MPs suggest four recommendations to boost forestry sector’s GDP contribution, despite covering 70% of land. The report assesses current growth, identifies barriers, and explores value addition opportunities. The recommendations include documenting private timber business challenges, highlighting holistic forest resource use, providing detailed data on illegal tintper extraction, and reviewing NRDCL operations. Illegal timber trade in India distorts market prices, discourages legal exporters, and leads to unsold stockpiles. Limited cross-border trade routes drive up costs. Despite the substantial public advantages, the unreported GDP contribution from CF was the subject of a contentious debate in the Upper House. In order to grasp the whole picture, MPs asked the committee to work more to get these data.
Bhutan’s first CF program started in 1992, and the first CF, Dozam under Drametse in Mongar, was established in 1993. The program has grown significantly since then. 804 operational CFs across 40,000 hectares have been authorized and turned over by the Department of Forest and Park Services. A total of 839 CFs have been created, encompassing 108,357 hectares and helping 34,520 rural households. Although these forests play a major role in improving livelihoods, wood-based industries, and community-based tourism, the GDP typically ignores these benefits. Today is the last day for NREC to complete the review report and submit it to the National Council for adoption, as the deliberations on it came to an end yesterday.