Nepal’s Community Forestry Programme (CFP) has achieved remarkable success in the restoration of forests that had depleted due to overgrazing, firewood collection, livestock forage and timber harvesting. The country nearly doubled its forest cover, reaching 46 percent of its land area in 2016 from 26 percent in 1992.

The International Food Policy Research Institute indicated the dual objectives of CFP as forest conservation and poverty reduction in Nepal. While the programme has made significant strides in forest conservation, it has yet to catch up in reducing poverty primarily due to the oversight of the potential economic benefits of community forests (CFs) during implementation. Consequently, the full potential of CFs and their products has been underutilised.

Furthermore, the dependence of Nepali society on forests has shifted from traditional use to construction materials, furniture and other home appliances. Data from the World Integrated Trade Solution reveals that Nepal imported wood worth approximately $229,000 in 2019. The United Nations COMTRADE database further suggests that Nepal imported wood-related products amounting to $75.96 million in 2021. These figures could rise if other wood-based products are accounted for.

In this article, I propose a new policy to address the economic shortfall of CFs and meet the market demand of wood and wood-based products. A newly proposed policy paradigm for CF management also holds great potential for restoring forests, conserving biodiversity and building resilience against climate change. It also aims to reduce Nepal's reliance on imported wood, wood products, support local livelihoods, and strengthen the national economy. This can be achieved through a simple yet highly effective forest management policy intervention involving the perpetual cycle of tree planting or natural regeneration, management, harvesting and replanting.

Although a tree cannot grow perpetually, its lifespan can span several hundred years. Trees experience rapid growth and accumulate timber volume during the early stages of their life cycle. However, the trees grow slowly as they age, leading to degradation and death and ultimately decompose as soil organic matter. Forest management aims to accelerate tree growth, allowing for the early harvest of mature trees that can produce high-quality timber. In a separate research, I found that well-managed forests grown for approximately 40 years by selectively harvesting mature trees and leaving a few trees as seed sources can produce 3.5 times more marketable timber than naturally grown forests.

The success of the CFP in Nepal over the last four decades since its beginning in 1978 suggests that community forests possess the potential to produce quality trees and supply timber to the domestic market. However, if mature trees are left unharvested, their growth slows down, and the quality of timber deteriorates. The signs of deterioration are already visible in Nepal’s CFs, as evidenced by the decayed and hollow cores in harvested trees. The decline of timber can be prevented by harvesting mature trees while they are still growing and using harvested timber as construction materials, furniture and home appliances. Consequently, CF management policies should prioritise harvesting mature trees and using timber for various wood products rather than allowing trees to decay.

From an economic perspective, timber harvesting would increase the availability of Nepali timber in the domestic market, boost the revenue of community forest user groups (CFUGs), reduce wood imports and trade deficits and bolster foreign currency reserves. Nepal has invested over 40 years of time, land, capital, cash, and labour in CF management. The CFP engaged over 1.6 million households through more than 14,000 CFUGs.

Concerns have been raised on the long-term sustainability of CFs due to high capital and labour costs, inefficient management, and inadequate returns. Selling timber and wood products from CFs would help recoup these investments, compensate for the higher management costs partially if not wholly, meet timber market demand, and contribute to poverty reduction—one of the CFP's goals. Poverty reduction through CF can be particularly effective in hilly and mountainous regions with limited alternative income sources.

Harvesting trees creates space for new trees to grow, leading to environmental benefits such as carbon sequestration. Newly developed trees capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it to woody biomass, which can be harvested as they mature. The conversion of wood into wood products ensures the long-term capturing of atmospheric carbon dioxide, thus, preventing its release into the atmosphere.

This perpetual cycle of opening space for new trees by harvesting and replanting facilitates rapid carbon sequestration, transforming sequestered carbon into usable wood products and repeating the new carbon sequestration cycle. These practices contribute to establishing sustainable and resilient forests in the face of climate change.

Effective CF management also plays a vital role in biodiversity conservation and the preservation of endangered biomes. Poor forest management can lead to biodiversity deterioration, further endangering the fragile ecosystems. Forest management extends beyond tree planting, harvesting and replanting—it encompasses systematic research, identification of endangered species, understanding their ecological niches and habitats, their role in the ecosystem, and safeguarding air, water, and wetlands.

Sound forest management policies and practices provide opportunities for systematically harvesting mature trees while ensuring the growth of new trees in harvested areas and protecting resources such as forests, land, water, air, biodiversity, and ecosystem balance.

It is important to clarify that this article proposes a policy perspective for CF management in Nepal. However, it is not intended as a one-fits-all solution for managing a diverse forest ecosystem in the country. I acknowledge the challenges of forest research, policy formulation, legal frameworks and regulations required to achieve the multifaceted objectives discussed in this article. Nevertheless, globally published research on sustainable forest management for timber production, climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration can serve as a foundation for forest management research in Nepal. The transfer and adaptation of research-based knowledge to meet the needs of a country are in practice globally.

Forest management policies implemented outside Nepal may not fully address the country's unique social, economic, environmental and ecological needs. However, Nepal can adapt transferable knowledge, learn from its experiences and further research to meet its needs. Gradual implementation of liberal and sustainable forest management policies, based on research findings, can create opportunities for timber businesses in Nepal.

Modern forest management practices in the US, Australia, and Canada were adapted from European practices. India, for instance, established its national-level criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management policies in 1999 through a workshop involving national and international organisations. India piloted its sustainable forest management initiative in 2000 and has continuously modified its policy to meet its social, economic, environmental and ecological needs. Chinese forest management policies have also changed significantly over the past five decades. More than 80 percent of community-owned collective forests in China have been transferred to individual households, while state-managed forests focus on conservation and discourage exploitation.

The standard practices of planting or naturally regenerating, managing, harvesting and replanting forests are in practice globally, meeting timber and wood product demands. Bigger economies such as the United States and Europe import wood products from Asia and Africa and harvest timber from their planted forests to fulfil market demand. In Nepal’s case, harvesting trees from sustainably managed community forests and replanting them can be a viable strategy to fulfil its timber demand, reduce rural poverty, alleviate trade imbalances and preserve foreign currency reserves.