Over 30% of Nepalese villagers live on less than $1 per day and depend on the already diminishing forests for fuel, timber, food and medicines. Between 1950 and 1980, 40% of the forests of the Himalayan Watershed were lost. This ecosystem shelters a great diversity of species including tigers, rhinos, and 1.3 billion people downstream.

SEEDTREE works with youth, women, and farmers, calling upon their knowledge of indigenous forest species and their interest in self-preservation, to improve the environment. WIth their help, SEEDTREE will restore and enrich threatened forests with cost-effective education, training, and direct action. These programs include planting over 3.5 million native trees, supplying water, latrines, biogas plants, and Improved Cooking Stoves, which are less toxic and more fuel efficient.  Through workshops and night courses, SEEDTREE is teaching villagers how to preserve and enhance their forests, practice fuel efficiency, and use micro-credit.

  Without immediate intervention, the forests of
  Nepal will be decimated from overutilization.