This survey is an example of Chautara Ridge
Plantation Community Forestry level initiatives to identify
the best options(s) for processing and marketing forest
products with particular emphasis on sawlogs and sawn timber
of community forests. This is a preliminary study conducted
in a short period of a month. Therefore the report provides
only a brief description of the subject area by analyzing
the major findings. The details of the information for analyzing
the major findings will have to be conducted in the next
phase of the study. This preliminary survey report consists
of the following chapters dealt in brief.
Chapter 1 covers the background, the objective and
the methodology. The main objective of this study is to
identify the best option(s) for processing and marketing
forest products with particular emphasis on sawlogs and
sawn timbers.
Chapter 2 describes the state-of-the art of the community
Forestry in Chautara Ridge. Chautara Ridge plantation resources
comprise of patula pine and chir pine planted between 1978
to 1985. Nepal-Australia Collaboration in forestry has come
to an important crossroad with respect to the utilization
of the plantations in the community forests. Some of the
older plantations have severely stagnated due to the delay
in thinning. Therefore, all 15 + years old plantations must
be thinned out without delay.
The total Chautara Ridge plantation area is 3,580 ha. benefiting
7,835 households of 37,141 population. The community forests
plantation resources available to each of the farm households
is about 0.5 ha.
Chapter 3 estimates the quick and preliminary yields
from the pine plantations. Assuming that there are at least
100 hectares of congested 15 to 20 years old pine plantations
in the North of the Chautara Bazaar and 200 hectares in
the south, the estimated of the thinning and Release yields
is the production of 96,000 cft per year for the first five
years with the potential increase of double production in
the next five years.
Chapter 4 estimates the existing and potential surpluses.
The total amount of estimated timber production through
thinning practices indicated high amount of surplus products.
The surplus products are assumed by deducting the local
requirements of the CFUG members and the local micro-enterprises.
Therefore, it can be easily assumed that 80 % of the pine
production will be available for selling to the commercial
markets within or outside the district.
Chapter 5 identifies the major collection centres
for timber processing and marketing. The four potential
collection centers for processing and marketing of timbers
at the Chautara Ridge plantation areas are (i) Chautara;
(ii) Melchaur; (iii) Irkhu; and (iv) Jalkini. The main five
selection criteria used for site selection are : (i) settlement
pattern and population served; (ii) Road network; (iii)
Trails networks; (iv) Facilities and services; and (v) Supply
of electricity.
Chapter 6 estimates the supply and demand of pine
timber. The local market demand for pine timber was observed
low. However, the demand for pine timber is increasing in
the major markets like Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.
The sources of timber were mainly local supply for all the
three kinds of users : (i) Local home-based carpenters;
(ii) Micro furniture enterprises; and (iii) Small furniture
enterprises.
Chapter 7 is an assessment of the potential sawmills
establishment opportunities at Chautara Ridge. The seven
selection criteria were adopted for assessing the sawmills
establishment opportunities at Chautara Ridge plantation
areas and they area.
| i |
Access to Resources and Raw
Materials |
| ii |
Locally available skills |
| iii |
Market integration |
| iv |
Access to markets |
| v |
Suitable for women |
| vi |
Access to technologies |
| vii |
Access to facilities and
services |
Based on these criteria Chautara, Melchaur,
Irkhu, and Jalkini sites indicated potential opportunities
for establishing sawmills for processing and marketing of
pine timbers.
Chapter 8 describes the timber processing of plantation
products. The processing of thinned and released cuttings
for sawn timber is the most important challenge for the
concerning CFUGs, DFOs and the NACRMP at the moment.
Chapter 9 described the market networks and linkages.
Three hierarchical layers of rural centers are visualized
for developing timber based enterprise development at the
Chautara Ridge plantation areas. The home-based micro-enterprises
at the rural level. The second layer is the rural market
centres with saw mills as the rural processing and marketing
centres. And the third layer is the urban market centres,
where the surpluses are marketed. Thus, the main task of
the survey was to identify the potential sites for saw mills
with backward linkages to all the CFUGs in the area and
forward linkages to major market centres.
Chapter 10 raises a few policy issues with respect
to timber processing and marketing by CFUGs. The most important
issues raised by CFUGs members are : (i) Tenure issues and
conflicts over rights to rural forests; (ii) Role of CFUGs
in timber processing and marketing; (iii) Alternative use
of the forest timber products; and (iv) strengthening of
CFUGs for the operation of saw mills.
Chapter 11 conducts a preliminary cost-benefit analysis.
It has indicated that the proposed sawmill enterprise will
be making more profit if it could enhance its capacity through
quality improvement of the products. The pay back period
is estimated to be 2.3 years. Similarly, the break-even
point for the sawmill is estimated to be about 28,000 cft
( r ).
Chapter 12 is a set of recommendations which the
preliminary survey results have indicated the requirement
of utilization of the timber products from thinning. The
CFUGs, DFOs and NACRMP all have recognized these emerging
issues of utilization of the products using community forestry
principles. Therefore, the recommendation are :
| • |
Thin out the congested /
stagnated pine plantation lightly in a five year cycle.
If nothing is done to these congested older plantations,
their Current Annual Increment (CAI) which is already
low (about 2 or 3 m3 / ha / year) will virtually cease.
The annual loss in delay is roughly estimated very high.
Therefore, it is recommended to initiate the thinning
out process immediately with approval of CF operation
plans. |
| • |
Sawmilling operation carried
out in the locality by the CFUGs and / or local entrepreneurs
will have many social, economic and managerial advantages.
Besides, sawmilling is a value adding process to timber
near the raw materials sources benefiting local people.
Therefore, it is recommended to operate sawmills immediately
by CFUGs at Chautara Ridge areas. |
| • |
There is need for policy
clarification in CF timber processing and marketing
aspects beside thinning and harvesting operation plans.
In this respect CFUGs members are insisting on a number
of policies that must be spelt out clearly in writing
for better timber processing and marketing activities
by CFUGs. Therefore it is recommended that HMG in general
and DOF in particular implement more positive and proactive
policy options in community forestry for timber processing
and marketing aspects: However, these recommendations
could be made specific to the location with the detailed
survey of the NACRMP areas and detailed interviews,
discussing and meetings with the CFUGs members. |
![Download and View Full Report [ .zip ]](../images/pdficon.gif){kind=small}
