Final Corrected Banko Janakari 18-2.pmd


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Banko Janakari, Vol. 18, No. 2

Banko Janakari
A journal of  forestry information for Nepal

Need for Carrying Out National Forest Inventory
in Nepal

National Forest Inventory (NFI) is carried out for assessing and updating
the forest resource status to plan and support the sustainable management
of  the forest resources of  the country. It generates information on
national forestry characteristics such as volume, biomass, diameter
distribution, growth, yield, and quality of  forest resources. Other
parameters included in NFI are land use structure and forest ownership,
forest types and categories, forest health, biodiversity status, social,
economical and environmental values of  the forests.

In particular, forest information generated through NFI is widely
used for strategic and high level planning of  forestry sector. Being a
signatory of  multi-lateral environmental agreements, organizations and
processes, the country is obliged to provide forestry related statistics
and information periodically. For example, Food and Agriculture
Organization of  the United Nations (FAO) conducts Global Forest
Resource Assessment every five years and also to other organizations to
which Nepal needs to report forestry related statistics.

The Department of  Forest Research and Survey (DFRS), under the
Ministry of  Forests and Soil Conservation, is a responsible government
agency for conducting Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) at district
and national level. In this context, DFRS has been carrying NFI for
planning forest resource management. The first NFI was accomplished
in the 1960s mainly focusing on merchantable and non merchantable
timber volume whereas the second NFI, conducted after 30 years in the
1990s, covered volume, biomass, diameter distribution of  the tree species
and presence of  NTFPs.

Efforts have been made to carry out next NFI covering environmental
dimensions of  the forestry sector using Airborne Laser Scanning
technology for measuring the forestry characteristics. These efforts on
NFI are in line with the Three Year Interim Plan (2007/08 - 09/10),



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Banko Janakari, Vol. 18, No. 2

government’s policy and programmes of  the Fiscal Year 2008/09 and
the Master Plan for Forestry Sector of  Nepal (1989). The Proposed NFI
should support the national efforts to access the environmental benefits
of  forestry sector in monetary terms from the international mechanism
such as Reducing Emissions through Deforestation and Forest
Degradation.

The NFI program needs adequate expertise in the concerned field to
accomplish the work with high efficiency and accuracy. This could be
possible only by strengthening capacity of  the concerned staff  members
of  the department. NFI programme also needs to include parameters
like soil, under-storey vegetation, tree crown conditions, coarse woody
debris, and lichen community of  the forest composite. As some countries
have already initiated efforts to include such parameters in their NFI, we
could also work in connection with the global standards so that there
will be consistencies in information sharing and update.