The Multi-Stakeholder Forestry Programme (MSFP) was a flagship programme of the GON supported by the Government of Finland, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the UK Department for International Development. The programme aimed at improving the livelihoods and resilience of poor and disadvantaged people in Nepal through sustainable and equitable management of forest resources. Specifically, the program aimed to achieve or deliver four key outcomes:  

1. Government and non-state actors jointly and effectively implement inclusive forest sector strategies, policies, and plans. 
2. Private sector (farmers, entrepreneurs, and financial institutions) increase investment for creating jobs in the forestry sector.  
3. Rural communities, especially poor, disadvantaged, and climate-vulnerable people and households, benefit from local forest management and other investments. 
4. Forests and trees are sustainably managed by government, communities, and the private sector. 

A multi-stakeholder steering committee (MSSC) led by the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MFSC) provided strategic directions to the programme. The MSSC had representatives from government line ministries, civil society, and the three donors. The project’s main beneficiaries were rural communities of Nepal, especially poor and disadvantaged households, and those most vulnerable to climate change. The MSFP explicitly targeted those groups and gathered disaggregated data to assess its progress. The programme aimed to bring an estimated 1.7 million people out of poverty by working with existing and new forestry groups of various kinds and creating an additional 80,000 jobs. 

Through the programme, the following key outcomes were achieved: 

• Creation of over 2,800 local jobs/employment. 
• Establishment of 50 functioning forest-based enterprises. 
• 5,979 ha of national forest handed over as community forests benefitting 3,340 households. 
• Establishment of Value Chain Development Fund (non-traditional financing mechanism) in partnership with a private bank linking forest-based enterprises with the market in three districts. 
• Establishment of Climate Change Fund in three districts to undertake climate change adaptation actions. 
• Scholarships provided to 900 needy and meritorious students, with 62% girl recipients. 
• 301 gender-sensitive Local Adaptation Plan for Actions (LAPAs) prepared and implemented. 13,641 households benefited from the implementation of LAPAs. 
• 9,047 households benefited from the project, which promoted income-generating activities. 
• 2,700 households benefited from home garden activities, with improved family nutrition and income. 
• 69,100 tree seedlings planted in private and public land; 131 Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) species planted in private and public land.