Where we work

CECI opened its Nepal office in 1987. Nepal has been at the forefront of CECI’s nationalization and decentralization process, with Nepali country representative and project team leaders shaping the Nepal program for many years now.

Since that time, CECI has carried out 34 projects in more than 40 districts of Nepal divided among the five priority regions.

It is still the most active Canadian international development organization working on economic and social development in Nepal.

CECI cultivates long-term partnerships with numerous NGOs, cooperatives, private businesses, local councils, and central government agencies and departments. Our main areas of work are:

• rural poverty reduction;
• good governance and democracy;
• reducing disparities between women and men and between castes, particularly in terms of participation and access to services;
• community health, nutrition, and hygiene;
• natural resources management with a priority on rural electrification and marketing of forest resources;
• transfer and adaptation of conflict management techniques developed and used by CECI in Latin America and Africa.

Context

While the last twenty years have witnessed progress in certain areas (increased life expectancy, lower birth and infant mortality rates, improved access to potable water), the country is nevertheless struggling to substantially improve the socioeconomic status of its population, particularly people living in rural areas.

While discrimination is officially prohibited, women, several ethnic groups, members of certain castes, and the populations of remote regions (half the national land area) have less access to services and opportunities for advancement.

Some observers believe that the destabilization of the country caused by ten years of armed conflict has hampered the government’s efforts to improve the socioeconomic status of the people. A peace accord signed in 2006 paved the way for the establishment of a more egalitarian, representative democracy through the redrafting of the constitution. This long process has been hindered by several changes of government, representing a barrier to the attainment of the development goals. Furthermore, the election of local governments has been halted until the adoption of the new constitution.

This absence of local officials hinders the participation of citizens and community organizations in local development planning. CECI has always insisted that the organization, implementation, follow-up, and evaluation of development projects is predicated on good relations with local councils. Such coordination remains a major challenge in the prevailing political context.

Nepal’s economy is agriculture-dependent, with 80% of the population relying on it for their livelihood. Agriculture accounts for about 40% of the national GDP. But agricultural productivity is low. A majority of farmers still use traditional methods of subsistence farming and live in isolated mountain areas.

While agricultural production has increased in recent years, mainly due to the expansion of lands under cultivation, this has been counterbalanced by fast population growth, turning the country from a net exporter into a net importer of food grains (particularly from India).

Challenges

Just a few years ago, Nepal’s development was at a standstill due to the decade-long armed conflict in which the country was embroiled.

• Positive development trends were taking shape further to the sequence of economic reforms implemented after the establishment of democracy in 1990. However, political instability caused by frequent changes of government and poor governance had given rise to systemic corruption;
• During ten years of conflict, over 15,000 people lost their lives, while more than 200,000 people were displaced internally and now live in abject poverty in various towns and cities. The conflict caused significant amounts of property damage and economic disruption;
• The crisis is aggravated by a general lack of employment opportunities in a sluggish economy. Many inhabitants of conflict-affected rural areas migrated to the cities of Nepal, India, and elsewhere to look for work;
• The small number of elected local councils has impeded coordination with these bodies, which is necessary in order to foster the participation of individuals and community organizations in local development planning processes. CECI has always stressed the importance of good relations with local councils for the planning, implementation, follow-up, and evaluation of development projects.