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Civil Society and NGOS

Civil Society and NGOs Various development organisations have been active in Nepal since 1951 when the country was opened to the outside world12. A number of bilateral and multilateral aid organisations, different international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and Nepali non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been working in Nepal in various sectors of development. Following the restoration of multi-party democracy in 1990, there has been a spectacular proliferation of NGOs and their involvement and activities in the development sector have increased. The Panchayati system had exerted a strict control on the NGO sector through the Social Service National Coordination Council (SSNCC) established in 1977. In 1992, a Social Welfare Council (SWC) was reconstituted to replace SSNCC and the Social Welfare Act 1992 was promulgated with the mandate to facilitate, promote, mobilise and coordinate the activities of NGOs13. In the 1990s, the growth of NGOs has been spectacular. There were 94 INGOs and 10,475 NGOs registered with the SWC as of March 26, 2000. According to the Finance Ministry, there are 30,000 NGOs out of which about 8,000 are active in various sectors of development14. Among these, it is encouraging to note that a substantial number of the organizations are environment and development related. After the political change in 1990, policies such as economic liberalisation and institutional pluralism were introduced, creating space for various NGOs and civil societies.

Despite the rapid proliferation of NGOs, a large majority of civil society organisations in Nepal are still at an early stage of development, and those few NGOs who have the capacity, have been swamped by donor demands and unrealistic expectations, and therefore have no time (or lack commitment) to take up the critical issues faced by civil society15. In addition to that, NGOs and civil society in Nepal are currently working in a challenging environment created by the continued conflict situation. Therefore, the need for capacity building of NGOs at a large scale has become a major issue. As the government's presence is virtually limited only to the district headquarters and major towns, NGOs have become the only link to deliver services to the poor and disadvantaged communities in most parts of the country. However, the increasing conflicts in the rural areas have created considerable insecurity in many parts of the country, making it difficult for various agencies to carry out development activities. In particular, it is difficult to work in the forests, which are often controlled by the Maoists or the security forces. The problem is further aggravated by the Maoists sometimes considering some NGOs as a means of 'American imperialism' and 'dollar business', and banning NGOs that have any links to US aid to work in the areas of their control16.