Community Forests In Nepal Research Articles

Managing forest in community forest in Nepal

Abstract available on the PDFBanko Janakari Vol.11(2) 2001: 3-7

Beyond money: Does REDD+ payment enhance household's participation in forest governance and management in Nepal's community forests?

Incentives can enhance community participation in conservation programs, but our understanding of how an economic incentive influences the participation of households in forest management is limited. REDD+ (Reducing Emission for Deforestation and forest Degradation)—a climate change mitigation mechanism initiated by international communities—provides payments to developing countries for better conservation of their forests. The REDD+ pilot project was implemented in community forests of Nepal through which REDD+ payment was distributed to the households involved in forest conservation. We examine whether REDD+ payments enhance participation of households in forest conservation, benefit provision, policy making, community services and capacity building programs in community forests of Nepal. Our results show that socio-economic factors such as education, family size, agricultural land holdings, and biophysical factors such as distance from respondent's household to the affiliated community forest are more likely to determine the participation in community forest management rather than economic incentive provided by the REDD+ pilot project.

Community Forest and Forest Management in Nepal

This Paper provides brief introduction to the Forest and Community Forest in Nepal and context and status of community forest in Nepal. Community forests in Nepal are built on the experience of other countries around the world, especially its neighbors in South Asia. In order to understand the context and particular designs and objectives of Nepal’s community forestry program, key literature on community forestry is summarized. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of community forestry in Nepal from first protecting local forests and forest products for subsistence needs, to an increased role in income generation and meeting national development goals, including poverty alleviation.

Trade-offs and synergies between carbon, forest diversity and forest products in Nepal community forests

SUMMARYReducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, the sustainable management of forests and the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (‘REDD+’) aims to improve local livelihoods and conserve plant diversity while limiting carbon emissions. Yet trade-offs and synergies that exist between supporting livelihoods, protecting plant diversity and maintaining forest ecosystem services are poorly documented. We used forest inventory data and community-group records to assess trade-offs and synergies between carbon, plant diversity and forest products in 19 community forests managed under REDD+ in Nepal. Trade-offs were prevalent for carbon, whereby community forests with relatively high carbon values had relatively low values for plant diversity or forest products provision, and vice versa. Synergies occurred between plant diversity and forest products provision (fuelwood and fodder), suggesting that forests with relatively high plant diversity values were also important for providing critical forest products to local communities. This study shows that conserving forests for carbon should not impinge greatly on the flow of forest resources to at least some local communities; however, promoting carbon storage will not necessarily protect plant diversity. These findings should help guide future REDD+ policy for community forests.

Rapid Silviculture Appraisal to Characterise Stand and Determine Silviculture Priorities of Community Forests in Nepal

Community forestry in Nepal is an example of a successful participatory forest management program. Developments in community forestry in four decades have focused on the social and governance aspects with little focus on the technical management of forests. This paper presents a silviculture description of community forests and provides silviculture recommendations using a rapid silviculture appraisal (RSA) approach. The RSA, which is a participatory technique involving local communities in assessing forests and silviculture options, is a simple and cost-effective process to gather information and engage forest users in the preparation of operational plans that are relevant to their needs. The RSA conducted on selected community forests in Nepal’s Mid-hills region shows that forests are largely comprised of dominant crowns of one or two species. The majority of studied community forests have tree densities below 500 stems per hectare as a consequence of traditional forest management practices but the quality and quantity of the trees for producing forest products are low. Silviculture options preferred by forest users generally are those which are legally acceptable, doable with existing capacities of forest users and generate multiple forest products. For sustainable production of multiple forest products, the traditional forest management practices have to be integrated with silviculture-based forest management system.

Carbon Sequestration in Tropical and Subtropical Plant Species in Collaborative and Community Forests of Nepal

Different plant species have different capacity of carbon sequestration but it is not assessed yet in Nepal. Therefore, this study was done to assess the species-wise carbon sequestration in two periods in forests. Three collaborative and three community forests were selected for the study. The selected forests were surveyed using GPS and mapped and stratified into tree, pole, and regeneration. Specifically 32, 33, and 31 samples were collected from Banke-Maraha, Tuteshwarnath, and Gadhanta-Bardibash collaborative forests, respectively, while 30, 25, and 22 samples were collected from Chureparwati, Buddha, and Chyandanda community forests correspondingly. The sample plots were of 25 m×20 m for tree strata. The diameter and height of plants were measured and samples were collected for three consecutive years. The estimated carbon stock ofShorea robustawas the highest 35.93 t ha−1in 2011 which was slightly decreased to 34.43 t ha−1in 2012 and reached 32.02 t ha−1in 2013 in Banke-Maraha collaborative forest but it was the least 7.97, 8.92, and 10.29 t ha−1in 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively, in Chyandanda community forest. The highest carbon sequestration was recorded about 5.02 t ha−1ofShorea robustain Chyandanda community forest in between t2013and t2012.

Twenty-Eight New Records of Lichenized Fungi from Nepal: A Signature of Undiscovered Biodiversity in Central Himalaya

Twenty-eight new records of lichenized fungi have been reported from the community forest of Dadeldhura situated in Mahakali zone of far west Nepal. The species diversity is distributed in 13 families (Acarosporaceae, Arthoniaceae, Caliciaceae, Chrysothrichaceae, Cladoniaceae, Collemataceae, Graphidaceae, Lecanoraceae, Parmeliaceae, Physciaceae, Pyrenulaceae, Ramalinaceae, Verrucariaceae), showing 4 growth forms (squamulose, crustose, foliose and dimorphic) reported from three (soil, bark and rocks) substrata. A brief annotated morpho-taxonomic description of all the 28 species along with their ecology and distribution is given. Photomicrographs of all the described species are provided for visual validation. Taxonomic, growth form and substratum diversity of all 28 described species is discussed. A supplementary conspectus table is provided, giving overview of the phorophyte diversity of corticolous species along with the taxonomy and growth form diversity of described lichen species. The findings have been discussed in light of less explored region in central Himalaya and importance of community forests in Nepal for diversity studies.

Incentives and Community Participation in the Governance of Community Forests in Nepal

Increased participation of local users in decision-making about forests and gaining benefits from these forests are major goals of the community forestry program in Nepal. However, there is a lack of real participation in community forest governance amongst users, particularly by poor and marginalised members. By employing a mixed-method approach, this research explores the issue of participation in the governance of community forests, and in particular the role of incentives in increasing participation. A partial least square approach is undertaken to link the participation indicators to the various incentives. Access to benefits, enforcement of legal property rights and social cohesion through building of local institutions are identified as the key influential incentives that determine the effective participation of users in community forest governance. Other incentive—including income supplements, community infrastructure development or payment for environment services—are insufficient to counter the opportunity cost of participation, and hence have a weak but still significant influence on users’ decisions to participate. Power inequality due to socio-cultural norms, together with poor economic capabilities and weak bargaining power, could undermine the meaningful participation of poor and disadvantaged groups in the governance of community forests, unless the community forestry institutions are strengthened in order to be able to deal with the issues of inequitable access and restricted opportunities at the local level.

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in free-ranging Red Panda Ailurus fulgens Cuvier, 1825 (Mammalia: Carnivora: Ailuridae) in Nepal

The Red Panda Ailurus fulgens is a small carnivore that is adapted to a mainly herbivorous diet. The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of parasitic infections in a free-ranging population of Red Pandas in a community forest in Nepal. A total of 23 faecal samples were collected and examined. Protozoa infections were the most common and cestode infections occurred the least. Our findings suggest that parasites might be a significant problem for the health of the Red Pandas in the study area. Molecular methods should be used to further investigate the taxonomic position of the parasites and their role in threatening the resilience of Red Panda populations in Nepal.

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in free-ranging Red Panda Ailurus fulgens Cuvier, 1825 (Mammalia: Carnivora: Ailuridae) in Nepal

The Red Panda Ailurus fulgens is a small carnivore that is adapted to a mainly herbivorous diet. The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of parasitic infections in a free-ranging population of Red Pandas in a community forest in Nepal. A total of 23 faecal samples were collected and examined. Protozoa infections were the most common and cestode infections occurred the least. Our findings suggest that parasites might be a significant problem for the health of the Red Pandas in the study area. Molecular methods should be used to further investigate the taxonomic position of the parasites and their role in threatening the resilience of Red Panda populations in Nepal.

Exploring participation in ecological monitoring in Nepal's community forests

SUMMARYMembers of the public and resource-dependent communities are increasingly participating alongside professional scientists to monitor the natural world. This study applies the contention from development studies that participatory approaches may be tyrannical to participatory monitoring of Nepal's community forests. There is a tyranny of the group because elites within the community stand to benefit at the cost of those already marginalized. In theory, tyranny is produced through the methods employed in the projects, as they promote scientific systems of monitoring at the expense of local understandings of environmental change; in practice, however, the latter aspects override official monitoring to enable effective learning from the projects. In some instances, tyranny is produced through decision-making and control, whilst, in other cases, the reverse is true and communities are empowered through their participatory monitoring efforts. Policy makers and those involved in participatory monitoring should endeavour to transform tyranny created at local and wider scales. Participatory monitoring holds huge potential in the assessment of biodiversity, natural resources and ecosystem services, but programmes and projects need to effectively deliver associated benefits of conservation and community empowerment.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of a Community Forest in Nepal

Community forestry is an approach for mitigating deforestation and forest degradation by managing the forest resources for benefitting neighboring communities. Monetary benefits and costs are associated in a community forest during conservation and management of a forest. For sustainable forest management, the benefit should be more than cost which is a contesting issue of research. So, this study was conducted in a community forest of the central part of Nepal with the help of 80 household surveys and a focus group discussion. The firsthand information collected at the site is complimented by forest product harvest and cost-related secondary information. It was observed that the total annual harvest of timber was 60 cubic feet, pole was 8 cubic feet, firewood was 1,110 Bhari,1 fodder was 4,388 Bhari, and leaf litter was 590 Bhari. To manage a forest, people were involved in fencing, thinning, and meetings. Management cost was six times higher than administration cost. The benefit from firewood and fodder was more due to the dependency of people in a forest for enhancing their livelihood. The higher value of benefit cost ratio indicates that the Community Forest User Group benefited from community forest management.

The Social Nature of Participatory Ecological Monitoring

Participatory ecological monitoring brings together conservationists and members of the public to collect data about changes in nature. This article scrutinizes the “social nature” of such monitoring, considering not only its impacts for nature, but also society, and importantly the ways in which these interact. Drawing on the field of nature–society studies we present a framework with which to explore case studies from the community forests of Nepal. We document the importance of multiple knowledges of nature, including what is referred to as “local monitoring” and its relation to the scientific procedures promoted in participatory monitoring; the consequences of participatory monitoring as a situated and embodied practice, such that it may (re)produce social inequalities; and the place of monitoring within the wider socioecological regime, with regard to possible unintended consequences for both nature and society. This article thus expands our understanding of the complexities of this increasingly popular approach to conservation.

An assessment of the impacts of the REDD+ pilot project on community forests user groups (CFUGs) and their community forests in Nepal

REDD+ has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, meet climate stabilisation targets and protect biological diversity. Consequently, millions of dollars are being channelled into developing countries rich in forests, for pilot projects that will provide data for the design of REDD+ projects that are based on incentives and performance. This paper evaluates the impacts of REDD+ pilot projects on community forests and associated user groups (CFUGs) in Nepal. A field study targeted eight CFUGs that participated in a REDD+ pilot project funded by the Forest Carbon Trust Fund in Nepal. The pilot project increased the participation of Dalit, Indigenous people, women and the poor, and was able to provide some social safeguards. However, when all the additional costs and foregone benefits of the project are considered, REDD+ is not an attractive market-based option for Nepalese CFUGs. A better approach would be a bilateral or multilateral approach that is not market based, but provides incentives beyond environmental and social safeguards. The results of this study will be useful in designing REDD+ policies and programmes for community forest-based REDD+ stakeholders in developing countries.

Does Adaptive Collaborative Forest Governance Affect Poverty? Participatory Action Research in Nepal's Community Forests

Despite recognition of forests’ roles in rural livelihoods, there has been relatively little empirical exploration of community forestry's contribution to poverty alleviation. Similarly, there has been little study of the interaction of social learning-based approaches to forest governance with poverty alleviation. This article draws on 6 years of research on community forestry in Nepal to explore whether, and how, adaptive collaborative forest governance influences the financial and forest assets of women and the poor. The study includes impacts on income generation, access to micro-credit, and employment. The findings indicate that the financial and forest assets of both women and the poor—and especially poor women—increased as a result of adaptive collaborative forest governance. They also suggest a strong role for social learning in poverty alleviation. The article concludes by considering whether poverty alleviation might usefully be reconceptualized as a power-related transformation process.

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.

Engaging women and the poor: adaptive collaborative governance of community forests in Nepal

Forests are a significant component of integrated agriculture-based livelihood systems, such as those found in many parts of Asia. Women and the poor are often relatively dependent on, and vulnerable to changes in, forests and forest access. And yet, these same actors are frequently marginalized within local forest governance. This article draws on multi-year, multi-case research in Nepal that sought to investigate and address this marginalization. Specifically, the article analyzes the influence of adaptive collaborative governance on the engagement of women and the poor in community forestry decision making. A description of adjustments to governance processes and arrangements is followed by the consequent changes in engagement observed, in terms of: efforts made by female and poor members to be involved, express views and exercise rights; leadership roles played by female and poor members; and the extent to which the user groups’ priorities and actions reflect the marginalized members’ interests and needs. The main finding is that the engagement of women and the poor increased across sites with the shift from the status quo to adaptive collaborative governance, although not without challenges. The article explores interconnected factors underlying the changes, then considers these through the lens of the “three-gap analysis of effective participation.” This leads to specific insights concerning the conceptualization and strengthening of engagement in community forestry including the central roles of power and learning.

Analysis of rocks, soils and vegetation characteristics of Kankali (Chitwan) and Tibrikot (Kaski) community forests of Nepal

Available with fulltext.

Biodiversity conservation in community forests of Nepal: Rhetoric and reality

Community forests management in Nepal has been exemplified as one of the most successful programs for participatory resource management. The success of community forestry is described in terms of restoring degraded land and habitats, conserving biodiversity, increasing supply of forest products, empowering women and disadvantaged groups, generating rural incomes, and developing human resources. However, the contribution of existing community forest management practices to biodiversity conservation in the form of enhancing species diversity and ecosystem functioning is questionable. We reviewed the role of community forest management practices to biodiversity conservation based on published materials and our own observations. Practices such as seedling plantation; controlling wildlife hunting, forest fire and grazing; regulating forest encroachment; protecting soil erosion prone area and water resource area assist biodiversity conservation, paradoxically other practices such as species selection; removal of unwanted species during silvicultural activities; leaf litter collection; elite dominance in decision making; and traditional knowledge depletion have detrimental impact on biological diversity and ecosystem function of community managed forest.

Constituting forest communities in the hills of Nepal

Community forests in Nepal are organized by government foresters, who enroll local forest resource users into Community Forest User Groups (CFUG). These identified users become the 'community' in community forestry. Because these users are defined by their relationship to forest resources, they appear to escape some of the problems associated with myths about community. However, government officials and foreign donors frequently 'black-box' CFUG communities, ascribing them a false homogeneity. In fact, the government's user group formation process reflects and exacerbates existing divisions within communities, leading to user group domination by local elites. The resulting power disparities have apparently mixed effects, limiting the potential for poverty alleviation but allowing, perhaps even enabling, forest conservation.