This paper reviews and explores the equity and sustainability issues in the forestry
sector in the Terai, Nepal with a focus on the past and present forest politics and
policy in the region. The paper argues that Terai forestry has been historically an
inequitable domain that only benefited the State and the ruling class whereas the
common Nepali people did not get a fair share of the benefits from it. A review of
socio-political and environmental history of the Terai also suggests that concern for
environmental conservation was not a priority until recently due to the policy
approach of successive governments to exploit the high-value forests for commercial
purposes. The upper hand of the State in the control of Terai forests ever since the
beginning of the history of Nepal remained as a legacy for a long period, even
influencing current forestry policy and practice in the region. This could explain the
reluctance of successive governments for transparent and accountable forest
governance in the Terai. This also explains the restricted policy of the State to hand
over only a few parts of Terai forests for community management.