Forestry In Nepal Research Articles

Biodiversity conservation: Officials' perceptions and discord with community forest management in Nepal

Two topics receiving much attention in design of forest policy and management in Nepal are conservation of biodiversity and participation of forest-local people. Government officials, forest users and development workers are all involved in shaping policy for the management of forest for biodiversity and other values. It is therefore crucial to understand the different viewpoints about biodiversity among these stakeholders. This paper is derived from a broad case study on the views of various stakeholders in community forestry in Nepal, but is focused on understanding the views of policy-level government officials in regards to biodiversity conservation. Using a grounded theory approach, qualitative data were collected on two field visits in 2002–2003 to the study area. The results of interviews with officials indicate diverse perspectives in interpreting biodiversity conservation. These include perceptions of forest users' understanding about diversity, and strong beliefs about definition of biodiversity and about dependence of users on forest for their livelihood. Implications of the results include an obvious need for better understanding by staff at various levels of government and other agencies involved in community forestry, of the different concepts and views held about biodiversity conservation. A broader understanding among officials of biodiversity and deeper knowledge of other's views on biodiversity conservation could help in designing and implementing policies and programs in the context of community forest management. Key words: views, perceptions, understanding, community, forestry, users, government officials, policy, qualitative method

Poverty, property rights and collective action: understanding the distributive aspects of common property resource management

This study examines, in a developing-country context, the contribution of community forestry to household income with particular emphasis on group heterogeneity and equity in benefit distribution. The economic analysis of household-level benefits reveals that poorer households are currently benefiting less in absolute terms from community forestry than less poor households. In terms of the contribution of forests to total household income, the study results suggest that the poor are actually less dependent on forests than the rich, a finding that is somewhat contradictory to results from other similar studies. The average ‘poor’ household obtains Nepalese rupees (Nrs) 7,756 gross income from community forest annually, while the more ‘rich’ households obtain on average Nrs 24,466 per year. In terms of the contribution of forests to net household income, the study results seem to suggest an inverted U-shaped relationship – as income increases dependency on forest resources may decline. Econometric analysis suggests that income from the community forests is related to socio-economic attributes and private endowments of households. Households with land and livestock assets and upper caste households gain more from the commons, while better-educated households depend less on forest resources. Female-headed households benefit less from community forests, further aggravating the inequity in distribution of benefits. The study makes a number of recommendations to improve community forestry in Nepal.

Concepts and perceptions of biodiversity in community forestry, Nepal

International and national development programs in Nepal place high priority on management of forests for biodiversity. Communities are expected to embrace and cooperate in this endeavour for biodiversity conservation, yet little research has been carried out to understand community viewpoints on biodiversity conservation, or even to ascertain people’s understanding of the concept of biodiversity. This paper explores perceptions and concepts related to biodiversity and its conservation held by people involved in community forestry in Nepal. Data were obtained from in-depth individual interviews and focus group discussions carried out in two contrasting geographical districts. The results show that the Western term ‘biodiversity’, translated into Nepalese as jaiwik bibidhata, is new and confusing to most forest people, who interpret the term in a variety of ways. People’s perceptions of biodiversity vary widely and a considerable gap exists between policy-makers and forest users in the understanding and interpretation of this Nepalese term and its related concepts. These findings have important implications for the design and implementation of development programs and in formulation of forest policy in Nepal.

Efficiency of timber production in community and private forestry in Nepal

This study compares the management performance of timber production among three management systems in Nepal: private forestry, community forestry with collective management, and community forestry with centralized management. While collective management relies entirely on community labor for the whole management, centralized management uses community labor for the protection of forests and hired labor for silvicultural operations, for example weeding, pruning, and thinning. We found that collective community management is less costly for the protection of planted trees but allocates less labor for the management of trees than private management. We also found that centralized management of natural forests leads to higher revenue and profit than collective management. These findings support the hypothesis that, while collective management is more efficient than private management for the protection of trees due to effective mutual supervision, profit-seeking private management or centralized management is more efficient than collective management for silvicultural operations due to superior work incentives. This study, however, failed to compare efficiency of private and centralized management.

DO THE MARGINALISED CLASS REALLY PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY FORESTRY? A CASE STUDY FROM WESTERN TERAI REGION OF NEPAL

ABSTRACT Community Forestry (CF) is a successful programme in the hilly region of Nepal, but it is relatively new to the Terai region. It has a dual mandate of promoting forest management and conservation as well as promoting equitable access to resources, especially for the poorest of the poor. Though CF is able to meet its first mandate there are many difficulties for meeting the second. This study was done to assess the extent of participation of the marginalized people in decision-making, labour ing and benefit sharing in community forestry. It was conducted in four Community Forestry User Groups (CFUGs) of the western Terai region of Nepal. Results indicated that the level of participation of lower castes and females in decision making was low and less than for the middle and upper castes and males. These results are discussed in relation to theories of participation and their implications for the overall success of community forestry in Nepal are stressed.

Retrospective and Prospective View of Community Forestry in Nepal

Community forestry in Nepal has gone through significant changes since its inception in the late 1970s. On one hand, impressive gains have been made in terms of developing and applying methodologies suitable for conditions in the Middle Hills. On the other hand, major challenges remain in terms of achieving equitable outcomes and in having community forests become significant engines for community development in forest-rich communities. The current political instability also requires a questioning of the appropriateness of the implementation modalities developed during more stable political times.

Contested Impact of Community Forestry on Equity: Some Evidences from Nepal

Despite large scale expansion of community forestry in Nepal, there is no clear and consistent contributions to the livelihoods, especially of the poor. While there are some studies presenting evidences to show this limited positive impact of community forestry, there is still limited understanding as regards why the poor have not been able to reap the benefits as expected. This paper discusses six key factors affecting the ways by which benefits from community forestry are generated and distributed, based onthe findings of a recently conducted participatory action research with four forest user groups in the western hills of Nepal.

Devolution in the Context of Poor Governance: Some Learning from Community Forestry in Nepal

Despite continued emphasis on devolving forest management authorities and responsibilities to local communities in many countries, in practice genuine devolution of authority and power over the forest has occurred only to a limited extent. Taking evidences from Nepal’s community forestry, this paper argues that the limited implementation of devolution policy is primarily because of the poor governance and weak institutions. Building on this conclusion, it draws some strategies to enhance effectiveness of the system of forest governance and institutional structure to facilitate better implementation of policy in forestry sector.

Editorial

The third Issue of Journal of Forest and Livelihood 2 (2) is now at your hand. You will find an interesting breadth and depth of current policy and institutional landscape in Nepal's forestry sector. The 10 articles of varying lengths link current realities with on-going theoretical and policy debates in the respective sectors. Key issues dealt with include: current forest policy discourse including devolution and micro-macro linkages (monitoring), multistakeholder initiatives in Terai forest management, leasehold forestry contribution to the livelihood of the poor, factors determining poor's access to benefits from community forestry, and a survey of policy-induced problems (forest inventory). In addition, short commentaries on FECOFUN as a civil society, and limitation of protected area model of conservation in times of crisis are also presented.

Nature–society and development: social, cultural and ecological change in Nepal

This paper presents a theoretical framework for analyzing human–environment issues that examines shifting, dialectical relationships between social and power relations, cultural beliefs and practices, and ecological processes to allow an interdisciplinary, complex assessment of social and environmental change in Nepal. The purpose of this analysis is to capture the complexity and non-static nature of environmental and social change in the context of uneven development. Drawing from political ecology and feminist geography, this framework brings together scholarship on aspects of human–environment issues that are often pursued in isolation, yet all three processes, social–political relations, cultural practices and ecological conditions, have been acknowledged as important in shaping the trajectory of social and ecological change. I argue that a consideration of the articulations between them is necessary to understand first, how specific land management regimes arise and are dominant over time in specific places. And second, I examine the extent to which these regimes distribute resources equitably within communities, promote economic development and sustain ecological resilience. In this analysis, ecological processes are conceptualised as co-productive of social and cultural processes to explore their role in land management regimes without resorting to environmental determinist or similarly reductive paradigms. I present this framework through the example of natural resource management, specifically community forestry in Nepal, as it offers a rich case study of the relationships between the political economy of land use and the ecological effects of natural resource extraction.

Twenty-four years of community forestry in Nepal

Twenty-four years of community forestry in Nepal

Capital Formation and Sustainable Community Forestry in Nepal

This article investigates the role of capital formation in contributing to the sustainability of community forestry in Nepal, using a case study approach based on 23 forest user groups (FUGs). FUGs were classified in 3 categories on the basis of cluster analysis: (1) successful, (2) moderately successful, and (3) unsuccessful clusters. The results show that the elements of capital accumulation in a successful FUG were manageable mature forest, high prices for forest products, a system of charging for all forest products, and sales of surplus forest products outside the FUG. The results also suggest that the benefits of funds, community development, and forest improvement changed people's vision and behavior, as well as their attitude toward and understanding of community forestry. This change in attitude has increased interest in and awareness of community forestry and has stimulated thinking about the sustainability of community forestry. Local initiative of this sort makes community forests more secure, protected, and wisely managed for sustainable development.

Impacts of community forestry on farming system sustainability in the Middle Hills of Nepal

AbstractRecent years have seen greater official recognition and support for community‐based natural resource management in hillside systems globally. In the Middle Hills of Nepal, this has led to adoption of Community Forestry with communities keen to conserve forest resources through greater control of access to forest resources. In this paper, we investigate the impacts of Community Forestry on agricultural sustainability using Participatory Learning and Action Research (PLAR) methods and soil and compost nutrient analyses to assess the nutrient balance for rainfed and irrigated fields. Studies demonstrate a yield dependence on annual nutrient inputs to fields, but a remaining positive balance of nutrient inputs. Concerns over soil degradation associated with increasing urea fertilizer dependence highlight the vital role played by organic compost inputs to the soils typified by very low organic carbon concentrations. The findings from two study villages show that Community Forestry has not yet had a major impact (either positive or negative) on farming systems and therefore the majority of rural livelihoods. However, opportunities are recognized that would increase the quantity and quality of compost supply, and consequently crop yields. Increases in natural capital (subcanopy plants) and the increased social capital (provided by Forest User Groups) offer the means through which potential increases to compost materials can be obtained and through which knowledge of the potentials of, and techniques for, improving compost supply could be disseminated. It is such strategies, which go beyond the traditional focus on forests, that will enable Community Forestry in Nepal (which already has many achievements) to realize its full potential in maintaining and improving the livelihoods of the hill farming communities it is intended to assist. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Contested Role of Heterogeneity in Collective Action: Some Evidence from Community Forestry in Nepal

The role of heterogeneity in affecting the likelihood of collective action is strongly debated in the theoretical literature. We present evidence from a study of 18 forest user groups in Nepal. Heterogeneity is not a strong predictor of the level of collective activity. Rather, heterogeneity is a challenge that can be overcome by good institutional design when the interests of those controlling collective-choice mechanisms are benefited by investing time and effort to craft better rules.

Environmental issues in Nepal and solving them using the cleaner production approach

Owing to rapid industrialisation, environmental problems in sectors such as water, air, waste, energy and forestry in Nepal are reaching a crisis point. Although the Nepalese government has been trying to solve these problems by various means, the main emphasis has been on end-of-pipe solutions. This paper investigates why Nepal needs to implement Cleaner Production concepts as a matter of urgency and provides several recommendations to the government as well as sectors such as waste, industry, energy and pesticide regarding the implementation of such concepts.

Using Photomaps to Support Participatory Processes of Community Forestry in the Middle Hills of Nepal

Making information and decision-making processes accessible to disadvantaged and nonliterate people is a challenge for community forestry in Nepal. In studies jointly conducted by the Nepal–UK Community Forestry Project (NUKCFP) and His Majesty's Government (HMG) of Nepal Department of Forest, aerial photographs and participatory photomapping (tracing maps over aerial photographs) were evaluated with a view to supporting participatory processes of community forestry in Parbat District of the Middle Hill Region. Results indicate that, regardless of educational status, most people accurately interpreted forest condition and profiles of community use from photographs. Photographs were appreciated because they presented authentic information, allowed consistency of interpretation between groups, and made it possible to calibrate perceptions of resources. District Forest Officers and Community Forestry Officers valued aerial photographs as robust instruments that naturally directed discussions toward community and resource issues. Results of a pilot study of the use of aerial images for surveys indicated that orthorectified aerial images may substantially reduce time spent by District Forest Office (DFO) staff in chain-and-compass surveys of community forests. Surveys based on aerial images encourage the participation of users, and boundaries drawn over survey photomaps are represented in the context of important reference information contained in the photographic image. The development of a service for low-cost printing of high-resolution and geographically correct photomaps is described.

Forest conservation and environmental management in Nepal: a review.

This paper provides information on the status of forests and environmental problems related to forestry in Nepal. It aims to integrate the conservation and sustainable management of forests as a part of environmental planning. A critical review of the main environmental problems with prioritization within the forestry sector; thorough review of all forest related documents, strategies, development plans, programs, institutional arrangements, policies mentioned in the Master Plan for Forestry Sector Nepal of 1988, and other relevant documents; identification of major gaps and constraints of forestry policy and plans and current practices of forest conservation and management have been done. The decline in forestry resources in Nepal took place in the past due to lack of appropriate policy to guide the legal, institutional and operational development for the forestry sector. Forestry policy in Nepal, in the past, was shaped by political and economic motives rather than ecological considerations. Policy formulation mechanisms exist in Nepal; however, there is an excessive delay in translating policies into legislation and then into operational rules and administrative orders. There is a need to implement the international obligations by transforming them into regulations in order to make them legally binding. The data to be generated in the coming years in the areas of forestry at both national and international levels suggest that we should revise the research priorities and strategies. Research to add value to the forest resource products has yet been neglected. More attention is required on regular monitoring and evaluation of the projects. A thorough evaluation of the programs and planning for the forestry sector in Nepal is urgently required to update the progress and revise the programs.

Women and community forestry in Nepal: Expectations and realities

Community forestry programs in Nepal, based on the erroneous assumption that farming families are the major cause of deforestation, ignore other critical causes. Recent emphasis on the inclusion of women in these programs, based on the recognition of women's subsistence activities and understanding of nature, minimizes fundamental constraints embedded in Nepalese society. A review of community forestry programs funded by international agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) indicates increasing participation of both women and men at the community level. Exaggerated expectations of the potential of community forestry in solving Nepal's ecological crisis could undermine the fragile gains of Nepali women.

Knowers, Knowing, Known: Feminist Theory and Claims of Truth

paper. 1 For general arguments against an excessive philosophical preoccupation with epistemology, see Jacques Derrida, Dissemination (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981); John Gunnell, Between Philosophy and Politics (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1986); Mark Krupnick, ed., Displacement (Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 1983); Paul Kress, "Against Epistemology," Journal of Politics 41, no. 2 (May 1979): 526-42. For specific arguments against foundationalism, see Richard Rorty, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1979); Richard Bernstein, Beyond Objectivism and Relativism (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983); Don Herzog, Without Foundations: Justification in Political Theory (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1985). It is worth noting the irony that even those most intent on repudiating epistemology on the grounds that traditional epistemological concerns involve claims altogether beyond the possibilities for human knowledge are themselves advancing epistemological claims.

Effects of forest certification towards sustainable community forestry in Nepal

In early 2005, 10,045 ha Community Forests (CFs) were certified in Bajhang and Dolakha districts of Nepal by using the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme. After two years of forest certification, subsequent questions are being asked such as: What benefits have certification brought for the Forest Users Groups (FUGs)? What tangible differences are there in forest management system because of forest certification? and What lessons have been learnt from the certified forests? In an attempt to answer these questions, a study was carried out in April 2007 in Dolakha district where 11 (2,182 ha) community managed forests were certified in 2005. On the basis of field study from two certified forests (Vitteripakha and Suspa) of the district, this paper analyzes the effects of forest certification and its implications for enhancing Sustainable Community Forestry (SCF) in Nepal. 
 
 Key words: Sustainable forest management, forest certification, community forestry 
 
 Banko Janakari: A journal of forestry information for Nepal Vol.17(1) 2007 pp.11-16