This project aims to conduct a comprehensive value chain analysis of three key products- timber, ginger, and turmeric, originating from community-based production systems in Nepal. These products hold significant potential for contributing to local livelihoods, sustainable forest management, and national economic growth. The study will assess the full spectrum of the value chain from production and processing to marketing and export with a focus on identifying opportunities for efficiency, profitability, and sustainability.
Forests are vital to maintaining ecological balance, supporting biodiversity, and providing resources for local communities. However, forest fires pose a significant threat to these ecosystems, causing extensive damage to flora and fauna, degrading soil quality, and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. The need for effective forest fire management has become increasingly urgent due to changing climate patterns and human activities that heighten the risk of fires. The "Training and Consultation on Forest Fire Prevention and Response" project aims to address these challenges by empowering local communities, stakeholders, and forest management personnel with the knowledge and skills necessary to prevent and effectively respond to forest fires. This project focuses on enhancing awareness, building technical capacity,and promoting sustainable practices to reduce the occurrence and impact of forest fires.
This project is a joint initiation of ForestAction Nepal and The Asia Foundation. It aims to foster socio-ecological resilience to climate change by enhancing collaboration between local governments and Community Forest User Groups in Nepal. Recognized as a pioneer in community-based forest management, Nepal’s community forestry model has successfully increased forest cover and promoted local democracy and equitable resource sharing. Despite these successes, gaps remain in maximizing the economic potential of community forests, mainly due to limited collaboration between CFUGs and local governments. This project addresses these challenges by evaluating current regulatory frameworks and identifying opportunities for LG and CFUG partnership to enhance sustainable, productive, and equitable forest management. With a focus on climate resilience, the project will employ comprehensive field assessments, policy reviews, and stakeholder consultations in Galyang and Tikapur municipalities, representing Nepal’s diverse geographic and socio-economic contexts. The outcome of this project will include actionable insights and policy recommendations aimed at strengthening forest governance and fostering sustainable, climate-responsive forest management practices. This initiative will ultimately support long-term resilience, benefiting both local communities and ecosystems.
As a part of the Paris Agreement, Government of Nepal has submitted its revised NDCs (nationally determined contributions) for mitigating the climate change impacts, where forest restoration is one of the key areas. By 2030, the Government of Nepal plans to further increase its forest coverage, where restoring the forests of Chure region is one of the core aspect. However, there has been prevalence of issues such as economic aspects of past and present forest restoration programs including their environmental and social impacts, lack of understanding and existence of conflicting evidence regarding the restoration effects. There has been existing knowledge gap in the aspect of effectiveness, costs, and benefits of previous or existing tree-planting and forest restoration and amount of carbon sequestration. Additionally, there is a need for examination on regards of sustainability of forests, forest restoration incentives and impacts of restoration programs on livelihoods, employment generation, poverty, and gender equity between households and communities. Thus, the project aims to generate information and knowledge for designing and implementing effective nature-based climate solutions and access to financial resources to support forest restoration.
Jalthal Biodiversity project is a Darwin Initiative UK supported project implemented by ForestAction Nepal in collaboration with Royal Botanic Garden Edinburg, UK (RBGE), Kathmandu Forestry College (KAFCOL), Federation of Community Forest User Groups Nepal (FECOFUN, Jhapa). The project aimed to conserve biodiversity in community forests of Nepal through field actions and capacity building of key stakeholders i. e. community forest user groups (CFUGs). Jalthal forest has been the primary site to demonstrate practical models of biodiversity conservation and forest restoration. Jalthal forest, paradoxically, shows diversity and degradation simultaneously.
The project was designed to conserve the rich biodiversity and mitigate drivers of forest degradation. During the period of its implementation (July 2019 to March 2023) the project has identified key features of biodiversity and highlighted the extraordinary socio-ecological significance of the forest. Through biodiversity profile, the project has demonstrated that community forests have high biodiversity, which is often overlooked, and deserve conservation attention. The project has developed a simple yet effective models of degraded forest restoration through integrated site management. The project has piloted a new approach for invasive species management for better economic and ecological outputs. The project has also successfully piloted agroforestry approach of forest restoration for the benefit of both nature and people.
The primary objective of the initiative is to restore forest ecosystem, conserve biodiversity, and promote sustainable farming through invasive species management in community forests along Chure landscape of Nepal.
The project, “Enhancing livelihoods from improved forest management in Nepal (EnLiFT 2)”, is a forestry research project with funding assistance from the Government of Australia through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). The project builds on the success and lessons of the 5-year project FST/2011/076, Enhancing livelihoods and food security from agroforestry and community forestry in Nepal, also known as the EnLiFT project.
EnLiFT is a collaboration among two international organizations and five national organizations. In its six-year tenure (1 December 2018 – 30 June 2024) it aims at understanding the socio-ecological impacts of Active and Equitable Forest Management (AEFM); improving local government planning in the context of rapid social, economic and political change; strengthening the Community Forestry User Groups (CFUG) system in the context of new local government powers; reducing gender inequality in community forest decision-making; low-labor input activities that are suitable for time-poor women; tree-based enterprises that could be deployed on under-utilized land (UUL); a new institutional framework for regulatory and institutional cooperation between the CFUGs and local governments; pro-poor forest based enterprises models; alternative regulatory structures for marketing forest products; and responses to the disconnection between research and policies for improving livelihoods.
Aims and Project Objectives
The aim of the project is to enhance forest management practices in community forests and private land to improve livelihoods and economic development and facilitate improved social equity. The following are the project objectives:
- Objective 1: To enhance adoption and benefits from Active and Equitable Forest Management (AEFM) and improved private forestry practices
- Objective 2: To develop and institutionalize community forestry planning, governance and gender equity frameworks within the new local government system
- Objective 3: To design and facilitate the establishment of pro-poor small-scale forest enterprises
Major Themes and Priority Actions
Active and Equitable Forest Management (AEFM)
- Application of AEFM in community and private forests
- Capacity building of communities and stakeholders
- Analysis of changing socio-ecological dynamics
- Research supported policymaking in forest management
Planning and Governance
- Develop and apply inclusive planning framework in community forestry
- Test and institutionalize models of Community Forestry-Local Government (CF-LG) planning
- Test and institutionalize gender equality models in community forestry
- Facilitate strengthening of research-policy interface in forestry planning and governance
Forest Based Enterprises
- Analysis of forest enterprises and value chain
- Understand and facilitate regulatory reforms in forest based enterprises
- Promote pro-poor and gender equitable forest based enterprises
- Facilitate research backed policy process towards promoting forest based enterprises
IDEX aims to support ForestAction in advancing its mission in Nepal. ForestAction Nepal will use this grant to implement community based initiatives designed to empower community members with the skills, training and other support needed to improve their living conditions, organizing and other challenges.