Carbon trade lures businesspersons
Rajendra Manandhar in The Kathmandu Post – one of the most read English newspapers in Nepal writes:
With community forests receiving money for conserving forest and storing carbon, business communities have shown interests in carbon trade.
At the invitation of ICIMOD, FECOFUN and ANSAB, businesspersons including FNCCI Chairman Suraj Baidya reached Dolakha to study on the possibility carbon trade.
FECOFUN Central Vice-President Bhim Prasad Khadka said they drew the attraction of business community at carbon trade as 18,000 people associated with community forests nationwide could benefit if the trade is accessible. Chairperson of Dolakha Fecofun branch Sita KC said they sought the help of private sectors as efforts of NGOs alone to help Nepal get benefit from carbon fund by storing carbon was not sufficient. Baidya said transaction of carbon fund involving 80,000 companies across the world stands at Rs 160 billion and Nepal could get more benefit if it has access to carbon trade. He said that Nepal has got only 0.025 percent benefit from carbon trade so far.