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Now, it takes bans to save forest cover
KATHMANDU, JUN 16 -
The government on Wednesday slapped a ban on felling trees across the country for two months. The decision comes in the wake of rampant felling of trees in Tarai and inner-Tarai districts.
More than 100,000 hectares of forests have shrunk over the past few months in mainly Rautahat, Bara, Sarlahi, Sunsari, Kailali, Dadeldhura, Nawalparasi, Rupendhi and Dang districts.
Under the Forest Regulation 1995, logging or any other activity inside forests is not allowed from mid June to September. A high level committee will probe into illegal activities inside forests and recommend conservation strategies.
A month ago, the government imposed a ban on cutting, selling and export of trees and other forest products in all 75 districts. Less than a week later, the ban was lifted except for in six districts including Kailali, Rautahat, Banke, Sarlahi and Bara.
Shrinking forest cover has alarmed conservationists, who say the current rate of deforestation is higher than it was during the decade long insurgency and raises questions about political interference in forest management.
The Tarai and inner-Tarai districts contain the most productive forests in terms of monetary benefits and are always attractive places for officials to amass money. A field report filed by a government team had pointed to the involvement of forest ministry officials, District Forest Officers (DFOs) and other forest staff. The government had suspended four officials including DFOs for involvement in illegal activities inside forests. “If such encroachment and deforestation is not checked, over 50 percent of forest areas in Tarai and inner-Tarai will turn into barren land in 10 to 15 years,” said Annapurna Nanda Das, official at the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC).
However, MoFSC spokesperson Ram Prasad Lamsal said it was more due to political turmoil. The decision to construct a fast track road joining Kathmandu to Nijgadh, Bara, and rehabilitation of a community at Ramauli village living inside Parsa Wildlife Reserve covering 60 hectares of land also hyped things, he said. Both processes involved felling trees for settlement and road construction, Lamsal added.
Posted on: 2010-06-17 09:43
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