2.1. Highlights of social and economic situation
2.2. Objectives
2.3. Role of Nepal in the regional context
2.4. Major issues
The people of Nepal have traditionally depended on forests for the supply of fuelwood, fodder, timber and other forest products. This heavy pressure on forests together with the land use practices that are not compatible with the terrain of the country, has resulted in serious environmental problems. The country's economy largely depends on the use of its natural resources, but the growth has been hampered by the lack of economic opportunities and infrastructures. The problems have been further exacerbated by rising poverty and environmental degradation.
Nepal has largely a subsistence economy. The GDP of Nepal is US$ 3,063 million and the per capita income is US$ 180. Together with agriculture, forestry plays a central role in the economic and social life of the rural people. The share of agriculture, forestry and fishery in the GDP is about 60% with forestry contributing about 15%. According to the data compiled by the Central Bureau of Statistics in 1993/94 forestry sector earned US$ 4.4 million for the treasury (CBS, 1996).
Livestock raising is an essential component of the rural farming system. It is the second major economic activity in rural areas accounting for about a quarter of the annual farm income. Grazing in the forest by the livestock is heavy and goes on all round the year. Over-grazing is one of the primary factors responsible for the rapid depletion of the forests. This in turn has resulted in acute shortage of feed and fodder for livestock. Although most farmers have private fodder trees and some possess private forest land, these are rarely sufficient to meet the year-round feed requirements of the increasing numbers of livestock.
According to 1991 census, the population of Nepal was 18,491,097 (9,220,974 males and 9,270,123 females). Population density was 125/km2 and more than 90% live in rural areas. The population growth rate is estimated at 2.1%. The main reason for the fast growth in recent years is that the birth rate remains high whereas the death rate has declined. Figure 1 shows the estimated population 1991-2010.
Figure 1: Population estimates 1991 - 2010
Source: CBS (1996)
Over half of the population lives in the mountainous areas and most are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Yet the ratio of agricultural land to agricultural population is only 0.12 ha/capita. Consequently, the hill residents are forced to seek off-farm employment through both reasonable and permanent migration to the Terai and urban areas. Migration has been taking place from the mountains to the Terai and from rural to urban areas. Nepal has a chronic problem of unemployment and under employment, brought about by a combination of factors such as high population growth rate, scarcity of cultivable land, declining agricultural productivity and the slow pace of industrialization.
Agriculture is by for the most important sector of the economy. About 90% of the population is supported by it. All the efforts made during the five-year plan periods to raise agricultural output and productivity have met with little success due mainly to increasing population density and the consequent decrease of cultivable land per capita.
Nepal has to depend heavily on external funding sources for all development works including forestry. Data shows that in recent years the contribution of the external sources has been increasing at a slightly higher rate than that of the domestic sources. In 1994/95 the external sources made up about half of the total development expenditure in the forestry sector.
On an average, forestry sector has been receiving only 4.6% of the government's total development expenditure. It can be expected that this trend will continue in the coming years. Table 1 compares total development expenditure of the government and the expenditure on forestry.
Table 1: Total development expenditure vs. forestry sector (million US$)
|
Year |
Total Expenditure |
Forestry Sector |
|
1985/86 |
109.0 |
6.4 (5.8%) |
|
1986/87 |
1294 |
6.8 (5.2%) |
|
1987/88 |
1654 |
7.9 (4.7%) |
|
1988/89 |
216.3 |
9.8 (4.5%) |
|
1989/90 |
228.0 |
9.6 (4.2%) |
|
1990/91 |
280.3 |
8.1 (2.8%) |
|
1991/92 |
289.7 |
15.5 (5.3%) |
|
1992/93 |
340.6 |
16.3 (4.7%) |
|
1993/94 |
376.9 |
16.1 (4.2%) |
Adapted from CBS (1996)
In spite of the most extreme physical difficulties, Nepal has built up a considerable road transportation system. So far nearly 9,600 km of roads have been constructed. Of this, 3,404 km is black top, 2,373 gravelled and 3,757 fair-weather (CBS, 1996). The gradual increase in the length of roads has improved the north-south and east-west linkage of different parts of the Kingdom. Public transport services, mostly in the private sector, have developed with the construction of roads. The nearest port is Calcutta in India which is 1,127 km away. Nepal uses Indian railways and roads for transporting goods to and from Calcutta. Air transport may seem to be too expensive for a poor country like Nepal. Given the difficult terrain, however, air transport is the most logical and feasible transport system in many parts of the country.
So far, no commercial deposits of oil, coal or gas have been found. So the development of hydro-electricity for power has been emphasized. However, electricity has contributed very little to the country's total consumption of energy. Fuelwood from the forests is therefore the major source of energy for domestic consumption. With a view to reducing the pressure on the forests, the government is launching plans and programs to develop alternative sources of energy such as biogas, turbines, solar and wind energy, as well as a particular emphasis on hydra-power.
The Master Plan for the Forestry Sector has spelled out the following objectives for the development of the forestry sector.
· to meet the basic needs of the people for fuelwood, fodder, timber, and other forest products, and to contribute to food production through an effective interaction between forestry and farming practices.· to protect the land against degradation by soil erosion, floods, landslides, desertification, and other effects of ecological imbalance.
· to conserve the ecosystems and genetic resources.
· to contribute to the growth of local and national economies by developing forest management and forest based industries and creating opportunities for income generation and employment.
· to support decentralization and promote people's participation in forest resource development, management and conservation.· to develop the legal framework needed to enhance the contribution of individuals, communities, and institutions to forest resource development, management, and conservation.
· to strengthen the organizational framework and develop the institutions of the forestry sector to enable them to carry out their missions.
From the beginning of the 1900s till 1979 the successive governments of Nepal had pursued the policy of large scale export of logs and timber from the Terai and Siwalik regions to India. In fact, up to 1970 the income from the forest was the largest source of government revenues in Nepal. Logs and timber export has been banned since 1979. Nevertheless, due to the open border between India and Nepal, illegal smuggling of logs and timber has continued. This has usually intensified during the periods of political turmoil when the government security machinery is weakened.
The supply of logs and timber has been adequate to fulfil the domestic demand of the country. Although some timber has been imported from Malaysia in recent years, it has not been able to compete with local timber in terms of quality.
If managed properly the forests of the Terai still have a great potential of earning huge amounts of revenue for the government. According to Pessonen (1994), if 50,000 ha of sal forests were managed as commercial production units on a sustainable basis, they would bring net income and royalties from timber worth US$ 10 million annually.
Nepal has been actively participating in almost all forestry and environment related regional forums, networks and projects. More important among these are: Farmer-centred Agricultural Resource Management (FARM) project, Asia-Pacific Agroforestry Network (APAN), Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), Forestry Research Support Programme for Asia (FORSPA). Due to its political neutrality, Nepal has the potential of playing a leadership role in coordinating the activities of these international bodies in South Asian Region. For example, ICIMOD has its headquarters in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
Due to its location in the Himalayas the sources of water for the major river systems of north India and Bangladesh, the proper management of Nepal's watersheds has an important international significance. Similarly, Nepal's national parks and wildlife reserves serve as attractive ecotourism spots for the people of the region. For example, in 1995/96 14,636 Indian tourists (18% of all visitors) visited the Royal Chitwan National Park in the Central Terai of Nepal (DNPWC, 1996).
In terms of policy development, Nepal's community forestry policy and legislation have been instrumental in shaping up similar policies in other countries of the region. Groups of policy makers and professional have been coming to Nepal on study tours to learn about Nepal's community forestry programme.
The major issues confronting the development of forestry in Nepal are summarized in this section.
· The increasing human and livestock population continues to exert intense pressure on the forests. Excessive and uncontrolled grazing has created problems like low natural regeneration, soil compacting, reduced infiltration, increased runoff, soil erosion and related downstream impacts.
· The forest based industries have suffered severely from the declining supply of raw materials.
· The Timber Corporation of Nepal has monopoly right to harvest and market logs and fuelwood. This introduces market distortions and entrenches inefficiency in the forest operations.
· The cumbersome bureaucratic permit system seriously discourages private forestry. Lack of dissemination of information, quality seed supply, planting material and adequate technical support has not been conducive to successful private forestry.
· The government has not been able to scientifically manage the country's forest resources which have high potential of generating enormous revenues. Management plans have been prepared for many districts of the Terai. However, it is not clear whether the government can allocate enough budget for their implementation.
· Many donors are involved in Nepal's forestry sector but we are still far from achieving the goal of coordinating/complementing the projects of the donors for the overall development, management and utilization of forest resources.
· In spite of the involvement of many NGOs in the forestry sector, the government has not been able to establish mutually beneficial working relations with them.
· Community forestry programme has gained momentum: some 300,000 ha of forests in the hill districts have been converted to de jure community forests. Technical support to the Forest User Groups (FUGs) by the District Forest Office still calls for much improvement. Many instances of conflict have also begun to surface in community forestry which is a serious issue.
· There is also a need to change the organizational set up of government forestry institutions according to the future changes in policies and programmes.
· Matching up of forestry research with the needs of forest management is also a critical issue.
