(English) Nepal’s forests under threat over fuel crisis

Nepal’s world-renowned community forests are under threat from a sudden rise in demand for firewood because of a fuel crisis, officials say.
A blockade on the Himalayan nation’s border with India has halted imports.
Ethnic communities in the southern plain bordering India are protesting against the new constitution, saying it does not adequately represent them.
At least 40 people have died and hundreds of trucks have been stuck across the border in India.
Nepal is a landlocked country and totally reliant on India for all its fuel, food and medicine imports.
Supplies have been disrupted for over two weeks.
Conservationists say people have been left with no choice but to cut down trees for firewood despite having a tradition of protecting their forests.
“With no cooking gas and kerosene for their kitchens, the demand for firewood has suddenly jumped and our forests are under pressure,” said Ganesh Karki, chairman of Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal, an umbrella organisation of community forests across the country.
“We have received information from our different member community forests that people are now entering forests to collect firewood and in several areas trees have been chopped down.”
Nepal has been a global leader in community forestry where local people become custodians of the forests and are supposed to utilise the resource sustainably.
There are more than 15,000 community forests in the country, as well as 20 national parks and protected areas.
The government says community members in Rautahat, a district in southern Nepal, have seized more than 150 bicycles which were being used to illegally collect firewood.
Illegal logging
And the forestry department has also started making contingency plans if the fuel crisis does not end soon.
“We have assessed our stocks across the country and have found that we can supply firewood to the capital Kathmandu for six weeks,” said Department of Forest Director General Resham Dangi.
“We have no choice but to make such a plan because people will need fuel to survive and if the supply chain does not return to normal, the government will have to do what it can.”
The government will release stocks of firewood in the first phase but then look at felling trees in a second phase.
Its priority is to supply firewood to the capital Kathmandu which is home to three million residents but has no forests nearby.
Mr. Dangi confirmed that forests in other parts of the country were already coming under pressure in the wake of the fuel crisis.
He said there had been an increase in illegal logging as the authorities are unable to patrol the forest due to the fuel shortage.
“Because we have no mobility, timber smuggling has increased, mainly from the forests of Tarai near the Indian border,” he said.
Conservationists were already concerned after several communities cut down trees to rebuild shelters in the aftermath of April’s earthquake.
Nepal has abundant water resources which could generate hydroelectricity. However, because of its political instability, not even 1% of its hydropower potential has been tapped, leaving people increasingly dependent on fuel imports from India.