Forest—People nexus in changing livelihood contexts: Evidence from community forests in Nepal

Abstract

Community forestry in Nepal has set an example of people's participation in forest management. The direct dependency of local people on forest resources for livelihood activities has been one of the key adhesive factors for collective efforts in forest management. Changing livelihood strategies from agriculture-based livelihoods to migration (and remittances thereof) and the service sector, introduces a new dispensation which is yet to be sufficiently understood. This paper explores the changing livelihood strategies of forest users and analyses their effects on participation in forest management. The structured household survey (n = 106), key informant interviews (n = 6), and focal group discussions (n = 3) in three community forest user groups in the mid-hills of Nepal were employed to analyze the changing livelihood strategies in the last 15 years, and to underscore their implications for forest management. We followed the recall process, and in order to ease the recall process, the reference events were discussed with the respondent. The result showed an increasing switch to non-forest dependent livelihood strategies, characterized by the emergence of non-agriculture (remittance, business, service) sectors. While there is no change in the number of CF meetings attended, and the average time spent per meeting by user households, a decreasing dependence on forests, as well as the willingness to participate in forest management was recorded. These were associated with the change in livelihood strategies from agriculture to non-agriculture-based practices. This context justifies the need for a re-think on how to stabilize the rural sector to limit rural exodus and the management of community forest resources in the mid-hills of Nepal.