National Forest Programme.

The National Forest Programme is a sectoral national programme of the Kyrgyz Republic. It covers the period from 2005 to 2015. Its main objective is ensuring the sustainable development of forests through involvement of the population and local communities in the joint management of forests and determination of the state role in the forestry sector in the new environment.
In order to achieve this central objective, the Programme aims to revise the principles of creation of specially protected nature territories taking into account the ecological, economic and social features of a given region as well as creation of such territories in the transboundary context. Further, it also aims to develop the plan for activities aimed at promotion of natural regeneration, restoration of protective and anti-erosion plantations as well as organization of the seed production and growth of the planting material in forest nurseries, industrial plantations of the fast-growing tree species and reforestation on deforested land. For the same goal, the document promotes the development of a plan for integrated management of all types of forests which, among others, includes determining the set of criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management, improvement of the procedures for planning, monitoring and evaluation of forest management activities. The document notes that forest management plans should be approved and included in the general plan of activities of the local bodies of authority and self-government.
Moreover, the Programme provides for developing procedures for handing over of the economic functions from the territorial units of forest service to the private sector and the methods for regulation of the relations between the two parties. The Programme also touches upon the specific issues such as developing the mechanism for financing reforestation, forest protection, fire prevention, and biotechnical activities of the forestry sector taking into account the new rules for distribution of state budget, as well as the reform carried out in the forestry sector, annually when adopting the country’s budget. Finally, it notes that mechanisms for investment in the forestry sector by various donors, international financial institutions and private sector will need to be developed.