9 Forests for poverty reduction in Nepal: policies, programmes and research

Ramesh Shakya^[16]

ABSTRACT

About 40 percent of the total land of Nepal is forested. The poorest of the poor people of the country live in and around the forest land. The main goal of the Ninth and Tenth Five-Year Periodic Plan is “poverty alleviation or reduction”. The community forestry policy introduced more than two decades ago focused mainly on the management of the forests or forest resources for the daily needs of the local communities. Income generating activities were not envisaged in the community forestry. The Leasehold Forest Policy introduced in early 1990s focused on income generation activities in the forest land. The Leasehold Forestry Programme focused mainly on poverty reduction in the mid-1990s and more on farming programmes to help the poorest of the poor people from late 1990s. A new policy has been set to include the Leasehold Forestry Programme within the Community Forestry Programme. The activities in the Leasehold Forestry Programme will be focused on income generating activities. More than 18 percent of the total land of the country is designated as protected areas where the government has given emphasis on biodiversity conservation and ecotourism. Nepal is rich in biodiversity which could be an asset for poverty alleviation, namely ecotourism and sustainable management of medicinal and aromatic plants and non-timber forest products (NTFPs). The Nepal Biodiversity Strategy has been prepared for the conservation of biodiversity. However, biodiversity in the country is closely linked to the livelihoods and economic development of most of the people. Research in the past has focused more on traditional aspects and very little on socio-economic and cultural aspects of the forest. There is a need to identify the research gap for formulating and implementing programmes and activities in sustainable development and conservation of the environment.

BACKGROUND

The forestry sector plays an important role in Nepal’s economic development and ecological stability because about 40 percent of the total land is forested. The poorest of the poor people of the country live in and around the forest land. Forestry contributes significantly by its protective, regulative, and productive functions. Nepal’s rural economy depends basically on forestry because the farming system of the country is forest based. The Agriculture Perspective Plan has indicated that three hectares of forest are needed to cultivate one hectare of agricultural land. The agriculture sector has occupied more than 24 percent of the total area of the country, so in order to maintain the fertility of the agricultural land 22 percent or more needs to be covered with trees to supply forest products to the growing population. The protective functions of forest include protecting the land/ soil from degradation due to rain, wind and radiation, and protecting the flora and fauna from overexploitation. The regulative functions of forest include absorption, storage and release of carbon, oxygen, water, nutrients, radiant and thermal energy. Even the adverse effects of sound and wind can be absorbed by forest belts. The production functions of forest include a number of economic goods and services. The goods are fuelwood used as energy for cooking, poles and timber for housing, furniture, and posts; and the bulk of the farmers’ plough and agricultural tools are all made of wood. Similarly, fodder, bedding material, grasses, charcoal, essential oils, resins, gums, honey, katha, kutch, medicinal herbs, fruits, seeds, pulp and paper, fibre, canes and bamboos also come from the forest. Services from the forests include conservation of soil and water, preservation of biodiversity, enhancement of landscape, aesthetic value, recreation, ecotourism, etc. Forests provide over 70 percent of the rural energy requirement. It is estimated that forests contribute 40 percent total digestible nutrient (TDN) as a source of food to the livestock. Soil and watershed management programmes provide technology for optimum land use as well as retain land productivity and ground water recharge. For tourism industry to flourish, development of the forestry sector is important. Management of national parks, wildlife reserves, conservation areas and plant resources contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and in improving the livelihoods of the people. About 18 percent of country’s area has been put in protected area management to conserve biodiversity.

The forested area of the country is only 0.15 percent of the world’s total forest area (FAO 1993), but it contains 118 ecosystems, 75 vegetation types and 35 forest types, 5160 flowering plants (i.e. over 2 percent of flowering plants in the world), 6 percent of insects (4500 species, out of which 641 are butterfly species only), 8 percent of birds (844 species), 4 percent of mammals (181 species), 100 species of reptiles, 43 species of amphibians and 185 species of fish (BPPN 1996).

Recently published forest statistics of the country indicate that the forest area is declining. According to the Forest Resources of Nepal, 1999, out of the total land area of 14.72 million ha, forest covers about 4.27 million ha (29.0 percent) and shrub covers 1.56 million ha (10.6 percent). Both forest and shrub together cover 39.6 percent of the total land of the country. In comparing the new results with the Land Resource Mapping Project results from 1978/79, in the Terai, forest area has decreased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent from 1978/79 to 1990/1991. In hilly area, forest area has decreased at an annual rate of 2.3 percent from 1978/79 to 1994, whereas forest and shrub together decreased at an annual rate of 0.2 percent. In the whole country, from 1978/79 to 1994 forest area has decreased at an annual rate of 1.7 percent. Most of the forests are under natural forest as the total plantation in the country is estimated to be less than 0.25 million ha. The per capita forest area is 0.025 ha (Shrestha and Nepal 2002).

Forest and shrub cover of the country by development region is presented in Table 1 below:

Table 1. Forest and shrub areas by development region (ha)

Source: DFRS (1999).
* FW = far-western, MW = mid-western, W = western, C = central, E = eastern, DR = development region

The total population of the country is over 23 million (CBS 2001). More than 70 percent of the population depend on agriculture. The per capita GNP of the country in 1997 was US$220 (CBS 2001). The per capita GDP in 2001 was US$240 with an annual growth rate of 5.8 percent (NPC 2003).

In the absence of recent national level household data (the last Nepal Living Standards Survey was carried out in 1996), it is difficult to provide an accurate and up-to-date measure of the Ninth Plan’s progress in reducing poverty. Preliminary estimates made in the context of the mid-term review of the Ninth Plan suggest that the poverty ratio declined the most in the central region (0.493), followed closely by the eastern (0.484) and western (0.479) regions. This is largely due to the fact that most of Nepal/s trading centers and productive economic activities are concentrated there. In contrast, the mid-western (0.402) and far-western (0.385) regions, far from the centre of power, have been traditionally neglected. Despite recent efforts to include them in the country’s modernization process, these areas (except for mid-western Terai) have also made the least progress in terms of the level of improvement in Human Development Index (HDI) between 1996 and 2000.

All rural households derive much of their household income from agriculture (including earnings as paid farm labour) and also from non-agricultural sources through self employment and wage employment. But the dependence on agriculture is significantly higher for the poorer households. This is also suggestive of the fact that opportunities for non-agricultural employment are limited in rural areas; and with their low educational achievements and skills, it is difficult for the poor to obtain higher-paying non-farm employment and break out of the poverty cycle.

The foregoing evaluation of the Ninth Plan and the poverty situation clearly demonstrates that past development efforts have fallen behind to meet the expectations of poverty reduction. Poverty is more widespread particularly in rural areas, and deeper and more severe among women, ethnic groups and Dalits, and those living in backward areas-mid-and the far-western and mountain areas. Poverty could not be reduced to a desired level due to the failure to achieve high and sustained broad-based economic growth particularly in rural areas; inadequate human development commensurate with heightened desires and needs of the people, in large part due to less than satisfactory implementation of public actions to effectively provide essential social and economic services and infrastructure to the poor and backward communities and areas; poor accountability; economic malpractice; and poor monitoring of development programmes. The impact of development on the deprived areas and communities has been limited. In the absence of effective policies for ensuring social and economic inclusiveness, the poor and deprived communities could not come to the mainstream of the development process. In addition, the recent spells of violent activities and disorder have badly slowed down development and service delivery by the government. They have also adversely affected the poor and backward areas and communities even more than others (NPC 2003).

POLICIES

National Forestry Plan 1976

The National Forestry Plan 1976 was prepared and adopted by the Seventh Five-Year Plan. The policy objectives of the plan were to meet the people’s needs for forestry products, including timber, fuelwood and fodder, to maintain or restore the ecological balance through reforestation and watershed management programmes, and to derive maximum economic gains from forestry products by promoting the export of medicinal herbs. As regards the conservation and promotion of natural resources, this plan ensured maximum people’s participation in activities related to soil and water conservation by giving priority to protecting the water sources of villages and watersheds serving heavily populated areas of the hills.

Master Plan for the Forestry Sector 1989

The Master Plan for the Forestry Sector (MPFS 1989), approved in 1989, provides a 25-year policy and planning framework for the forestry sector. The long-term objectives of the Master Plan for the Forestry Sector include the following:

• to meet the people’s basic needs for forest products on a sustained basis;
• to conserve ecosystems and genetic resources;
• to protect land against degradation and other effects of ecological imbalance;
• to contribute to local and national economic growth.

The Master Plan for the Forestry Sector guides forestry development within the comprehensive framework of six primary and six supportive programmes to achieve its objectives.

• Primary Forestry Development Programmes:

  a. community and private forestry
  b. national and leasehold forestry
  c. wood-based industries
  d. medicinal and aromatic plants
  e. soil conservation and watershed management
  f. conservation of ecosystems and genetic resource

• Supportive Forestry Development Programmes:

  a. policy and legal reforms
  b. institutional reforms
  c. human resource development
  d. research and extension
  e. forest resource information system and management planning
  f. monitoring and evaluation

The main feature of the Master Plan is an integrated and programme-oriented approach. The idea to employ a programme approach to support these six primary programmes and six supportive programmes was a turning point in Nepal’s history of forestry sector policy.

The National Planning Commission has incorporated the policies of the Master Plan for the Forestry Sector (1989), into the Eighth Five-Year Plan (FY 1992/93-1996/97). The basic objectives of the Eighth Five-Year Plan for the Forestry Sector include:

• to stabilize the supply of timber, fuelwood, fodder and other forestry products necessary for the general people in their day-to-day lives;

• to increase the productivity of forest to ensure the supply of raw materials to forest-based industries which contribute to the national economy;

• to increase income from the employment opportunities in the forestry sector for underprivileged families;

• to develop national parks, wildlife reserves and protected areas in order to preserve biological diversity, to maintain ecological processes and ecosystems, and to create recreational areas;

• to help maintain land fertility through the conservation of soil and other watershed resources.

The following policies have been adopted to achieve the Eighth Five-Year Plan for the Forestry Sector:

• Public participation will be intensified through the implementation of private, leasehold forestry and users’ group-based community forestry programmes.

• Deprived sections of the society will be given preference when land is allocated for leasehold forestry so that their opportunities for employment are increased.

• The development of industrial forestry will be emphasized in appropriate areas.

• To reduce conflicts between local residents and national parks and reserves, the people will be allowed to help manage national parks. In addition, to restore the people’s faith in national parks and reserves, a share of the fees generated will be spent on developing neighbouring areas.

The Ninth Five-Year Plan (1997-2002) followed the Master Plan for the Forestry Sector in order to continue its main thrust of people’s participation in forest management practices. The main objective of the Ninth Five-Year Plan is poverty alleviation through providing economic opportunities for poor people and encouraging their participation in developing activities. To reduce poverty effectively in the long run, poverty-focused sectoral and targeted programmes will be launched in a coordinated, integrated and effective way. In addition, the Ninth Plan for the Forestry Sector emphasized the need to cultivate non-timber forest products in community forests and to promote employment and income generating opportunities for poor and marginal families.

The main policies and strategies which have been adopted by the Ninth Plan to reduce poverty include:

• support to poverty alleviation which will be provided to promote and establish participatory forest management by implementing community-based development activities.

The Forestry Sector Policy 2000

· Land-use planning: Existing land-use categories will be improved to their full potential so that productivity is increased and the forestry sector developed.

· Conservation of biodiversity, ecosystems, and genetic resources: Biodiversity conservation will receive high priority to ensure both security and a sustainable livelihood for millions of people living in the eastern Himalayan region. Tourism in protected areas will be regulated and kept within the carrying capacity of the local ecosystems. Part of the income from tourism will be made available for community development. His Majesty’s Government of Nepal will adopt a National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) to provide an operational planning framework to conserve biological diversity, maintain ecological processes and systems, and to ensure the equitable sharing of benefits.

· Production and utilization: Forests in the mountains will be managed with the users’ participation. The traditional right of the people to collect fuelwood and fodder will be regulated according to the decisions and management plans of the users. Forests in the Terai and the Siwaliks of high economic and national importance will be managed and utilized by implementing management plans. Collaborative partnership with the households living adjacent to such forests will be established. Especially in suitable parts of the Terai, the production, processing and marketing of non-wood forest products will be encouraged.

· Social aspects of land and forest resources: A holistic approach to the multiple use of land will be taken up by blending forestry management with biodiversity conservation and community development activities. Emphasis will be placed on integrated farming for strengthening soil conservation and watershed management, for research, extension and agroforestry, and for other activities related to the Forestry Sector Policy 2000. The principles of decentralization will be applied in the forestry sector through community forestry, which, according to the Forest Act of 1993 and the Forest Rules of 1995, has priority over other forest management strategies. Priority will be given to underprivileged communities or to the underprivileged people within a community.

· The role of the private sector: Establishment of private forests, herbal farms, and wildlife ranching on private land will be encouraged. Similarly, the establishment and development of forests on leasehold government land will be promoted as long as such forests are socially acceptable.

· Investment in the Forestry Sector: His Majesty’s Government will solicit cooperation and assistance from all concerned parties, including donor agencies and international financial institutions, to implement the forestry policy and to finance the forestry sector programmes.

Classification of forests and protected areas:

For the purpose of conservation and management, forests and protected areas are classified as indicated below.

· Forests

All forests except those designated otherwise are national forests. They are divided into the following categories:

a. Government Managed Forest: National forest areas managed by His Majesty’s Government using approved forest management plans;

b. Community Forests: A part of national forests which are handed over to users’ groups as community forests to conserve, manage and utilize for their basic needs;

c. Leasehold Forests: Forest on land that have been leased by central or local government agencies to private owners including individuals, cooperatives, institutions and commercial firms;

d. Religious Forests: Forests belonging to religious institutions;

e. Private Forests: Forests or trees raised and managed on privately owned land;

f. Protected Areas: A national forest declared by HMG/N as protected forest pursuant to the Act of 1993, which considers it as having a special environment or scientific or cultural importance;

g. Conservation Areas: Land such as national parks, reserves, protected areas, or other categories gazetted under the National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973;

h. Protected Watersheds: Any land under public or private ownership designated as a protected watershed under the Soil and Watershed Conservation Act of 1982.

· Policy related to poverty reduction programmes Focus on providing livelihood to poor and landless people in forestry related activities:

a. Employ the poor and landless in nursery, plantation and management work, construction, forest harvesting and forest-based industries.

b. Train individuals, provide financial support to establish private nurseries and purchase their products.

c. In allocating leasehold forests, give people below the poverty level priority, but only encourage them to engage in forestry if the benefits will exceed the costs.

d. Employ the poor and landless in government and leasehold forest plantations, including those using agroforestry techniques.

e. Initiate programmes and incentives to establish and manage tree farms on leasehold forest land for industrial and multiple-use purpose.

f. Pay a just income to the rural poor who collect raw materials like medicinal and aromatic plants for industries based on such forest products.

Leasehold Forestry Policy

Leasehold forest is defined as a national forest handed over to any institution on industry based on forest products or community established under current law (Forest Act 1993). Leasehold forest, therefore, is forest which is degraded, and without or with only scattered trees, and is handed over on a leasehold basis with community consensus for raising a plantation and to nurture the forest and to utilize the forest products. The annual rental is NRs.1000, NRs.1200 and NRs.1500 per hectare in the mountain, hills and Terai regions respectively. However, communities or groups of people living below the poverty line do not have to pay any rental charges.

POVERTY IN NEPAL

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. A decade ago, according to Human Development Index (HDI), Nepal was ranked in the 22nd position from below among 173 countries in the UNDP’s 1993 assessment (UNDP 1993). The HDI is a parameter to assess the relative position of each country with regard to three main dimensions, namely longevity, knowledge or education and standard of living (Thapa 1995). So the HDI indicates that the living standard of the Nepalese is very low. The major cause of the poverty in Nepal is population growth, which is currently estimated at 2.3 percent per annum. The demand for basic needs such as education, health and employment for the increasing population cannot be met by the country with its limited resources.

The National Planning Commission (NPC) has estimated that about 40 percent of the total population were absolutely poor. It measured poverty in terms of income required to supply the minimum food calorie requirement. The Living Standard Survey (LSS) of Nepal (CBS 1996) has per capita income as criterion to determine the poverty. The LSS has determined 2124 calories as per day necessity, which is equivalent to NRs.2637 in monetory terms. Per capita annual expenditure is estimated at NRs.4404 including expenditure on non-food items. Based on this, the estimated population living below the poverty line is 43 percent. Out of this, 24.9 percent are poor and 17.1 percent estimated to be ultra-poor. The poverty situation in different physiographic regions and urban and rural areas is shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Population below the poverty line by geographical regions and rural and urban areas

Source: The Ninth Plan (1997-2002), HMG/N.

Poverty alleviation programmes of the HMGN

The poverty alleviation programme was first introduced in the HMGN Five-Year Plan in the Eighth Plan (1992- 1997) as one of the objectives of the Plan. During the commencement of the Plan, 49 percent of the population were living below the poverty line. The Plan succeeded to bring down the poverty to 42 percent at the end of the Plan. The Ninth Plan (1997-2002) has considered poverty alleviation as the only principle objective. It aims to bring down the poverty by 10 percent to 32 percent in the next 20 years. The main strategy of the Plan to reduce poverty is to improve the socio-economic conditions of the poor people by attaining high GDP and controlling high population growth. The Ninth Plan has been reviewed and the forestry sector programmes in the Tenth Plan are discussed briefly below.

Review of the Ninth Five-Year Plan

The Ninth Five-Year Plan is reviewed based on its concept, objectives, strategies, working strategies and major quantitative targets.

• The Community Forestry Development Programme (1 341 973 households, 12 540 users’ groups and 955 358 ha of forests handed over) and the Leasehold Forestry Programme (10 500 households, 1600 groups and 6600 ha of forest handed over) for the people below the poverty line have been found very satisfactory.

• The participation of women, poor and marginalized group people to some extent has increased together with income generation activities.

• The Forest Act 1993 has been revised to make users’ committees more accountable to the group constitution and the Operation Plan and user members.

• Biodiversity legislation on patent rights of forestry sources and intellectual property rights is in the process of formulation to look forward to WTO membership.

• Development of the National Biodiversity Strategy as well as policy formulation and legislation is in the final stage.

• Buffer zone area delineation in Langtang, Makalu Barun, Royal Bardiya and Se-Phoksundo National Park area has already been initiated. Shivapuri Watershed and Wildlife Reserve has already been declared a National Park.

• All five buffer zone management plans were completed. However, only 7 management plans for national parks and wildlife resource were completed out of 16 as planned.

• No progress could be made in policy reforms and legal amendments to simplify the process to hand over the Leasehold Forestry Programme for the poorest group of people.

• No significant progress has been made in generating employment (4.1 million man-days) prescribed in the OMFP since no harvesting operation was carried out. The target could not be met in the preparation of the NTFP Plan and a separate plan for the NTFP-based enterprise development.

• It is felt that there is lack of intersectoral coordination, hence it has been very difficult to review the progress of the Ninth Five-Year Plan in various areas of cross-sectoral linkages such as development of alternatives to fuelwood, Ayurvedic medicine and the promotion of cosmetics industries. Similarly, it has been difficult to access the impact that the forestry sector may have made on the promotion of small cottage industries such as silk, tanning, vegetable ghee, dyes, rubber, spices and cosmetics as well as that of the forestry sector’s contribution to the farming system as a whole and to the protection of the environment, biodiversity conservation and tourism and ultimately to the local and national economy.

Programmes

The main goals of the forestry sector in the Tenth Five-Year Plan are:

• to significantly contribute to the national aim of poverty reduction through the management of forest resources and conservation of watersheds and biodiversity with the active involvement of the people;

• to stop further depletion of its occupied area and transform 10.6 percent of its bushy area into high forest within 15 years. The remaining 29 percent of forest shall be managed to make use of its intensive production potentially and optimum land-use plan;

• to focus on the poor, women and the deprived group for their access to and control of forest resources through their active participation in planning, decision-making, implementation, monitoring and benefit sharing;

• to contribute to fulfilling the needs of forest products besides protecting the land and environment to retain ecological balance, biodiversity and genetic resources.

The main objectives of the Tenth Five-Year Plan are:

• to increase the income and employment opportunities for livelihood of the poor, women, and the deprived group in order to contribute to national poverty reduction objectives of the forestry sector;

• to increase the productivity of forest land for sustainable supply of forest products through intensive management of community, government-managed leasehold forests together with the promotion and research of tree species and plant resources;

• to manage protected and buffer areas in order to conserve and extend biodiversity;

• to manage and conserve soil and watershed areas focusing more on Churia region to increase ground water recharge.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the roles of different agencies and stakeholders (government, non-government, private and local bodies) will be clearly defined to derive the supportive role for the development of the forestry sector. Policy revision, legal amendments, institutional and organizational reforms are also aimed during the Tenth Plan period.

FORESTRY PROGRAMMES RELATED TO POVERTY REDUCTION IN THE TENTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN

Policy and programmes

• Community and private forestry programme shall be continued and made more effective focusing more on intensive management of the forest resources as well as gender equity and livelihood issues. For these, the concept of subgroup within forest user groups (FUG) will be introduced and promoted to ensure increased access and control over forest resources by the poor, women and the marginalized group of people. In order to improve the existing conditions and position of women in the communities, women’s representation shall be increased in forestry sector development programmes including planning, decision-making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation by ensuring that their strategic and practical gender needs shall be recognized and addressed at all levels.

• In order to improve the condition of the forest and people below the poverty line, leasehold forestry programme shall be launched in more districts.

• The importance of the conservation of biodiversity and genetic resources shall be sensitized, and with the involvement of the local people, conservation of biodiversity and its sustainable use shall be promoted in all types of ecosystems as envisioned in the Biodiversity Strategy Plan.

• Involvement of non-government organizations in the development of the forestry sector shall be promoted to reduce the work pressure of the government organizations and to effectively deliver services to user groups. Front line staff, the poor, women and the deprived groups shall get priority in all capacity building activities.

• Awareness programme in wild life conservation shall be promoted and domestication of some wild life species will be allowed.

• Foreign Aid Policy for the Forestry Sector shall be finalized. All forestry sector programmes shall be implemented in the programme approach. For effective implementation of the programme, policy reform, legal amendments as well as organizational reforms shall be done.

Some of the forestry sector programmes in the Tenth Five-Year Plan, which focuses on poverty alleviation and research and extension programmes in the Plan, are highlighted below:

Activities

Some of the activities of the programmes in the Tenth Five-Year Plan are briefly described below:

• Output: Forestry sector contributed to broad-based economic growth
• Activities:

a. baseline assessment of natural and social resources;

b. support to forest user groups (FUGs), collaborative forest management groups (CFMGs), leasehold forest groups for poor, religious forest groups (RFs) as well as private forest owners/groups and forest-based entrepreneurs in planning, implementation and monitoring various forestry development activities;

c. establishment of nursery, seedling distribution, plantation, and establishment of demonstration plot/s;

d. design, planning and implementation of district forest resource management plan/s;

e. preparation of sub-watershed management plan;

f. prevention of natural disasters;

g. conservation of land productivity;

h. Gatal protection area development in Mahabharat range;

i. promotion of ecotourism in 16 protected areas;

j. implementation of buffer-zone management plan;

k. planning and implementation of habitat management activities;

l. biodiversity registration;

m. sustainable collection of biodiversity resources;

n. national biodiversity framework development and its use;

o. development of botanical gardens and management;

p. agricultural biodiversity management;

q. policy formulation on integrated wet land area management plan;

r. policy and legislation on formation of national rangeland development;

s. rangeland development management in Himalayan region;

t. implementation of protected areas management activities;

u. preparation of inventory of plant resources;

v. promotion, processing, and cultivation of medicinal plants;

w. micropropagation and dissemination of economically viable crops;

x. establishment and management of botanical gardens/herbal centres;

y. carrying out various research and survey activities of the forest resources (including trees outside forest);

z. study on soil and its relationship with suitability of forest/species and soil fertility improvement and fodder nutrient related research.

• Output: Forestry sector contributed to social development
• Activities:

a. awareness raising activities in community forestry (CF), leasehold forestry (LF)/collaborative forestry, religious forestry (RF), non-timber forest products (NTFPs), private forestry, soil conservation and watershed management areas, buffer zones, conservation areas;

b. identification and handing over of forests to CFUGs, LFUGs, CFMG, RFG, CGs, buffer zone management groups;

c. support to forest user groups (FUGs), collaborative forest management groups (CFMGs), leasehold forest groups for the poor, religious forest groups (RFs) as well as private forest owners/groups and forest-based entrepreneurs in planning, implementation and monitoring various forestry development activities;

d. creation of rural community infrastructure and related activities (community and household physical capital);

e. activities to improve the condition of forest resources (natural capital);

f. activities related to improve various capitals (social, human, financial) at resource and household levels;

g. employment generation to local people through various forestry development activities.

• Output: Forestry sector contributed to the empowerment process of the marginalized section of rural people
• Activities:

a. awareness raising programmes and the formation of poor and marginalized focused groups within CF/LF/CMF/RF/NTFPs, CGs, buffer zone management groups, plant resource/garden management committees/agencies;

b. employment generation to local people through various forestry development activities;

c. formation of cooperatives and networks among marginalized groups mentioned.

REVIEW OF FOREST RESEARCH IN NEPAL

Forestry research was stated in early 1960s by the then Forest Resources Survey Office (now DFRS). During 1979 to 1996 a number of research projects (small and big, short term to long term) were conducted covering various aspects of forestry funded by the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) of the United Kingdom. The main thrusts were given to silvicultural trials on species (exotic and indigenous), provenance, species elimination, spacing, mixed species plantation and nursery research on seed germination techniques, seed storage techniques, quality seedling production, types of planting material and propagation techniques. Some thrusts were also given to natural forest management and other aspects of research such as community forestry, bamboo, socio-economics, utilization, and non-timber forest products (NTFP). It was identified that more research work on such topics is needed to fulfill the increasing demand of forest products in a sustained way. Research work on socio-economic and utilization aspects were started at the end of the project period. The silvicultural research carried out during this period was in small trials and results obtained need to be verified through pilot plantations. In addition there are many other aspects of forestry research which need to be addressed for the sustainable development of the forestry sector in Nepal.

The DFRS is responsible for carrying out forest inventory, preparation of forest and natural resource maps based on geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing and preparation of management or operational plans for community forests as well as national forests. The DFRS carries survey and inventory of natural forest resources, and updates the estimation of growing stocks in natural forests from time to time.

Research and survey outputs

Research outputs

Some of the outputs of research activities conducted in the last three decades are as follows:

• Natural forest management

  a. results of natural forest management trials on Schima-Castanopsis forest in central and western hills of Nepal and sal (Shorea robusta) forest in the eastern, central and western Terai of the country;

  b. biomass tables for the above-mentioned forest types.

• Plantation silviculture and management

  a. selection of a number of fast-growing fuelwood and fodder species both exotic and indigenous for the hills and the Terai of eastern, central and western regions;

  b. provenance selection of some of the fast-growing tree species, e.g. eucalyptus, pine (both exotic and indigenous), Dalbergia sissoo, Azadirachta indica, Australian acacias;

  c. plantation establishment techniques of some fodder species on degraded sites;

  d. nursery techniques of some exotic and indigenous species;

  e. identification, distribution and uses of bamboo in the Terai and hills of Nepal;

  f. results of propagation, growth and management trials on bamboo;

  g. yield and biomass tables of some important fuelwood species.

• Agroforestry

  a. preliminary results on tree crop interactions in the eastern and central Terai;
  b. lopping techniques of some of the fodder species;
  c. preliminary results on tree and aromatic plant interactions;
  d. selection of fodder species for planting barren land in the central hills of Nepal.

• Tree Improvement

  a. identification of mature and quality seed both in natural and artificial stands;
  b. establishment of Breeding Seed Orchard (BSO) of commercially important tree species;
  c. conservation of rare and endangered tree species.

Soil survey and analysis

a. soil survey reports prepared for various forestry projects including the Sagarnath Forestry Development Project;

b. reports on site-species matching;

c. indigenous soil classification system based on the local knowledge.

Information, extension and dissemination

a. library containing 6000 books, 4000 documents and journals, 16 periodicals, 115 rolls of micro film and CD ROM facilities;

b. half-yearly publication of the forestry journal, “Banko Janakari”, which contains research results of the trials conducted by researchers;

c. monographs of species;

d. bulletins;

e. booklets and leaflets;

f. occasional papers;

g. manuals of afforestation in Nepal;

h. nursery manuals;

i. report of Forest Resources Inventory;

j. volume tables for forest tree species;

k. proceedings of workshops and seminars;

l. various other publications of research and survey results.

Survey outputs

a. district and national level forest resource inventory reports of Nepal;

b. various forest resource maps of the country using GIS;

c. woody vegetation (both forest and shrub) maps of the country using remote sensing data and GIS;

d. preparation of Operational Forest Management Plans for some Terai districts;

e. preparation of volume tables for forest trees of Nepal.

Research gaps

Most of the research activities carried out in the past are on station research. However, a few projects, for example the Farm Forestry Project supported by the International Development and Research Centre of Canada (IDRC) and implemented by the Institute of Forestry (IOF) and the Terai Community Forestry Project (TCFP) had conducted research on farms in the Terai region. The Lumle Agricultural Centre (LAC) in the Western Development Region and the Pakhribas Agricultural Center (PAC) in the Eastern Development Region had conducted on-farm research in the past. These research activities were focused mostly on technical aspects of forestry and very little on socio-economic aspects. As mentioned earlier, socio-economic research or studies in the DFRS started only in mid-1990s. There is lack of statistics such as contribution of forestry to gross domestic production (GDP), economic studies in various forest management practices and economic aspects of forests. However, economic volume tables of some commercial tree species such as sal (Shorea robusta), sanjh or asna (Terminalia tomentosa) have been prepared.

Suggestions to fill the gaps

Research on socio-economic and cultural aspects of forests and people has been limited to some academic exercises. Certainly, there is a big gap in research with respect to technical, social, economic and cultural fields for implementation of forestry sectoral programmes related to poverty alleviation or reduction. For the successful implementation of the programmes and activities related to poverty reduction, additional related research should be carried out on pilot scale.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BPPN. 1996. An assessment of the representation of the terrestrial ecosystems within the protected areas system of Nepal. Biodiversity Profile Project, Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation.

CBS. 1996. Nepal living standard survey report, main findings. Volume 2. Kathmandu, Nepal, Central Bureau of Statistics.

CBS. 2001. Population census main report. Kathmandu, Nepal, Central Bureau of Statistics.

DFRS. 1999. Forest resources of Nepal. Publication No. 74. Kathmandu, Nepal, Department of Forest Research and Survey.

FAO. 1993. Forestry statistics today for tomorrow, 1961, 1991, 2010. Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

MPFS. 2000. Revised Forestry Sector Policy 2000. Kathmandu, Nepal, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation.

NPC. 2003. The Tenth Plan (Poverty reduction strategy paper) 2002-2007. Summary. Kathmandu, Nepal, National Planning Commission.

Shrestha, S.M. & Nepal, S. 2002. National Forest Policy review, Nepal. In T. Enters, Ma Qiang & R.N. Leslie, eds. An overview of forest policies in Asia, pp. 191-222. EC-FAO Partnership Programme, Rome 2000-2002.