Banko Janakari 
A Journal of Forestry Information for Nepal

Urban forestry in the federal context of Nepal
With rapid urbanization throughout the world, urban and peri-urban forestry (UPF) has 
become a priority area for policy makers and development planners.UPF simply refers 
to the management of trees, shrubs and other vegetation in urban areas. It includes urban 
parks and gardens, roadside plantations, trees along the banks of rivers, streams and canals, 
surrounding houses and private properties and forests in peripheral of urban areas. UPF 
is valued for its psychosocial, cultural, environmental and economic benefits to the urban 
dwellers. It is regarded as the symbol of civilization and prosperity of any city.

The concept of UPF was emerged worldwide in response to the adverse environmental 
effects due to increased urban population and infrastructure. In Nepal, the practice of urban 
forestry dates back to the Malla reign. A review of historical documents reveals that King 
Jayasthiti Malla (1380-1395 AD) issued an order to his officials and commoners to plant 
trees alongside walking streets and wells. This practice continued; and even some exotic 
trees were planted alongside streets and in the premises of palaces in the Rana regime. 
During the Panchayat regime, the government introduced modern urban-environment 
planning in the 1960s and 1970s, and renovated roads and trails in Kathmandu with 
massive plantation along the sides. For example, the plan of the ring road had included 
green belts on both sides, where thousands of fast growing trees were planted. Now, the 
government has emphasized urban forestry through its various programs, including 'Nepal 
Clean Environment Grand Expedition 2075 AD' and the 'Forest Decade Program (2014-
2023), the latter promoting afforestation in public and private lands with the theme of 'one 
house: one tree, one village: one forest and one town: several parks'.

Despite several efforts as mentioned above, we have not been much successful to achieve 
expected results in UPF development, mainly due to three reasons. First, most cities have 
been built haphazardly and in a piece meal approach, rather than through planned and 
holistic approaches. With rapidly growing prices of land in the urban areas, the private 
interests have played a key role in city planning; and spaces for trees have been rarely 
considered. Second, the open spaces like riverbanks and other public lands, in which urban 
forests could be developed, have been encroached for gray infrastructure. Third, the distinct 
values of forests in and around urban areas have been hardly recognized; i.e. no specific 
policies and plans have been in place for the management of urban and peri-urban forests. 
These have resulted in what we see and feel while living in crowded and polluted cities like 
Kathmandu today.

With the promulgation of the Constitution of Nepal in 2015, the nation has adopted the 
federal system of governance. The federal structure includes three tiers of government, i.e. 



Banko Janakari, Vol 28 No. 1, 2018

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a federal government, seven provincial governments, and 753 local governments. The local 
governments include 6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities 
and 460 rural municipalities. The first elected governments are functioning in all the three 
tiers of governance. Sustainable development, in which protection of environment is one 
of the key considerations, is the main goal of the governments in all levels. In the context 
of rapid urbanization, developing and managing urban and peri-urban forests are one of 
the key functions of local governments, particularly metro/sub-metropolitan cities and 
municipalities. It will also address at least a part of fundamental right of every citizen to 
live in clean environment as ensured by Constitution of Nepal.

The local governments have both opportunities and challenges for UPF in their territories. 
There could be little room for developing UPF in the already crowded cities with narrow 
roads and limited open spaces like Kathmandu, but there are ample opportunities for the new 
municipalities. The only thing they need to do is to introduce holistic urban plans, consisting 
of parks, gardens, and green belts along the roadsides and riverbanks, and implement them 
strictly. One of the main challenges they would face is the fragmentation of lands coupled 
with their high prices; this can be addressed through a land pulling mechanism as we have 
already experienced in city planning in some areas around Kathmandu. Not Planting trees 
now would not be a big issue, but not having a space for planting trees would be a very big 
issue for our cities in the future.