Major Political Parties Center Green Economy as Key Agenda for Upcoming Elections

As the upcoming House of Representatives election draws near, major political parties are actively campaigning, placing the green economy at the center of their electoral agendas. Efforts are being made to attract voters through programs focused on forest conservation, sustainable use, job creation, carbon trading, and climate adaptation.

The main parties have reiterated their promises in their manifestos to achieve national economic prosperity through forest conservation and sustainable forest utilization. The Nepali Congress has put forward a plan to replace imports through a forest-based bio-economy, value addition of medicinal herbs, and mandatory use of domestic timber. The Congress presents forests as the foundation for economic prosperity alongside conservation.

The Communist Party of Nepal (UML) has announced a long-term goal of securing a minimum of 45% forest cover, expanding dense forests, and making Nepal a carbon-neutral country. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) has put forward a policy of judicious use of land, water, forests, and minerals to increase production and employment.

Similarly, the Rastriya Swatantra Party has declared the development of scientific forest utilization plans and carbon trading as primary economic activities.

Key Declarations by Major Parties

Congress Pledges Jobs and Sustainable Forest Management through Green Economy

The agenda brought forward by the Nepali Congress is named a pledge. This pledge emphasizes promoting a forest-based bio and circular economy, adding value to medicinal herbs, and implementing the concept of 'zero waste' cities.

The pledge states, "In the next five years, the Nepali Congress commits to ensuring participation of the private sector, ensuring national growth, rural empowerment, and equal access to tourism and economic opportunities through sustainable development of natural resources, creating more than one lakh jobs annually from this sector," and further, "Forest and Wildlife Management and Conservation: Forests are our asset, the future is our responsibility. We will adopt a policy that prioritizes sustainable forest management and wildlife conservation as a national priority, emphasizing the balance between forest management, wildlife rearing, indigenous and local communities, environment, and economy. This will contribute to the conservation of natural resources, income growth, and tourism promotion."

The Nepali Congress has announced that it will connect sustainable forest management with the market, increase the demand and supply of forest products, and make the use of domestic timber and bamboo materials mandatory in public infrastructure construction. It also mentions making goods produced from local resources and traditional skills marketable through modern technology and design, and providing tax exemptions and concessional loans to export-oriented industries based on domestic raw materials.

According to the Congress's declaration, enterprises that collect leaves, twigs, and dry wood to produce organic manure, paper, biochar, or briquettes will be encouraged to reduce forest fires. Furthermore, the practice of importing timber and aluminum while domestic timber remains in the forests will be stopped by making timber available at affordable prices, thus replacing imports.

The pledge states, "We will supply quality nurseries and saplings for the expansion of private forests and medicinal herb cultivation. We will include the positive impact of the forest sector on agriculture, tourism, energy, climate change, disaster risk reduction, and local livelihoods in the national accounts."

UML Announces Concept of One Community Forest - One Forest Enterprise

The agenda put forward by the UML for the upcoming election is named the manifesto. This manifesto mentions securing a minimum of 45% green forest cover and transforming forest areas into dense forest areas, formulating strategies for the sustainable conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, and mitigating the effects of climate change. With the goal of achieving self-sufficiency in timber production, conservation, development, and utilization of forests will be carried out, and a nationwide campaign to plant and conserve timber, non-timber, and fruit saplings will be launched.

It is announced that nurseries will be developed systematically for this purpose. The manifesto states, "Environmental balance will be maintained by conserving, promoting, and properly utilizing forests. Biodiversity will be conserved and developed. The campaign to transform Nepal into a carbon-neutral country will be advanced. Special programs will be implemented for the conservation of forests containing rare wildlife found only in Nepal and species of trees that take hundreds of years to mature. The expansion and market promotion of forests, fruits, medicinal herbs, and agricultural forest products will be carried out."

According to the declaration, infrastructure will be built to develop medicinal herb and forest product industries, attracting private sector investment, and the concept of one community forest - one forest enterprise will be implemented. A policy of using domestic timber and furniture in public bodies has been adopted. The UML's policy includes arrangements for the development and conservation of model agricultural forests and private forests in every district based on land availability.

Maoist Centre Declares Linking Forests with Employment

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) manifesto mentions the judicious use of land, water, forests, and minerals. The Maoist Centre's plan is to fully utilize forests, enhance quality, and redevelop them. Resources will be linked to production, employment, and poverty alleviation.

RSP Declares Review of Clear Laws and Policies on Forest Management and Utilization

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has announced a review of clear laws and policies related to forest management and utilization so that the forest sector and its products can contribute significantly to the economy.

The RSP's commitment states, "We will create scientific forest and pasture utilization plans at the sectoral level to contribute to the economy and employment by considering grazing area development, meat animal husbandry, necessary infrastructure development, systematic use of timber in housing and building construction, import substitution, raw material supply for industries, medicinal herb and Ayurvedic medicine production, tourism, timber production and sales, and carbon trading as major economic activities."

The party also mentioned operationalizing a modern mechanism for real-time monitoring and control of forest fires using drone and satellite technology by establishing a 'Forest Fire High-Alert Center' for the security of community and national forests. Furthermore, the RSP has declared the distribution of portable pumps and safety equipment to every ward with a forest area, providing extensive fire control training, and testing and researching drones for fire control.

Agenda to Make Forests a Basis for Prosperity is Implementable: Forest Expert

Stating that the national prosperity can be built by utilizing the forest sector as a resource, forest expert Dr. Rajesh Rai clarified that its implementation is not impossible. According to him, although the structure for forest management was prepared in the past, weaknesses were seen in its effective implementation.

Dr. Rai interpreted the fact that political parties have prioritized the forest sector this time as a positive signal. "Forests can be made the basis of prosperity by considering them as a resource. Implementation is not impossible," he said, "It is also a suitable sector in terms of budget because it is a sector that can yield results with low investment."

According to him, a large economic possibility will open up if the forest sector can be effectively linked with the market. However, Rai noted that challenges remain regarding royalty, revenue rates, and pricing.

"Although we are a country rich in forests, timber is being imported from abroad," Rai said. "A review of the revenue system is necessary to make timber competitive with substitute materials like aluminum and iron sheets."

According to him, forest management alone is not enough; emphasis must be placed on practical implementation. Dr. Rai mentioned that the forest sector can be made the basis for long-term economic transformation and stated that political parties must be serious about ending the gap between policy and practice.

Improvement Compared to the Past: FECOFUN

Thakur Bhandari, Chairman of the Federation of Community Forest Users, Nepal (FECOFUN), stated that compared to the past, community forests have been prioritized in the manifestos brought by various political parties this time. Bhandari said that no one can move forward by bypassing community forests and that political parties need both active commitment and implementation regarding the conservation and management of community forests.