Kapilvastu, Oct 3: The government is preparing an action plan to increase the production and use of domestic timber and reduce Nepal’s dependence on imports, Minister for Agriculture, Forests and Environment Gita Chaudhary said on Friday.
Inspecting the Tilaurakot Partnership Forest in Kapilvastu, Chaudhary said preparations for the plan had reached the final stage. The government wants to end a situation in which timber is left to decay in Nepal’s forests while the country continues importing wood from abroad.
She said increasing domestic timber production and consumption alongside sustainable forest management was a government priority.
The policy of replacing imported timber with locally produced wood has already been incorporated into the government’s policies and programmes for the current fiscal year.
“Work on preparing an action plan for the systematic management and utilisation of timber available in Nepal’s forests has reached the final stage,” Chaudhary said.
The government is also studying successful forest management practices in different parts of the country to identify measures that could help replace timber imports.
According to the minister, field studies are being carried out at community forests, partnership forests and Division Forest Offices. The findings will be used to formulate policies aimed at simplifying domestic timber production, management, sale and consumption.
Chaudhary said Nepal continues to import timber despite having sufficient forest resources to meet domestic requirements. Better management and commercial use of locally available timber could therefore reduce unnecessary imports, she said.
The government plans to create a policy environment that allows timber available in forests to enter the domestic market more easily while maintaining sustainable forest management practices.
The proposed action plan is expected to address existing obstacles in harvesting, processing, transportation and sale of domestic timber and encourage greater use of locally produced wood.
Chaudhary stressed that Nepal needs to make better use of its own forest resources rather than allowing valuable timber to deteriorate while spending money on imports.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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