KATHMANDU: Nepal, which has made exemplery progress in community forestry, is finally hosting the first international community forestry workshop. The workshop, scheduled from 15-18 September in Pokhara, will be inaugurated by President Dr.Rambaran Yadav.

Participants from 32 countries are attending the workshop at the behest of Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC), with the support from different organisation working in forestry sector.

“Community forestry of Nepal is taken as the world’s most successful forest conservation ideas and the workshop is the first of its kind to be held in Nepal in which large number of participants from all over the world are taking part,” Said Balram Kandel, the secretariat officer of the workshop. “Nepal is the only country in the world where Community Forest User Group (CFUG) is legally recognised by the state,” added Kandel.

According to workshop secretariat, the workshop will deliberate on a wide ranging issues from state community partnership, climate change and community forest to economic development from community forestry.

“This is an opportune time to show the world that we are capable of managing the community forest and have learned the lessons from our hard-earned efforts in forest conservation through community,” Said Bhola Bhattarai, General Secretary of the Federation of Community Forestry User Group Nepal (FECOFUN). Hemanta Ojha, a researcher at the Forest Action Nepal, said the time is ripe for Nepal to expose itself to international community by sharing its success stories, innovation and ideas that have resulted in conserving forest with the involvement of the community.