Nature may be protected in Sagarmatha National Park (#99), but I would like to draw your attention to the massive timber poaching going on in outside the park boundary. Last month, walking from Phakding to Lukla, I saw about 40 porters carrying long timber logs toward Upper Khumbu. The timber was from Ponya forest in Jubing VDC and being sold in Namche and Khumjung. Members of the community forest user group say that they have already counted 4,000 logs going towards Namche. When they tried to stop the porters, they were threatened. But the women from the surrounding villages forced about 400 logs to be confiscated and stored with the community.

It is apparent that the demand for timber for new construction in Namche and Khumjung is driving this trade, and that the logs are coming from outside the park because felling inside is illegal. This demand rises during the monsoon because it is the lean tourist season, and that is when most of the renovation is done. As the community showed, local action can stop the smuggling. The timber buyers in Namche must also realise that it is their demand that is destroying forests elsewhere. You can't ban logging, but timber resources can be managed responsibly and in a sustainable manner.

Pasang Gelzen Sherpa
Pema Choling Forest User Group, Solu-Khumbu