The 47th meeting of the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB), held in Bonn from 19 to 23 October 2026, recognised the urgent need to support Nepal in climate change adaptation (CCA) and decided to provide project formulation grants totalling nearly US$323,000 for three projects with a combined estimated value of US$45 million.
The concept notes for two projects, namely Green Koshi: Grounding Resilience and Ecosystem Enhancement through Nature-based Solutions and Building Resilient Communities through Locally Led Nature-based Climate Action in Lumbini Province, Nepal, have been approved. The National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) and UN-Habitat have received project formulation grants of US$150,000 and US$140,000, respectively, to develop the projects, estimated to cost nearly US$10 million and US$5 million. The pre-concept note for Strengthening Adaptation and Flood and Landslide Early Warning for the HKH (SAFE) NIB, submitted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), has also been approved. ICIMOD has received a project formulation grant of nearly US$33,000 to develop a project worth US$30 million. Congratulations to all three organisations for securing access to nearly US$45 million from the Adaptation Fund.
To expedite the decision, Naresh Sharma, representing the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group on the Adaptation Fund Board on behalf of the Government of Nepal, informed the Board about the severe and unprecedented impacts of climate-induced disasters across three river systems within a period of approximately one and a half months, from the last week of August to the second week of October 2026. These included an ice-rock avalanche and flash flood along the Bhotekoshi–Trishuli–Narayani River system on 26 August; severe floods and landslide-induced surges in the Kali Gandaki River system from 24 to 27 September; and a flash flood in the Gorkha–Budhi Gandaki River system on 11 October.
According to Sharma, he called for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and support countries such as Nepal, which are highly vulnerable to climate-induced disasters, in building their adaptive capacity. He also called for additional resources to support climate-resilient social, economic and infrastructure development. He urged the AFB to expedite processes to increase funding, develop a mechanism to support climate-vulnerable mountain communities, and establish a strong functional link between mountain and marine ecosystems.
In response, the AFB agreed to support Nepal’s climate change adaptation projects and included the impacts of climate-induced disasters under the agenda item Any Other Matters. Following Sharma’s briefing, the Board decided to include climate-related disasters as a major agenda item at its 48th meeting, scheduled to be held in Bonn, Germany, around April 2027.
The week proved particularly favourable for Nepal in securing additional financial support to address climate-induced disasters. The first extraordinary meeting of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) was held virtually on 22 October 2026 to discuss and decide on matters related to an urgent request for an immediate response to the catastrophic Bhotekoshi floods in Nepal. The meeting took place nearly two months after Nepal submitted an official request jointly signed by two ministers. It was held between the ninth and tenth regular meetings of the FRLD Board.
The FRLD Board has provisionally set aside US$21.6 million from its available commitment authority for Nepal. To expedite the response, the Board agreed to pilot an approach allowing Nepal to submit a funding request under the Barbados Implementation Modalities (BIM) outside the standard submission period. Further details are available in the FRLD press release.
Although the decision uses key phrases such as “provisionally set aside” and “allows Nepal to submit a funding request under the BIM”, the Board has responded to Nepal’s request by convening an extraordinary meeting, setting aside US$20 million as direct support for Nepal and allocating US$1.16 million for oversight fees. It has also called on Nepal to submit a funding request under the BIM. The total support of US$21.6 million is equivalent to approximately 0.5 percent of the estimated US$4.71 billion reconstruction cost associated with the destruction and damage caused by the Bhotekoshi flash floods.
A four-page press release issued on 22 October 2026, by Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment, the country’s focal ministry for climate change, details the efforts of Nepal and FRLD Board members and the processes adopted to convene the extraordinary meeting and secure financial support for Nepal, 52 days after the joint request submitted by two ministers. The press release covers five key areas: the background to the Board’s decision-making process; appreciation and thanks from the Government of Nepal; Nepal’s coordination and facilitation of the decision-making process; the need to reconstruct infrastructure and other assets damaged by the Bhotekoshi floods; and the schedule for the Board’s 11th meeting, which will be held in Nepal from 17 to 19 March 2027. Dr Maheshwor Dhakal, Joint Secretary and Head of the Climate Change Management Division (CCMD), and alternate member of the FRLD representing the LDC group, helped expedite the process. The press release identifies him as the contact person for further information.
Both funds are established, under the climate change regime (UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement) to respond to climate change impacts and support climate vulnerable developing countries. There are fundamental differences between these two decisions. In FRLD, an extraordinary meeting was convened to respond to Nepal’s official request for funding. In AFB, the Board Member from Nepal, representing the LDC group, approached through the normal process for securing fund and putting agenda for the next meeting. Congratulations to all engaged in the process for securing financial support for Nepalfrom two climate funds.
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