Sudurpaschim forest user groups call off province-wide protest

KATHMANDU: Forest user groups in Sudurpaschim Province have withdrawn their province-wide protest programs.

The Sudurpaschim Province-level Agitation Mobilization Coordination Committee of forest user groups decided to suspend the movement following discussions held at the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forests and Environment.

According to Punarama Chaudhary of the Community Forest Facilitation Committee, Kanchanpur, the talks—held under the chairmanship of Ministry Secretary Dirgha Narayan Koirala and in the presence of Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah—reached an agreement to address the 28-point demand submitted by the committee.

He said the provincial government has committed to preparing and endorsing the Sustainable Forest Management (Silviculture System) Procedure within one month. A 13-member task force has also been formed to study and find solutions to all 28 demands.

The task force will be led by Hemraj Bista, Director of the Provincial Forest Directorate. Members include representatives from the Federation of Collaborative Forest Users Nepal, Federation of Community Forest Users Nepal, National Federation of Scientific Forest Users, National Federation of Forest Resources, Community Forest Coordination Committee, Nepal Federation of Journalists, Community Forest Facilitation Committee, divisional forest officers, heads of the Forest Research and Training Center, the Forest Management Division, and the Environment Division of the ministry, which will serve as the member-secretariat.

The task force will study forest-related issues across the province and submit a recommendation-based report within a month. Based on this report, the provincial government has agreed to take written decisions to implement the demands.

The joint press statement issued by the coordination committee states that, following these commitments, all protest programs scheduled to begin on November 15 have been suspended until further notice.

Chaudhary said the government’s commitments have sent a positive message to the community.