Training of Trainers on Strengthening Forest Tenure for Sustaining Livelihood and Generating Income
KATHMANDU- A 3-day Training of Trainers (ToT-2) on Strengthening Forest Tenure for Sustaining Livelihood and Generating Income was organized in Kathmandu from 26-28 April 2016. The objective of the ToT was to enable facilitators to support conflict sensitive processes aimed at strengthening forest tenure that contribute to improved livelihoods and income of forest dependent people.
As part of the FAO Technical Cooperation Program (TCP/RAS/3506), the ToT was aimed at building capacity of the forest officers in order to identify priorities in institutional capacity building. During the training, the participants were sensitized on strengthening the forest tenure in order to provide benefit from forests and forestry activities to the forest dependent communities.
FAO developed a training manual (FAO, 2005; FAO, 2008) to provide practical guidance for countries for the management of forest conflict. The training manual focuses on analyzing conflict, identifying conflict management options, facilitating /mediating negotiations of forest conflict, and developing agreements. During the training, extensive discussions were made on defining and recognizing forest tenure conflict linking it to strengthening forest tenure for forest dependent communities. The participants were also encouraged to enhance their knowledge to distinguish the range of management options to forest tenure conflict and identify their relevance in a given context.
Addressing the opening session the opening session of the training, Resham Bahadur Dangi, the Director-General of the Department of the Forest extended his good wishes to the participants for their enthusiasm to learn on forest tenure in order to build up resilience of the forest dependent community.
Yurdi Yasmi, the Forest Policy Officer for Asia and the Pacific for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said that the contribution of the participants in the implementation of their knowledge on the forest tenure into practice in their daily works would certainly bring about a positive change in enhancing the forest resources. He added that the forest tenure determines who can use what resources, for how long and under what conditions.
Prem Kandel, the Joint Secretary at the Ministry of the Forest and Soil Conservation, and Ganesh Jha, the Deputy Director-General of the Department of the Forest gave away the Certificate of Merits to the participants.
Ganga Ram Dahal, Toon De Bruyn, Kapil Neupane and Sindhu Dhungana facilitated the ToT. Phanindra Pokhrel was the Focal Person of the ToT.
Altogether 20 forest officers working in different districts under the Department of Forest attended the ToT.