Local Initiatives to Reduce Impacts of Climate Change (LIRIC)

Context

Local Initiatives to Reduce Impact of Climate Change (LIRIC) project aims to enhance resilience of poor and vulnerable communities and victims to climate change impacts in the two districts Mahottari and Dhanusha of Madhesh Province. The project mainly works with CSOs and network, advocates for climate issues, to build community awareness, and capacitates them to claim their rights, making LGs accountable for climate actions, while enabling farmers and communities to implement climate change adaptation and mitigation actions. These activities also generate income and green employment, while collaborating with LGs to create a favourable environment towards climate resilience and inclusion. Functional CSO networks and an enabling attitude at LGs are crucial to enhance CSOs’ capacity to jointly implement climate change adaptation and mitigation actions. The improvement in these three areas, both individually and synergistically, will enhance resilience of poor and vulnerable communities to climate shocks and stresses, which further leads to reduced poverty and secured livelihoods.

The project is designed with the main goal to “Reduced poverty and secured livelihoods” of vulnerable community in the target area. To achieve this goal, the main objective is to “Enhance resilience of poor and vulnerable communities” with three major Interim outcomes:

• Functional CSOs for right based advocacy to hold LGs accountable on climate actions

• CSOs’ and their members adopt climate adaptation and mitigation actions

• Favourable enabling environment at LGs towards climate resilient development

The project has envisioned to capacitate vulnerable communities through mobilizing and capacitating CSOs, provide awareness raising on climate change issues followed by an adaptation and mitigation plan and increase resilience of their livelihood through climate-based actions.

Real problem

Farmers in the project area are forced to produce higher quantities in a shorter time with less cost involved due to the low prices from the neighbouring countries. This forces farmers to use chemicals to produce faster and cheaper. The low awareness of a healthy lifestyle in the society makes it difficult for buyers to market organic products, which still have little value in the markets.

Expectations/promise (what would happen if? What if?)

If the average consumer would have a more constant and higher income, the focus on health in the society would gradually increase and the demand for biological products would allow organic production more consistently in the Tarai region.

Solution

The project raises awareness at school-, community-, CSO- and government level to understand the impact of damaged soil, polluted air, untreated waste. However, it takes time to create a better understand at consumer level towards changing mind and behaviour.