KATHMANDU, JUN 25 -
The rate of deforestation across the country went up this year due to the involvement of some ‘corrupt’ officials of some community forest users’ groups, a report reveals.

The field report prepared by the Federation of Community Forest Users Nepal (FECOFUN), which was made public on Friday, stated besides the involvement of government officials in illegal activities inside forests, some people associated with the community forests also aided deforestation in the Chure and Tarai regions. Other reasons for the rise in deforestation, the report said, were encroachment for ‘rehabilitating’ freed Kamaiyas (bonded labourers) inside the forests by cutting down trees and the “non-transparent” transfer of forest officials by the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Dambar Tembe, coordinator of the four-member FECOFUN probe team said.

The report was published after the team carried out field visits and discussions with local stakeholders in districts that saw rampant deforestation. According to the report, deforestation was rampant in 25 forests in the Chure and Tarai regions in the past six months.

In Brahmasthan Community Forest in Sarlahi, about 12, 500 cubic feet of Sal and Asana trees was fell for road construction. The decision to fell the trees had been taken without holding consultations with the Village Development Committee and the Department of Roads. The team concluded that with the involvement of a couple of high-level officials of the community users’ group, trees were felled inside the community forest in Sarlahi in a massive scale.

 

Posted on: 2010-06-26 07:34

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