Chagunarayan municipality launches extensive tree transplantation campaign

Kathmandu - The Chagunarayan municipality in Bhaktapur has planted 50,000 plants of herbs and fruits in the municipality area as it seeks to support people’s livelihood through the promotion of community forests, making it also the source of local government.

According to mayor Som Prasad Mishra, the afforestation campaign aims to connect people with the nature, using forests as a means of income generation so as to achieve development, prosperity and improvement in people’s living standard simultaneously.

Verities of plants such as lemon, timur, tejpat (bay leaf), amriso (broom grass), avocado and loth salla have been planted with the joint efforts of different community forests. Preparations are on to plant additional 5,000 plants of rhododendron, herbs and fruits in the local community forests.

Of the total income to be generated from the forests, forest users’ group will have ownership to five percent, 10 percent shall be provided to the municipality and remaining 85 forests shall be shared within people concerned or groups.