.  
• Twenty-five climate groups have improved engagement with government officials on climate change issues and initiatives. 
• Twenty-five Community Climate Action Plans (CCAPs) have been completed and will be compiled into reference documents for rural municipal governments to develop municipal-level action plans. 
• The youth have taken charge in their own communities to start climate action work, with inspiration taken directly from the Indigenous women leaders and their climate groups. 

The final year of the project will be focused on planning and preparation for the CLAN forum in late 2026, where all project partners will exchange knowledge, celebrate successes, and collaborate on shared climate goals in Nepal.