Monumental pillar at origin of community forestry

Chautara / Aug 11: A foundation stone has been laid for the construction of a monumental pillar at Thokarpa VDC of Sindhupalchowk – the origin of the community-based forest conservation in Nepal.

Former Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Agni Prasad Sapkota and Secretary at Forest Ministry Udaya Chandra Thakur jointly laid the foundation stone of the monumental pillar at Thokarpa on Wednesday.

This is a part of the three-day nationwide celebration of the First National Day for Community Forests as decided by the Nepal government.

On the occasion, former Minister Sapkota said the concept of community-based forestry management and conservation that was originated from Thokarpa has elevated the image of the district.

The Thokarpa village has adopted the practice of conserving forestry on community ownership and oversight since 1973. The then Chairperson (Pradhanpancha) of Thokarpa Village Nil Prasad Bhandari put forward a proposal to the then District Forest Officer of Sindhupalchowk Dr Tej Bahadur Singh Mahat demanding forest conservation on the direct vigilance of local people.

The authority gave the village the authority to management forest on August 9, 1973 – the date is now marked as the National Day for Community Forests in Nepal. RSS