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INTRODUCTION
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B. Earlier priorities vis-à-vis the environment
Despite the situation described above, it is important to note that a concern for judicious and efficient management of the rarest natural resource, land, apparently existed even during the early stages of development in Nepal. The innumerable terraces which have existed in the hill and mountain region for centuries are a living testimony to the concern of the population for the fragile ecosystem. A similar impression is provided by the relatively efficient farmer-managed irrigation systems which have existed in various parts of Nepal for many years.
While afforestation has remained the main activity in forestry, the need for soil and wild life conservation was expressed as early as the First Five-Year Plan period (1956/57-1961/62). The government embarked on the task of nationalizing all forest areas in 1956, even though it had no manpower and administrative machinery for managing forests. Likewise, in 1963, the government appealed to farmers and local-level organizations to conserve soil by planting trees. That move was apparently motivated more by revenue considerations than by the need for soil conservation. The first watershed management project in the catchment area of the Trishuli River was initiated during the Third Five-Year Plan period (1965-1970) with the assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (National Planning Commission, 1970). The project was the forerunner of the Rasua-Nuwakot Integrated Rural Development Project that was launched in 1976.
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