The Inception Workshop on the APFNet Project "Demonstration of Sustainable Forest Management with Community Participation in Nepal" was successfully held on 1 November 2010, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The workshop brought together over 30 participants from Nepal governments, i.e. Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, National Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance, Federation of Community Forestry Users, Nepal (FECOFUN) and the APFNet Secretariat. Mr. Deepak Bhora, Minister of Forest and Soil Conservation, Mr. Qu Guilin, Director-General of the APFNet Secretariat and Mr. Yuba Bhusal, member of the Nepal National Planning Commission attended the workshop and delivered remarks respectively.

"This project is designed to develop and implement the criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management (SFM) and good governance in community forestry, to improve the livelihoods of the forest dependent poor through community-based forest enterprises and green jobs and to document the best practices from piloting", stated Mr Deepak Bhora, Minister of Forest and Soil Conservation in the Inception Workshop.

Mr. Qu Guilin extended congratulations on the inception of the Project and gratitude to forestry agencies in Nepal. He emphasized that this Project was APFNet’s first pilot project with the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation of Nepal, and hoped that with the Project implemented, Nepal government could help to improve local forest management and livelihood; If expected objectives and results achieved, the Project could be helpful in accumulating best practices and exploring successful models for community forestry in Nepal, and promoting regional forestry development.

During the workshop, the Project executing agency introduced concrete matters of the Project, such as the objectives, implementation plan, outputs and technical support system. The execution and the management of the project were also discussed.

 The Project "Demonstration of Sustainable Forest Management with Community Participation in Nepal" is one of the first pilot projects of APFNet. FECOFUN is in charge of executing the Project, which is expected to last 2 years with total budget of USD 577,159$. Through the implementation of the Project, 175 community forestry users group will develop and implement the criteria and indicators of the sustainable forest management, and improve forest management plan accordingly. In addition, 50 community-based small forestry enterprises will be set up to create job opportunities for over 2000 people, benefiting over 1000 households.