Category: News

Team members from the ForestAction/AAF secretariat were actively engaged in various processes of the IFOAM Organic World Congress 2024.The World Congress is organised by IFOAM every three years involving thousands of organic farmers, producers, researchers, advocates, and policy experts from around the world. Activities such as pre-conference, the General Assembly, side-events and organic exhibition are included in the congress. This year, the Congress was held at Nanhua University, Taiwan, from November 30 to December 6, 2024 comprising of pre-conference, congress and general assembly of IFOAM. The congress (2-4 December) included various plenary sessions, parallel modules, and workshops where the team had an active presence.

A poster entitled “Walking Training: A Transformative Approach to Capacity Building in Agroecology” was presented by Sindrela Dewan and Srijana Poudel. It introduced the concept of walking training, its significance, methodology, and the process of participant selection for the training. Additionally, the poster highlighted the lessons learned from previous training.
Two papers were also presented by team members in a parallel session entitled fostering organic growth through policy building on December 4, 2024. Krishna Prasad Poudel, along with Mahesh Badal, presented on ‘Analysis of Policy Provisions and Government Programs for Agroecology Promotion in Nepal,’ while Sujata Tamang and Dipesh Nepal presented on ‘Evidence-Based Policy Advocacy Pathways: Learning from Nepal’.

As the secretariat of the Alliance of Agriculture for Food, the team also organised a workshop on “Regeneration of Mountain Agriculture: Future Solution for Sustainable Food System”. Krishna Prasad Poudel was the keynote speaker of the workshop, moderated by Sujata Tamang.

In the Workshop, Mr. Paudel highlighted the specific characteristics of mountain-specific agriculture and industrial agriculture and discussed on the situation arising from the holistic development approach in agriculture and how mountain agriculture is particularly impacted on a greater scale. The crucial role of regenerative agriculture in addressing the specific challenges faced by mountain regions in achieving sustainable food systems, especially in the context of climate change was also discussed in his presentation.

He also shared points for reflection and future pathways. During the open discussion, possible innovative solutions, responses at policies and programs level and practices that farmers and local communities are adopting in response to the current crisis through regenerative agroecological approaches were discussed and shared.

Raising awareness on the importance of sustainable farming through theatre play in the communities

ForestAction Nepal, in collaboration with the Shilpi Group, showcased the drama Sattapatta across ten locations in Chitwan from November 12–20, 2024, with the primary goal of raising awareness about sustainable farming. The performances targeted a diverse audience, including students, teachers, local government representatives, and community members, particularly farmers. By engaging both younger and older generations, the initiative aimed to influence those directly and indirectly involved in agricultural practices.

Each performance attracted an audience of approximately 150-200 people, successfully engaging them throughout the show. Through its powerful narrative, the play effectively highlighted the growing reliance on chemical inputs in agriculture, emphasising their harmful impacts on soil health, human well-being, and the overall ecosystem.

Additionally, meaningful discussions about the need for alternative, sustainable farming practices were thoroughly conducted after every show. The play not only conveyed a positive message but also helped participants understand the importance of sustainable farming systems.

ForestAction Nepal successfully held its 22nd Annual General Meeting on 22nd September 2024. On this occasion, the organization took an opportunity to honor the former chairperson of ForestAction Board, Prof. Dr. Ram Bahadur Chhetri, who chaired for over 8 years and acted as the principal investigator for various research projects. Additionally, the organization recognized Mrs. Laxmi Thapa, a dedicated staff member who has been with ForestAction since its establishment.

Forest fire has been an issue of concern across Nepal, and relevant actors have been struggling to identify ways to effectively address the problem. While several strategies are put in place, they seem to have been inadequate. Most importantly, lack of capacities of relevant stakeholders emerges as a major weakness when it comes to addressing the issue. In this line, ForestAction Nepal hosted a Forest Fire Training Module Sharing Workshop delivered by highly experienced experts from Australia. Mr. Alan Hill and Mr. Vince Cafari, from Australia, shared a forest fire training module that is targeted to the Nepalese audiences. The purpose of the workshop was to refine the forest fire training module before rolling it down to the field. This is part of our collective effort to combat the increasing risk of forest fires in Nepal.

ForestAction Nepal organised one-day interactive event in Sindhupalchowk and Nawalpur on “Policy-related Opportunities and Practical Challenges of Forest-based Enterprises”. The program took place on 3 rd September 2024 in Nawalpur and 13 th September 2024 in Sindhupalchowk. The event aimed to provide forest-based enterprises with the knowledge, resources and strategies necessary for sustainable operation and financial sustainability.The event integrated various learning approaches such as presentation and interactive discussions amon participants. The interactive session focused on sharing of experiences,challenges and suggestions for the forest-based entrepreneurs where key points on expanding the business scale, effective group collaboration, nature and long-term support along with market challenges were discussed among the participants. The event provided a common platform for various stakeholders, including local entrepreneurs, government officials, financial institutions, and non-governmental organisations to discuss and address financial and operational challenges to ensure the sustainability and profitability of forest-based enterprises.

ForestAction Nepal’s Jalthal Biodiversity project is working with key stakeholders to conserve biodiversity of Jalthal forest. While conserving overall biodiversity of the forest, special attention was paid to conserve rare and threated plants (put here a link for the rare trees pdf). The project also conducted experiment to analyse regeneration of rare and threatened species.

To support conservation of such species and to provide in situ education to visitors, the project has supported in establishing Biodiversity Demonstration Block in Durgabhitta and Abhimukteswar community forests. In the block, visitors can witness several rare and unique trees (like Latahar) in accessible location, even seeing 40 species of trees from two locations. On 2 nd August 2024, a plantation program was organised in the block. Leaders from FECOFUN and CFS were present in the program. Altogether 240 seedlings of seven rare species, grown in project established conservation nursery, were planted in the block.The rare species planted were: Cowa Mangosteen (Ban Suntala), Elephant apple (Autyanga), Burmese grape (Kusum), Sour mangosteen (Chunyel), locally rare cinnamomum species (Malagiri), Cycas (Thakal) and Eastern Uvaria (Bandar Jhulla).