Kathmandu- Nepal has secured a significant $36.1 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to protect mountain communities from glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

With GCF’s support and an additional $14M in co-financing, the $50M initiative is aimed at protecting an estimated 2.2 million people in the high-risk Koshi and Gandaki basins from the devastating threat of GCF.

This 7-year ambitious project is led by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The project will follow a similar technique of glacial lake lowering used in the Imja glacial lake project, where controlled drainage remarkably reduced the water level by 3.4 meters, averting a potential disaster in one of the region's most at-risk sites.

The project will specifically target four high-risk glacial lakes with early warning systems. Likewise, the project is strengthening riverbanks with nature-based solutions that involve planting over 150 hectares of trees. 

Apart from structural interventions, the project will enhance disaster preparedness and climate resilience.