Implementing Agency:
Department For International Development (DFIDSEA)

Project Code: 167-502-008	Start Date: 01-Feb-92	End Date: 01-Mar-92
Commitment: £200 000	Status: Completed	Type of Funding: Bilateral - TC

Project Background:
DFID has been supporting forestry in the Koshi Hills since 1979. Between 1987-92 the Project formed a component of the third phase of the DFID funded Koshi Hills Development Programme (KHDP). Under this phase strategies and approaches changed in line with evolving Government policies and legislation. This resulted in a fundamental change of direction away from an emphasis on Government controlled forests towards reorientation of forestry staff as extension agents and facilitators in the process of handing over forest management to community groups.The phase 3 Project also assisted forestry staff to up-grade nursery and planting practices and supported seedling production and planting activities in the Koshi Hills, including planting of suitable species on private holdings. Reorientation workshops were run initially in Dhankuta then extended to other districts. The Community Forestry Development Division has been strengthened during the past two years and recently drafted operational guidelines for the Community and Private Forestry Programme. The Forest Sector Co-ordination Committee was established with donor participation. This committee is intended to investigate in depth topics such as budget release, incentives and plan implementation. Also, personnel have been sent on training courses so that the numbers of Rangers can be increased.

Project Objectives:
The wider objectives of this project are to raise the socio-economic status of rural households by increasing the availability of fuelwood, fodder and timber in a sustainable fashion paying particular attention to poorest groups and women, an overall improvement in land husbandry, to include agroforestry, thereby contributing to household economic self sufficiency. improve environmental protection in the Koshi Hills. To accelerate the rate of user group formation whilst maintaining group quality, support District Office field staff in their work with user groups in the development of effective sustainable community based forest operational plans taking care that the needs of disadvantaged sections of the population are met, enhance the capacity of District Forest Offices as of Department of Forest structure to implement Government community and private forestry policy and enhance the capacity of the RFO to support the District Forest Offices implementing this policy, effectively contribute to debate in national forestry policy-making processes.

Intended Outputs:
Effective and sustainable new FUG's formed, information on CPFP extended to forest users through commmunity leaders workshops and users study tours in eastern Nepal, action research plots and diagnostic studies carried out, design and implementation of a programme of socially appropriate technical support to FUG's and development of farm forestry, design and implementation of a seedling supply strategy to service the CPFP, maintenance and protection of existing and planned FUG Forest, development of monitoring techniques for the process itself, FUG activities and farm forestry tied into national monitoring systems, support interaction between FUG's including networking workshops, training of personnel in forestry techniques, assessment and development of DFO management procedures, support to DOF in field testing and subsequent review of CFDD guidelines on the CPFP, share project experiences with a wider audience, development of in-house systems of record keeping and documentation so that reports can be produced, a close and continuing involvement with Forest Sector Co-ordinating Committee and its Working Groups.