Australia Awards South and West Asia

Mr Sushil Subedi, Senior Forest Officer at the Ministry of Forests and Environment in Nepal’s Lumbini Province, recently participated in the Australia Awards Regional Short Course on Indigenous Environment Knowledge Management.

The Regional Short Course offers participants the opportunity to explore Australian Indigenous people’s approaches to environmental management and conservation. Sushil and other participants from Nepal, Bangladesh and Mongolia travelled to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and Darwin in the Northern Territory for the in-Australia component of the course on 17–28 March 2025.

During their time in Australia, participants engaged directly with Indigenous knowledge holders and community leaders, gaining a deeper understanding of Indigenous perspectives on environmental stewardship.

Sushil (third from right, front row) with other Short Course participants at the office of the Indigenous Carbon Industry Network in Darwin. Photo courtesy: UniSC CIDSEL

Since that time, participants have been working on their Return-to-Work Plans, which outline how they intend to apply the knowledge and skills gained while in Australia to their work.

Sushil’s plan is in part focused on strengthening Nepal’s participatory forest management system. His goal is to empower women to take leadership roles in sustainable forest management, while promoting social inclusion and improving livelihoods for women and disadvantaged communities.

As part of his efforts to implement this objective, on 25 May 2025 Sushil met with stakeholders engaged in participatory forest management in Rapti-Sonari Rural Municipality in Banke to discuss their views.  The group included the Ward Chairperson, officials from the Division Forest Office of Banke, and leaders from 12 community forestry user groups. More than half the attendees were women, and 35% represented indigenous communities. The discussions cantered on empowering women leaders in participatory forest management across Lumbini Province through policy awareness and capacity building.

Nepali 24-hour news channel, Avenues Television, covered the consultation on its news broadcast, helping to raise awareness of the initiative. The video can be viewed on the Avenues Television YouTube channel here from 18:50 to 21:46.

The final component of the course was delivered online from 9–11 June 2025, where participants took part in key learning sessions, shared updates on their Return-to-Work Plans and celebrated their progress.

Cover photo: Sushil (far right) and other Nepali Short Course participants at a pre-departure briefing in Kathmandu prior to their travel to Australia.