Editorial»
Green signal
MAY 27 -
Officially, around 40 percent of the country is covered in greenery; forest cover makes up around 25 percent. Unofficially, no one quite knows. Last few years have seen rampant felling of trees in the Tarai districts bordering India. Deforestation has picked up pace in the hilly and mountainous regions too. The government apparently has seen enough. On May 22, it banned cutting, selling and export of trees and other forest products for commercial purposes in community and government managed forests. Such a decision had been long time in the coming. But not everyone is pleased with the government clampdown.
Issuing a statement on Wednesday, the Federation of Forest Products Entrepreneurs Nepal urged the government to rethink its blanket ban on sell and export of timber products as such a move “affects local consumers who need forest products on a daily basis.” But that argument is hard to buy as very few locals directly benefit from the selling of timber products; instead it is mostly big timber cartels which rake in the profits from the timber trade, most of it coming from illegal exports across the border. Of course, not all big timber traders can be put in the same basket but it isn’t hard to see that it is they who profit the most from timber trade, legal or otherwise — and not the poor locals living near the community forests who, as marginal players, get meagre cuts.
The entrepreneurs have urged the government to implement the ban only in the districts with high level of
deforestation — chiefly Bara, Saptari, Siraha, Rautahat, Nawalparasi and Kailali. But such a partial ban poses another huge risk: the criminal groups might simply shift their bases to the districts where such a ban is not in place. Thus, though the latest government move undoubtedly harms the economic interests of some, on the balance of evidence, it has to be welcomed.
Besides, this is not a permanent ban. It will be in place only up until the time a government investigative team comes up with a final report into ‘cases of rampant felling of forests in the Tarai and other parts of the country.’ Such a move is also justified because many high-ranking government officials who are supposed to protect the forests have themselves been found abetting the smugglers. It is vital that all key players in the illegal nexus are identified and punished in order to protect the endangered forests of Nepal. The government investigative team would help everyone’s cause — except, of course, the timber smugglers’ — with a thorough, and as far as practicable, swift investigation into the alleged crimes. Hopefully, the exercise does not turn into a witch-hunt against a particular group of timber traders while fortifying the illegal channels of those enjoying the blessings of their powerful political patrons.
Posted on: 2010-05-28 08:38
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