Community forestry is widely acknowledged as a fundamental aspect of sustainable forest management in Nepal; however, comprehensive evaluation of its sustainability at the local level are still limited. The current study assessed the sustainability of Rani Community Forest in Makawanpur District through a Criteria and Indicators (C&I) framework that included socio-economic and ecological aspects. Four criteria and 30 indicators were used, addressing enabling conditions for forest management, socio-economic and cultural aspects, forest health and vitality, along with forest management and conservation practices. Data were collected through forest inventory, household surveys (n = 81), focus group discussions, and analysis of operational plan. Sustainability indexes were calculated for specific criteria and combined into Overall Sustainability Index (OSI). The findings revealed a moderate level of socio-economic sustainability (SESI = 0.77) and a strong level of ecological sustainability (ESI = 0.82), leading to overall sustainability index of 0.80. Good regeneration condition and growing stock, efficient protective actions, and timely operational plan updates led to enhanced ecological outcomes. However, limited backstopping, and inadequate livelihood diversification beyond timber sales continue to hinder socio-economic sustainability. The findings suggest that although Rani Community Forest is ecologically self-sufficient, enhancing institutional capacity, diversifying livelihoods, and ensuring financial transparency is essential for achieving long-term sustainability. The results emphasize the effectiveness of C&I-based methods for evidence-driven assessment and adaptive management of community forests in Nepal.

ABSTRACTCanopy structure plays a critical role in regulating forest regeneration and soil nutrient dynamics, yet its specific effects remain insufficiently understood in the subtropical forests of Nepal. This study investigates the impact of canopy openness on forest regeneration and soil nutrients in six Shorea robusta‐dominated mixed community forests within the Chure region of Makawanpur District, Nepal. A total of 90 sample plots for regeneration assessment and 45 soil samples were systematically distributed across three canopy classes—dense (70%–100%), moderate (40%–70%), and open (10%–40%) to evaluate seedling and sapling density, species diversity, and key soil nutrients (N, P, K, SOM, and SOC). The results revealed a distinct trade‐off between regeneration density and species diversity. Seedling density was significantly higher in open canopies, following a clear gradient (open > moderate > dense, p < 0.001), whereas sapling density showed no significant difference among canopy classes. In contrast, biodiversity indices (Shannon–Wiener, Simpson's, and equitability) were consistently highest in dense canopies for both seedlings and saplings. Canopy openness also had a strong influence on soil fertility: soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC), and total nitrogen (N) were all significantly higher in open canopies, supported by positive Spearman correlations (e.g., SOM, ρ = 0.51). Phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) levels were unaffected. These findings highlight a trade‐off between regeneration density and diversity, emphasizing the importance of balanced canopy management to sustain both species diversity and soil fertility. The study provides valuable ecological insights for optimizing canopy interventions and promoting sustainable forest management in Nepal's community forests.

Nepal’s community forestry (CF) program, a globally recognized model of participatory forest management, relies on voluntary local leaders to guide forest management and governance decisions. Sustaining voluntary leadership has become increasingly challenging because of outmigration, declining forest dependence, and growing urban influence on rural livelihoods. In this study, we explore the values and motivations of existing leaders of community forest user groups (CFUGs), which underpin the leadership characteristics in sustaining these local institutions. We surveyed 144 leaders of 49 CFUGs in Nepal’s mid-hills and used their responses as indicators of leadership values, derived from the “Motivation to Lead” and related theoretical frameworks. Using exploratory factor analysis and a multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model, we identify three motivation factors and examine their associations with leaders’ individual and CF characteristics. The results suggest that, out of the 16 indicators, eight explain core values and motives clustered into three latent motivation factors, indicating three axes of leadership motivation in Nepal’s CF program: environmental stewardship, altruism, and power and influence. Leaders were likely to be motivated by either environmental stewardship or altruism. However, leaders motivated by either altruism or environmental stewardship were also motivated by the power and influence. Furthermore, individual leadership characteristics such as leadership position and duration, and CF characteristics such as forest type, support from non-governmental organizations, fire incidences, and leadership experience in local governments, are associated with leadership motivation factors. These findings inform understanding of voluntary leadership drivers in CFUGs, for strengthening and sustaining community-based forest management in Nepal. • We developed a survey to capture CF leaders’ values through response statements. • Factor analysis and a MIMIC model identified three core leadership motivations. • Eight indicators revealed three motivation factors: Stewardship, altruism, power and influence. • Leaders valued either stewardship or altruism, often tied with power and influence. • Leadership role, experience, forest type, NGO aid, and fire events associated with motivations.

The community forestry program of Nepal is one of the leading forest management approaches in the world. Despite several success stories, this program has been criticized for its passiveness or protection-oriented management approach. Though several recommendations from previous researchers have been made to shift the management approach towards active forest management, few studies have been conducted to identify the measurable indicators of it. Therefore, this study aimed to identify measurable indicators of degree of active community forest management using the renowned Delphi survey techniques. The survey consulted ten experts with a minimum of twenty years of direct experience in community forestry projects, either in implementation, research, or policy development, were participated to identify themes, indicators, and verifiers of active community forest management. The study revealed seven themes, thirty indicators, and ninety verifiers for considering the community forest to be managed actively. These seven themes include objectives and management practices, forest health and ecosystem, participation and governance, policy and legal framework, institutional capacity, forest goods and services, and climate change. Among these themes, clarifying management objectives was found to be the major step, followed by the production of forest goods and services. The findings of this study offer a robust framework for assessing the activeness of community forest management and assessing the performance of community forest user groups to identify areas for improvement. Similarly, policymakers and practitioners can utilize these indicators to develop effective monitoring tools and design capacity-building initiatives that directly address key elements of active community forest management for improved outcomes. Further, research exploring the framework's strengths and weaknesses through empirical validation in different settings and under changing socio-economic, policy, and environmental conditions is recommended.

Forest cover mapping plays a critical role in environmental monitoring, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable land-use planning, especially in ecologically diverse regions like Nepal. This study evaluates the performance of ten supervised machine learning classifiers for forest cover extraction in the Kailali District using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. The classifiers assessed include Random Forest, Support Vector Classifier, Logistic Regression, Linear Discriminant Analysis, K-Nearest Neighbors, Decision Tree, Gaussian Naïve Bayes, AdaBoost, Quadratic Discriminant Analysis, and Gaussian Process Classifier. Feature engineering involved the derivation of 17 vegetation and water indices alongside key spectral bands, followed by correlation analysis to optimize input variables. Ground truth data were collected through field surveys and high-resolution imagery to ensure accurate model training and validation. Classifier performance was evaluated using k-fold cross-validation and standard metrics, including accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. Among the models, Random Forest and Gaussian Process achieved the highest classification accuracies of 91.37% and 91.31%, respectively. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of machine learning techniques in forest cover classification and provides valuable insights for enhancing remote sensing-based monitoring frameworks in support of sustainable forest management in Nepal.

Sustainable forest management (SFM) plays a critical role in maintaining ecological balance, supporting livelihoods, and mitigating climate change. This study was conducted to explore the management practices and user perspectives regarding sustainable forest management in Nepal, focusing on community forestry and government-led initiatives. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected through surveys, interviews, focus group discussions and field observations. A total of 180 user’s opinion were collected in 9 selected forest user groups from four district of Nepal (i.e. Ilam, Jhapa, Sarlahi, and Makawanpur). The study revealed that major forest management practices applied by community users’ are thinning, pruning, and improvement felling. Majority of the users (70.56%) were unsure about the forest management practices prescribed in the Operational plans (OPs). Accordingly, most users (92.78%) were agreed with the opinions that they need to be trained about forest management practices and its implementation. Majority of the users (92.00%) also agreed that participatory forest management modalities like Community Forest (CF), Collaborative Forest Management (CFM) and Leasehold Forest (LHF) area protecting biodiversity and reducing environmental risks. However, people believe that arbitrary policy changes was the main challenges for proper implementation of sustainable forest management practices. Therefore, strengthening capacity-building programs, enhancing government support, developing a consistent guideline, and promoting adaptive management practices are essential for improving sustainable forest resource management in Nepal.

Forest fire is one of the challenging issues of forest management in Nepal. Climate change has triggered forest fire occurrences in Nepal's hilly regions, increasing fire incidences and severity. This makes these regions more vulnerable to forest fires. The management of forest fires requires planning and effort from people to reduce its hazards effectively. This study aims to identify the forest fire risk zones across different forest types in Palpa district of western Nepal. We used different spatial variables related to land use and terrain to model the forest fire risk zones. Seven potential influential factors: land use land cover, slope, aspect, elevation, land surface temperature, distance to roads, and proximity to settlements were analyzed using a multi-parametric weighted index model to create a forest fire risk index and predict the overall forest fire risk map. The resulted fire risk map was classified into five risk zones: very low, low, medium, high, and very high, covering 3.11%, 12.55%, 12.88%, 45.07%, and 26.39% of the study area respectively. The prepared map was evaluated using field-level fire occurrence points and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) fire points. The fire occurrence points were overlaid on forest-type maps to assess fire occurrence across different forest types. The accuracy assessment result shows that the model effectively identified the forest fire risk zones as most of the fire locations fell within these predicted regions. By forest type, Pine Forest was found to be the most vulnerable to fire followed by Sal Forest. The findings of this study enhance the understanding of forest fire risk zones, which is helpful to community members, planners, policymakers, and government agencies in preparing effective forest fire management strategies for this vulnerable district of Nepal.

A study was conducted to review the monitoring systems of various stakeholders involved in local level forest management in Nepal. The purpose of this review is to assess the current status of monitoring, identify and document lessons learnt, and explore gaps and opportunities for possible interventions.The study looked mainly at two aspects of existing monitoring systems and practices: a) self-monitoring practices of FUGs), and b) collaborative monitoring practices between FUGs and four different categories of stakeholders - Government, donor field projects, I/NGOs and civil society. A review of concepts related to participatory monitoring is made based on the literature, and aconceptual framework has been proposed for the review of monitoring practices in the context of community forestry in Nepal. Key elements used in the analysis include a) meanings and perceptions of monitoring, b) purpose, c) focus and scale, d) approach, processes and tools, e)contributions to adaptive management.

Partnership Forest Management (PFM) in Nepal was initiated to balance the supply of forest products between nearby and distant users' communities in the Terai region of Nepal. This study in Buddha Shanti Partnership forest analyzed the financial benefits of provisioning services and identified the socio-economic attributes influencing such benefits. A financial analysis of provisioning services was carried out using user prices outlined in the Operational Plan of the forest and on market-price-based approaches. This shows that timber provided more benefits to distant users, while nearby users have reaped more financial gains from fuelwood and fodder. Analysis revealed that home-to-forest distance, along with landholdings and livestock unit are the major factors impacting the overall financial benefits. This shows that the inclusion of distant users in PFM has provided financial benefits from provisioning services to those users.

Rural out-migration was a rare socio-economic phenomenon when community forestry began in the 1980s in Nepal. Now, out-migration significantly influences nearly every aspect of rural livelihoods in the country. However, it is unclear how out-migration affects community forestry governance, which is essential for sustainable rural development. Therefore, this paper addresses the following research question: Does rural out-migration affect forest users’ participation in community forestry decision-making and management practices? This paper draws on data collected from an extensive survey of 415 households from 15 community forest user groups in 2 Mid-Hill districts of Nepal. The research used ordered-logit regression to model the impacts of out-migration on participation in forest management and decision-making, while controlling for a number of other socio-economic factors. The model results show that total household size and number of internal migrants, together with multiple resource characteristics and institutional attributes, were major factors affecting participation in decision-making and forest management. However, the number of international migrants did not have a significant role in determining the levels of the participation. This study provides valuable insights for future community forestry policymaking that aims to address the effects of out-migration on community forest management in Nepal.

Community Forestry has long been considered an epitome of decentralized forest management in Nepal. The management of Community Forests are guided by their Operational Plans (OPs), the mandatory technical document. Their preparation demands substantial human and economic inputs. However, their extent of implementation and the significance of these plans to local user are topics of debate. In this context, this study analyzes users' perception about the OP and their implementation status. We took case study approach and conducted key informant interview (n=25), focus group discussion (n=16) and purposive household survey (n=246) in 15 Community Forest User Groups to compile required data. The perceptions were analyzed using qualitative methods. The results revealed that the users have poor understanding of their plans and considered the plan as technical legitimate documents. The implementation status of the plans was of sub-standard. Silvicultural operations prescribed in the operational plans were insufficiently carried out. We found that the users are adopting only the forest product harvest and utilization aspects of the plans. Provided the poor understanding of OPs among the users and quality of plan implementation, this study questions the relevance of current operational plans and emphasizes the need of reviewing the planning process so that their high-standard implementation can be assured.

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.

Simple SummaryThere is little information available about the species diversity and distribution patterns of Nepalese ants, as well as their importance in maintaining forest health. A survey of forest ants was conducted in Nepal to learn about their diversity, distribution, and role in forest management. Ants were collected using vegetation beating, sweeping, and hand collection methods in eastern, central, and western Nepal. Seventy ant species from thirty-six genera and six subfamilies were recorded in the study. The research also discovered five genera and nine species new for the country, as well as eight tramp species, four of which are major ecological, agricultural, and/or household pests. The study discovered that western Nepal and the Siwalik region have a relatively high ant diversity. Ant diversity was found to decrease with increasing elevation. The assessment of ant diversity using multiple sampling methods that cover all seasons and forest types may be useful in obtaining complete ant diversity data. Early intervention through sustainable forest management initiatives would aid in preventing invasive ant incursions in the forests of Nepal.The information available on the diversity of ant species and their distribution and interaction with forest health in Nepal remains limited. As part of a nationwide project on forest health, we conducted inventories to assess the diversity and distribution of forest ants and their role in forest management in Nepal. Ants were collected from 187 plots of 10 m × 10 m size along the north–south belt transects in eastern, central, and western Nepal. We used vegetation beating, sweeping, and hand collection methods in selected forest types. In each transect, we designed six plots in each major forest type (Sal, Schima–Castanopsis, and broadleaf mixed forests) and three plots each in deodar, Alnus, riverine, and Cryptomeria forests. We recorded 70 ant species from 36 genera and six subfamilies. This includes five genera and nine species new for the country, as well as eight tramp species, four of which are major ecological, agricultural, and/or household pests. Our study indicates that forest ant species richness is high in western Nepal and the Siwaliks, and it decreases as elevation increases. The high diversity of ant species in the forests of Nepal needs to be assessed with further exploration using multiple sampling methods covering all seasons and forest types. Ants can be useful indicators for ecosystem management and human impacts on forests. Reports of invasive ants in Nepalese forests indicate the relevance of urgent interventions through sustainable forest management initiatives to prevent future incursions.

Forests play a vital role in Nepalese rural communities, which rely on them for firewood, employment, additional meals, and good health to sustain and improve their lifestyles. It has contributed to the Nepalese farming system. Soil helps in regulating ecological processes like nutrient uptake, decomposition, and water availability in the forest. Nepal’s annual soil loss ranges from 2-105 t ha-1 with 34% water-induced erosion, 60% mass wasting (geological erosion), and 3 % by wind erosion. Forest soil requires various management and conservation practices to minimize the exploitation of forest lands. Hence, this article explains the ongoing soil conservation approaches like Afforestation, Agroforestry, and community forest management in Nepal. This article can also be the roadmap for the formulation of appropriate policies in soil conservation, and indirectly in maintaining sustainability in the ecology.

Developing taper equations for planted teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) trees of central lowland Nepal

Determining the costs and benefits of Scientific Forest Management in Nepal

Community based forest management in Nepal has been widely acclaimed as the most successful approach for participatory forest management and its governance. So far, about 2,831,707 hectares of forests of Nepal have been managed under the regime of community-based forest management. During four decades of its implementation, the program has undergone a considerable shift from state dominated top-down approach to community-based participatory approach to forest management through organizational and policy reform in Nepal. The success of community-based forest management approach is described in terms of improving the supply of forest products, generating green employment, improving rural livelihood, empowering women, poor and disadvantage groups, rehabilitating degraded land and habitat and also increasing biodiversity. Yet, community-based forest management approach continues to face some organizational and policy challenges during its implementation, and this cannot be overlooked. Social exclusion, inequitable benefit sharing, elite dominance in decision making are the major challenges that are to be resolved in the years to come. Furthermore, this paper intends to illustrate the lessons learnt and the current challenges in making the decentralized forest governance more successful in the changing context.

BackgroundNatural forests are generally considered to be less prone to biological invasions than other modified ecosystems, particularly when canopy cover is high. Few decades of management of degraded forests by local communities in Nepal has increased canopy cover and altered disturbance regimes. These changes might have reduced the abundance of invasive alien plant species (IAPS) in forests. To understand the status of IAPS in such forests, we studied two community managed Shorea robusta forests (Sundari and Dhusheri) of Nawalpur district in central Nepal. In these two forests, vegetation sampling was done using circular plots 10 m radius at forest edge, gaps, and within canopy. Variation of IAPS richness and cover across these microhabitats were compared, and their variation with tree canopy cover and basal area analyzed.ResultAltogether 14 IAPS were recorded in the study forests; among them Chromolaena odorata, Ageratum houstonianum, and Lantana camara had the highest frequency. Mikania micrantha was at the early stage of colonization in Sundari Community Forest (CF) but absent in Dhuseri CF. Both IAPS cover and richness was higher at forest edge and gap than in canopy plots and both these attributes declined with increasing canopy cover and tree basal area.ConclusionThe results indicate that increase in canopy cover and closure of forest gaps through participatory management of degraded forests can prevent plant invasions and suppress the growth of previously established IAPS in Shorea robusta forests of Nepal. This is the unacknowledged benefit of participatory forest management in Nepal.

Political Ecology of the Implementation of Scientific Forest Management in Nepal

Forest management, a kind of practical application, is technical, scientific and economic principle of forestry to maintain and management. The history of forest management in Nepal is closely associated with the political and economic history of the country. Any change in economic and political and economic situation also directly or indirectly changes the forest management practices of Nepal. The main objective of the study is to analyze the historical development of forest management of Nepal from political and economic perspective. It is a historical and descriptive nature of the study i.e. fully based on the secondary sources of data and information in order to have better understanding about the political and economic effects on forest management practices. The key political changes in the country have been divided into five different periods and thereby notably changes in forest management practices which is starting from the state control and exploitation of forests to people's participation, protection, and conservation, sustainable, and scientific forest management. People's participation in forest management has been widely accepted in legal as well as policy level.