People’s Perceptions on Forest Management Sustainability in Far-Western Nepal

Community forest management led to rapid local forest gain in Nepal: A 29 year mixed methods retrospective case study

Community forest management (CFM) originated in 1970s as an alternative arrangement of forest governance, which has now become a flagship institution for sustainable management of forests in developing countries. The premise of CFM asserts that the control over forest use and management is devolved to the forest users at the community level. With the increasing knowledge about role of forests in climate change, CFM has been identified as a core strategy for implementing climate change mitigation policies such as reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+). This thesis is motivated by research questions that are crucial for advancing our understanding of the gaps and weaknesses of CFM in its current form. Hence, in this thesis, I set out to revisit its key elements, i.e. decision-making, user participation and the collective capacity (in the form of social capital) of forest users to engage in collective management of forests. Nepal provides an excellent study site because of its extensive history of community forest user group (CFUG) establishment since forty years. CFUG is a local-level institution for forest management where the local people make decisions regarding forest management, utilization, and the distribution of benefits from the forests.

The community forests (CF) in Nepal, facilitated by Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs), is widely recognized as an effective model of community-based forest management. Despite this recognition, there is a notable lack of comprehensive studies assessing the performance of CFUGs in sustaining community forests. Addressing this gap, this study examined twenty-two indicators across five performance criteria, such as user group management, forest management, financial management, livelihood management, and collaboration and networking management, within four CFUGs in central Nepal. Data were collected through household surveys (n = 275) and focus group discussions (n = 4), and indicators of performance criteria were assessed using a Likert scale. Reliability was measured using the coefficient of Cronbach’s alpha. ANOVA was employed to compare mean performance criteria across the four CFUGs, providing an evaluative perspective on overall CFUG performance. The findings underscored collaboration and networking management as high performers, showing an index value of 0.71, while user group management exhibited moderate performance with an index value of 0.56, alongside other moderately performing criteria. Noteworthy disparities were evident across the four performance criteria (p < 0.01), with the exception of collaboration and network management. Approximately 55% of the indicators were rated low to moderate, revealing CFUGs’ deficiencies in regular functions, limited uptake of adaptive and market-oriented management practices, minimal contributions to biodiversity conservation, insufficient capacity for forest revenue generation and mobilization, and restricted income generation and benefit-sharing with communities. The absence of timely and pertinent actions further stifled interaction between CFUGs and community forests, undermining the potential for revenue generation, job creation, and collective actions essential for productive community forest management. Prioritization of the indicators based on the performance index value offers critical policy direction to ensure CFUG sustainability and augment participatory management of common pool resources. Strategies to address identified weaknesses and build on strengths are essential for the success of Nepal’s community forests.

Forests are viable tools in combating the impacts of climate change, as they are capable of sequestering atmospheric carbon and storing it in different pools. This study aimed to examine the carbon sequestration potential of community-managed Shorea robusta (Sal) forest and assess the practices that have the potential to reduce adverse climate change impacts, thereby improving the livelihoods of forest-based communities. For this, we obtained forest inventory-derived carbon data from 11 sample plots of Shorea robusta (Sal) forest, analyzed them using allometric equations, and estimated the carbon storage and climate change mitigation potential of these forests, while focus group discussions and desk review of secondary information were employed to investigate the adaptation potential. The results show that the estimated biomass density of the selected forest is 352.46 ± 63.79 t/ha, whereas the carbon stock density is 165.66 ± 29.98 t/ha and the CO2 equivalent is 598.07 ± 110.48 t/ha. The study further revealed that community forest management, as a successful model of participatory forest management and community forest user group (CFUG) as a resourceful local institution, has been playing an important role in the diversification of livelihoods and income opportunities, social cohesion and thus climate change adaptation through collective actions. The adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacts have been prioritized in the operational plans of the CFUGs. Through the promotion and prioritization of alternative energy, agroforestry and enhanced livelihood options, the CFUGs are committed to the sustainable management of forest resources and to enhancing the livelihoods of local communities. This study indicates the relevance of community forests as a priority institution for the implementation of Local Adaptation Plans for Action (LAPA) and support National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) to combat climatic impacts, providing important information for planners and policy makers in Nepal and elsewhere.

In Nepal, the management of community forests is based on the participation and decision making of forest users. The premise of its success is the involvement of the real users in forest conservation and management. The Nepal Forest Laws identify women as key forest users and underline the importance of their participation in community forest management. However, given the sociocultural setting and the prevailing patriarchy, fostering women’s active participation remains a challenge. Women are traditionally limited to the private sphere and men tend to look after the responsibilities in the public sphere. However, the increasing trend of male outmigration observed in the Mid-hills may offer a window of opportunity for women to become more involved in the public sphere and thus, be able to have a decisive influence in forest management. This paper investigates the factors that have increased the participation and decision-making level of women in two community forest user groups. Data were collected through focus group discussions, informal discussions and interviews with key informants. The results suggest that key factors that encourage women to take an active role in the management of community forests are: degraded forests hampering the women to fulfil their duties (supply of firewood, grass, etc.), previous experiences with women’s groups to increase their self-confidence, an unsatisfactory flow of information and men’s full support. Given the high prevalence of male outmigration in the Mid-hills of Nepal, these results are relevant to formulate policies and strategies that foster women’s empowerment.

Forest fire is a global phenomenon and is having unprecedented impacts across continents. Nepal is not an exception to the increasing impacts, where hundreds of acres of forests is lost, or damaged, to forest fire. The severity of forest fire is on the rise in recent decades, wherein community forests have witnessed effects of the calamity over the recent years. This paper investigates the local factors behind the increasing frequency and severity of forest fires in mid-hills of Nepal. The paper draws on three separate cases from the research sites, involving five years of ‘Enhancing Livelihoods from Improved Forest Management in Nepal (EnLiFT2)’ project's team observations in Bhumlu rural municipality and Chautara Sangachokgadhi municipality of Kavrepalanchok and Sindhupalchok district respectively. This is complemented by informant interviews taken with 25 individuals. The paper primarily examines forest-people-fire relationship to demonstrate the weakening collective actions among the community forest user groups (CFUGs) as an important factor for increasing forest fires in the mid-hills of Nepal. We found the changing forest-people relationship, weakening CFUG governance, and increasing regulatory impositions as important factors driving the alienation of users from the forest thus, undermining collective action in forest management. We argue that strengthening collective action on better forest management to prevent forest fire is crucial over adopting mitigation techniques. The alienation of forest user groups from their forest in the changing socio-economic and forest management context can be addressed to strengthening the collective action for better forest management and ultimately to forest fire prevention and management.

Over the past century, the management of forest resources in Uganda has vacillated from a centralised to a decentralised approach. With the Forest Act in 1993, the country began a new round of governance reforms that devolved ownership and management of central forest reserves to local governments. Four years later, the Local Government Act transferred management functions over forest reserves to the districts and sub-counties. By 2000, however, the deforestation rate - already the highest in eastern Africa - had accelerated. Despite the trend toward greater participation of communities in forest management, women have been largely shut out of decision making. Yet women are important actors, depending on forest resources for subsistence, as safety nets and even for income. Through this study, the researchers wish to contribute toward improving women's tenure rights to forests through their increased participation in communityforest user-groups with regard both to decision making and livelihood benefits.

The forest management strategy of Nepal is based on people’s participation, which is known as community forestry. This approach was formally introduced in 1978 to encourage active participation of local people in forest management activities as a means to improve their livelihoods. Under the community forestry structure, local people make decisions regarding forest management, utilization and distribution of benefits from a forest; they are organized as a Community Forest User Group. Presently about 1.2 million hectares of forest is under the control of about 14,000 Community Forest User Groups. It has received highest priority within the forestry sector and is one of the most successful development initiatives in Nepal. However, emerging evidence indicates that forest user groups have excluded rather than included women’s participation in their activities This paper is based on the findings from six forest users groups implementing a program aimed at strengthening governance at the local level through increased women’s participation and increased advocacy skills and capacity of selected civil society groups. It presents the process of women’s empowerment in forest user groups by describing changes made in those groups once women begin participating and holding key decision-making positions. The findings note significant variation in funds allocated for social and community development activities, which are necessary to address the issues of poverty and social equity in Nepal. In addition, they note the importance of building both the capacity of individual women leaders and an enabling environment to support the women’s initiatives. A collaborative and inclusive approach that includes women and marginalized groups as committee executives and members of local government bodies is necessary to build the enabling environment. Keywords: Community forestry, Nepal, gender, poverty, forest management and governance

In recent decades, there has been a major shift in natural resource conservation policies in developing countries, and community-based natural resource management has become the integral part of the policies. Nonetheless, the link between the local communities’ dependence on forest resources for their livelihood and the likelihood of the success of community forest management has been understudied. Thus, this study investigates how forest dependence influences the contribution of local communities to the management of community forest, using the data collected from 190 households participating in community forest management in rural Ethiopia. It was found that the sample households derived almost 38% of their annual income from community forest. Moreover, results from mixed effects linear regression models show that forest dependence promotes contribution to collective action in the management of community forest. When households derive more income from the community forest relative to their total income, they contribute more to the management of the community forest. This suggests that the more the households depend on the community forest for their livelihood, the more they value the resource and the more they participate in the management of the forest. Thus, the results underline that the success of local communities in managing community forest may be significantly influenced by their level of dependence on the resources from the forest.

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

The study aimed to take lessons and experience from the community forest management methods of three ethnic communities namely, Phu Tai, Tai Lao and Tai Kui, and to study the guidelines of forest resource management among ethnic communities in the Northeastern region of Thailand, based on the on self-management democracy in communities. The researcher used qualitative research methodology in the three major ethnic communities in the Northeast, namely: 1) the Phu Tai ethnic community residing in the community forest, Nong Hang, Kalasin; 2) the Tai Lao ethnic communities residing in Phu Kham Noi Community Forest, Sawawat, Khon Kaen, and 3) the Tai Kui ethnic communities residing in the Don Pu Ta Baan Arlue Forest Village, Sum Rong Taab, Surin. The researcher conducted the documentation analysis and field research by participatory observation and in-depth interviewing the key informants who are involving in community forest management in each area amount total 30 peoples. All the data were analyzed by using the content analysis model and compare the case studies’ information for providing to the conclusion of the descriptive research results. The research findings were as follows: 1) based on the lessons learned and experiences from community forest management methods used as case studies, the self-management in democratic way can be summarized into four patterns as follows: 1) protective democratic, 2) direct democracy, 3) participatory democracy, and 4) discussed democracy. However, there is no single model used to analyze self-management in democratic way of ethnic communities as the case studies of this research. There are the needs of the development of participatory democracy with the integrated democratic practices. As well as the management of community forest in the selected ethnic communities can be characterized by values and features of democratic practices into seven forms. These are the unique features of the hidden democracy in the community forest management process. In addition, community forest management is developed as a part of learning process of democratic practices as the mentioned seven principles based on community culture. Lastly, the management of forest resources among the ethnic communities in the Northeastern region are based on self-management with democratic principles in line with the two practices. These mechanisms lead to the concept of responsibility, citizenship, and the creation of community-based roles in terms of self-management. This will lead to the establishment of a democratic pathway that is appropriate to the local community, which contributes to the stability and security of the national democratic system.

Factors influencing the management regime of Nepal's community forestry

In a developing economy like India, the development of rural economy through effective and proper management of common property resources (CPRs) such as forests has increasingly become an integral part of sustainable development policy in the past couple of decades. This policy initiative has, however, become largely popular due to a strong disillusionment with the performance of central management policy to provide sufficient incentives to the users to manage CPRs in a sustainable way. Some scholars (Jodha, 1986; Wade, R. 1987; Chopra et al., 1989; Ostrom, 1990) argue that the well organised community-based institutions can play a significant role in overcoming the socio-economic problems faced by the rural economy and can avoid the tragedy of commons as envisaged by Hardin (1968). Having recognised this proposition, developing countries like India and other South Asian countries have started to support community-based forest resource management through granting community property rights over the local natural resources with a view to enhance local level economic development, poverty alleviation and environmental conservation. The recognition of community-based forest has led to the devolution of forest resource management from centralised to local level user groups in India (Behera, 2006). In fact, Government of India adopted a participatory approach in management, protection, and development of forest resources under the aegis of Joint Forest Management (JFM) that was introduced in the National Forest Policy of 1988. The stakeholders are ensured property rights in the management of forest resources under the system of JFM. Under this policy initiative, the degraded national forests were handed over to the forest protection committees (FPCs) as community forest under a community-based property rights regime. In response to the national forest policy and to ensure equity and social justice, the state governments, which are responsible for forest management under Indian constitution, have started encouraging the communities living nearby the state forests for formation of forest protection committees (FPCs) under JFM. With regard to implementation of the new forest

This paper demonstrates that a transition from passive to active management of community forest is possible by adopting joint learning processes among local forest user groups, forest officials and local non?governmental service providers. Such an approach has the potential to address several issues that underlie and characterise passive management namely: underutilisation of forest, protection oriented forest management, overstocked forest (dense) vis?a?vis deficit in supply of forest products, and poorly designed silvicultural practices. Passive management is attributed mainly to the poor planning of forest management, inadequate and restrictive forest inventory guidelines and limited recognition of the forest management knowledge of locally trained resource persons. We present evidence of the processes and outcomes of active management being promoted by Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) in Nepal. The transition to active forest management is demonstrated through an assessment of revisions made in the community forest Operational Plans (OP). Key revisions identified include, among others: defining objectives of forest management considering people's choices and locality factors, site?specific forest management treatments, development of product utilisation plans, provisions for Non?timber Forest Products (NTFPs) management and conservation of biodiversity and water resources. Full text is available at the ForestAction websiteDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jfl.v8i2.2308 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 8(2) February 2009 pp.51-66

Tenurial conflict in the management of the production forest areas in Indonesia is a multidimensional problem involving legal, social, and environmental aspects. This problem often arises due to the inequality of local communities’ access to forest land and the weak empowerment system in forest resource management. This research aims to analyze the Community Forest Management model as a form of corporate social responsibility by Perum Perhutani, and examine the relevance of the progressive legal approach in resolving the tenurial conflict. The method used is doctrinal legal research with statutory, conceptual, case study, and comparative law approaches. The data was analyzed using the prescriptive-analytical method to produce normative recommendations on the issues studied. The results showed that Community Forest Management provides space for active participation of forest village communities through a partnership system based on social capital and profit-sharing mechanisms. This model not only contributes to improving community welfare, but is also able to reduce the potential for tenurial conflicts between the community and relevant stakeholders. The progressive law approach is used to emphasize that the law must be adaptive to social realities and favor substantive justice, especially in the context of inclusive and sustainable natural resource management. This research contributes to strengthening forestry governance based on collaboration and social justice through optimizing community empowerment in the production forest management system.