Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) was established on 1 June 1986. It was later registered as the Nepal Forum of Environmental Communicators (NEFC), a private company, because the laws of the day did not allow individuals to organize freely and, therefore, it was not possible to seek registration as a journalists’ organization. However, since it needed a proper bank account to operate, it decided to register as NEFC at the Department of Industry. It was formally registered as NEFEJ on 23 August 1990 (after Nepal became a democracy in April 1990).