Community Forest User Groups Research Articles

Improving Forest-Based Livelihoods through Integrated Climate Change Adaptation Planning

Forest-based livelihoods are ruthlessly affected by climate change and other non-climatic stressors. Forests as one of the precious natural assets available in the Chitwan Annapurna area is an appropriate sector to address community and ecosystem vulnerability through adaptation works like plantation, protecting biophysical environment against hazards like landslide, floods, and water scarcity. In Nepal, Community Forest Users Groups with legal entity serves as grassroot organizations in preparation of community based adaptation plan of action (CAPA). Hariyo Ban Program, have facilitated in preparation of community based adaptation plans in remote, vulnerable and marginalized communities of different places of Gandaki river basin. The result shows community perception towards climatic and non climatic stresses and its impacts in forest based livelihoods. Climate change, its variability and extreme events have mystified people’s livelihood and forced them to further suffering. Preparation and implementation of adaptation plans has provided a ray of hope towards addressing adverse impact of climate change. Till date, 142 community adaptation plans are prepared following a methodology on integrated community adaptation planning. Adaptation planning has let community know about the prevailing threats and vulnerabilities in their communities and helped to identify adaptation measures to reduce those threats and vulnerabilities, resulting in improved livelihoods. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ctbijis.v2i1.10819 Crossing the Border: International Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Vol.2(1) 2014: 135-146

Balancing Wildlife and Human Needs: The Protected Forest Approach in Nepal

This paper introduces the Forest as a new conservation approach in Nepal. Historically there were two dominant forest management approaches in Nepal: protected areas and community-based forestry. These site-based management approaches were able to contribute to protect- ing endangered wildlife species, enhancing greenery, and improving livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. However, these approaches were not suitable when applied to increasing populations of wide-ranging mobile species because, outside of protected areas, conservation activities are in their infancy. To enhance the mobility of wildlife and conserve biodiversity, the Government of Nepal de- clared particular forest patches as Protected Forests to link the existing protected areas creating their network to manage the flora and fauna, while acknowledging the reliance of local communities on the forest resources. In order to create and maintain a balance between conservation and human needs for forest resources, a zoning-based Protected Forests management plan was devised, assigning specific forest patches for specific purposes. Since local community forest user groups were enjoying full benefits from their community forests, in the initial phase of the implementation of protected forest management, local communities may have to compromise on their consumption of forest products as some sections of the area are assigned for absolute protection. In the short run, they are compensated by support provided for income-generating activities; and, in the long run, they can enjoy more benefits through ecotourism. Hence, the protected forest approach creates a win-win situation for both wildlife and local communities.

How Good is the Governance Status in Community Forestry? A Case Study from Midhills in Nepal

Five representative community forest user groups (CFUGs) from Gorkha district in Nepal were studied in order to evaluate the status of good governance in community forestry (CF). Eight criteria and their local indicators were employed to quantify the governance status in CF using simple mathematical procedures. Results show that overall governance level ranges from 70.7% to 79.8%. Among the eight criteria, “consensus-oriented” received the highest score (90.72%), and “accountability” acquired the lowest score (65.34%). Lack of accountability was the striking factor in all CFUGs. Crafting CFUGs and their executive committees more accountable and responsive to all CFUG users including poor, women, and disadvantaged groups, was one of the major challenges. However, the practice of regular auditing of CFUG funds, maintenance of records and other documents, and inclusion of women and poor in the executive committee were some striking opportunities. Because of the inequitable distribution system of forest products, the gap between the rich and poor users is widening and the involvement of poor and marginalized members in CFUG activities has been decreasing.

Climate Change Effects on Community Forests: Finding Through User’s Lens and Local Knowledge

About 35 % of the population of Nepal (1.45 M households) has been engaged in community forestry, depending on the activity for their livelihoods and community development. Climate change is threatening community forestry, for which impacts are likely to be greater than many other sectors, but little scientific information is available. Hence, local knowledge—as drawn on in this paper—is expected to beneficial for conservation planning and climate change adaptation strategies. The analysis is based on a focus group discussion and a survey of 31 members of Thotne Khola Community Forest User Group in Kaski, Nepal. Locally identified climate change effects on community forests and related causes include: coppiced Schima wallichii and Castanopsis indica is dying due to higher summer temperatures, increased pest infestations due to higher summer temperatures and delayed rainfall; more wilted trees due to higher summer temperatures; and more droughts and extended summers. A highly effected tree is Myrica esculenta, the fruit of which are ripening 10–15 days earlier due to higher temperatures in early winter, and have become less palatable and have accumulated more water due to more rainfall in early Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April). Climate change effects identified using local knowledge are aligned with related scientific observations available in published literature. It is concluded that drawing on local knowledge should be accepted as a legitimate approach for climate change adaptation strategies and forestry-related policy in the developing world, where science-based information availability is often lacking.

REDD+ and community forestry: implications for local communities and forest management- a case study from Nepal

SUMMARY The REDD+ policy proposes to deliver multiple outcomes including emissions reduction, livelihood support and sustainable forest management, and thus appears largely compatible with Community Forestry (CF). However, the addition of a new value (carbon sequestration) to traditional values of CF (local livelihoods and ecological resilience) may have implications for communities and CF management approaches at local level. Based on primary data collected from three Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) in Nepal, this paper explores local effects of REDD+ in pilot sites, where the program has been implemented since 2009. Data from in-depth interviews, focus groups and household survey indicates that REDD+ has generated both positive and negative outcomes. CF condition, CFUGs activities and network, and sources of CFUGs income appeared to be improved, whereas autonomy of CFUGs as independent decision making institutions and customary access rights to forests are both limited, and external political agendas are seen to be replacing the needs and interests of forest users.

Contribution of Farm Tree to Household Economy of a Community Forest User Group in Chitwan, Nepal

The study was carried out to assess the contribution of farm tree on the household economy of the users of Kankali Community Forest in Chitwan, Nepal. Household survey, focus group discussion and key informant survey were used to get primary information. Stratified random sampling was used to select sample households on the basis of wealth class. A total of 200 households were taken for interview. People’s dependence on fuel wood was found high. Rich people had more trees on their farm land as compared to medium and poor people. Farm trees were mostly used for fodder purpose and less for timber, fuel wood and fruits. Contribution of non-farm sources (salary, business, remittance, wage, etc.) to household economy was high (86.6%) followed by farm source (agriculture/livestock) (9.5%), forest (2.5%) and farm trees (1.3%). Percentage contribution of non-farm, agriculture/livestock and farm tree sources was more for rich households as compared to medium and poor households. Forest resource was a greater source of income for medium households than other two categories. Rich class households prefer to collect more timber, fuel wood and fodder from forest, medium households prefer to collect more grass, sand, mud and wild vegetables while poor people collect more poles, wild fruits and bamboo/rattan as compared to other classes of households. The perception of the people was found positive towards having farm tree and its importance to household economy though the percentage share of farm tree income for household economy was least.

REDD+ and forest tenure security: concerns in Nepal’s community forestry

As one of the dominant large-scale mechanisms proposed to combat climate change, biodiversity loss, and rural poverty, REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) has added further complexity to the challenging governance of rights and resources in global forests. As REDD+ is commodifying carbon, concerns emerge about how carbon ownership and its rights can be accommodated into the existing framework that governs local forest resource rights. The Nepalese government has formally entered into REDD+ policy preparations, but it lacks clear legal provisions regarding key forest tenure rights such as carbon ownership, benefit sharing, and the political participation of community forest user groups from national to local. As a result, Nepal’s policy process points toward performance-based carbon forestry in a way that may undermine and weaken existing community tenure rights and forest tenure security.This paper discusses Nepal’s potential impacts of new REDD+ and carbon ownership arrangements on forest tenure security and community-based forest governance. In a threefold methodological approach, the paper presents three scenarios for a REDD+-oriented tenure reform within the existing framework and assesses their concerns through in-depth qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, representatives, and advocates of Nepal’s community forestry system, complemented by a review of government documents and academic literature of REDD+ lessons so far. The analysis identifies critical concerns for forest tenure security, state-community power relationships, and effective local institutions of the commons, and suggests that Nepal’s REDD+ process is taking place at a particularly consequential time for structural changes of the forest governance framework.

Climate Change and Community Forestry in Nepal: Local People’s Perception

Climate change is regarded as one of the most fundamental threats to sustainable livelihood and global development. There is growing a global concern in linking community-managed forests as potential climate change mitigation projects. This study was conducted to explore the local people’s perception on climate change and the role of community forestry (CF) to combat climate change impacts. Two active community forest user groups (CFUGs) from Kaski and Syangja Districts in Nepal were selected as study sites, and various participatory tools were applied to collect primary data. Although most of the respondents were unaware about the words “Climate Change” in study sites, they were quite familiar with the irregularities in rainfall season and other weather extremities. 60% of the respondents had the idea that, due to increase in precipitation, there is a frequent occurrence of erosion, floods and landslide. Around 85% of the people agreed that community forests help in stabilizing soil, reducing the natural hazards like erosion, landslide. Biogas as an alternative source of cooking energy, and changes in crops and their varieties are the common adaptation measures that local people start practicing in both CFUGs in Nepal.

Enhancing REDD+ Outcomes through Improved Governance of Community Forest Groups

Since forests are both source and sink of carbon, scholars have suggested reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including conservation and sustainable management of forest and enhancement of forest carbon stock (REDD+) to be part of climate negotiation. Studies have shown that forests can play a role in reducing emissions in a cheaper, quicker and effective way, while generating important co-benefits, including biodiversity conservation and watershed management. However, governance that shapes relations between different stakeholders at grassroots level has been shown to be a crucial issue in managing local forests in a way that sequester more carbon from, and emit less of it to, the atmosphere. The authors of this paper argue that the lessons gained at community forest user group (CFUG) level regarding forest governance could be useful in designing a REDD+ governance structure at grassroots level. For this, both positive lessons and challenges faced so far could be documented, analyzed, synthesized and shared at broader level. REDD+, being an external intervention to local communities, can bring a range of challenges that influence the governance dynamics. However, if the programme is managed carefully, CFUGs are capacitated adequately and governed collaboratively, REDD+ may bring synergistic outcomes with existing community forestry at grassroots level, particularly by bringing both environmental and livelihood benefits.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jfl.v11i2.8618 Journal of Forestry and Livelihood Vol.11(2) 2013 14-26

Contestation and Citizen-Led Negotiation Around the Establishment of Protected Areas in Nepal Himalaya

This paper examines and uncovers the politics and debate emanating from and embedded in the contestations and negotiations around the establishment of protected areas (PAs) in Nepal. We take an example of one of the newly declared PAs – Gaurishankar Conservation Area (GCA)—and traverse through the politics and debate over its establishment. This paper is based on the ethnographic encounters and accounts of everyday dynamics, popular discourse and deliberations since the government’s declaration of GCA in central Nepal. It is driven by a political ecology approach to analyse state – community contestation around nature conservation. We argue that vigorous social campaign at different levels primarily led by Federation of Community Forest User Groups Nepal (FECOFUN) has been able to bring the state and powerful conservation actors on the negotiation table by contesting the hegemony of conservation and rhetoric of community based conservation. The contours of FECOFUN’s campaign around GCA suggest how the nature of contestation and conflict has evolved from a mere resistance and protests towards critical engagement and negotiation with the state conservation actors leading to a democratic governance of GCA. We suggest that concurrent adoption of constant struggle and critical engagement can produce negotiated arrangement of PA governance. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jfl.v10i1.8600 Journal of Forestry and Livelihood Vol.10(1) 2012 42-57

Maoist People’s War and Community Adaptation: A Case of Community Forest User Groups Nepal

The ten year long armed conflict between the state and the Maoists in Nepal had tremendous impact on all sectors and communities in the rural area. However, based on the study of three Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) of Eastern Nepal, it is argued that CFUGs were less vulnerable than other rural institutions. The paper further discusses how CFUGs adapted their coping strategies and functioned more effectively than other village level institutions during the conflict period. It was observed that due to adjustments of the Maoists agendas for CFUGs planning, such as issues surrounding poverty reduction, social inclusion and caste/ethnic/gender-based discrimination, the Maoists did not adversely affect the CFUGs. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jfl.v9i1.8594 Journal of Forestry and Livelihood Vol.9(1) 2010 57-61

Generating Income from Nepal’s Community Forestry: Does Timber Matter?

This paper argues that timber is the most valuable product of community forests and forms the largest share of the income for community forest user groups (CFUGs). This paper assesses the sources of CFUGs’ income in general and income through timber sale, in particular. Drawing information from one hundred CFUGs in three mid-hill districts of Nepal, shows that the contribution from timber is significantly higher compared to other sources such as non- timber forest products, membership fee, penalty, and renting meeting hall. Moreover, the CFUGs with timber sale collect a lesser amount of membership fee, which is one of the major incentives for the members. The research findings emphasize the need to put timber in CFUGs’ key forest management priority.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jfl.v9i1.8588 Journal of Forestry and Livelihood Vol.9(1) 2010 16-20

Corpo-bureaucratizing Community Forest: Commercialization and Increased Financial Transaction in Community Forestry User Groups in Nepal

Based on the analysis of financial transactions and decision making procedures in Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) in Nepal, this paper argues that community forestry is adapting techno-bureaucratic and corporate culture, replacing indigenous ways of community governance and by placing market elements into existing hierarchies and power asymmetries of local communities. It also argues that the trend of commercialization in community forestry has increased not because of the rational economic decisions made not on the basis of increased demands and surplus supply but because of a combination of economic and non-economic factors that create conditions necessary for commercialization as the next possible step in community-managed resources. In doing so this paper attempts to understand the dynamics, mechanisms and extent of CFUGs’ financial transactions through conceptualizing links of community forestry with extra-local economic forces, and also provides alternative ways of managing community resources for increased pro-poor outcomes. This study is based on in-depth analyses of national and district databases of CFUG funds, and ethnographic studies of 8 selected CFUGs from different parts of the country.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jfl.v9i1.8587 Journal of Forestry and Livelihood Vol.9(1) 2010 1-15

Fiscal policy and its implication for community forestry in Nepal

SUMMARY This paper reviews the existing forest policies in Nepal mainly focussing on the fiscal policy of Community Forestry (CF), and discusses some of the existing and potential issues on the implication of fiscal policy. The review shows that Nepalese CF has some unclear and inconsistent legal provisions related to fiscal policy. The semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with individuals from governmental and non-governmental organizations, Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) from Parbat, Baglung and Dolakha districts of Nepal, and forest product traders from these districts demonstrate that there are a number of issues and challenges related to fiscal policy that have affected the promotion of sustainable and market-oriented management of forest resources. These issues and challenges have a direct impact on CFUGs to optimally benefit from their forest resources. As several stakeholders (including non-governmental organizations) are involved in implementation of CF program and yet do ...

Good Governance Assessment in Nepal's Community Forestry

Forest governance has received considerable attention in recent years because good governance in community forestry is deemed to be one way of harnessing its potentiality to contribute to poverty reduction. This study aims to examine forest governance by assessing whether the executive committees of Nepal's Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) are inclusive in terms of gender, caste, and wealth class. The study relies on primary data from 84 CFUGs in five different districts of Nepal, where structured questionnaires were used for collecting information. The findings suggest that the executive committees are more or less inclusive of gender and wealth class, and the project-supported CFUGs tend to have more executive members that are either female, or poor. Inclusive committees in a CFUG may not reflect good governance, as there is a chance that marginalized groups will be exploited in the name of inclusion. Therefore, there is a need to build capacity of marginalized groups before asking them to represent in the executive committees of CFUGs.

Who benefits from taxation of forest products in Nepal's community forests?

This paper is concerned with who benefits from taxation of forest products in Nepal's community forests. The objectives of the study are two-fold; to document who benefits from community forestry user groups' (CFUG) financing of investments in public services and infrastructure and pro-poor initiatives and to explore whether biases against certain groups in investments coincide with biases in their participation in decision-making. The paper is based upon data on taxation income and revenue expenditures of 45 community-forest user groups (CFUG) and on data from 1111 CFUG member households on socio-economic status and participation in and perceptions of CFUG management. The results indicate an overall bias against poor and Dalit households in terms of access to CFUG funded public infrastructure. This overall picture conceals important variation; including that poor CFUG members have a higher likelihood of obtaining CFUG financed pro-poor loans than more well-off groups. However, members of the CFUG executive committees have an even higher likelihood of obtaining loans. Results also show that most CFUG members are knowledgeable about CFUG finances, but that they generally express dissatisfaction with the level of transparency about CFUG finances and decision-making processes. Further, poor and Dalit households are generally less knowledgeable on and participate less in CFUG management than other groups, and are less well represented on the CFUG executive committees. Thus, overall, the distribution of benefits from taxation of forest products in community forestry remains unequal, and the disadvantaged groups are poorly placed to claim a larger share of the benefits. Accordingly, the evidence presented in the paper exemplifies how participatory policies are framed by existing inequalities and social hierarchies, but also how such policies may modify these structures through affirmative strategies, such as the policy on pro-poor activities of CFUGs.

Economic impact of community forestry in Nepal: A case of mid-hill districts of Nepal

The main objective of this study is to find the economic impact of community forestry. Specifically the study aims to indentify the elements of cost and benefits of community forestry and estimate the monetary value of costs and benefits. This study is basically based on secondary information including unpublished documents of Nepal Swiss Community Forestry Project (NSCFP). Due to the lack of refined data on the benefits and costs, first elements of costs and benefits were identified and estimation of monetary benefits and costs has been estimated with certain assumptions.The study found that annual cost for the management of community forestry is about NRs. 119 thousand for each community forest user’s group in the studied three districts. Of the total costs, about 64% is borne by the forest user’s group households mostly in the form of labour. The donor contributed about 16% and the Government of Nepal contributed about 13 % of the total costs.Similarly the annual monetary benefits (only direct) per Community Forest User Group (CFUG) per year is NRs. 710 thousand. This indicates that the benefits are about 7 times greater than the costs even without considering the indirect benefits. Of the total about 80% benefit comes from the forest products, about 11% from time saving and about 7% from employment generation due to better management of community forestry. It is also found that CFUGs are able to mobilize about NRs. 38 million and utililizing part of it for the development of community in different ways.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ejdi.v13i0.7212 Economic Journal of Development Issues Vol.13 & 14 2011, pp.75-96

Assessment of Carbon Balance in Community Forests in Dolakha, Nepal

This study assessed the net above-ground carbon stock in six community forests in the Dolakha district, Nepal. A survey was conducted of above-ground timber species, using random sampling. A tree-ring chronology for Pinus roxburghii was created to construct a growth model representative of the various mainly-pine species. The allometric model combined with tree ring analysis was used to estimate carbon stock and annual growth in the above-ground tree biomass. The out-take of forest biomass for construction material and fuelwood was estimated on the basis of interviews and official records of community forest user groups. The average annual carbon increment of the community forests was 2.19 ton/ha, and the average annual carbon out-take of timber and fuelwood was 0.25 ton/ha. The net average carbon balance of 1.94 ton/ha was equivalent to 117.44 tons of carbon per community forest annually. All the community forests were actively managed leading to a sustainable forest institution, which acts as a carbon sink. It is concluded that community forests have the potential to reduce emissions by avoiding deforestation and forest degradation, enhance forest carbon sink and improve livelihoods for local communities.

Assessment and prioritization of community soil and water conservation measures for adaptation to climatic stresses in Makawanpur district of Nepal

Climate change is the global concern of our sustainable development whose impact is of great concern to humanity. In Nepal, we are already starting to become aware of recent changes and developing the mechanism to adapt. A study was carried out in Bramha Thakur Community Forest User Group of Makawanpur district with an objective of assessing and prioritizing adaptation options by local community using soil and water conservation measures on climate change. Primary data were collected from direct observation, focus group discussion, key informant interview, preference ranking and transect walk. Meteorological data on temperature and rainfall of 30 years was collected from government sources and climatic trend was analyzed. Prioritization of adaptation options was done using Index of Usefulness of Practices to Adaptation (IUPA) tool developed by Debels et al. (2010). Monthly maximum value of daily maximum temperature and minimum temperature has increased by 0.0461°C and 0.12°C respectively. Numbers of warm days are increasing. Annual precipitation has increased steadily whereas maximum five days and monthly precipitation trend is increasing at high rate, alarming to hazards induced by climate change. Local people were found very resourceful in using various adaptation practices to deal with impacts of climate change. IUPA scoring provided important rankings on the adaptation options. Conservation pond was highly prioritized for drought management. To adapt with flood, engineering structures with or without vegetation were highly used as adaptation option. Bamboo plantation was highly preferred by local community to reduce the impacts of landslide and to prevent its occurrence. Bioengineering structures are highly recommended for long term stability in flooded and landslide affected areas. Further studies on adaptation options and their prioritization in more areas are recommended for comprehensive database and generalization. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jowe.v6i0.6997 J Wet Eco 2012 (6): 44-51

Community Forestry in Nepal:A Scenario of Exclusiveness and its Implications

Nepal's community forestry program was specifically adopted to address local livelihoods and abate envi- ronmental degradation with due consideration of local-specific conservation and development requirements. Although the program has improved forest condition and livelihoods in many cases, it has several limitations and shortcomings particularly in the context of inclusive forest governance. This paper examines the roles and responsibilities of poor, disadvantaged women, Dalits and socially excluded groups in the community forestry process and the way how they are excluded at the time of benefit-sharing and in decision-making. The study is based on three years (2008-2011) long action and learning research in 58 community forest users groups from three eco-zone of Nepal. The study revealed that more attention needs to be paid in making forest user groups more equitable, inclusive and pro-poor in practice. The poor, Dalits, and socially excluded groups are often deprived from their basic rights on accessing of common pool resources, and are often excluded in decision-making system. The notable challenges related to the community forestry in the studied districts include elite domination, inability to provide significant contribution to livelihoods, persistence of social disparity, and low information flow to the poor and marginalized groups.