The government’s request, signed by Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and Agriculture, Forests and Environment Minister Gita Chaudhary, says the scale of destruction exceeds Nepal’s domestic resources and immediate response capacity. Kathmandu wants rapid support to protect affected communities, restore essential services and begin recovery.
The appeal is an early test of whether the UN-backed mechanism can respond quickly to a major disaster outside its normal funding timetable.
Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said preliminary assessments put losses to physical infrastructure, settlements, bridges, health and education facilities, agriculture, energy and telecommunications at about 387.54 billion Nepalese rupees, or roughly $2.6 billion. Authorities estimated an immediate requirement of about $53 million for early recovery and initial rehabilitation over four months, while fuller assessments continue.
The United Nations and humanitarian partners launched a $49.6 million flash appeal on September 4 to assist 84,000 people. Government figures cited by UN agencies have put the death toll above 1,200, with thousands still missing after floods and mudflows tore through parts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading.
The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage is still in its start-up phase. Its Barbados Implementation Modalities set aside an initial $250 million for interventions during 2025 and 2026, while all developing countries considered particularly vulnerable to climate change are eligible to seek support.
That allocation is small compared with demand already lodged with the fund. By July, 176 funding requests from 119 developing countries had entered its pipeline, seeking about $2.8 billion in total. The fund had about $474 million available on July 7, with much of that already earmarked for the start-up window, oversight costs and country-support activities.
The board ended its ninth meeting in Manila in July without approving projects, directing the secretariat to prepare an initial package for consideration at its tenth meeting. The fund said then that the volume of applications showed both the scale of need and the shortage of resources available to meet it.
Nepal’s emergency approach also comes after the formal six-month submission window for the first funding round closed on June 15. The government is therefore seeking a rapid response rather than relying solely on the ordinary project cycle.
Under the funding framework, eligible activities include measures complementing immediate humanitarian action, intermediate and long-term recovery, reconstruction, rehabilitation and responses to displacement or other economic and non-economic losses linked to climate impacts. Funding requests normally move through technical review before being presented to the board for approval.
Chaudhary has urged the international community to treat the Bhote Koshi disaster as a climate-justice issue, arguing that Nepal contributes little to global greenhouse-gas emissions yet faces severe risks from a warming Himalayan environment. She told a meeting of least-developed countries in Dili that grant-based finance should be accelerated and mountain regions given greater priority in global climate negotiations.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has also clarified that Nepal is not seeking compensation separately from any individual country. He said Kathmandu would pursue support through the framework of the UN climate convention and the Paris Agreement.
The disaster’s precise physical trigger remains under assessment. UNDP said the flash flood was reportedly caused by a glacial collapse, while Nepal’s authorities continue examining the chain of events. The fund finances loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, requiring proposals to establish an eligible climate-related basis for support.
The climate-loss fund’s board is expected to consider its first financing decisions at its next meeting. Nepal’s separate emergency request raises the immediate procedural question of whether assistance can be accelerated while the start-up system is still processing applications submitted before its June deadline.
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