Determinants of participation in community forest management in Nepal

1970 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-29
Author(s):  
Buddi Sagar Poudel ◽  
Maneesha Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Community Forest Management ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Socioeconomic Condition ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Forest User Groups ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Forest User

This article attempts to determine the effects of socio-economic factors in participation in community forest management. The empirical data for this study was collected from six forest user groups of Syangja, Kaski and Tanahun districts. The selection of study sites and households was done by preparing a stepwise sample design to identify firstly, the forest user groups and secondly, the household units. A logistic regression model is used to determine the effect of socio-economic characteristics upon participation, where participation is considered as a function of caste, gender, and wealth ranks. It suggests that the wealthier and higher caste individuals are involved in higher level of decision making as opposed to poorer and lower caste individuals who participated in lower levels. Higher caste and rich individuals have got most of the opportunities. This paper thus concludes that the access and control of poor women and disadvantaged individuals in decision making process is minimal. Key words: Participation; socioeconomic condition; community forestry; forest user group; decision making Banko Janakari Vol.16(2) 2006 pp.25-29

Bureaucratic recentralisation of Nepal's community forestry sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Basnyat ◽  
T. Treue ◽  
R.K. Pokharel
Keyword(s):  
Community Forestry ◽  
Community Forest Management ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Forest Policies ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Forest User Groups ◽  
Community Forest User Groups ◽  
Forest User

This paper explores the forest bureaucracy's practices of implementing community forest policies in Nepal and how this shapes the realities of community forestry for forest user groups. To this end, we conducted a content analysis of community forest management plans; surveyed 74 community forest user groups; conducted intensive field observation in six community forests and interacted with executive committee members and forest bureaucrats from two western hill districts. Our results show that forest user groups were hardly aware of their formal rights, including the obligations of forest bureaucrats to deliver free-of-charge services and technical support. Nobody holds forest bureaucrats accountable for failing to fulfil this part of their official duties. Rather, the forest bureaucrats have established different legal and extralegal processes and mechanisms through which they regain and maintain control over community forest resources. We call this 'bureaucratic recentralisation', and it allows forest bureaucrats to reap personal benefits, including unofficial revenues for delivering statutorily no-cost services.

scholarly journals Pro-poor Institutions: Creating Exclusive Rights to the Poor Groups in Community Forest Management

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sushma Bhattarai ◽  
Prakash Kumar Jha ◽  
Niraj Chapagain
Keyword(s):  
Community Forestry ◽  
Community Forest Management ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Degraded Land ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
The Poor ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Community Forest User Groups ◽  
Forest User

In spite of the widely accepted success of Community Forestry in reviving degraded land, it is still seen as being unable to provide tangible benefits to the poor. This paper illustrates that through continuous sharing, deliberation and negotiation among the poor and non?poor members of Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs), management of community forests can be made far more equitable than the usual scenario. Drawing from the experience on the processes and outcomes of Livelihoods and Forestry Programme (LFP), this paper brings empirical evidence of how facilitation support has enabled the poor to have more equitable access to community forests. Three key pro?poor institutional arrangements resulting from the facilitation process include: a) establishing special use rights arrangements within CFUGs for the poor, b) pro?poor silvicultural practices, and c) equitable forest product and benefit distribution mechanisms. The paper suggests some changes in policy and practice to institutionalise these outcomes. Full text is available at the ForestAction websiteDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jfl.v8i2.2304 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 8(2) February 2009 pp.1-15

Making operational plans relevant to forest user groups in the Mid-Hills of Nepal

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-196
Author(s):  
L. Puri ◽  
I. Nuberg ◽  
B. Ostendorf ◽  
E. Cedamon
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Forest User Groups ◽  
Forest User

Operational plans are a key element in community forestry in Nepal. However, the relevance of these plans to forest user groups (FUGs) is under scrutiny. This study investigates the usefulness of operational plans against the backdrop of knowledge, capacity and management practices of FUGs. Data were collected from 13 operational plans, 16 group discussions involving forestry professionals, and 218 household interviews in two villages of Lamjung district in Nepal. Whereas operational plans should specifically reflect site specific objectives and activities of forest management, the survey revealed identical objectives across the community forests. Current operational plans are technically complex, poorly linked to the place-based context of livelihood needs and less useful to the FUGs to inform and enhance forest management. This study proposes to differentiate community forests according to their production potentials, and revise the operational plans by shortening the elements that have little or no relevance to the FUGs.

scholarly journals Looking women seriously: what makes differences for women participation in community forestry ?

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
P. K. C. Bhandari ◽  
P Bhusal ◽  
B. B. Khanal Chhetri ◽  
C. P. Upadhyaya
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Traditional Beliefs ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Community Forest User Groups ◽  
Women Participation ◽  
Forest User

Women participation has been in discussion for long in community forestry in Nepal - a successful programme in participatory forest governance. Despite having ample of policy instruments to address the women concern in community forestry decision making activities several pragmatic issues have been encountered. This paper examines on the women participation in different community forestry decision making activities and identifies the factors influencing participation in such activities. The evidences were generated from five community forest user groups in Kaski district. The analysis was based on the household surveys that included the random sample of 213 respondents (107 females and 106 males). Similarly, regular triangulation and verification of the data were made through series of interviews, discussions and observations followed by the analysis of CF documents. Three ordered logit regression models were deployed to examine the determinants of women participation in decision making in forest management, resource utilization and participatory activities. The analysis showed lower participation of women in community forest decision making activities. Gender had the significant association with the participation in all decision making activities. The men with higher education, who are the member of executive committee and have access to community forestry fund, had participated significantly more than women in community forestry decision making activities. Low participation of women was associated with lower representation in user group committee, social and traditional beliefs and preoccupied assumption that women cannot lead which may result in unfair implication of community forestry.

scholarly journals Facilitating the Transition from Passive to Active Community Forest Management: Lessons from Rapti Zone, Nepal

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
NP Yadav ◽  
KP Yadav ◽  
Kamlesh K Yadav ◽  
Nirmal Thapa
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Forest Protection ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Passive Management ◽  
Forest User Groups ◽  
Forest User

This paper demonstrates that a transition from passive to active management of community forest is possible by adopting joint learning processes among local forest user groups, forest officials and local non?governmental service providers. Such an approach has the potential to address several issues that underlie and characterise passive management namely: underutilisation of forest, protection oriented forest management, overstocked forest (dense) vis?a?vis deficit in supply of forest products, and poorly designed silvicultural practices. Passive management is attributed mainly to the poor planning of forest management, inadequate and restrictive forest inventory guidelines and limited recognition of the forest management knowledge of locally trained resource persons. We present evidence of the processes and outcomes of active management being promoted by Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) in Nepal. The transition to active forest management is demonstrated through an assessment of revisions made in the community forest Operational Plans (OP). Key revisions identified include, among others: defining objectives of forest management considering people's choices and locality factors, site?specific forest management treatments, development of product utilisation plans, provisions for Non?timber Forest Products (NTFPs) management and conservation of biodiversity and water resources.   Full text is available at the ForestAction websiteDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jfl.v8i2.2308 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 8(2) February 2009 pp.51-66

Women leadership for sustainability of community forest User Groups: a Gender Perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 199-207
Author(s):  
Keshav Raj Acharya
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
User Group ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Women Leadership ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Forest User Groups ◽  
Community Forest User Groups ◽  
Forest User Group ◽  
Forest User

Community forest user groups are considered as prominent institutions in Nepal for the sustainable forest management through the active involvement of local people. Community forestry has mandatory provision of at least half number of women representation in executive committee however there is no restriction for all women representation in such committee. This study was conducted in two community forest user groups namely Mahila Srijana Community Forest User Group ( only women leadership) and Betkholshi Community Forest User Group ( mixed Leadership by both men and women) in Hetauda Sub-metropolitan city of Makwanpur district to identify whether the women leadership has significant contribution on sustainability of community forests. Different 4 criteria, 26 indicators and 60 verifiers were used to measure the sustainability through household survey (n=58), focus group discussion (n=4) and meeting minutes analysis. Present study reveals that overall sustainability index (OSI) of all women leaded community forest user group (OSI=0.502) was insignificantly lesser than the CFUG with the leadership of both men and women (OSI=0.512) however forest management practices was found better in women lead community forest.

scholarly journals Participatory assessment of biodiversity conservation in community forestry in Nepal

1970 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.P. Acharya ◽  
K.R. Goutam ◽  
B.K. Acharya ◽  
G. Gautam
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Community Forest Management ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Participatory Assessment ◽  
Community Forest User Groups

The Community Forestry has been the most effective means of managing common forest resources in Nepal. Besides rehabilitating degraded hills, improving environment and contributing to the rural livelihoods, community forestry is claimed to be a major means of biodiversity conservation. It is also argued that the prevalent approach of community forest management threats to the conservation of biodiversity. This paper is based on the findings from two community forest user groups from Central Nepal and argues that the users’ innovative practices of active forest management favor biodiversity conservation. The study has documented users’ innovations to conserve biodiversity in community managed forests. Key words: Nepal, community forestry, biodiversity conservation and livelihoods Banko Janakari Vol.16(1) 2006 pp46-56

scholarly journals Maoist People’s War and Community Adaptation: A Case of Community Forest User Groups Nepal

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-61
Author(s):  
Nirmal Kumar BK
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Forest User Groups ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Community Forest User Groups ◽  
Rural Institutions ◽  
Conflict Period ◽  
Forest User

The ten year long armed conflict between the state and the Maoists in Nepal had tremendous impact on all sectors and communities in the rural area. However, based on the study of three Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) of Eastern Nepal, it is argued that CFUGs were less vulnerable than other rural institutions. The paper further discusses how CFUGs adapted their coping strategies and functioned more effectively than other village level institutions during the conflict period. It was observed that due to adjustments of the Maoists agendas for CFUGs planning, such as issues surrounding poverty reduction, social inclusion and caste/ethnic/gender-based discrimination, the Maoists did not adversely affect the CFUGs. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jfl.v9i1.8594 Journal of Forestry and Livelihood Vol.9(1) 2010 57-61

scholarly journals Linking silvicultural aspects of pro-poor leasehold forestry for socio-economic benefits to the poor and vulnerable communities

2018 ◽  
pp. 113-119
Author(s):  
K. K. Yadav ◽  
G. P. Kafley ◽  
K. P. Yadav
Keyword(s):  
Community Forestry ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Environmental Conservation ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Silvicultural Practices ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Forest User Groups ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Forest User

Government of Nepal has adopted different models like community forestry, leasehold forestry, collaborative forestry, buffer zone community forestry and public land agroforestry for management of forest resources. Poor focused leasehold forestry is only the approach adopted since early 1990 that has two major objectives: livelihood improvement and environmental conservation. Forest user groups of 5–15 households (HHs) are provided with part of national forests for a period of initial lease of 40 years. Leased forests are managed mainly with forestry crops, forage and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to meet the dual objectives. Past studies and researches have indicated that leasehold forests are better than the hand over time however they are inadequate in dealing with silvicultural aspects in leasehold forestry (LF). This research paper has highlighted the significance of silvicultural aspects of leasehold forestry for overall socio-economic benefits to the poor and vulnerable forest users. Review of the existing policy and legal documents, studies and progress reports of the leasehold forestry projects implemented during the last two decades, consultation with leasehold forest user groups from five districts (Tehrathum, Makawanpur, Tanahun, Pyuthan and Doti) formed the main source of data for this article. Further, author’s own experiences in the sector were taken as supporting reliable information for the study. The study found that silvicultural practices, except plantations and weeding, were not adopted in leasehold forest but there was great potential for such practices to maximize the socio-economic benefits. Proper use of silvicultural practices might have increased contribution to currently realized benefits like (i) increased income of members i.e. poorest families (having less than 3 months secured foods) were reduced over years, (ii) group members had increased access to different networks and cooperatives, (iii) participation of women, poor and indigenous people increased in the decision-making process, and (iv) forest coverage was increased with respect to the hand over time. Some issues on silviculture aspects included proper guidelines for silvicultural methods, capacity of staff and leasehold forest user group members, smaller sizes of leasehold forests, and promotion of appropriate species. Banko JanakariA Journal of Forestry Information for Nepal Special Issue No. 4, 2018, Page: 113-119 

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