Final Corrected Banko Janakari 19-2.pmd


Banko Janakari, Vol. 19, No. 2

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Banko Janakari
A Journal of  Forestry Information for Nepal

National forest resource assessment commences
in Nepal

Forests have multiple environmental and socio-economic functions that
are vital at global, national and local levels. Accurate, reliable, up-to-date
and easily accessible information on the state of  forest resources is crucial
to support policy making and planning in forestry sector. In Nepal, the
last National Forest Inventory (NFI) was carried out in the nineties.
According to that inventory, forest and shrub together were found to
cover 39.6% of  the country’s total land area. Till date, another NFI has
not been carried out to update the forest resource database. Macro-level
studies and visual observation have indicated that both forest coverage
and condition in the hills have significantly improved due to intervention
of  community forestry. On the other hand, the valuable forest resources
of  the Terai belt of  Nepal are getting degraded. The information based
on the inventory of  the nineties thus does not represent the present
scenario. In this context, the Forest Resource Assessment in Nepal (FRA-
Nepal) Project has started from January 2010 to update forest resource
database.

FRA-Nepal is a forestry sector bilateral project funded by the
Government of  Finland for the period of  five years (2010-2014) to
conduct NFI in the country. The project is under the Ministry of  Forests
and Soil Conservation (MFSC). The Department of  Forest Research
and Survey (DFRS) is the implementing agency. The main objectives of
the project are: (i) strengthening institutional capacity, (ii) maintaining
forestry sector information system, and (iii) data sharing among forestry
stakeholders. The project aims to generate national-level data regarding
forest coverage (including the protected areas) and the types of  forest,
growing stock, wood and non-wood products, trees outside forest, and
biological diversity.

New global issues such as climate change and Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD)
are gaining importance in international arena, and demand updated forest



Banko Janakari, Vol. 19, No. 2

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cover map and carbon sequestration-related database to reveal change in
the extent of  forest cover and biomass. In this regard, FRA-Nepal project
will facilitate to generate such datasets at national level.

The project will first assess the data needs through wide interaction among
the forestry stakeholders. Methodological framework will then be finalized
for NFI. After that, national-level forest resource data will be collected
by using Remote Sensing technology and ground-based sampling. Under
the multi-source data collection scheme, local stakeholders will also be
engaged to ensure the best use of  local knowledge and to improve
ownership of  data for future use. Both temporary and permanent sample
plots will be laid out in the field, and measured. The state-of-the-art
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology will be used as a part
of  NFI to acquire complete information on forests from top of  the
canopy to the ground. The LiDAR technology has been found to be a
promising technology that can give three-dimensional information
regarding forest structures. This technology will, therefore, provide
complete information about forest structure that is required for biomass
calculations. Besides, Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery will
be used to detect trees outside forest. National- and regional-level thematic
maps will be produced, and the forest resource database will be updated.

The updated forest resource database and maps will be useful for strategic
management planning of  valuable forest resources of  Nepal. DFRS and
FRA-Nepal Project anticipate support from all the stakeholders in this
national endeavour.