Chitwan : The Division Forest Office, Chitwan has launched a campaign on conservation and promotion of leasehold forest. The leasehold forest missing renewal for long would be conserved by generating donors.

Chief of Division Forest Office, Bishnu Prasad Acharya, informed that there were 433 leasehold forests under the Division. Two more forests are added this year, while process to add three more is underway. Only 18 among those are renewed. The campaign is targeted to forests which have not been renewed for long, he added.

The Division Office itself is supporting for the renewal of 50 such forest, while the REDD Implementation Centre is extending support for 200. A leasehold forest requires paying Rs 10,000 annually for renewal. Currently, 250 such forests are under the process of renewal. Others will be renewed gradually.

Acharya further shared that some agreement forests were not renewed for a long time. Under the campaign, the Division Forest Office has sold timber from the agreement forests. The authority permitted the locals to clear the substandard trees.

So far, 2,566 cubic feet of wood and four stacks of firewood have been sold from the forests. An auction process is underway for 1,032.69 cubic feet of timber and one stack of firewood from two leasehold forests. Fifty percent of the income received from it goes to revenue and 50 percent to the leasehold forest account.

The firewood from 30 to 50 more agreement forests would be sold. Division Chief said they had aimed at producing 15,000 cubic feet of timber from such forests. The Office is for making active the leasehold forests.

A leasehold or agreement forest has 5 to 15 household as members. The areas near human settlement and having few trees are given to the locals for developing as forests. For it agreement is made with them so that they can use the forest, propping up their financial condition. It is practiced especially in the area having indigenous people. The locals make earning from the use of such forests and engage in forest conservation side by side.