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

摘要

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 ecotouristn. 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.