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

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

Journal of Forest and Livelihood ◽

10.3126/jfl.v8i2.2304 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

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

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The Type of Land We Want: Exploring the Limits of Community Forestry in Tanzania and Bolivia

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11061643 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1643 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nicole Gross-Camp ◽

Iokine Rodriguez ◽

Adrian Martin ◽

Mirna Inturias ◽

Glory Massao

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Land ◽

Community Forestry ◽

Community Forest Management ◽

Community Forest ◽

Community Forests ◽

Financial Benefits ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Multifunctional Landscape ◽

Community Conflicts

We explore local people’s perspectives of community forest (CF) on their land in Tanzania and Bolivia. Community forest management is known to improve ecological conditions of forests, but is more variable in its social outcomes. Understanding communities’ experience of community forestry and the potential benefits and burdens its formation may place on a community will likely help in predicting its sustainability as a forest and land management model. Six villages, two in Tanzania and four in Bolivia, were selected based on the presence of community forestry in varying stages. We found that communities were generally supportive of existing community forests but cautious of their expansion. Deeper explorations of this response using ethnographic research methods reveal that an increase in community forest area is associated with increasing opportunity costs and constraints on agricultural land use, but not an increase in benefits. Furthermore, community forests give rise to a series of intra- and inter-community conflicts, often pertaining to the financial benefits stemming from the forests (distribution issues), perceived unfairness and weakness in decision–making processes (procedure/participation), and also tensions over cultural identity issues (recognition). Our findings suggest that communities’ willingness to accept community forests requires a broader consideration of the multifunctional landscape in which it is embedded, as well as an engagement with the justice tensions such an intervention inevitably creates.

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

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc81387-3 ◽

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

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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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Crown and regeneration responses to silviculture systems in Pine and Sal forests: preliminary results from silviculture trials in Mid-hills Nepal

Banko Janakari ◽

10.3126/banko.v27i3.20554 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 98-103

Author(s):

E. Cedamon ◽

G. Paudel ◽

M. Basyal ◽

I. Nuberg ◽

N. Paudel

Keyword(s):

Community Forestry ◽

Canopy Gap ◽

Selection System ◽

Shorea Robusta ◽

Crown Cover ◽

Selection Systems ◽

Forest Users ◽

One Year ◽

The Relationship ◽

Better Than

Silviculture trial plots were established in Kavre and Lamjung districts by the EnLiFT Project (Enhancing livelihoods and food security through improved agroforestry and community forestry in Nepal) to examine stand response to selected silviculture systems – uniform shelterwood, selection system, and negative thinning and as a showcase to forest users for these silviculture systems. This paper analyses the extent of canopy gaps on these trial plots after one-year of application of silviculture treatments and regeneration development. Using crown photographs, crown cover was estimated and compared between silviculture systems. The analysis showed that rigid silviculture systems like shelterwood and selection systems created canopy gap larger than negative thinning in Pine plantations and the rate of natural regeneration was directly related with the canopy gap. However, in Shorea robusta-Castanopsis- Schima (Sal-Katus-Chilaune) forest, negative thinning created canopy gap larger than selection system due to removal of 4-D trees, majority of trees were Schima wallichii (Chilaune), which typically have large spreading crown. Although, it may be too early to conclude the relationship between regeneration development and canopy gap from the trial plots, it became clear that silviculture operations have significant role in promoting higher regeneration. Selection and shelterwood systems are better than current silviculture regime represented by negative thinning in this study. Banko JanakariA Journal of Forestry Information for Nepal Special Issue No. 4, 2018, Page: 98-103

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Bureaucratic recentralisation of Nepal's community forestry sector

International Forestry Review ◽

10.1505/146554819827906861 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 401-415 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

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.

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Forest Cover Change Pattern after the Intervention of Community Forestry Management System in the Mid-Hill of Nepal: A Case Study

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12172756 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (17) ◽

pp. 2756

Author(s):

Shankar Tripathi ◽

Rajan Subedi ◽

Hari Adhikari

Keyword(s):

Management System ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Community Forestry ◽

Community Forest Management ◽

Community Perception ◽

Forest Cover Change ◽

Landsat Images ◽

Community Forests ◽

The Government ◽

Forest Users

An account of widespread degradation and deforestation in Nepal has been noticed in various literature sources. Although the contribution of community forests (CF) on the improvement of forest cover and condition in the Mid-hill of Nepal is positive, detailed study to understand the current situation seems important. The study area (Tanahun District) lies in the Gandaki Province of western Nepal. The objective of this study was to estimate the forest cover change over the specified period and to identify factors influencing the change. We used Landsat images from the years 1976, 1991, and 2015 to classify land use and land cover. We considered community perception in addition to the forest cover map to understand the different causes of forest cover change. Forest cover decreased from 1976 to 1991 annually at a rate of 0.96%. After 1991, the forest increased annually at a rate of 0.63%. The overall forest cover in the district regained its original status. Factors related to increasing forest cover were emigration, occupation shift, agroforestry practices, as well as particularly by plantation on barren lands, awareness among forest users, and conservation activities conducted by local inhabitants after the government forest was handed over to community members as a community forest management system.

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Analisis Peran Koperasi dalam Pengelolaan Hutan Rakyat di Kebumen

Jurnal Pengelolaan Sumberdaya Alam dan Lingkungan (Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Management) ◽

10.29244/jpsl.9.2.327-336 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 327-336

Author(s):

Elok Budiningsih ◽

Harjanto Harjanto ◽

Yulius Hero

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Community Forestry ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Wood Products ◽

Community Forest Management ◽

Community Forest ◽

Community Forests ◽

Processing Subsystem

Community forests are a viable alternative for timber suppliers. Community forestry institutions are required to ensure its sustainability. Cooperatives become one of the appropriate alternatives in accordance with the institution at the site level in community forest development. One of the peasant organizations that manages the human resources in the form of cooperatives is a Taman Wijaya Rasa Cooperative (Kostajasa) located in Kebumen. This study aims to analyze the role of Kostajasa in community forest management. The descriptive analysis used in describing the role of Kostajasa in community forest management supporting three community forest subsystems, namely production, processing and marketing subsystem. Kostajasa has played a good role in all three subsystems. In the production subsystem, there are still less roles in the determination of timber products to be managed, and setting the felling regulation. In the processing subsystem Kostajasa have already play a good role to connect several industries to receive raw materials from farmers’ timber and maintain the demand continuity for raw materials so that farmers’ timber is absorbed. In the marketing subsystem, Kostajasa also play a good role among others, shorten the marketing chain of wood products from community forest and offering a better price outside Kostajasa.

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Adaptive value of participatory biodiversity monitoring in community forestry

Environmental Conservation ◽

10.1017/s0376892906003432 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 325-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

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.

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Participatory assessment of biodiversity conservation in community forestry in Nepal

Banko Janakari ◽

10.3126/banko.v16i1.364 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 46-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

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

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