Nepals forests to be handed over to local communities REPORTfrom Department for International Development Published on 15 Nov 2009 —View Original 0 0 googleplus0 0 reddit0 0 Hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest are to be handed over to Nepals rural poor, with help from a =A340 million programme from the Department for International Development (DFID). The ten-year National Forestry Programme will give Nepalese communities ownership of the thousands of hectares of forest currently under government control, helping some of the worlds poorest people to earn an income from their natural resources and put a stop to the rampant deforestation currently blighting the country. Gordon Brown offered his support to the programme, launched less than a month before Decembers crucial Copenhagen negotiations. The Prime Minister said: Countries right across the world need to take urgent and radical action to tackle climate change. The poorest and most vulnerable countries need our help to do so. That is why we are announcing today a =A340m package of support to work with Nepal to tackle deforestation. And with less than a month to go to Copenhagen, it is time for the world to step up and make the bold decisions we need to secure a global, comprehensive and binding climate change deal. The new landowners will be able to sell the wood, thatch, fruits and essential oils that the forests provide naturally. Similar existing projects have shown that communities who depend on the forests for survival are motivated to manage them in a sustainable way. Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development, said: Nepal is on the frontline of the battle against climate change, with the Himalayan glaciers melting faster than anywhere else in the world. Rampant deforestation in the country is adding to the problem. By putting Nepals forests in the hands of those who depend on them for survival we can help to put a stop to this tragic loss, and at the same time give more than one million of the worlds poorest people a route out of poverty. Nepal currently has the highest per-capita carbon emissions in South Asia, at 6.6 tonnes per person per year, and the vast majority of this is caused by deforestation. The Government of Nepal does not currently have the capacity to monitor all of the nations forests, which cover 40% of the country, and has already handed over a fifth of Nepals forests to local communities to help counter this. By allowing communities to earn a living from the forests, the programme aims to increase the incomes of 1.2 million people by 50 per cent. A projected reduction in carbon emissions could also raise around =A310 million on the international carbon markets. As well as the National Forestry Programme, DFID also announced a =A310 million boost over the next five years to the Nepalese Governments efforts to tackle climate change. This support will help to protect two million people from floods and droughts. Notes to Editors The Nepal government, working with DFID, has already handed over a fifth of the nations forests to local communities, whose sustainable management techniques have seen a swift reversal in deforestation and degradation. The National Forestry Programme now aims to expand this strategy across the country In 2007, Lord Stern in the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, showed that tackling forest degradation and deforestation is one of the most cost-effective means of mitigating climate change Nepal is already developing application for climate change funding from forestry though the Reducing Emissions through the WB deforestation and degradation fund, with DFID support. Forests cover 40 per cent of Nepal and the forestry sector currently generates around 10 per cent to Nepals GDP. DFIDs current support for community forestry (Livelihood Forestry Programme) has lifted over 400,000 people sustainably out of poverty already at just $50 per person at the same time as capturing around 1.2m tonnes of carbon per year by reversing deforestation. Forests and their management is one of the key areas up for discussion in the negotiations taking place in the run-up to the UNFCCC summit, which will take place in Copenhagen next month National Forestry Programme (NFP) will also be supported by other donors including the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. DFIDs aid to Nepal has almost doubled during the past five years and DFID plans to =A3172m over the next three years
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 08:25:08 +0000
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