In Nepal’s male-dominated society, forests and trees thrive under ‘honest, transparent’ women bosses
- Nepali women are branching out from managing the nation’s community forests to local, national politics to ‘show the way for the state’
- Fecofun, a national body promoting community rights over local land, is a pioneer in Nepal in ensuring equal representation of women, ethnic groups and caste
Three decades of picking women for leadership roles has produced healthier forests and happier workers, according to Nabaraj Pudasaini, joint secretary of the government’s Department of Forest and Soil Conservation.
“In comparison to other community forests in the country, the ones managed by women are doing exceptionally well,” said Pudasaini.
“Women spend more time in the forest than men, so they naturally have a deeper love and understanding of it. They are honest, transparent and have good relations with villagers, so they became a success,” she added.
Apsara Chapagain is typical of this trend for top female foresters, as the first women to chair the Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (Fecofun), a national body that promotes community rights over local land.
With tropical and temperate forests covering about 40 per cent of the Himalayan nation, the health of its trees is key to Nepal’s prosperity and its roughly 29 million people.
