The National Dialogue between Mountain Communities and Government, is an initiative by the Global Environment Facility?s Small Grants Programme, UNDP, FAO and other partners at the headquarters level.

Support towards mountain communities is considered one of the priorities under Global Environment Facility?s Small Grants Programme Operational Phase 6, considering its relevance and impact to climate change, biodiversity conservation, agroecology and social inclusion. The selected countries (Lesotho, Bhutan, Tajikistan, PNG, Nepal and Guatemala) under this new initiative, can implement an influential and impactful activities by strengthening and or initiating dialogue between mountain communities and government in preparation for the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in July 2018.

The HLPF, organized annually at UN Secretariat in New York, serves as a key platform in furthering commitments and implementation of key Sustainable Development Goals. The theme of the HLPF this year is ?Transformation towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies?. It will address 5 key SDG?s, including goals 6 (water and sanitation), 7 (access to modern energy), 11 (safe cities and human settlements), 12 (sustainable production and consumption patterns), and 15 (life on land).

The GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), implemented by United Nations Development Programme, has supported similar National Dialogues between communities and government in the run up to the Small Island States (SIDS) Summit as well as between indigenous peoples and government to provide inputs from the communities in the process that led to the Paris Agreement. SGP could contribute and bring community voices to the table through these dialogues, which not only covered global priorities, but also provided valuable inputs to the national-level plans.

Given the importance Bhutan places in mountain landscapes and communities for conservation and sustainable development, SGP Bhutan programme has been selected as one of the lead countries to take forward a series of national dialogues and activities to implement the initiative on National Dialogue among mountain communities and the government.

The specific objectives of the initiative are:
? To raise awareness among governments representatives and policy makers of the impact of environmental degradation (including climate change, biodiversity, land degradation, and others) to mountain ecosystem and the communities that rely on it. It is also aimed to raise awareness on the contributions that these communities are making to manage the mountain ecosystems in the realization of SDG?s, particularly through sustainable management of agriculture, and in addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation;
? To ensure that the priorities and perspectives of mountain communities are embedded in their countries? HLPF discussion, achievement of related SDGs, and relevant national strategies and plan;
? To strengthen relationships and mutual trust and understanding between mountain communities and the government.

The Tarayana Foundation (grantee) implemented the National Dialogue between the Mountain Communities and Government through a series of sub-national dialogue and a national dialogue guided by a Coordination Group comprising of various government and non-government agencies. The sub-national dialogue was initiated in three Districts of Haa (high altitude), Dagana (mid altitude) and Samtse (low land). After rigorous consultations at the grassroots level 16 communities members (women, men, youth and senior citizens) shared their opinion on the challenges and issues faced at their respective communities in line with the 5 SDGs.
TOTAL : 71 Participants (Men ? 42, Women ? 39, Elders ? 5, Youth ? 3)
Community Representatives ? 16
? Female- 8
? Male ? 8
Government participants: - 29
? Ministers ? 1
? Secretaries- 3 Directors - 3
? Other (Chiefs & officers) ? 22
CSO/UNDP/NGO participants ? 11
? Directors/CEO - 6
? Others ? 5 Organizer/Grantee Participants ? 15
? President/Directors/ CEO ? 4
? Others - 11
Based on the dialogue, recommendations at local level and national level were collected and consolidated that were reviewed by the Coordination Group and submitted to the government via SGP Bhutan's NSC.