Completed Programmes
Farmers' Rights in the Context of International Year of Mountains (FRIYM)
In the context of the United Nations having declared the year 2002 as International Year of Mountains (IYM), SAWTEE, in cooperation with ICIMOD, conducted FRIYM. Under this programme, SAWTEE and its member institutions conducted various activities such as organization of two sub-national workshops on farmers' rights each in India and Nepal, a roundtable on Protecting Farmers’ Rights in the HKH Region in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic during the Bishkek Global Mountain Summit in October 2002, and a regional seminar on Evolving Sui Generis Options in the HKH Region on 24–26 March 2003 in Kathmandu. SAWTEE network also produced several publications under this programme.
Gender and Trade
Under the Gender and Trade programme, SAWTEE conducted research on Gender Implications of Nepal’s Accession to the WTO. The Research Team looked at gender implications on the two major sectors of the Nepalese economy, namely carpet and tourism. The outcomes of the research were fed into the process of Nepal accession to the WTO. This programme was supported by UNIFEM, South Asia Regional Office, New Delhi.
Monthly Forum on Globalization and WTO (MFGW)
In its effort to sensitize stakeholders through the dissemination of correct information based on empirical evidence and to provide them a regular forum to express and exchange their ideas and opinions on globalization and WTO-related issues, SAWTEE, together with ActionAid Nepal, organized discussion forums and circulated e-newsletters on globalization and the WTO on a monthly basis from February 2003 to April 2004. The stakeholders of the programme included planners and policy makers, business chambers, NGOs, the academic community, the media and other interested individuals and organizations. Twelve monthly forums were organized on different issues related to globalization and the WTO.
Enhancing Private Sector Competitiveness in the WTO Era (ECOMP)
ECOMP was launched in February 2005 and completed in January 2006. The programme aimed to increase the competitiveness of the Nepali private sector, particularly the small and medium enterprises to survive and prosper under the multilateral trading framework (WTO) through enhanced capacity to understand and respond to the requirements of the new regime. Advocacy, research, sensitization, capacity building, information dissemination, networking and alliance building were the major focus areas of the programme. This programme was supported by The Asia Foundation, Kathmandu.
Reform and Capacity Building in the Post WTO Accession Era (RECAB)
RECAB was launched in September 2004 and completed in August 2007. The programme targeted to build the capacity of stakeholders, including the government, the private sector and the civil society on WTO-related issues. Advocacy, research, sensitization, capacity building, information dissemination, networking and alliance building were the major focus areas of the programme. The programme was implemented jointly with ActionAid Nepal.
Competition Advocacy and Education Programme (CAEP)
CAEP was implemented from February 2004 to February 2007. The programme not only envisaged to create an atmosphere for the formulation and enactment of competition-friendly policies and build a healthy competition culture at different levels in Nepal but also targeted to build the capacity of concerned stakeholders to act as a watchdog to prevent anti-competitive practices and call for effective competitive market environment in different economic sectors of the country. The programme was supported by the Nepal office of Department for International Development (DFID), UK.
Managing Nepal's Foreign Debt (MANED)
MANED was implemented from April 2007 to December 2008. The programme was supported by ActionAid Nepal. The programme reviewed the situation of foreign debt in Nepal, assessed stakeholders' perception on the effectiveness of foreign debt and disseminated its findings among a wide range of stakeholders in Nepal. The programme sensitized Nepali stakeholders on various aspects of Nepal's foreign debt and made the concerned government authorities aware about the proactive measures they can and should undertake to ensure the effective use of foreign debt.
Grassroots and Policy Linkage on WTO Issues (GRAPOL)
GRAPOL was implemented from November 2005 to December 2008. The project was designed to create a linkage between grassroots and policy level, particularly for enabling stakeholders at both levels to take proactive measures to minimise the risks and reap the benefits from Nepal\'s membership to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The goal of the project was to ensure that stakeholders at the grassroots level raise their voices on WTO issues and policymakers and planners take into consideration their concerns while formulating policy documents and legislation. Awareness Raising, Capacity Building, Networking and Media and Policy Advocacy were the major focus areas of the project. The project was supported by MS Nepal, Danish Association for International Cooperation, Kathmandu.
Farmers’ Rights Programme (FRP)
After the successful completion of the three-year programme titled Securing Farmers' Rights to Livelihood in the Hindu-Kush Himalaya (HKH) Region, implemented in collaboration with International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu, SAWTEE implemented the second phase of the project from July 2004 to June 2007. The major objective of FRP II was to protect and promote farmers' rights in the HKH region in the context of liberalization, globalization and WTO agreements. This programme was conducted in five South Asian countries, namely Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It was supported by the Ford Foundation, New Delhi and Novib, The Netherlands.
Progressive Regional Action and Cooperation on Trade (PROACT)
Following the successful implementation of the first and second phases of PROACT, the third phase of the programme was implemented from July 2004 to June 2007 with support from Novib, The Netherlands. PROACT–Phase III aimed at building the capacity of CSOs of the region, thereby contributing to create an atmosphere conducive to the formation of and commitment to a common position of SAARC countries during WTO negotiations by taking the "development dimension" into consideration.
Capacity Building on Electricity Reforms in Select South Asian Countries (RESA)
SAWTEE conducted this programme in collaboration with its India-based member institution CUTS-International, Jaipur. The overall objective of the programme was to increase the long-term capacity of CSOs; and improve consumers’ representation as a measure to enhance the effectiveness of regulatory regimes in the electricity sector in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. SAWTEE managed and implemented the Nepal component of the programme. RESA was supported by The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and its beneficiaries were consumers, CSOs, grassroots consumer groups, the media, policy makers, electricity regulatory agencies, representatives from distribution companies, etc.