February 16: Nepal has been importing timber worth billions of rupees from abroad annually to meet the domestic demand. Due to policy hurdles, domestically produced timber is getting wasted, while a large amount is spent on imports. Even three years after the cancellation of the Scientific Forest Management Procedure, 2071, which was introduced to increase the production of wood in the forests of the country, a new provision has not been implemented yet. 

The Ministry of Forest has prepared the National Standard for Sustainable Forest Management, 2078, to facilitate the supply of wood. However, it hasn't moved forward for a long time.

Businessmen say that they face various difficulties while producing wood according to the old system. According to Kapil Adhikari, the former president and chief advisor to the Federation of Wood Industry Professionals, one of the main problems at present is the high cost of production of wood in the domestic market.

“The price of buying wood from local forests is quite expensive,” said Adhikari, adding, “The cost goes further up due to the cumbersome process for the wood to reach the industry and the non-cooperation of the bureaucracy.”

Businessmen complain that forest technicians are causing unnecessary trouble even for the re-measurement of wood. They shared that there is a risk that the wood brought to the market through these kinds of problems will be expensive and will not be sold. Due to these hassles, it is said that businessmen opt to import wood from abroad at a very cheap price by opening LC.

Experts share that due to the Chure conservation campaign, they have not been able to explore a vital source of wood supply.

According to a government official, only dry and fallen wood is allowed to be cut even in national and community forests. "There is a ban on cutting other mature trees," he said, "Even in private forests, only 29 types of wood are allowed to be cut."

From May-October, an individual isn't allowed to cut wood in the forest. During this period, all the wood are imported from abroad.

Government officials also say that if sustainable management is carried out, large quantities of wood can be produced from Nepal's forests to meet the demand of the country and can also be exported to foreign countries. 

Despite this, they admit that their inability to implement scientific forest management procedures is their biggest weakness. 

"Scientific management of forests is very important," shared Deveshmani Tripathi, director general of the Forest and Land Conservation Department. “The problem in Nepal is that there are people who pretend to know more than forest officials."

He said that even though forest management in Nepal is based on the same model used all over the world, they have to be defensive when this issue is politicized more than necessary. 

Director General Tripathi said that if the forests that cover 45 per cent of the total land area are not made productive, the wood that can be produced will be wasted. 

“Should we let such a large resource go to waste or make it productive and stop importing and start exporting? It should not be too late to make a decision,” he opined.