A community forest, covering 220 acres, was handed over to the people of Martang village under Dewathang Gewog in Samdrup Jongkhar yesterday. The community forest will benefit 31 households of the village.
Samdrup Jongkhar’s Dzongda, Phub Tshering, handed over the certificates and documents to the community forest management group.
Community forests are handed over to the people of certain communities so that they manage and reap the benefit from the forest resources. The system was also started with an aim to protect water catchment in the area, and to utilize timber sustainably.
Samdrup Jongkhar has 23 approved community forest with a total area covering 8,500 acres which is expected to benefit about 1,500 households.
