Table 4 - uploaded by Hugh R. Bigsby
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In Nepal, many rural households need access to public forest resources to complement private resources for food and livestock production. However, current forest policies are largely directed at environmental protection. The first part of this study identified the effect of current forest policy on livestock production using survey data from 259 ho...
Citations
... The second knowledge gap that we aim to address is how different forest management systems can contribute to people's diets, as management systems around forests can influence how people use forests and trees as a food source (Adhikari et al. 2016;Andrieu et al. 2019). For example, enforcement of environmental policies in Nepal combined with increased timber extraction has caused reductions in local livestock holdings due to lack of fodder resources, resulting in a worsening of people's food security (Dhakal et al. 2011). The authors of this study suggested that policies could alternatively promote agroforestry systems combined with community-based forest management to gain both forest protection and better food security for local communities. ...
Context
A large body of literature has shown that forests provide nutritious foods in many low- and middle-income countries. Yet, there is limited evidence on the contributions from different types of forest and tree systems.
Objectives
Here, we focus on individual trees and smaller forest patches outside established forest reserves as well as different forest management systems.
Methods
We do so by combining novel high-resolution data on tree cover with 24-h dietary recall surveys from 465 women in Tanzania.
Results
We show that people with more unclassified tree cover (i.e., individual trees and small forest patches) in their nearby surroundings have more adequate protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin A intakes. We also find that having a nearby forest under Participatory Forest Management (PFM) system is associated with higher adequacy levels of energy, iron, zinc and vitamin A. By contrast, tree cover within other types of forest (e.g., Government Forest Reserves and Government Forest Plantations) is not positively associated with people’s dietary quality.
Conclusions
Our key finding is that having individual trees, smaller forest patches and/or forest under PFM in close proximity is more beneficial for people’s diets than other types of established forests. Our results highlight the nutritional importance of trees outside established forests and question the often-assumed benefits of forests if these are made inaccessible by social barriers (e.g., legislation). Finally, our results emphasize the need to distinguish between different forest management systems when studying forest-diet linkages.
... Nowadays, forests and other public lands traditionally used by local communities are primarily managed for environmental conservation and other benefits of outsiders. The government has managed the resources by following policy guidance, technical support, and financial assistance from international agencies since the 1970s [39][40][41][42][43]. The forests and protected areas have now covered over half the areas of the nation's territory [24,44]. ...
... Studies on potential impacts of forest carbon sequestration and trading policies pointed to the issue of community deprivation of rights to access and control over the local forest resources [47,48]. Most other studies in Nepal investigated direct and immediate effects (availability of products and services and disparity in benefit distribution) of prevailing conservation policies at the household level [27,28,[39][40][41][49][50][51][52][53][54]. A few studies, however, reported increasing in conservative forest and protected areas resulted in more household income and less community income inequalities [55,56]. ...
... The groups have taken responsibility to develop and protect about 34% of the national forest area. As targeted in the national forestry plans, the policy has reduced forest-based livestock holding by doing afforestation in community pasturelands and restricting grazing in the forests [39]. Figure 2 provides an example of the establishment of planted forests in community pasturelands with excellent conservation status. ...
Many measures of international policies and support have dictated developing countries to upscale land areas of intact forestry, special biodiversity conservation site, and other wild reserves to half the land territory of the nation by 2050 for resulting environmental, and other benefits to global societies. The international initiations and work urged scholars to assess the potential impacts of the aggressive policy on forest-based communities and especially those living in institutionally and geo ecologically vulnerable areas. This study compiled the impacts of such international policy interventions on diverse affairs of the local community and national economies in Nepal and drew some conclusions on the well-being future of such forest-based communities. It explained that the international interventions in managing community-based resources induced serious disturbances in many local systems and resulted in vicious circles of emigration, income losses, social problems, psychological stresses, and food insecurities. The interventions have placed some communities and especially indigenous ethnic groups in the position either to be displaced from their ancestors’ homelands or suffer for generations. This study also explained some reinforcing phenomena that emerged from the external interventions which have placed situations of the resource impacting local communities adversely for years. It also investigated whether support of international agencies in policy formation and implementation for resource management safeguards the well-being of the resource-based communities. The agencies resulted in the best environmental and other benefits to foreign societies which have aggravated the misery of local communities, particularly the poor people, women, and indigenous ethnic communities. The adverse impacts on the local societies are not repercussions (accidentally or unknowingly happened). All these findings infer that the international policies of upscaling forests and wilderness areas or making conservation areas in half of their land territory, especially in developing societies for the global benefit, may place the lives of the forest-based communities in peril of suffering for generations or extirpating.
... Such a division has not only affected the local collective action around landslide risk management, but also put severe limits on the role of village institutions such as VDC (ward under the new structure) and CFUGs to effectively mediate with external interventions, particularly from the district organisations. A clear example of institutional inertia is that CFUGs in Garambesi are unable to control free grazing in the landslide-prone area despite the widespread success of community forestry across the hills in regulating grazing (Dhakal et al., 2010). Such inaction of the CFUGs has clearly escalated the landslide risk. ...
A growing body of research analyses institutional dimensions of adaptation and disaster risk management at the local level, highlighting the positive role of local institutions. However, the question of when institutions could also limit adaptation is much less explored. Drawing on the case of a landslide in the Nepal Himalayas, this paper advances the concept of ‘institutional limit’, for examining the extent to which local institutions can deliver adaptation outcomes. We show how existing public and community institutions have limited households’ capacity to respond to the risk of landslides. The case study demonstrates at least four limits of local institutions: a) inertia created by the social norms and structure embedded in the existing institutions; b) redundancy wherein conventional formal and informal institutions are less relevant to tackle the new challenges posed by climate change; c) fragmentation of institutional efforts involving poor horizontal and vertical coordination among organisations; and d) accountability lapses rooted in the wider political system. We show that most of the local institutions identified in the literature as important sources of resilience have failed to tackle landslides in the highly stratified and politically volatile situation of the Nepal Himalayas where the case study is located. We argue that the notion of ‘institutional limit’ can enhance our understanding of what institutions can (or cannot) deliver for effective local adaptation. These findings have major implications for the optimism placed on the role and capacity of local institutions to adapt to climate change or manage disaster risks.
... a 1 USD = NRP 117.38 (exchange rate of 27 December 2020); USD = USA dollar; NPR = Nepalese rupees; b LiSU = Livestock standard unit. LiSU is calculated using the following weights: Mature buffalo = 1 LSU, Mature cow = 0.7 LSU, Mature ox= 0. 7 LSU, Mature calf = 0.4 LSU, Mature Goat/sheep = 0.2 LSU, Mature Pig/Swine = 0.3, Mature Poultry = 0.01 LSU(Maharjan and Khatri-Chhetri, 2006;Baral and Heinen, 2007;Dhakal et al., 2010;Khanal and Maharjan, 2015;Amatya et al., 2018) ...
Despite the looming scarcity of agricultural land and rapidly growing demand for food and biofuel globally, more agricultural lands are being abandoned from farming than are being converted to agriculture. Therefore, there is increasing interest in reutilising abandoned croplands to mitigate the undesirable impacts of abandonment and address global challenges such as food insecurity, arable land scarcity and agrobiodiversity loss. Although a number of studies have examined the extent, drivers and impacts of abandonment at various temporal and spatial scales, few studies have investigated the dynamics and potential pathways for reutilising abandoned cropland. This study addressed this knowledge gap by analysing potential reutilisation options of abandoned croplands, considering the influence of socio-economic factors on farmer preferences for reutilisation options, and assessing the conditions that would create an enabling environment for productive reutilisation. Using a mixed methods approach, quantitative data was collected through a survey of 374 households and qualitative data from six focus group discussions in three districts of the Hill agroecological region of Nepal. The majority of farmers, regardless of abandoned cropland holdings, considered that abandoned croplands should be reutilised. The farmers identified seven options (Cash cropping, Fruit crop farming, Spice and medicinal crop farming, Fodder tree plantation, Cereal cropping, Woodlot plantation and Mixed subsistence farming) for reutilising of abandoned croplands. Farmers’ preference was comparatively higher for high value and cash-generating options for the reutilisation. Despite the dominance of traditional mixed subsistence farming in the area, the majority of farmers did not consider this system as a viable option for reutilisation. Structural and institutional factors, as well as labour constraints, were found important to create an enabling environment that motivates farmers for the reutilisation. Farmers’ greater preference for cash-generating options implies that the promotion of market-oriented farming on abandoned croplands could help to minimise abandonment and revitalise the Nepalese agricultural sector. The findings are relevant to other regions of the globe that have experienced cropland abandonment.
... The official documents were ava able from the forestry ministry, agricultural ministry, and international organizatio [24,25,27,[58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68]. Other information was collected from policy and implementation revi reports or publications [6,11,13,15,17,19,38,56,[69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81]. Most of the recent documents we available online. ...
... The official documents were available from the forestry ministry, agricultural ministry, and international organizations [24,25,27,[58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68]. Other information was collected from policy and implementation review reports or publications [6,11,13,15,17,19,38,56,[69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81]. Most of the recent documents were available online. ...
... However, the forest authority followed the advice of international agencies that worked in Nepal to dismiss forest-based livestock farming and increase tree stocks in the communal lands for carbon sequestration [53]. The policy resulted in overstocking trees as shown in Figure 6, and a shortage of forest products and services to sustain indigenous assets [19,76,101]. Such purposive destruction of indigenous food production systems is a serious issue that all government authorities and international agencies are supposed to be accountable for. ...
Rapid growth of environmental problems, economic volatilities, and social changes have increased the scopes of adopting environmentally friendly and resilient production systems. Regenerative farming and forestry practices are such systems appropriate for mountain communities in Nepal. They had performed better with indigenous resources, institutions, and social-ecological systems. Unfortunately, the assets have been degraded to extinction, mainly commencing works of national and international development agencies. Consequently, regenerative practices are disappearing. Despite appeals and commitments, the degradations of the assets are not halted and reversed. This study used secondary sources of data and work experiences and explained the working faults of the external agencies involved in the agriculture, forest, and wildlife sectors. It elucidated that most regenerative practices had sustained well in forest and farm resource-integrated production systems and a modest degree of natural and human inputs and production environments. The production environments degraded when the government agencies provided foreign agencies opportunities to be involved actively in policy formulation and implementation of agriculture and forestry-related sectors. The foreign agencies meddled in the national policies and community practices and modified the production environments for their interests and benefits. They intervened in policies and local communities to practice a farming system based on extremely human-made and imported inputs and institutions and to manage forest-related resources in extremely intact natural systems. In the policy discourses and decisions, the farming inputs, practices, and institutions popularly practiced in developed countries are considered superior whereas the indigenous ones are considered inferior. Agricultural plans and policies have overvalued yield, profit, or other direct returns and undervalued environmental friendliness, indirect economic benefits, and social advantages to prioritize support of the government and other agencies. The introduced farming inputs and institutions displaced or hampered the indigenous ones. The foreign agencies also meddled in forest policies and practices of the country to address environmental and economic problems of developed countries which resulted in adverse impacts on the indigenous assets. They intervened in the resource management policies with financial and technical inputs to destroy some of the assets and make the forest-related resource management that results in better benefits (offsetting GHG emission, enhancing tranquility and serenity of recreational sites, and potentially expanding agricultural markets) to the people of developed countries. This study has explained how the officials and experts of both government and foreign agencies abused and misused some strategic tactics and overused, poorly used and disused, others in their work process to address their self-centered interests and problems. In essence, intentional destructive interventions of the policy and development agencies have resulted in degradation to the extinction of the indigenous assets in the communities.
Keywords: mountain communities; influencing tactics; prosumer; resilient; regenerative forestry; agriculture; strategy theory; colonization; climate-smart farming
... The changes adversely impact on local food security and further increase reliance on imported food from somewhere else (Kc and Race 2019). Some impacts of the carbon forestry policy have been already seen in the communities (Dhakal et al. 2010;Poudel et al 2015;Khatri et al 2019;Dhakal et al. 2022a). ...
Many critical problems are intensified in rural Nepal despite the policy advice and financial support from international agencies to alleviate them. This study attempted to explain the causes and policy solutions to the problems based on secondary sources of data and the authors’ insights. It identified that international agencies involved actively in policymaking and guided the land resource management policy to result in the best benefits to the people in privileged regions and other countries. The policies ruined institutions, resource conditions, social-ecological systems, and social environments essential for sustaining mountain farming and the rural economy in the country. The destructions exacerbated emigration, farming land abandonment, indigenous farming practice loss, food insecurity, and cultural heritage degradation. Adverse impacts of the policy interventions are exposed higher in disadvantaged areas and especially in the regions of indigenous ethnic communities. Those policies have institutionally placed the communities suffering for generations and increased risks of out-breaking interethnic conflicts and national security threats on many dimensions. This study explained some pragmatic policy measures to manage the agriculture and forestry resources for community wellbeing and national security. It also demonstrated how the national expert-driven policies would be for addressing the current problems in rural areas and the holistic development of the nation.
... Some studies have revealed that locals and forests are significantly dependent on each other, through direct and indirect contributions. Direct contribution referred to the forest resources as a food supply, source of water supply, land use for agricultural purposes, wildlife abundance (Nelson et al., 2015) and household livestock holding (Dhakal et al., 2011). While indirect contributions included the total income perceived by local communities from tree products (Van Chu et al., 2019), tree crops, wood products, and other non-timber forest products (Dao and Holsher, 2018). ...
... However their technical and financial supports have resulted in the opposite. They intervened in national policies and community practices for the sake of protecting forest and wildlife for global (distant users) benefits which have destroyed forest resource-based livestock farming systems, an engine of farming economy vitality and the livelihoods of mountain people (Poudel et al. 2015;Dhakal et al. 2011). This approach of land use for foreign benefit is termed ''land grab'' in the literature and resulting locking out the local community (Ellis and Mehrabi 2019). ...
This study assesses the potential impacts of Payment for Ecosystems Services (PES) of mountain agricultural landscapes, with a specific focus on the implications for Nepalese farming women, who have triple roles (managers, workers, and users) with ecosystems goods and services (ESs). It utilizes data of mixed sources: direct observations in the fields, discussions with farm and development workers and published materials. The assessment shows that the impacts of PES on the wellbeing of these women vary with input, process and output pathways. Many farm activities for promoting ESs increase uses of land and labour inputs which can exacerbate workload, health, financial and local food security problems, and hamper meeting the immediate needs of farming women. The extent of input pathway effects depends more on the choice of activity over the type of ES. The production, marketing, and policy-related processes of the PES enhance education, empowerment, entrepreneurship and leadership, and contribute to meeting the strategic needs of the women. The PES increases income, cash flow and employment and improves living environmental conditions. The outputs provide better social protection, offset the adverse effects associated with increasing input uses, and contribute to meeting the women’s basic and strategic needs. Improvement in ES conditions provides additional benefits for farming women over men due to specific requirements associated with their unique body physiology and reproductive function. Appropriate designing and serious implementation are, however, the preconditions of the policy to result in the positive impacts.
... Two mutually reinforcing processes have consolidated existing patterns of social differentiation based on caste and land ownership. The recovery of secondary forest has been in part due to restrictions put on grazing and access to other forest products that have contributed to a decline in livestock numbers, a shift to improved breeds, and an increase in onfarm tree cover for stall based livestock (Adhikari et al. 2007;Dhakal et al. 2011;Khatri et al. 2017). However, for the many landless households dependent on livestock extensive grazing in community forests is critical, as is forest access for collection of fuel wood and other NTFPs for subsistence or income. ...
We provide an analytical contrast of the dynamics of secondary forest regeneration in Nepal and Peru framed by a set of common themes: land access, boundaries, territories, and rights, seemingly more secure in Nepal than Peru; processes of agrarian change and their consequences for forest-agriculture interactions and the role of secondary forest in the landscape, more marked in Peru, where San Martín is experiencing apparent agricultural intensification, than in Nepal; and finally processes of social differentiation that have consequences for different social groups, livelihood construction and their engagement with trees, common to both countries. These themes address the broader issue of the necessary conditions for secondary forest regeneration and the extent to which the rights and livelihood benefits of those actively managing it are secured.
... Pemanfaatan hutan dengan sistem berbasis pohon akan memberikan kontribusi pada tantangan tanpa kelaparan bagi masyarakat desa di sekitar hutan. Dhakal et al (2011) menyatakan di Nepal banyak rumah tangga pedesaan yang memanfaatkan sumber daya hutan untuk sumber pangan masyarakat dan ternak. Sunderland et al (2013) menyatakan pemanfaatan tumbuhan sumber pangan dari hutan secara langsung maupun tidak langsung mempunyai kaitan dalam upaya pelestarian dan pemanfaatan sumber daya hayati. ...
Forests has a role in supporting food security programs. Sebaju Village Forest, Nanga Kebebu Village, Nanga Pinoh District, Melawi Regency is a village forest area that has the potential of non-timber forest product, one of which is that there are many plants that can be used as food for daily living needs. The research objective was to explore local knowledge of the community and to make an inventory of the types of plants used as food by the communities around the Sebaju village forest, Nanga Kebebu village, Melawi regency, as well ass to describe how to uses and process plants that are used as food by the community. The research method was purposive sampling and data collection was carried out by in-depth interviews with the community in Nanga Kebebu village. The data were analyzed descriptive qualitative in order to obtain a systematic and accurate picture. The results found 58 plant species consisting of 31 families, these plants were dominated by the Anacardiaceae family (8 species). Arecaceae and Moraceae (5 species), Sapindaceae, Phyllanthaceae, Myrtaceae, and Fabaceae (3 species), while one other family each has 1-2 species. The most dominant plant habitats were trees with 40 species (68.96%), 8 types of herbs (13.79%), 4 types of shrubs (6.89%) and the least were lianas and 3 types of shrubs. (5.17%). The part of the plant that was used the most was the fruit, namely 44 species (75.38%), 8 types of leaves (13.79%), while the parts of the plant that were least used were 2 types of tubers (3.45%), 2 types tubers (3.45%), 1 flower (1.72%), 1 seed (1.72%). The largest group of foodstuffs is fruit as much as 40 types (67%), 12 types of vegetables (20%), while the lowest is 3 types of drinks (5%), 3 types of spices (5%), and 2 tubers type (3%). The most widely used food crop processing method is directly used 33 types (56.90%), 10 types of boiled (17.24%), 6 types of sauteed (10.34%) and 5 types of chili sauce (8.62%), Meanwhile, the least used processing methods were 2 types of frying (3.45%) and 2 types of drying (3.45%). Based on their growth status, the highest growth was in the wild, consist of 34 species (59%), and the lowest was cultivated by 24 species (41%) that grew in the Sebaju customary forest area, Nanga Kebebu Village, Nanga Pinoh District, Melawi Regency. Sebaju village forest has high biodiversity as food plant and local knowledge of te community in the use of plants in the forest area makes conservation efforst better because the community strives to be able to make a sustainable management of food from forest.
