Toward this end, a World Bank team will be visiting Nepal at the end of the month, the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation has informed. [break]
“We are looking to using this fund for resettling the encroachers and clearing the entire area,” Forest Minister in the caretaker government Deepak Bohara told myrepublica.com.
The IDA (International Development Assistance) Fund works on the basis of a 1:2 ratio. The Nepal government already has $3 million in the Fund and will thus benefit from another $6 million, going by that ratio.
“...we are working together with India, Bhutan and Bangladesh to generate more money from the Fund,” Bohara added.
Bohara informed that India has in principal $20 million dollars under the Fund, thereby being a beneficiary of $60 million in total.
Nepal government has also proposed to form a tripartite alliance to use the Fund for larger conservation purposes like controlling trans-boundary trade in animal parts and for anti-poaching initiatives.
“It will either be an India-Nepal-Bhutan or India-Nepal-Bangladesh alliance against rising poaching activities in this part of the World,” Bohara said.
As per IDA rules, three countries have to together forward a plan to benefit from the Fund.
IDA is aimed at poverty reduction programs in developing countries. IDA is part of the World Bank that helps the world´s poorest countries. Established in 1960, IDA aims to reduce poverty by providing interest-free credit and grants for programs that boost economic growth, reduce inequalities and improve people´s living conditions.
IDA also complements the Bank´s other lending arm - the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) -which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and advisory services.
IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world´s 79 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. It is the single largest source of donor funds for basic social services in the poorest countries.
IDA lends money on concessional terms. This means that IDA credit has no interest charge and repayments are stretched over 35 to 40 years, including a 10-year grace period. IDA also provides grants to countries at risk of debt distress.
Since its inception, IDA credit and grants have totaled $207 billion, averaging $14 billion a year in recent years and directing the largest share, about 50 percent, to Africa.
akanshya@myrepublica.com
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