A future for the people and forests of Nepal | Cancun feature material

The impact of climate change is already being felt in forest communities across Nepal. Land is lost as glaciers melt, flash floods hit and landslides increase. Crops are destroyed due to erratic rainfall, drought and forest fires.

But people are finding ways to adapt their way of life. With the help of UKaid, community groups are saving their forests: replanting trees and using alternatives to firewood. They are starting to make money from the forest without doing it harm, providing a better future for them and the environment.

As the UN conference in Cancun enters its final few days, hear first hand how Nepal’s forest dwellers are overcoming the challenges of climate change.

Core Facts

The world’s poorest people will be hit first and hit hardest by climate change. People in developing countries are already suffering from flooding, rising sea levels, drought, crop failure and the destruction caused by natural disasters.
The UN summit on climate change in Cancun, Mexico runs until 10 December 2010.
The summit will be a key point in the international negotiations for a global climate change deal. Progress on this deal is crucial to tackling global poverty.
The community projects featured here are part of Nepal's Livelihoods and Forestry Programme supported by the UK Government.
In Nepal, greenhouse gas emissions are small but it is among the most vulnerable nations to climate change.
75% of people around the world living on less than $1 a day depend on forestry products in some way for their livelihoods.
The Nepal forestry project has lifted some 433,000 people out of poverty and captured 2.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
Find out more about the Nepal forest programme in a free to use news story at www.dfid.gov.uk/nepal-forests
All photos are free to use and must be credited. First three photos: Arjun Kumal / DFID. Fourth photo: Sibongile Pradhan / LFP / UKaid.
More images are available as part of a full gallery complete with captions - please contact Ginny Reid.

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Quotes

There are rules about how to cut the bushes so they re-grow well. We have really seen the condition of the forest improve.

Ratna Ale, Local maker of rhododendron juice - a sustainable forest product

The British Government is firmly committed to helping tackle deforestation across the globe. As well as forming one of our most formidable defences against climate change, forests provide millions of the world's poorest people with their livelihoods.

Andrew Mitchell, UK International Development Secretary