会议时间：2017年3月22—24日
会议地点：美国·洛杉矶·长滩会议娱乐中心
演讲嘉宾：Ishwari Prasad POUDEL，尼泊尔森林与土壤保护部

摘要：Nepal is rich in natural resources including forest resources where timber utilization is traditional culture. Forest occupies a total of 5.96 million hectare which is 40.36 % of the total area of the country. Other wooded land (OWL) covers 0.65 million ha (4.38%). Forest and OWL together represents 44.7% of the country. Out of total area of the forest, 42.68% (4.93 million ha) lies outside Protected Areas (PAs) and 17.32% (1.03 million ha) inside PAs. Out of total area of forest, 37.8% lies in Middle Mountain physiographic region, 32.25% in High Mountain and High Himal, 23.04% in Churia and 6.90% in Terai (DFRS, 2015). 

The devastating earthquake of April, 2015 severely affected 31 districts of Nepal including headquarter Kathmandu valley where several historical temples and monuments were damaged. Besides the nearly 10,000 lives lost, thousands of private and public buildings were damaged which needs to be retrofitted or reconstructed. The initial post disaster need assessment report estimated total 21527 Million Nepali Rupees for recovery and reconstruction in forestry sector for five years (2016-2021). The construction of office buildings, service centres, community forest buildings and furniture are vital activities which requires timber significantly. Wood is essential and basic need in rural livelihood of the country. The usual timber demand in Nepal (as of 2014) is estimated 80 million cubic feet per year however supply from government managed forest is quite low resulting increased use of steel and iron materials. The Government of Nepal is seeking external bilateral or multilateral donor's support in major recovery programs. Supply of quality timber for post disaster recovery and reconstruction is considered as one of the major issues in the future.

In the past, the dense forest of Terai region was once used to supply railway sleepers to India however the scenario is turned negatively that Nepal is one of the timber importing country in Asia. Considering the high pressure for growing demand of timber in market as well as urgent requirement for recovery and reconstruction, forests of the country should be sustainably managed which is major challenge for the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation. There seems harmony with the potential productivity of forest area and wise use /reuse for reconstruction. This paper will elaborate potential timber production and supply scenario from forest area and policy instruments adopted by Government of Nepal focused on recovery and reconstruction.