Ministry of Forests and Environment
The Ministry of Forests and Environment is a governmental body of Nepal responsible for the conservation of forests and managing the environment in the country. Its main purposes are to enhance sustainable growth of the forest and water sectors and to manage the biodiversity, flora and fauna and also to increase the development of forest related enterprises in order to combat poverty throughout the rural areas of Nepal.
History
Throughout its history, the ministry had several different names and portfolios. Under the Koirala cabinet and the first Oli cabinet, it was the Ministry of Forests. In 2018, under the Second Oli cabinet, the portfolio of the ministry was changed from Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation to Ministry of Forests and Environment.Organisational structure
Two departments serve under the ministry to facilitate and implement its work:- Department of Forests and Soil Conservation
- Department of Plant Resources
- Forest Research and Training Centre
- Department of National Parks and [Wildlife Conservation (Nepal)|Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation]
- Department of Environment
- REDD Implementation Centre
- President Chure Terai-Madhesh Conservation Development Board
List of ministers
This is a list of former Ministers of Forests and Soil Conservation since the 2013 [Nepalese Constituent Assembly election|Nepalese Constituent Assembly election in 2013]:| Name | Party | Assumed office | Left office | Portfolio | |
| 1 | Mahesh Acharya | Nepali Congress | 25 February 2014 | Minister for Forests | |
| 2 | Agni Sapkota | Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) | 19 October 2015 | Minister for Forests | |
| 3 | Shankar Bhandari | Nepali Congress | 26 August 2016 | 31 May 2017 | Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation |
| 4 | Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba | Nepali Congress | 7 June 2017 | 11 September 2017 | Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation |
| 5 | Bikram Pandey | Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 11 September 2017 | 15 February 2018 | Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation |
| 6 | Shakti Bahadur Basnet | Nepal Communist Party | 16 March 2018 | 25 December 2020 | Minister for Forests and Environment |
| 7 | Prem Ale | Nepal Communist Party | 25 December 2020 | 4 June 2021 | Minister for Forests and Environment |
| 8 | Narad Muni Rana | CPN UML | 10 June 2021 | 22 June 2021 | Minister for Forests and Environment |
| 9 | Krishna Gopal Shrestha | CPN UML | 24 June 2021 | 12 July 2021 | Minister for Forests and Environment |
| 10 | Ram Sahaya Yadav | People's [Socialist Party, Nepal (2020)|People's Socialist Party, Nepal] | 8 October 2021 | 4 July 2022 | Minister for Forests and Environment |
| 11 | Pradeep Yadav (Nepalese politician) | People's Socialist Party, Nepal | 4 August 2022 | 14 October 2022 | Minister for Forests and Environment |
| 12 | Birendra Prasad Mahato | People's Socialist Party, Nepal | 24 May 2023 | 4 March 2024 | Minister for Forests and Environment |