11 January 2005

FSC Certified 10,500 ha of Forest in Dolakha and Bajhang

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A conference on forest certification and sustainable marketing of NTFP is organized by ANSAB in a context when Rainforest Alliance/SmartWood is to award the first community based non-timber forest products (NTFP) Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification in Asia. This certification, one of only five in the world is awarded to Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN). With the Forest Stewardship Council awarding, 11 community forest user groups in Bajhang and Dolakha (under the umbrella of FECOFUN) covering 10,500 hectares are now certified. FSC has certified over 42 million hectares of forests around the world in 60 countries.The certification awarding is part of a larger effort of the alliance, coordinated by ANSAB, to combat destruction of forest and forest communities.

The conference held on January 11, 2005 congregated over 105 participants, policy makers from governmental bodies, donors, and relevant national, international and local organizations. Four papers about forest certification and sustainable marketing for NTFPs were presented in the conference which was presided over by Mr. Bhishma P. Subedi, Executive Director of ANSAB.