Developing the PEFC National forest certification system in Nepal

Nepal’s forests are extensive and ecologically diverse, but the forest sector’s contribution to the national economy is disproportionately small. The historically low levels of markets opportunities have hampered investment in long-term forest management and conservation. The forests’ potential to support Nepalese communities, help local businesses, and create sustainable jobs remains largely untapped. In an effort to sustainably expand forestry and reform government policy toward sustainable development, the project establishes a national forest certification system aligned with PEFC’s international requirements. Such a national certification will be the first of its kind in Nepal.  

Through the project, PEFC aspires to advance forest certification in Nepal by creating solutions which address the following issues:  1) reducing costs through establishing local expertise and reducing reliance on international experts, 2) expanding certification beyond non-timber forest products, 3)establishing a model to scale up group certification  and 4) enabling stakeholders to have ownership and dialogue on the pressing subject of sustainable forest management.

This initiative helps to establish a “forestry of prosperity”. Such a project helps to boost management and conservation practices of forests and consolidate the positioning of forest products from Nepal on the market.