Adaptive value of participatory biodiversity monitoring in community forestry

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNA LAWRENCE ◽  
KRISHNA PAUDEL ◽  
RICHARD BARNES ◽  
YAM MALLA
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Forest Monitoring ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Participatory Monitoring ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Forest Users ◽  
Direct Use ◽  
Local Value

In the context of action research in community forests, stakeholders' values for biodiversity can be elicited, communicated and understood with the help of a multidimensional conceptual framework. This incorporates levels of diversity (genes, species, habitats and processes), types of values (direct use, indirect use, option and existence) and stakeholders. This paper explores the effect of using this framework on forest monitoring, learning and communication, and wider implications for conservation, in Baglung District (Nepal). Monitoring was initially an unfamiliar concept to villagers, but the process clarified its purpose, whilst helping to elicit and exchange values and knowledge amongst stakeholders. This precipitated proposals for silvicultural experimentation and social inquiry into the diversity of users' needs. The framework allowed the translation of local value statements into categories recognized by other actors. It aided external stakeholders in understanding the factors contributing to values held by community forest users. Villagers' appreciation of ‘quality’ forest did not necessarily equate to the most ‘biodiverse’ forest, but rather the greenest and densest and that stocked with useful species. Elite domination, tenure and access to markets affected values assigned and behaviour in forest management. Elicitation of these values provoked questioning of forest management decisions and benefit sharing among community forest users. This, in turn, stimulated more democratic forest management and more inclusive, wide-ranging biodiversity values. Participatory monitoring is more conceptually challenging than is usually recognized, and the links between equity and conservation merit further attention in different cultural contexts.

scholarly journals Effects of forest certification towards sustainable community forestry in Nepal

1970 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pem N Kandel
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Forest Certification ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Forest Stewardship Council ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Sustainable Community ◽  
Forest Stewardship ◽  
Forest Users

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

scholarly journals Community forestry, Italian style: The Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme

1998 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter N. Duinker ◽  
Reino E. Pulkki
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Forest Stewardship Council ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Wood Processing ◽  
History Of ◽  
Forest Stewardship

In June 1997, we visited the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme (MCF), a community forest in the Alps of northern Italy. We have prepared this article to help broaden the perspectives of Forestry Chronicle readers on community forests and what they mean in various parts of the world. We first describe the area and its forests, and then give a brief history of the MCF. Then we review the forest-management strategies used in this Norway spruce forest, and summarize the logging and wood-processing activities of the enterprise. We continue with a comparison of this community forest with three community forests in Canada, concluding that generalization on what makes a community forest successful is dangerous — each situation is unique. Finally, given that the MCF recently won permission to use the eco-label of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), we discuss our perceptions of how the MCF operation does and does not meet the FSC's Principles and Criteria of Forest Stewardship. Despite several shortcomings, we believe that the MCF is in most respects a sound example of sustainable forest management.

scholarly journals Conflict management strategy adopted in community forestry of Nepal: a study of four community forests in midwestern region

1970 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-52
Author(s):  
GR Acharya ◽  
Y Yasmi
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
User Group ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
To Come ◽  
Conflict Strategy ◽  
Forest User

This study focuses on two types of conflicts in Community Forest User Group (CFUG): conflict between User Group Committee (UGC) and user, conflict among users. Users were found impaired from the UGC decisions and their pattern of benefit sharing. Conflict also existed among users. Major strategies adopted to manage conflict were found to be either avoiding or forcing; but avoiding is the most widely used strategy. Moreover compromising and accommodating were found less frequently compared to forcing and collaborating that were rarely used. This study challenges the common perception that community forestry of Nepal is successful in managing its conflict. The findings of this study do not support this claim because collaborating strategy has rarely been used in Community Forest (CF) conflict management. In contrast, this study shows that avoiding and forcing were more commonly used. The greater application of avoiding and forcing strategy in conflict management indicates that CF is still lagging in realizing the best possible option of collaborating. This finding also challenges the effectiveness of the existing conflict management mechanism in CF. This study also suggests collaborating strategy as a better option for managing conflict. On the other hand, this study also reveals that CF is not benefiting the poor of the community. Though, many scholars trumpet CF as a successful programme in Nepal, this study points out that CF has not yet been able to manage its conflicts in a more constructive way. The study also pinpoints short comings of existing conflict management strategies that could be addressed to improve its performance in the days to come. Key words: Benefit sharing, community forestry, conflict, strategy   doi: 10.3126/banko.v18i2.2172 Banko Janakari, Vol. 18, No. 2, 44-52

scholarly journals Community forests in Canada: An overview

1994 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 711-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter N. Duinker ◽  
Patrick W. Matakala ◽  
Florence Chege ◽  
Luc Bouthillier
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Forest Community ◽  
Social Forestry ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Community Values

A great deal of attention is being given in Canada at present to the idea of community forest. This is occurring at a time of unprecedented attention to forest management on one hand, and to community empowerment on the other. We conceive of a community forest as a tree-dominated ecosystem managed for multiple community values and benefits by the community.We review the literature and present examples of community forests in Europe and the United States. For Canada, we present an overview of community forest initiatives, policy developments, and research projects. For communities contemplating the concept of community forest, we present a series of considerations that need to be made early on: (a) landbase; (b) range of resources involved; (c) property rights and tenure options; (d) models of administration; (e) decision-making; (f) public participation; and (g) financing.The apparent growing interest in community forests in Canada has opened an exciting and challenging frontier for forest interests. We are convinced that Canada's future will be characterized by increases in people's demands for community forests, and by more experiments and trials to test a variety of manifestations of the concept. Learning from both successes and failures is vital. Key words: community, forest, community forest, community forestry, social forestry, Canada, forest management

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

2005 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-391
Author(s):  
Uma Acharya ◽  
R. John Petheram ◽  
Rowan Reid
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Forest Policy ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Community Forest Management ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Development Workers ◽  
Forest Users

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

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

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.

scholarly journals Attempts of Recentralization of Nepal’s Community Forestry

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 97-115
Author(s):  
Srijana Baral
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Technical Knowledge ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Major Step ◽  
Forest Management Planning ◽  
Bureaucratic Power ◽  
Community Forest User Groups ◽  
Forest Users

Nepal’s community forestry is regarded as a milestone in decentralized forest management, several researchers agree on the livelihoods and environmental outcomes from the community forest, however, the outcomes in governance perspective is rarely questioned. Through the review of the literature, policy documents and decrees, and questionnaire survey in nine community forest user groups in western hills of Nepal; we demonstrate how recentralization is taking place in community forestry in lieu of decentralized policies and discuss their implications on limiting the role of local forest users in forest management. Recentralization through the lens of inventory requirements has been observed in community forestry through (i) the formulation of strategies and policies favorable to increase the role of forest bureaucrats in community forestry (ii) changing the use of technical knowledge patterns and requirements and (iii) increased bureaucratic power. The increased technical knowledge in the form of inventory based forest management planning is found to be the major step in curtailing the devolved rights and increasing the bureaucratic power. Formulation of strategies, guidelines, circulars and policy intervention create a favorable environment for the bureaucrats to exercise more power compared to the autonomy provided by Forest Act 1993. The highly influential upward accountability in community forestry thus questions the modality of decentralized forest management in Nepalese community forestry.

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

2018 ◽  
pp. 104-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Cedamon ◽  
G. Paudel ◽  
M. Basyal ◽  
I. Nuberg ◽  
K. K. Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Community Forestry ◽  
Selection System ◽  
Community Forest Management ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Shorea Robusta ◽  
Single Tree Selection ◽  
Crown Thinning ◽  
Forest Users ◽  
Pinus Spp

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 

A comparative institutional analysis of two community forests managed under different governance structures in the dry zone area of Myanmar

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-104
Author(s):  
S.M. San ◽  
Y.O. Adam ◽  
J. Pretzsch
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Institutional Analysis ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Development Framework ◽  
Dry Zone ◽  
Institutional Analysis And Development

The study focuses on the importance of institutional factors for the different governance structures of community forestry in Myanmar. The village forest management (VFM) model and sub-village forest management (SVFM) model were characterised using the Institutional Analysis and Development framework of Ostrom (2011) and analysed for how the governance structures influenced the action situation (actors and actions related to management) and the outcomes. The VFM model, despite its bigger group size and smaller forest area, performed better than the SVFM model due to its well-established local institutional arrangements. The inclusion of all villagers in collective actions and equitable benefit sharing in the VFM model reduced conflicts and improved outcomes. In contrast, individual utilisation of community forest patches by only small number of user group members in the SVFM model, in combination with unclear social and physical boundary rules, reduced its sustainability. Further research relating to the governance models as well as other factors is recommended.

scholarly journals Scores for Effective Forest Conservation: A Village-to- Village Approach

1970 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
RK Pokharel ◽  
HO Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Conservation ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Criteria And Indicators ◽  
Forest Users

Community forestry in Nepal strives for forest conservation and sustainable forest management. Evaluating progress towards this end requires periodic measurements, and currently there are no standard tools for undertaking evaluations in a participatory way. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a standardized way for measuring effective forest conservation through the use of locally set scores. A village-to-village approach was used to assign scores on criteria and indicators developed earlier for forest conservation. A total of eight small meetings with forest users were conducted to elicit their perspectives and quantify their progress towards conservation by means of scores. For the 14 criteria specified, local forest users assigned higher scores to four criteria: two for social and one each for socio-economic and environmental spheres. This paper argues that a score of 59 or above is an effective cut off for determining "effective" forest conservation. Keywords: Community forest, criteria, forest management, indicator, village doi: 10.3126/banko.v19i1.2177 Banko Janakari, Vol. 19, No. 1, 11-15

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