An organised front

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The Samudaik Ban Upabhokta Mahasangh or the Federation of Community Forestry Users (FECOFUN) in Nepal is an association founded by and for community forest users. The federation has been established to increase awareness, expand and strengthen the role of forest users in Nepal.

After the enforcement of the 1993 Forest Act, when forest-users' group were given a legal status, a series of seminars were held in various districts across the country. It was then that the need to establish a national-level networking organisation was recognised. Community forest-users' groups met and decided to form FECOFUN. The federation was registered in September 1995. Following the registration, the federation held the first national assembly in March 1996.

FECOFUN's mission is to support self-reliance and increase the independent decision-making capacity of forest-users' groups. Its long-term objective includes encouraging