The Grow Bamboo Initiative was founded in September 2020 to fight climate change using natural resources. This initiative was embarked with the first community led bamboo plantation project in Dhaneshwari, Kavre Nepal. To continue the mission to combat climate change through bamboo plantation, the Grow Bamboo Initiative and the Divisional Forest Office, Kathmandu had jointly collaborated to conduct the second Moso Bamboo Plantation in Bagmati river corridor of the Kathmandu valley in June 2021. 

The Bagmati river corridor was chosen for the second plantation of the Grow Bamboo Initiative as it is the most sacred river for the Hindu communities in Nepal, that runs through the capital city Kathmandu. This river considered to be the source of Nepalese civilization and thus worshipped for its purity. With the commencement of urbanization, the river Bagmati is polluted and brings sorrows through natural disasters, water borne diseases and foul smell to the communities living across its river bank.

The Grow Bamboo Initiative had supported 500 seedlings of Moso bamboo raised in Moso Bamboo Nursery of Dhaneshwari to the Division Forest Office, Kathmandu, Nepal. The Divisional Forest Office cooperated to identify suitable plantation sites, supervise plantation activities, engage the local communities, and manage the site for long-term sustainability of the plantation.

Plantation program requires greater effort and extensive involvement of the community members. Therefore, joint efforts were made to include the major beneficiaries in the plantation such as Park management committee, Tole sudhar committee, Youth club, Temple management communities, Community Forest User Groups, people living in the proximity of Bagmati watershed area and public land. The major sites where bamboos were planted are: 

The core reason for choosing this areas as plantation site is due to the fact that the advantages of this bamboo plantation on river ecosystems are immense in preserving the condition of river banks and reducing erosion that contributes to the stability of river banks.

During the monitoring process in one of the plantation site i.e Indrayani Community Forest where maximum number of seedlings of moso bamboo were distributed, it was found that the seedling of the bamboos were well grown adjusting different climatic conditions, fire, insects and fungi, and animals and have successfully created more green space there. Since Indrayani community forest was felicitated with the award of best community forest in Kathmandu, it was also proved that with active participation of community members, bamboo plantation can sustain in long run.

This plantation will be initiative for creating more green space in this bustling city at the same time providing with more benefits, reducing pollution, controlling erosion in fragile bank of Bagmati watershed area, degraded land of community forest. On a positive note, the seedling of this bamboo will ideally grow up to be the future of environment disaster risk management in major vulnerable area of Kathmandu district