From 31 October to 11 November 2011, an exposure visit was organized for the stakeholder representatives of the APFNet-sponsored project “Demonstration of Sustainable Forest Management with Community Participation in Nepal,” to Lin'an County and Anji County of Zhejiang Province as well as She County of Anhui Province to investigate sustainable forest management models and enterprise operations. The delegation, composed of 8 members representing project staff, FECOFUN steering committee members, community forestry user groups, and partner organizations, participated.

During their stay in Zhejiang Province, the delegation visited the Forestry Bureau of Lin'an City, Forestry Bureau of Anji County, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, listened to local forestry officials and researchers’ introduction of their experiences in collective forest management and forest tenure reform, development and utilization of bamboo and other non-timber forest resources, forest eco-tourism as well as agro-forestry management.

The delegation also visited the bamboo production line in Hangzhou Zen Bamboo& Hardwood Products Co. Ltd, which cultivates bamboo in Tai Huyuan, which is ten thousand ha. Praecox Bamboo Base, bamboo shoot processing in the Zhejiang Vegetables Basket Food Co., Ltd., bamboo resource collection, protection, seed breeding, and bamboo bonsai production in the Tai Huyuan Ornamental Bamboo Seed Garden, and winter whip bamboo shoots cultivation bases and dual-use of bamboo for bamboo shoot and structural use in the Modern Science and Technology Park, as well as a glimpse of Anji Bamboo Expo Park.

After their visit to the Zhejiang Province, the delegation went to Anhui on 4-6 November with the accompany of local staff at She County's foreign-funded forestry projects office. The delegation visited the forest management spot in Shengdu and Zhengkou to investigate the collective forest management model. Also, the delegation learned about implementing the China-German Financial Cooperation Project on “Ecological Afforestation to Alleviate the Poor in Southern Anhui Province” (hereinafter referred to as the China-German project). Both sides actively exchanged their experiences in collective forest sustainable management by heat discussing how to improve the quality of the forest stand, protect the ecological environment, improve the benefits and yield per unit area, etc.

In addition, the delegation also participated in the second session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week in Beijing, disseminating the project's progress and achievements.

The delegation said the exposure visit was instructive for future project activities; it is evident that China's collective forest management model and collective forest tenure reform played a critical role in increasing forest area, improving forest quality, promoting the forestry industry, developing and utilizing non-timber forest products and improving the livelihood of farmers, etc. The management of community forestry in Nepal was similar to that of collective forest management in China. Therefore, learning about China's collective forest management was a strong impetus for community participation in sustainable forestry management in Nepal, especially true for community-based small-scale forestry enterprises, which integrate production, supply, and business into their whole management. In addition, during the exposure visit, the representatives of project partners in the delegation, including Ms. Prabha Pokhrel, Chairman of Integrated Development of Communities of Nepal (IDS), Mr. Parbat Gurung, Managing Director of Himalayan Bio Trade P. Ltd., and Mr. Sanjay Nath Khanal, professor at Environment Engineering Faculty, Institute of Technology of Kathmandu University, pointed out that the exposure visit was of far-reaching impact for protecting the interests of the marginalized people, increasing employment opportunities, developing forest economy and alleviating poverty through the community forest management.

The APFNet-Nepal project “Demonstration of Sustainable Forest Management with Community Participation in Nepal” was designed to establish community-based cooperatives and enterprises, conduct sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation to create job opportunities, increase local income, and influence National Forest Policy and Strategic Planning of Nepal. The Federation of Community Forestry Users, Nepal (FECOFUN) implemented the project over 24 months with a total funding of $ 577,159, among which $ 500,479 was contributed by APFNet.

Welcome to join AP-FECM webinar tomorrow

Title: Bioinnovation Accelerates Through a Cross-Disciplinary Framework

Speaker: Dr. Orlando Rojas, UBC

Time: Thurs. Feb 27, 2025, 6-7 PM PST (Vancouver)

Zoom Link: 

https://ubc.zoom.us/j/66164346109?pwd=0VG9F4VZhd4WoK7nHdoadWpFg10nsb.1

Meeting ID: 661 6434 6109

Passcode: 260853

To support the review of the Strategic Plan 2021-2025 (SP3) implementation, I am forwarding the draft questionnaire developed by the expert team. We kindly request your valuable feedback or any additional inputs to help refine and finalize the questionnaire.

To  assist with the circulation of the questionnaire, we would appreciate it if you could provide a list of at least 10 key stakeholders, including their name, title, organization, and email contact information by the end of this Friday.

Thank you for your continued support. I look forward to your response.

为支持对《2021-2025年战略计划》（SP3）实施情况的审查，我转发专家组编制的问卷草案。我们恳请您提供宝贵的反馈或任何额外的投入，以帮助完善和最终确定问卷。为了协助问卷的分发，如果您能在本周五之前提供至少10个主要利益相关者的名单，包括他们的姓名、头衔、组织和电子邮件联系方式，我们将不胜感激。感谢您一直以来的支持。期待您的回复。