History

Forest management and silviculture

Various traditional systems of forest administration have developed across the centuries, including the kipat system of exclusive communal rights in the east of the country, and the shingo nawa (forest caretakers) of Sherpa society.

From the early twentieth century, a National Code for forest administration placed responsibility for forest management in the hands of village leaders, under the supervision of a district administrator. In 1957, however, control of all private forests was vested in the state under the Forest Nationalisation Act of 1957. This Act was designed to bring all forests under effective management and in particular, halt the conversion of forest lands to agriculture. In the late 1970s, community access to forests and participation in forest management once again became important under the Panchayat Forest Rules, which endeavoured to enforce sustainable utilization of forests and regulate access to forests. Meanwhile, successive governments in Nepal pursued a policy of large-scale export of logs and timber from the Terai and Siwalik regions, to India. Up until the 1970s, forest-based income was the country¿s largest source of government revenue. However, in an effort to reduce forest degradation, the export of logs and timber was banned in 1979.

More than half of Nepal¿s forests have been cleared or seriously degraded in the past 30 years to make way for agriculture, and to meet demands for fuelwood, fodder and timber. More recently, a realization that the ¿protective¿ forest management strategy was failing, has seen a strong shift back to community participation in forestry.

last updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009