On October 15th, 2014, an Inception Workshop of APFNet funded Project “Support Community Based Sustainable Forest Management and Economic Empowerment of Women in Central Region of Nepal” ([2013]P[4]-NPL) was held in Kathmandu, Nepal, to officially launch the third project through community-based forestry in Nepal.

The Inception Meeting and consequential Press Meeting benefited from the profound inputs of Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation of Nepal (MoFSC), also the Supervisory Agency of the Project, and Forest Offices at the district level, the consortium Executing Agency of The Himalayan Grassroots Women's Natural Resource Management Association (HIMAWANTI), Ashmita Nepal, and Community Resource Management Centre (CRMC), as well as  extensive engagement of Community Forest Users Groups (CFUGs), forest authorities and local NGO partners.

The Project is intended to assist on sustainable forest management and improvement of the forest condition in Nepal, through the mobilization of forest dependent communities, women and marginalized people in particular, and to generate the opportunity for the livelihood enhancement and economic empowerment via forests.

13 CFUGs in Kathmandu, Makwanpur, and Sarlahi Districts are engaged in SFM practices on the ground and establishment of forest-based enterprises (eco-tourism, factories for herbs and wood handicrafts) for long-term income increase, which will in turn serve as incentives for forest conservation and better management.

Through the project implementation, women- led CFUGs are expected to incorporate more scientific approaches into their daily management of community forest resources. Expertise will also help design and guide operation of the enterprises, where critical analysis and promotion will be focused on to ensure products and services meets market demands and benefit sharing for the marginalized and poor is sustained. The good stories and lessons learned will be summarized and shared broadly to inspire and benefit more CFUGs and contribute to policy making in Nepal.