READ THE SUMMARY OR FULL REPORT ON THE CHANGE ILC MEMBERS HAVE MADE IN NEPAL

NES Nepal Members were extensively involved in bringing forward the 7th amendment of Land Act 1964, and the National Land Policy, 2019. These policy changes resulted through a long-term engagement of several stakeholders. The work done by NES Nepal achieved policies which respect housing and land rights to landless and homeless communities. Their work also protected the right to food and the provision of land to landless Dalit communities in Nepal.

NES Nepal has greatly contributed to women's land rights by creating and implementing a guiding policy for Joint Land Ownership to Secure land rights for Women in Nepal. Under this provision land has been registered in the name of both husband and wife. Around 7000 families have received Joint Land Ownership Certificate.

Thanks to the regular advocacy by NES Nepal member organisations, the 2015 Land use policy, was formulated and endorsed by the council of ministries. This policy document prioritized the protection of arable land, ensuring food security. This policy now makes the plotting of agricultural land unwarranted.

Land Rights in Nepal

Land governance is at the core of the political and development discourse in Nepal, where historically unequal and discriminatory distribution of land has affected large section of the population. For a long time, Nepal was under a feudal system where a small number of landlords held most of the agricultural land.

Rural farmers were then contracted on a tenancy, customary, and hereditary basis. Recently the land reform was promoted to protect tenant farmers, to ensure secure land tenure of landless Dalits and other people residing on informal and non-formal lands.

A large amount of the agricultural land across the country is still under the Guthi (Trust) System and thousands of peasant families have been operating significant portions of that land as mere tenants. Similarly, land administration and ownership in the western region of the country was complicated during the Maoist-conflict. The constitution of Nepal has mandated all three governments, Federal, provincial and local, certain rights in relation to land governance, administration and management.

The implementation of these advanced measures is still not effective due to a combined lack of subsequent policy measures, technical expertise, earmarked budget, and a busy political agenda. As a consequence, women, low-caste, agricultural labourers, ex-Kamaiyas, Haliyas, Harawas and charawas (bonded labourers) and landless people, are still living in precarious situations, unable to claim formal rights over the land they occupy.