thThe 5 Spatial Planning Platform Meeting

Land Use Policy Formulation and Implementation:
Opportunities and Challenges in Nepal
Janak Raj Joshi(Director General)
Survey Department
Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation

2-3 February 2023
Kathmandu, NepalGlobal Spatial Challenges• Limited space, growing demand• Transportation and infrastructure need
• Living culture and Housing need
• Global partnership vs self reliance• Economy vs ecology• Nature, biodiversity, landscape and recreation needSpatial Challenges in Nepal• Barren and unused land in hilly areas• Flow of Migration from hill to plain area
• Fragmentation and loss of agriculturalland• Unplanned and haphazard Urbanization• Informal settlements and unsecured
land tenure• Effect of climate change and Disastervulnerability• Lack of urban Infrastructure and utility• Destruction of Natural resources• Scarcity of drinking water and sanitation

Few examples• Melamchi Floof (Sindhupalchok)• 5 people have been confirmed dead, 20
people reported missing• 337 houses fully damaged• 525 families displaced• 297 hectors of land of 1324 Families lost(Melamchi Municipality)• Koshi flood inundates Southern plain (Terai)area of Nepal• Death of Hundreds of people• Displacement of thousands of family,• Loss of Agricultural land
• Loss of Millions of $Land Use Policy: Concept and Principle
Unused land
Under used land
Misused land
Overused land

Optimum andsustainable useof land

• Promote Complementary
Land use• Regulate/ MaintainCompetitive Land use• Avoid Conflicting Land use

Land Use Policy: Formulation Process••••••••••••••

Review of existing system
Focused group discussion
International best practices
National/International literature
Key informant interview
Zero draft of the policy
Field observation and workshop
First Draft of the Policy
Multi stakeholder consultation
Experts consultation
Final draft of the policy
Review of the other Ministries
Review of the Cabinet Committee
Approval from the Cabinet

Bottom up process
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Peoples demand
Need based
Subsidiarity
Local knowledge
Flexible

Top down process
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Scientific criteria
Land capability
Suitability analysis
Expert driven
RigidParticipatory land use planning• Appropriate fusion of both process

Land use policy
5 Objectives of land use policy• Land classification• Land use planning• Implementation of Land use planning• Mitigation of natural as well as human induced disaster• Land valuation and taxation on the basis of parcel based land useallocation

Land Use Planning: Policy and Legal Arrangements• Land Use Policy, 2015
• Land Use Act, 2019
• Land Use Regulation, 2022
• Some directives and circulars on land use classification in 2023
• Detailed Technical guidelines (draft prepared, yet to be approved)

Land Use Planning : Institutional Arrangements• Federal Ministry and Survey Department• Federal Land Use Council• Provincial Ministry• Provincial Land Use Council• Local Municipalities• Local Land Use Council

Land use planning: Role of various institutions• Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation• Policy, standards, ensuring consistency• Directives, technical guidelines• Land use mapping, technical support• Dispute resolution among provinces, if any• Province Ministry• Inter agency coordination in province level• Provincial planning• Dispute resolution and mediation between local governments, if any• Local Governments• Review local land use classification• Local land used planning and its implementation• Land use Councils (Federal, Provincial, Local)• Formulation of land use plan of respective level• Coordination among stakeholder• Policy support

Land Use Classification: Strategy and Results
Basis of Classification• Existing land use• Terrain topography• Land Suitability• Land Capability• Local need(Source: Survey Department, Nepal)
ID Landuse
Area Sq. Km % Cover
1 Agriculture
41279.15
27.89
2 Commercial
79.57
0.05
3 Cultural and Archeological
14.34
0.01
4 Forest
61712.80
41.70
5 Industrial
95.02
0.06
6 Mines and Minerals
25.85
0.02
7 Other21867.35
14.78
8 Public Service11405.11
7.71
9 Residential
1980.06
1.34
10 Riverine, Lake and Marsh Area
4943.04
3.34

Land Classification: Spatial Arrangements and Results(Source: Survey Department, Nepal)

Implementation Challenges• Land as a private property rather than natural resource• Over dependency on land and lack of livelihood alternatives• Land Administration practice• Huge demand and high price of housing land
• Lack of motivation in Agricultural activities• Lack of cohesion in sectoral policies• Coordination among stakeholders• Capacity of Local Government

Opportunities• Federal structure and three tiers of the Governments with high levelof commitment• International commitments towards land use and spatial planning• Civil society movements and awareness• Technological innovation and development of ICTInitiatives of the Ministry• Inter ministry coordination mechanism• Capacity Development of local level• Onsite technical support• Mapping and updating• Technical Directives and Guideline• Data service and web portal

Thank you for kind attention