FOREST

  Out of the total area in Nepal, forest covered only 29 percent area in 1994. Forest coverage is rapidly decreasing in our country. There was 38 percent forest in 1978/79 that was decreased to 35.9 percent in 1984. Not only has the coverage, the quality of the forest also been degrading. There is about 11 percent shrub area that was only about 5 percent in 1985/86.

Most of the forest of Nepal has been concentrated more of less along the East- West Highway. The forest of mild hill and mountain are massively degraded. There is 25.9 percent forest out of the total area in the EDR. Similarly, CDR, WDR, MWDR and FWDR have 33.5, 25.0, 28.2 and 35.2 percent forest area out of total land area of these development regions respectively. During the period of 1978 to 1994, the decreasing rate of forest was 1.7 percent in the national level.