By Indira Aryal
Kathmandu, Aug. 11: Nepal marked the 5th National Day of Community Forest on Sunday in a bid to encourage and appreciate community forest consumers’ groups for their contribution to the protection and conservation of forests in the country.
Every year, August 9 is marked to recognise the work done by community groups in the protection and conservation of forests in the country. The government of Nepal started celebrating the day from 2073 BS to honour the works done by users’ groups in the conservation and protection of forest with the slogan of “Prosperity from Community Forest, Contribution to Increase Production and Productivity.”  
In Nepal over 2.5 million households are involved in community forestry management and conservation drives. The country has now over 22,000 community forests which occupy over 2.2 million hectares of land. 
The community forests programme is a collective initiative of the government and the local community of Nepal’s effort to reduce forest degradation and promote sustainable forestry practices in the country. It has also improved the livelihood of the community by producing different forest-based commodities. 
Community forests have become one of the important sources of income generation for the poorer households in the country, conservationists said.
Bishnu Gyawali, an official at the Community Forest section at the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation, said that community forests had played a vital role in income generation at the local level where locals had been producing medicinal herbs, wood, grass and running small industries. 
With the increasing number of community forests, now some 45 per cent of the total geography of the country is covered by forests," Gyawali said.
According to Bharati Pathak, chairperson of the Federation of Community Forest Users, Nepal (FECOFUN) forest users are generating income from the sale of forest products and herbs. 
Pathak said community development activities, such as irrigation canal improvement, school, community building and temple construction and drinking water schemes, were carried out with the income from community forestry.
During the time of COVID-19 pandemic, community forest users distri1buted relief packages worth Rs 40 million to the needy people within and outside the consumer groups, Pathak said. 
The first community forest in Sindhupalchwok was handed over in 1973 on this day. The government authorities and the private sector agreed to celebrate August 9 as NDCF aiming to promote and encourage the community forest users’ groups for their efforts in the protection and conservation of community forests. 
“With the growing number of community forests, some 5,000 small industries are running within the community forest user groups. Different manufacturing industries like herbs, briquette, Bel juice, handicrafts, varieties of pickles, including candy pickles, and medicinal oil are run by the consumers' groups and they have become the main source of income mostly to the indigenous groups,” Pathak said. 
Gyawali said that out of total community forests in the country, 783 forests are being run through scientific forest management where various kinds of medicinal herbs are produced. Some 1.3 per cent of the herbs and medicinal plants are exported to various counties.
According to government data, about 1.45 million households, or 35 per cent of the population of Nepal, have been involved in community forestry management programmes. To date, 22,509 Community Forestry User Groups (CFUGs) have been formed, of which 1,072 have women-only committee members.