NEWS / EVENTS
South-to-South Exchange Program Workshop in Kathmandu
A review workshop was organized in Kathmandu to mark the termination of Ford Foundations's South to South Program. The South to South Exchange Program encourages sustainable livelihoods in rural Nepal through exchange of indigenous and acquired natural resource management knowledge between communities living in similar ecosystems in South Asian countries, mainly Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. The program gives Nepali natural resource user group members an opportunity to visit counterpart groups in South Asian countries to exchange traditional knowledge and acquired learning on improving natural resource management systems, sustainable agricultural systems, sustainable income generating activities, cultural preservation, and renewable energy systems.
The South to South program focuses on learning and sharing proven practices about
management systems to maintain and manage fragile ecological systems. The program seeks
to empower the marginal groups that rely on these resources and promotes a continuous, self
sustaining exchange of ideas and experiences. The overall program objective is to facilitate
the exchange of practical information to improve environmentally equitable management of
natural resources to allow for sustainable increase in incomes and to improve social equity at
the grassroots level.
A total of nine exchange visits to sites in India and Bangladesh have been conducted since
2001, as well as one visit by resource users from Ladakh (India) to Mustang (Nepal).
