Forest Management In Nepal Research Articles

Review of community forestry monitoring systems in 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.

Variation of financial benefits from provisioning ecosystem services between nearby and distant users in Partnership Forest Management in Nepal

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.

Influence of Rural Out-Migration on Household Participation in Community Forest Management? Evidence from the Middle Hills of Nepal

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.

Exploring the relevance of community forest operational plan: users’ perspective and implementation status

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.

Unravelling the Local Dynamics of Increasing Fires in Community Forests of Mid-hills of Nepal

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.

Diversity and Distribution of Forest Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Nepal: Implications for Sustainable Forest 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.

SOIL CONSERVATION PRACTICES IN FOREST OF NEPAL

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

Foresters rely on taper models to estimate total and merchantable volume for commercial species. While there is an abundance of literature in taper modeling for many softwood and hardwood species, little is known of teak tree stem form. Taper modeling is in early stage for the forestry sector in Nepal. Currently, no publicly available taper equations exist for teak trees in Nepal. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to develop a taper equation for valuable teak trees of lowland Nepal. Destructive sampling was carried out in teak plantations in the Sagarnath Forestry Development Project. Five common taper equations (simple, segmented, and variable exponent types) from the literature as well as one dynamic taper equation were considered as candidate models. Our results showed that the nonlinear dynamic taper equation performed best in terms of fit and cross-validation statistics with least error and bias. This new taper model can be considered as a step forward for hardwood forest management in Nepal. It is expected that this equation will assist forest managers to predict stem volume and diameters to any merchantable limit for teak growing in similar site conditions.

Determining the costs and benefits of Scientific Forest Management in Nepal

Scientific Forest Management (ScFM) is gaining scholarly and policy attention in Nepal. This interest validates the need for evidence on the costs and benefits for users in scientifically-managed community forests. This paper analyzes the costs incurred and the benefits that accrue to users under ScFM. Data was generated through a survey of 200 household representatives in the Nawalparasi Bardaghat-Susta East District of Nepal. This was complemented by two focus group discussions with forestry officials and forest users, and document reviews. Multiple linear regression analyses and student t-tests were used for data analyses. The results indicate a decrease in the costs incurred by users after the implementation of ScFM, and a threefold increase in the derived benefits. Overall, forest products account for 80% of the benefits derived by users under ScFM, with high class users contributing more than middle and low class ones. While this study provides useful insights on users' costs and benefits under ScFM, it underscores the need for further studies to analyze changes in users' costs, in the face of potential changes in their roles.

Community Based Forest Management in Nepal: Current Status, Successes and Challenges

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.

Forest regrowth reduces richness and abundance of invasive alien plant species in community managed Shorea robusta forests of central Nepal

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

Political Ecology of the Implementation of Scientific Forest Management in Nepal

History of Forest Management in Nepal: An Analysis of Political and Economic Perspective

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.

UTILIZATION OF FOREST BY WOLASI SUB-DISRICT COMMUNITY, SOUTH SULAWESI

This study aims to determine the utilization of forests conducted by communities in forest area of Wolasi sub-district. This research was conducted in Wolasi forest sub-district of Southeast Sulawesi Province. The research methods used were survey and interview with 86 and 87 respondents with purposive sampling by plotting two different villages characteristics to represent forest utilization form in different area (villages in lowland landforms) and Aoma village (village has the shape of hilly terrain). The result of this study examining the forests utilization of inhabitants in Wolasi sub-district, which is represented by two topographic characteristics. Reseacher selected two similar conditions that engage the forest as a source of daily needs and workface that is considered as a resource, producing timber and non-timber products. Ranowila inhabitants occupations are dominated with farmers, while in Leleka village, despite being farmers, some inhabitants are craftsmen of non-timber forest products such as bamboo and rattan as well as furniture entrepreneur. This fact is influenced by residential areas that close to the forest and can be observed through the neighbourhood area which is close to the temporary forest area in Leleka Village. Temporary forest is located in an area which always extends land, since the topography circumstance encourages numerous people prefer to live closely towards their managed land. The forest is beneficial both in the term of land utilization or forest products,due to the distance there is limited knowledge,as well as limited work, it enhances low expenditure obtained.
 Keywords: Utilization, Forest, Community in District Wolasi
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Contribution of integrated forest-farm system on household food security in the mid-hills of Nepal: assessment with EnLiFT model

ABSTRACTAbout half of the households in the mid-hills of Nepal are severely food insecure, and the development of agriculture and forestry sectors could hold keys to reduce food insecurity and achieve other sustainable development goals. This paper presents results from a bio-economic model, Enhancing Livelihood from Improved Forest Management in Nepal (EnLiFT), that estimates a Food Security Index (FSI) across six household types in rural Nepal simulating selected agroforestry livelihood interventions. The FSI is calculated as the ratio between household expenditure capacity and household poverty threshold based on the national per capita poverty threshold. Market-oriented timber production shows strong potential to increase food security across all household types with greater benefits accruing to land-rich households. For land-poor households, remittances from household members working abroad remains the strongest route to their food security despite the underutilisation of agricultural land due to adult male labour outmigration. A drawback of market-oriented timber production is the long-term nature of timber production. As EnLiFT assumes that timber can only be harvested from Year 9, complimentary livelihood strategies are required to address food insecurity in the short term. Complimentary agroforestry interventions with the strongest potential to improve food security include combined high-yielding fodder production and commercial goat production, and production of non-timber forest products. Commercial vegetable production does not improve food security because of the high input costs. Currently, farmers in Nepal cannot yet fully obtain the financial benefits of agroforestry due to the complex and unsupportive forestry regulations surrounding harvesting and marketing of planted trees. While land-poor households are seen to rely on foreign remittances for food security, it is argued that policies encouraging use of remittances to promote agroforestry businesses is needed.

Reductions in deforestation and poverty from decentralized forest management in Nepal

Since the 1980’s, decentralized forest management has been promoted as a way to enhance sustainable forest use and reduce rural poverty. Rural communities manage increasing amounts of the world’s forests, yet rigorous evidence using large-N data on whether community-based forest management (CFM) can jointly reduce both deforestation and poverty remains scarce. We estimate the impacts of CFM using a large longitudinal dataset that integrates national census-based poverty measures with high-resolution forest cover change data, and near-complete information on Nepal’s >18,000 community forests. We compare changes in forest cover and poverty from 2000–2012 for subdistricts with or without CFM arrangements, but that are otherwise similar in terms of socioeconomic and biophysical baseline measures. Our results indicate that CFM has, on average, contributed to significant net reductions in both poverty and deforestation across Nepal, and that CFM increases the likelihood of win–win outcomes. We also find that the estimated reduced deforestation impacts of community forests are lower where baseline poverty levels are high, and greater where community forests are larger and have existed longer. These results indicate that greater benefits may result from longer-term investments and larger areas committed to CFM, but that community forests established in poorer areas may require additional support to minimize tradeoffs between socioeconomic and environmental outcomes. Rural communities manage much of the world’s forests, but the effects on both landscapes and people are still unclear. This study estimates the impacts of such community-based forest management in Nepal from 2000–2012 and finds significant net reductions in both deforestation and poverty.

Silviculture for forest management in Nepal

Forests and trees have social, ecological and economic importance to humankind. It is high time to manage worlds’ forests sustainably to ensure supply of forest based goods and services and reduce the adverse impacts of climate change. This paper highlights the history and current status of forest management, challenges and opportunities, various approaches adopted in forest management and recent initiatives in sustainable and scientific forest management (SFM) in Nepal. About one-third of the total 6.61 million ha (45%) of Nepal’s forest has been handed over to over 30,000 forest user groups. Various failed attempts in forest management in the past were mainly due to lack of institutional capacity, political back-up, conflict, etc. “Forestry for Prosperity” - a new vision announced at the 10th National Conservation Day in 2012, re-introduced the concept of sustainable and scientific forest management and launched this in ten districts with designated program and budget in the same year. Accordingly, forest blocks are identified, inventoried, management plans drawn and implemented. Over 69, 000 ha forests in 11 districts are under silviculture management to date. Thus managed forests show profuse regeneration, improved supply of forest products, increased revenue, improved forest health and enhanced capacity of forestry professionals. Yet, lack of political and professional commitment, inadequate human and financial resources, and weak institutional and professional competency are specific challenges to SFM in Nepal. Creating enabling environment, institutional reorganization, enhancing forest management capacity, improved forestry governance, reducing non-forestry workload of government forestry staff, and preparation and use of standard silvicultural operational guidelines have been suggested to upscale SFM in Nepal. Banko JanakariA Journal of Forestry Information for Nepal Special Issue No. 4, 2018, Page : 15-20

Applications of single-tree selection guideline following a DBq approach on Nepal’s community forests

There is growing interest by forest users, government forest officers and policy makers on maximising forest goods and livelihood provisions from community forestry in a sustainable manner. However, the way several mature community forests are currently managed based on selection, e.g. negative thinning and crown thinning, is questionable as it results to decline in forest stock, timber quality and regeneration. To assist forest users in managing their community forests, an action research was implemented in Kavre and Lamjung to manage planted Pine (Pinus spp.) and naturally regenerated Sal (Shorea robusta) through selection system. This paper describes the q-factor and its relevance for sustainable community forest management in Nepal. The simple guideline for selection system introduced to 30 community forest users groups in six sites are presented for wider adoption and policy recommendation.Banko JanakariA Journal of Forestry Information for NepalSpecial Issue No. 4, 2018, Page: 104-112

Towards active utilisation of community forestry: Silvo-institutional model for sustainable forest management in Nepal

This paper explains what we term the ‘silvo-institutional model’ for a more productive, sustainable and equitable management of community forests in Nepal. The paper draws on four years of action research in six research sites of Kavre and Lamjung districts, complemented by the review of silviculture-based forest management by Government of Nepal in various parts of the country. The findings indicate that first, early silviculture-based forest management initiatives have failed because they did not adequately consider the policy and institutional dimensions. Second, current initiatives, while looked promising for the active utilisation of community forests, have faced with complex regulatory and institutional barriers. We argue that a new ‘silvoinstitutional model’, which combines technological and institutional dimensions, has a potential to increase the prospect of successful implementation of silviculture-based forest management.Banko JanakariA Journal of Forestry Information for NepalSpecial Issue No. 4, 2018, Page: 120-129

Silviculture for sustainable forest management in Nepal

Not available.BANKO JANAKARIA Journal of Forestry Information for Nepal Special Issue on SilvicultureSpecial Issue No. 4, 2018, page: 1-5