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INTRODUCTION
Nepal Foresters' Association (NFA), established on Tuesday 4 Marga 2031 BS Kartik Sukla Paksha Panchami 1095 NS (19 November 1974 AD), is one of the leading professional associations in Nepal. It is a forum where foresters can bring their collective thought and efforts for enhancing the prestige of their profession. Its main motto is to establish prosperity and progress of Nepal's forestry and foresters. It also guides its members to work in their professional capacity to ensure the continuous flow of productive, protective, and social goods and services from land, forests and biodiversity resources for general well being in perpetuity.
OBJECTIVES
Some of the main objectives of NFA are:
MEMBERSHIP
Nepalese citizens with a graduate or postgraduate degree in forestry or gazetted foresters are eligible for the corporate membership in NFA. Any person proposed by ten corporate members and three executive members and supported by the majority in the General Assembly can be awarded honorary membership. NFA has four types of membership, viz., corporate (general), life, volunteer, and institutional.
At present about 700 foresters have been registered as members in NFA. It has about 156 life members and six volunteer members too.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
All corporate members of NFA in total constitute the General Assembly. It is convened at least once in a year. The General Assembly is the supreme body of the association that guides, directs and controls the Executive Committee.
MAIN ACTIVITIES
NFA regularly publishes a journal called "The Nepal Journal of Forestry", which incorporates various articles of varoious issues of forestry and other related natural resources.
NFA publishes an official news bulletin on a regular basis. It contains brief notes and information about NFA's activities and members' update. It also includes various notices related to forestry, other natural resources and environmental issues.
NFA has very wide pool of highly educated and skilled members with different expertise in various field of natural resources and biodiversity management and conservation. It has provided consultancy services to various institutions and will provide in future too.
NFA has organised many study tours for national and international visitors in the field of natural resources conservation and management. It is also reorganising itself in designing and implementing capacity growth programs. Any institution or person willing to get this support may contact in the postal address or email address.
NFA has developed good collaborative linkages with a number of national, regional and international institutes, associations, societies, cooperatives and federations related to natural resources. Several programs are being launched with them.
NFA has developed and maintained a park, with plantations of various aromatic plants, in memory of martyrs who gave their life in the restoration of democracy in the country.
Every year, NFA gives various awards and prizes to various institutions and persons for their excellent works in the conservation and management of natural resources of Nepal. They are:
Ban Devi Puraskar (Forests Goddesh Prize),
NFA Smriti Puraskar (NFA Memorial Award),
Batuk Prasad Upadhyaya Smriti Puraskar (Batuk Prasad Upadhyaya Memorial Prize), and
Best Foresters' Award.
Besides these activities, NFA raise strong voice for the right and welfare of its members in regular basis when it needs. It also organises talk program in regular basis for strengthening its member capabilities. It also organises regular meetings for discussion in hot issues among its members. In fact, NFA is a mission to see and maintain sustainable natural resources conservation and management through scientific approach.
FINANCIAL RESOURCES
Membership fee and grants from different sources, and institutional fee from various services are the financial sources of NFA.
OFFICE LOCATION & SERVICESNFA office is located in Thamel, Kathmandu near Amrit Campus, but contact office is located in the premises of Forest Complex, Babar Mahal, Kathmandu, Nepal.
NFA is also managing a six-bed guest house office in Thamel, Kathmandu to provide lodging facilities to its members during their Kathmandu visit.