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Nepal’s Carbon Future: REDD+, Community Forestry, and an over USD 100 Million Opportunity

In this conversation, Nabaraj Padasaini, Joint Secretary and Chief of the REDD Implementation Center, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Government of Nepal, discusses Nepal’s 30-year journey in community forestry and its transition toward large-scale carbon finance. He unpacks how forest cover expanded from 29% to 46%, how social and natural capital were built through community-based management, and what Nepal has achieved under UN-REDD, FCPF, and the LEAF Coalition. The conversation also explores carbon trading potential, benefit-sharing with communities, emerging regulations aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and Nepal’s long-term vision to generate up to 100 million tons of verified emission reductions.