Explaining success on the commons: Community forest governance in the Indian Himalaya

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

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Paper and Community Forest Governance in the Peruvian Amazon

Anthropology News ◽

10.1111/an.384 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 58 (2) ◽

pp. e270-e275

Author(s):

Ioulia Chuvileva

Keyword(s):

Forest Governance ◽

Peruvian Amazon ◽

Community Forest

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REDD+ and Community Forestry in Nepal: Strengthening or Paralysing Decentralised Governance?

Journal of Forest and Livelihood ◽

10.3126/jfl.v16i1.22881 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 35-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dil Khatri ◽

Gyanu Maskey ◽

Bikash Adhikari

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Policy Development ◽

Management Practices ◽

Community Forestry ◽

Ethnographic Study ◽

Forest Governance ◽

Community Forest Management ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Community Forest ◽

Forestry Policy

At a time when community forestry has become a prominent mode of forest governance in many developing countries, REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest degradation) has emerged as a new conservation policy to contribute to climate change mitigation by incentivising such countries to conserve forest. While the proponents of REDD+ claim that it can help to strengthen decentralised forest governance through an increased flow of resources of fund and knowledge, the critics evince that there are negative consequences of REDD+ implementation to the decentralisation process, local control, and access to forests. Drawing on the ongoing engagement of the authors in the national REDD+ policy process and an ethnographic study of the REDD+ initiatives in Nepal, this paper demonstrates that REDD+ might paralyze Nepal’s long-standing community forestry policy rather than strengthening it. Findings show the instrumental use of participation in REDD+ policy development and limited representation of local voices in the policy processes. The piloting project implemented on community forestry suggest that REDD+, if implemented at full scale, can put new demand(s) to the long-standing community forestry policy and practices resulting in threatening of local uses of forests by smallholders. The implementation of REDD+ is likely to reshape community forest management practices driven from the priority of generating revenue which in turn undermines the need to manage forests to meet diverse needs of the smallholders. This analysis indicates the need for paying greater attention to represent local voices in developing national policies and programs, and align REDD+ objectives to the core principles of community forest management, local access, and control of forests.

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The virtue of conflict: an institutional approach to the study of conflict in community forest governance

International Forestry Review ◽

10.1505/146554813805927219 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 122-135 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

F. Van Laerhoven ◽

K.P. Andersson

Keyword(s):

Forest Governance ◽

Community Forest ◽

Institutional Approach

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Collective action on forest governance: An institutional analysis of the Cambodian community forest system

Forest Policy and Economics ◽

10.1016/j.forpol.2017.06.008 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 83 ◽

pp. 70-79 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Joel Persson ◽

Martin Prowse

Keyword(s):

Collective Action ◽

Institutional Analysis ◽

Forest Governance ◽

Community Forest

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Does gender-based leadership affect good governance in community forest management ? A case study from Bhaktapur district

Banko Janakari ◽

10.3126/banko.v30i2.33479 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 59-70

Author(s):

S. Thapa ◽

R. Prasai ◽

R. Pahadi

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Community Forestry ◽

Good Governance ◽

Female Leadership ◽

Forest Governance ◽

Community Forest Management ◽

Community Forest ◽

Community Forests ◽

The Individual ◽

High Level

In spite of policy programs in place, good forest governance does not still persist in community forestry sector of Nepal. This study aims to understand how genderbased leadership affects good forest governance in the two community forest user groups, viz. the Bandeshwori CFUG and the Suryamod Perunge CFUG of Bhaktapur district, Nepal from gender perspective. Both the primary and secondary methods were employed for data collection. The collected data were screened, and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The study compares the individual elements (transparency, accountability and participation) of the governance with the overall governance scenarios between the two community forests. As per the findings of this study, the female leadership was found to be better in forest management by maintaining all aspects of governance as compared to the male. This was because of the higher participation of all the users, regular audit of income and expenditure, accountability of executive committee towards user group, high-level of transparency and predictability. The study concludes that decentralization of power to female, and their active participation in leadership position are needed for maintaining good governance and proper management of community forest.

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