Gandaki Province collecting suggestions for forest area strategic plan

By Our Correspondent,Myagdi, May 29: Gandaki Provincial Government has started collecting suggestions from stakeholders to create a strategic plan to conserve forest areas. 

The Province's Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment has begun preparing a 20-year strategic plan to conserve forest areas. To create the strategic plan, the ministry collected suggestions from stakeholders in Beni on Sunday. 

The ministry plans to move forward with a 20-year strategic plan for the development and conservation of the forest areas in Gandaki Province, said Purnashwar Subedi, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry.

The Ministry has started organising consultation workshops in various locations across the province in collaboration with RECOFTC Nepal. 

On Sunday, suggestions were collected in Beni with stakeholders' participation in the forest areas of Myagdi, Mustang, and Baglung, said Bishnu Prasad Adhikari, Myagdi's Divisional Forest Officer. 

Stakeholders reviewed the existing challenges and opportunities faced by the forest areas and discussed strategies to be adopted in the future.

Participants provided suggestions on topics to be included in the strategic plans such as forest fires, human-wildlife conflict, forest conservation system-based forest management, watershed conservation, agroforestry, enterprise development based on forest products and ecotourism.

There is an understanding between the ministry and RECOFTC Nepal for a long-term collaboration in the development and promotion of the forest areas in Gandaki Province and under this agreement, RECOFTC Nepal has provided financial and technical support for the formulation of the strategic plan, informed Subedi.

The strategic plan is being developed under the leadership of former Forest Secretary Dr. Swayambhu Man Amatya.

Senior Programme Officer Niraj Babu Bhatt of RECOFTC Nepal informed that they are conducting consultation workshops and meetings to ensure the participation of all concerned stakeholders in the strategy formulation process.

The workshop was attended by the Chairperson of Malika Rural Municipality, the Vice-Chairperson of Annapurna Rural Municipality, representatives from the Divisional Forest Office, Community Forest User District Federation, Myagdi Tourism and Industry Office, Agriculture Knowledge Center, Family Private Forest, and Herbal Entrepreneurs Federation.