Participation in the „Community Forestry International Workshop“ in Pokhara, Nepal (15-18.09.09)
The "Community Forestry International Workshop“ (www.communityforestryworkshop.com.np) held in September 2009 in Pokhara, Nepal, brought together 200 specialists and practitioners in community forestry (CF) from over 30 countries including many old hands of CF, representatives of communities, government agencies, civil society organisations and other development partners for four days of intense exchange on CF.
The group from Bhutan, comprising the Project Manager and the Advisor of the Participatory Forest Management Project (PFMP) and two representatives of the Dzonkhag Forestry Sector presented a paper entitled “Community Forestry in Bhutan – Exploring Opportunities and Facing Challenges”. It summarises the current state of implementation of the National CF Programme in Bhutan and spells out the challenges to be addressed in order to ensure that the programme achieves its expected outcomes and impact.
The group equally presented two posters: one on the PFMP and CF in Bhutan, one on governance and CF in Bhutan. The first poster shows how dynamically CF is currently evolving in Bhutan and how the PFMP supports the implementation of the National CF Programme. The second poster presents preliminary findings of an ongoing case study on governance and CF from which “best practices guidelines” will be developed for improved internal governance of Community Forestry Management Groups (CFMGs) and external links to local governance.
The group from Bhutan returned from Pokhara with many insights about CF in other countries and with new ideas for the further development of CF in Bhutan.
Staff of Intercooperation Nepal and Helvetas Bhutan at their joint stall. The two partner organisations informed workshop participants about their projects in community forestry, particularly about the Nepal-Swiss Community Forestry Project (NSCFP, Intercooperation Nepal) and the Participatory Forestry Management Project (PFMP, Helvetas Bhutan), and their achievements.