Fecofun Information

Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN), a formal network of Forest Users Groups (FUGs) from all over Nepal was established in June 1995 with the goal of promoting and protecting the forest users’ rights through capacity strengthening, economic empowerment, sustainable natural resource management, technical support, policy advocacy, good governance and learning sharing of best practices. FECOFUN emerged from the idea that forest users from all parts of the country should be linked in order to strengthen the role of users in policy-making processes. Since its inception, FECOFUN has grown into a social movement organization with about 16 million forest users. As of now, 23,026 community forestry user groups (CFUGs) covering 31,95,323 households have been federated into FECOFUN, and are protecting more than 24,25,392.60 hectares of forests. Apart from this, other Community-Based Forest Management Groups (such as leasehold forestry groups, religious forestry groups, buffer zones, and traditional forest management groups) in Nepal are also affiliated with FECOFUN. As Nepal underwent federalism, the network of FECOFUN extended across the country in 7 provinces, 77 districts, and 555 local levels. Around 15,000 members were elected across FECOFUN chapters through an inclusive democratic process that encompassed all regions, indigenous peoples, minority groups, people with disabilities, and the ultra-poor, ensuring 50 percent women’s representation, including in key positions.