HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Leasehold forest contributes to rural income

BY GOVINDA BHATTARAI

Damauli (Tanahu), Oct. 30: Urmila Khanal of Polang village in Tanahu district now has a bigger income and her children no longer have to stay away from school to assist her in collecting fodder and firewood, thanks to the leasehold forest project.

Under the project, Khanal along with seven other village women has leased 80 ropanis of "degraded land" that has become a strong support for their livelihood. They have turned barren land into green with forage and fruit plants. Previously they had to take a painful walk of three hours into the highlands to collect fuel and fodder. "This area used be to bare with a few bushy plants before we took it over in 1996," says a jubilant Khanal pointing at the green hill.

The women sell the surplus grass and fruits they grow in the leased forest previously used for cattle grazing. Besides, their cows and buffaloes have started giving more milk. "We never thought that this barren land could become a source to improve our living standard," they say.

This group now has collected some 38 thousand rupees in their joint fund which they use in other income-generating activities. Besides, they along with other such groups have established a co-operative to assist other economically backward people in the village.

This group with all women members was lucky to be among 187 in the district selected by the Hills Leasehold Forestry and Forage Development Project (HLFFD) that came to Tanahu in 1996. According to the project sources, the poorest families with less than half a hector of land or persons with per capita income of less than 2,500 rupees are chosen to form groups consisting five to ten members. Currently there are 187 groups with 45 per cent women participation in ten VDCs and one municipality in the district that has 46 VDCs. Ten more groups are to be formed within this fiscal year before the termination of the project by mid-July, 2001.

The project which is being implemented through three line agencies – District Forestry Office, District Livestock Service Centre and Agriculture Development Bank – select the poorest families to form groups and hand over the waste land for forty years.

The line agencies not only assist them with interest-free loan but also help them improve their skills through various training.

Two years later, the project was implemented in Gorkha district where there are altogether 35 such leasehold forest groups with 12 more to be added this year.

The project was initially introduced in four districts in 1993 with the loan assistance of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and technical grant assistance of the Netherlands through Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). It aims at raising the income of poor families who are below poverty line and at the same time improving the ecological conditions of the hills.

At present the project has spread to ten different hilly districts, including Kavre, Makawanpur, Sindhupalchok, Ramechhap, Dolakha, Dhading, Sindhuli, Tanahu and Gorkha. It aims at forming 2,038 groups to lease 13,025 hectors of land to 14,566 poor and marginal families.

But looming behind the leaseholders is the fear of the project termination. The term of the multi-million dollar project ends mid-July next year unless its term is extended. If so, the groups will not be able to sustain for a long time, they say. "It is too early for us to be self-dependent," Jibnath Pandit of Ghansi Kuwa VDC expresses his anxiety.

"Can’t they continue the project for at least two more years?" questions Sher Bahadur Thapa Magar of Kyaure Danda in Gorkha district.

Furthermore, the termination of the project will strike a heavy blow on a large number of poor expecting to be included in the project. According to Tanahu District Forest Office, only 619 of 8,350 hectors of the degraded forest have been handed over to the user groups. "There is a prospect of forming 3,000 groups in this district," says Assistant Forest Officer Jibnath Paudel.

However, the government seems firm not to let slip the successful project that has really benefited the target group. "Even after the project term ends, we will continue it with our own resources and seek grant assistance from other donors," says the project Co-ordinator Jamuna Krishna Shrestha.

The Chief Technical Advisor Frits M. J. Ohler too is optimistic about the continuation of the project and says that the government should approach the donors interested to assist Nepal in her development efforts.

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