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 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 Nepalese Constituent Assembly election in 2013:
Name Party Assumed office Left officePortfolio 1 Mahesh Acharya Nepali Congress 25 February 2014 Minister for Forests 2 Agni Sapkota Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) 19 October 2015 3 Shankar Bhandari Nepali Congress 26 August 2016 31 May 2017Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation 4 Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba Nepali Congress 7 June 2017 11 September 2017 5 Bikram Pandey Rastriya Prajatantra Party 11 September 2017 15 February 2018 6 Shakti Bahadur Basnet Nepal Communist Party 16 March 2018 25 December 2020Minister for Forests and Environment 7 Prem Ale Nepal Communist Party 25 December 20204 June 2021 Minister for Forests and Environment 8Narad Muni Rana CPN UML 10 June 202122 June 2021 Minister for Forests and Environment 9Krishna Gopal Shrestha CPN UML 24 June 2021 12 July 2021 Minister for Forests and Environment 10Ram Sahaya Yadav People's Socialist Party, Nepal 8 October 2021 4 July 2022 Minister for Forests and Environment 11Pradeep Yadav (Nepalese politician) People's Socialist Party, Nepal 4 August 2022 14 October 2022 Minister for Forests and Environment 12Birendra Prasad Mahato People's Socialist Party, Nepal 24 May 2023 4 March 2024 Minister for Forests and Environment 13Nawal Kishor SahPeople's Socialist Party (Nepal, 2024)10 March 20248 July 2024Minister for Forests and Environment14Aain Bahadur Shahi ThakuriNepali Congress15 July 20249 September 2025Minister for Forests and Environment15Sushila KarkiIndependent12 September 202512 December 2025Prime Minister16Madhav Chaulagain12 December 202527 March 2026Minister for Forests and Environment17Geeta ChaudharyRastriya Swatantra Party27 March 2026IncumbentMinister for Forests and Environment
References