Finland has been supporting Nepal's forestry initiatives since early 80s, which includes large scale plantation, preparation and implementation of Forestry Sector Master Plan (1988 -2011), support to Community Forestry and Leasehold Forestry Programmes, Scientific Forest Management initiatives, National Forest Resource Inventories and many more.
The recent cooperation is being implemented through Forest Resource Assessment Project (FRA), the Forest Farm Facility Project (FFF), and Multi Stakeholder Forestry Programme (MSFP). The MSFP is currently operating in the last year after the no cost extension till mid-July 2016.
Finland funded Forest Resource Assessment Project, aimed at developing a uniform system to collect and share information about the forest stock, biomass, non-timber forest products, forest and soil carbon, and biodiversity assessment in Nepal. The objectives of the project are to improve the provision of adequate forestry data and its processing for national forest policy development and international reporting as well as for the Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) purpose.
With the financial and technical support of Finland, the inventory was conducted by using empirical data and high resolution imagery. All together 55 358 sample plots were interpreted by using high resolution RapidEye imagery and Google Earth and 2 544 sample plots were measured in the field. Combined with high resolution remote sensing imagery, GIS tools and techniques maps were produced with an overall accuracy of 85.16%. In addition to information on the traditional forest and tree characteristics, data were collected on dead wood, forest and soil carbon, river basin mapping, Trees Outside Forests (TOFs), human impacts, and biodiversity.
On 6th March 2016 the final report on state of forests of Nepal was published. According to the report Nepal's forest occupies a total of 6.61 million ha which is 44.74% of the total area of the country. Out of the total area of forest, 82.68% (4.93 million ha) lies outside protected areas and 17.32% (1.03 million ha) inside protected areas. Middle Mountains physiographic region covers more than 47% of the total forest area of the country. The estimated total stem volume is 982.33 million m3 (164.76 m3/ha). The total above-ground air-dried biomass in the forest of Nepal is 1,159.65 million tonnes (194.51 t/ha). The total carbon stock in Nepal’s forest has been estimated as 1,054.97 million tonnes (176.95 t/ha). And a total of 443 tree species belonging to 239 genera and 99 families were identified in the sample plots.
In the data dissemination ceremony the Ambassador of Finland Jorma Suvanto expressed that the FRA obtained the quality results by using high resolution satellite imagery, precise measurement devices, and advanced computer systems by trained human resources. He said the FRA results will be highly helpful in implementing forestry sector policy and legal institutional reforms, economic strategies and investment requirements of the future forestry plans and programmes, giving a strategic guidance to conservation of ecosystems initiatives, community, national, leasehold and private forestry interventions, forest based industries and ultimately contribute to the economic development of Nepal.
Further the Ambassador said "supporting sustainable forest development in Nepal is not only an act of solidarity, it is an investment in our common future, contributing to green, healthy and naturally livable future. In this occasion, let me reveal the fact that the Finland’s relationship with Nepal is now one of most important, and certainly on our high profile. Our relations will continue to be constructive, patient and forward-looking, as acknowledged by both our countries’ long-term strategic vision. A productive relationship between Nepal and Finland, based on mutual respect, is clearly in both our countries’ long-term national interests. Both sides have much to gain from this growing relationship".
Download the full report: http://www.dfrs.gov.np/noticedetail.php?id=57
Dr. Chudamani Joshi
The author is a Special Advisor in the Embassy of Finland in Kathmandu
Updated 3/17/2016
