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Govt to revise ban on use of forest products
KATHMANDU, MAY 30 -
The Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) is planning to lift the ban imposed on cutting, selling and exporting trees and other products in all forests managed by the government, communities and private groups across the country.
The government on May 22 took the harsh decision in the wake of unabated deforestation and illegal encroachment of forestland reported in most districts in the Tarai and the Chure range in recent months.
According to Ram Prasad Lamsal, joint secretary and spokesperson for the MoFSC, a new decision will be made next week after considering the report submitted by a team mobilised to investigate and conduct a field study of the districts where rampant logging has taken place. The team is expected to put forth its recommendations in a couple of days.
“The government is making efforts to control rampant felling of trees. Not all the districts have reported deforestation so we want to impose a ban only where illegal encroachment or felling of trees is found,” he said.
Lamsal admitted that the country had seen deforestation at an alarming rate this year. The probe team will also calculate the loss in its study. A government team has been mobilised to conduct a field study of the forests in all affected districts and prepare a final report.
Earlier, the ministry suspended four officials in Sarlahi and Panchthar districts for their involvement in timber smuggling. Among the districts that saw significant increase in deforestation and illegal encroachment this year are Kailali, Kanchanpur, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Panchthar, Nawalparasi and Rupendehi.
More than 120,000 hectares of forest has been lost due to encroachment and deforestation in the last two years, according to the data with Federation of Community Forest Users’ Nepal.
Meanwhile, Forest Minister Deepak Bohara returned from Norway on Saturday. The minister will hold discussions with officials and stakeholders concerned to take stock of the current status of forests before taking a crucial decision on lifting the ban.
The Natural Resources and Means Committee of the Legislature Parliament has also recommended that the government impose the ban only in places where rampant logging and encroachment have taken place.
Lamsal said it was impractical to enforce the ban in all the forests including those owned by communities or individuals. “However, strict monitoring and implementation of the decision in certain districts is a must,” added Lamsal.
Posted on: 2010-05-31 07:56
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