Som Lal Subedi, Secretary at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment launched the Building Resilience to Climate Related Hazards (BRCH) project at a function here.

The project, signed in April between the government of Nepal and the World Bank, aims to "enhance government capacity to mitigate climate related hazards by improving the accuracy and timeliness of weather and flood forecasts and warnings for climate-vulnerable communities".

The World Bank's Nepal office said in a statement the project would support agricultural management information system services to help farmers mitigate climate-related production risks.

"By strengthening hydro-meteorological data and services, the BRCH project is also likely to benefit a number of different sectors including hydropower, aviation, disaster risk management and water resources management."

The project is part of the global Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR). Recognising the high levels of exposure to climate change risks, in 2009, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) selected Nepal as one of nine pilot countries for the PPCR.

Nepal's Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR) was developed by the government in partnership with the Asian Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank.