Community forests turning into tourism sites in Morang district

Community forests turning into tourism sites in Morang district

Community forests turning into tourism sites in Morang district

-           Manoj Dahal

Biratnagar, June 21 (RSS): With the Province-1 government giving importance to using forests to promote tourism, the community forests in Morang district are gradually being developed into tourism sites.

The District Forest Office, the local bodies and community forest users committees have started investing in developing the wetlands, lakes and ponds within the forest areas as tourism sites. They are expanding the lakes and wetland areas and forests for recreational purposes.

In this connection, the community forest users committee at Sanishchare Municipality of the district has speeded up the work of expanding the pond inside the community forest in order to develop it into a picnic spot, for boating and as a recreation park. It has started removing the structures which have been built by encroaching the forest land. It plans to set up a zoo.

Similarly, a plan to developing a community forest in Rangeli Municipality as a tourist destination has been forwarded. The plan is to construct a 'golden park' inside the community forest which is close to the Nepal-India border.  Joint secretary of the community forest users committee Badri Narayan Rajbanshi said the project to construct a park has been started since one year back. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 50 million.

The community forest users committee of the Rural Community Forest at local Kanepokhari Rural Municipality is also constructing various structures around the historic Kanepokhari pond and the Bhuluwa wetland area in order to develop it into a tourist site, the committee chairman Nabin Rai said.

More community forest users committees in various places of the district have bought this idea of developing the community forests they were managing into tourism sites.

5,000 people to be employed in forest sector

Meanwhile, the Province No 1 government has adopted the policy of generating employment to 5,000 people in the forest sector.

The provincial government has taken this policy realising that the forest sector could make a significant contribution to the GDP of the province.

To materialise its policy, the provincial government has allocated budget for implementing 'One Local Body – One Furniture Industry' and 'One Forest Users Committee- One Industry Based on Forest Products', programmes from the next fiscal year which starts in a month's time.

The provincial government has, through its budget statement which it launched on June 15, allocated Rs 2.74 billion for implementing various programmes in the forest, environment, sanitation and drinking water sectors.

Accordingly, the provincial government has allocated funds for running forest management programmes, and production and utilisation of forest-based resources for protection of the wetlands and lakes around the Charkose Jhadi areas creating employment opportunities and developing them into tourism spots.

---