Now, the quake victims, in their desperation to rebuild their homes, are planning to cut down trees. According to the villagers, they will fell trees in their own land first and get timber from the nearby community forest only if the ones from their land are insufficient. Due to the slow response of the government to reconstruction, community forests in the area face serious risk.
Yuga Nath Adhikari is one among hundreds of quake victims who have started reconstructing their destroyed homes. He used wood from his own land and borrowed some from his in-laws. Adhikari said that the he could also collect some timber from the community forest, if required, as he is a user group member.
Like Adhikari, all the quake victims who need timbers to rebuild their homes are turning to community forest for wood. The devastating earthquake had destroyed or damaged over 700,000 homes in highly affected 14 districts. Adhikari said he is quite aware of the importance of jungle and the impact of deforestation on water resources. "But I don't have an option. How long can we stay in tents waiting for the government to deliver us the promised relief," he questioned.
Adhikari and his family spent the summer in the tent and have been enduring cold in the same makeshift shelter. The chilling weather has seriously affected the health of his 92-year-old mother. He said that his immediate need at present is the reconstruction of his home. "Had the government provided me other alternatives, I prefer not to cut down trees," he added.
Some parts of the VDC have been long considered vulnerable to landslides. Engineers at the Department of Urban Development (DUDBC), who visited the village in the aftermath of the massive quake, had warned of landslides and suggested relocation of some homes.
Environmentalists say the pressure on the forest and environment would have been mitigated had the government disseminated the idea of using debris of demolished buildings.
"Massive deforestation while invite natural calamities such as landslides and drought," Sandesh Singh Hamal, deputy chief of Hariyo Ban Program, said.
He said that large swaths of forests were damaged in the quake. A rapid environmental assessment (REA) conducted by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment has estimated that about 23,375 hectares of forest in the quake-hit 14 districts were lost.
The devastating earthquake has induced 2,780 landslides, a frequency that is three times higher than before the earthquake. The report further said that it will take many years for many affected sites to stabilize and vegetation to re-establish, and there is a risk of invasive species flourishing.
Similarly, many springs were reported to have dried up in the quake-hit districts. Changes to water sources due to the earthquake will also affect the wildlife.
Hamal said that the community forest will face huge pressure in the reconstruction phase. "Quake victims are growing impatient," Rajendra Dahal, a senior journalist, said adding that the community forests of the quake-hit districts will face huge pressure and it would take years for those forests to return to present condition.
"The community forests may regain their previous shape in a few years, but it will be hard to revive the forests of Tarai region lost to timber smuggling during the protracted political transition," said Dahal. Smuggling of timber from forests of Bara and Parsa and other Tarai districts have been rampant, according to reports.
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