Forestry and Forest Management is the sector faces many challenges posed by climate change, loss of biodiversity, drought, deforestation and inefficient supply chains. FAO through the Global Environment Facility Fund, is supporting the General Directorate of Natural Resources Management of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and livestock (MAIL) in promoting the Community based natural resources management, enhancing the community participatory planning for effectively and sustainably managing the natural resources.

 General Directorate of Natural Resource Management and FAO jointly taking initiatives on establishing, registering and strengthen the community based organization working for Natural resource management such as Forest Management Associations. Through the “Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions through Community Forests and Sustainable Biomass Energy” Project, FAO and MAIL has established 10 new forest management associations and has formally registered with MAIL based on new forest law.  Upon receiving, the registration certificates, these FMAs are now become the formal structures of MAIL and they could open bank account and will operate as the community based associations for sustainably managing their forests. FAO through its GEF project will be providing the initial small grants to make it operationalize for the first time in two pilot areas of Dari Noor and Salang districts.

DGNRM and FAO has jointly arranged the first ever registration certificates distribution ceremony at Charkiar city, Parwan Province on 14th April 2018 where representatives of MAIL, NEPA, MRRD, MEW, FAO, MADERA and members of newly established FMAs, Salang district governor and Provincial governor of Parwan has participated. During the event, the five newly established FMAs were granted the registration Certificates, this would be the first badge of FMAs in Afghanistan which are getting their legal status, for each of FMA a five years’ community based natural resource management plan has also been prepared through a community participatory planning process. as this was the first time these association has been registered with the technical support of FAO, the Provincial Governor of Parwan and Directorate of Agriculture, Irrigation and livestock appreciated this work and awarded FAO with an appreciation certificate as well.

During the event Mr. Shawali Shahid (Deputy provincial Governor of Parwan) stated that “Climate change is a vital aspect for today’s world, and keeping the environment clean and avoiding the deforestation is the real need of Parwan residents, I am very happy with the establishment of these FMAs through FAO’s GEF project which would help us a lot in future".