The District Soil Conservation Office has shied away from its responsibilities citing lack of locals´ participation. [break]
“We have not been able to use a single penny from the PCCP fund,” said Dambar Thapa, chief of the District Soil Conservation Office. This year, the office has been allocated Rs 6.2 million for PCCP. “We are in confusion how to carry out the conservation programs,” Thapa added.
According to him, following the arrest of the president of the community forest, the locals have refused to support the program, whereas some locals themselves are involved in the smuggling of timber.
Similarly, the program has been affected due to the ongoing investigation by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) into timber smuggling. “Until the investigation is completed, it is difficult to carry out our programs,” Thapa said.
Thapa said he would speed up conversation programs with the locals so that they come together for the conservation cause. “Without the locals willing to stop the deforestation, it is impossible to implement the programs,” Thapa said.
Last year, a team of experts was sent to 23 districts for a detailed study of the Chure range and conservation methods. The experts had warned that the forests in the range could disappear very soon if the government failed to take necessary measures to conserve the forests.
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