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Does Community-Based Management Improve Natural Resource Condition? Evidence from the Forests in Nepal
Abstract
Does community management improve the condition of local natural resources? Do interventions by official agencies enhance the functions of voluntary communal management? With 101 randomly sampled natural forests in the Middle Hills of Nepal, we address these questions. Forest condition was evaluated by aerial-photo interpretations and forest inventories. We find that user groups that did not receive official support have substantially improved forest condition. This is the result of reduced forest fire occurrence. User groups receiving official support can also be effective. Our analysis shows that, controlling for the possibility of self-selection in applying for support, such groups improved tree regeneration.
... We identified nine studies from South Asia, four of which took place in India (Ananthpur, Malik, & Rao, 2014 in Karnataka;Banerjee et al., 2014 in Rajasthan;Pandey et al., 2007 in Uttar Pradesh; Ravallion et al., 2013 in Bihar). The remaining studies took place in Afghanistan (Beath et al., 2013;Berman et al., 2017), Pakistan (Giné et al. 2018;Kasim, 2016) and Nepal (Tachibana & Adhikari, 2009). In addition, we identified five studies from East Asia and Pacific, including two from Indonesia (Banerjee et al., 2018;, Finally, we identified one study in Russia, a study of support for participatory budgeting (Beuermann & Amelina, 2014). ...
... Finally, we identified seven studies evaluating community management of natural resources, whereby there is some devolution of the management of a natural resource to a community group, but where the government retains some powers. These fell into two groups; those that involved management of water (Bandyopadhyay et al., 2010;Barde, 2017;Huang, 2014) and of forests or conservancies Rasaalofosen et al., 2015;Bandyopadhyay et al., 2004;Tachibana & Adhikari, 2009). This intervention category differs substantively from the others in that communities are equipped with considerable more power to make decisions and implement public services than the other intervention areas. ...
... Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) interventions aim to improve communities' sustainable access to resources through increasing their control over resource management and maintenance. The complexities and tensions involved in marrying the dual goals of resource use and preservation are evident throughout the interventions, which cover wildlife conservancy (Bandyopadhyay et al. 2004); participatory forestry management Rasolofoson et al. 2015;and Tachibana & Adhikari 2009); and irrigation or water use F I G U R E 3 1 Theory of change for participatory planning and priority setting interventions (Bandyopadhyay et al. 2010;Barde 2017;and Huang 2014). Each of these studies evaluates the implementation of a national-level policy, which tend to have smaller results than pilots or experiments wherein the quality and uniformity of implementation is more easily managed. ...
Background:
Recently World Health Organization's Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) has published a global roadmap for prevention and control of cholera. We review preparedness of existing governmental non-vaccine programs and strategies for cholera prevention and control in India. We also describe strengths and gaps in the context of implementation of the global roadmap.
Methods:
We reviewed published literature on non-vaccine based strategies for prevention and control of cholera in India and analyzed strengths and weaknesses of Government of India's major anti-cholera and ante-diarrhea initiatives under Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP), National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), and other disease surveillance platforms.
Results:
The first strategy of the WHO global roadmap, namely, preparedness for early detection and outbreak containment, has been addressed by the IDSP. NRHM complements IDSP activities by focusing on sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, and safe drinking water. We identified the need to adopt stricter case definitions and data validation protocols. Multi-sectoral approach to prevent cholera occurrences and re-occurrences [the second suggested strategy in the global roadmap], highlights identification of hotspots and implementing strategies based on transmission dynamics. We recommend development of comprehensive models by integrating data sources beyond the national programs to eliminate cholera hotspots in India. Implementing the third proposed strategy in the global roadmap, coordinated technical support, resource mobilization, and partnerships at local and global levels, has major challenges in India due to structural issues related to health systems and health programs.
Conclusion:
Even with a robust public health infrastructure, absence of a national cholera program might have resulted in lack of specific focus and concerted efforts for cholera prevention and control in India. A National Taskforce for Cholera Control must develop India-specific 'National Cholera Prevention and Response Road Map' with an appropriate administrative and financially viable framework for its implementation.
... We identified nine studies from South Asia, four of which took place in India (Ananthpur, Malik, & Rao, 2014 in Karnataka;Banerjee et al., 2014 in Rajasthan;Pandey et al., 2007 in Uttar Pradesh; Ravallion et al., 2013 in Bihar). The remaining studies took place in Afghanistan (Beath et al., 2013;Berman et al., 2017), Pakistan (Giné et al. 2018;Kasim, 2016) and Nepal (Tachibana & Adhikari, 2009). In addition, we identified five studies from East Asia and Pacific, including two from Indonesia (Banerjee et al., 2018;, Finally, we identified one study in Russia, a study of support for participatory budgeting (Beuermann & Amelina, 2014). ...
... Finally, we identified seven studies evaluating community management of natural resources, whereby there is some devolution of the management of a natural resource to a community group, but where the government retains some powers. These fell into two groups; those that involved management of water (Bandyopadhyay et al., 2010;Barde, 2017;Huang, 2014) and of forests or conservancies Rasaalofosen et al., 2015;Bandyopadhyay et al., 2004;Tachibana & Adhikari, 2009). This intervention category differs substantively from the others in that communities are equipped with considerable more power to make decisions and implement public services than the other intervention areas. ...
... Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) interventions aim to improve communities' sustainable access to resources through increasing their control over resource management and maintenance. The complexities and tensions involved in marrying the dual goals of resource use and preservation are evident throughout the interventions, which cover wildlife conservancy (Bandyopadhyay et al. 2004); participatory forestry management Rasolofoson et al. 2015;and Tachibana & Adhikari 2009); and irrigation or water use F I G U R E 3 1 Theory of change for participatory planning and priority setting interventions (Bandyopadhyay et al. 2010;Barde 2017;and Huang 2014). Each of these studies evaluates the implementation of a national-level policy, which tend to have smaller results than pilots or experiments wherein the quality and uniformity of implementation is more easily managed. ...
Background
How do governance interventions that engage citizens in public service delivery planning, management and oversight impact the quality of and access to services and citizens’ quality of life? This systematic review examined high quality evidence from 35 citizen engagement programmes in low‐ and middle‐income countries that promote the engagement of citizens in service delivery through four routes: participation (participatory priority setting); inclusion of marginalised groups; transparency (information on rights and public service performance), and/or citizen efforts to ensure public service accountability (citizen feedback and monitoring); collectively, PITA mechanisms. We collected quantitative and qualitative data from the included studies and used statistical meta‐analysis and realist‐informed framework synthesis to analyse the findings.
Results
The findings suggest that interventions promoting citizen engagement by improving direct engagement between service users and service providers, are often effective in stimulating active citizen engagement in service delivery and realising improvements in access to services and quality of service provision, particularly for services that involve direct interaction between citizens and providers. However, in the absence of complementary interventions to address bottlenecks around service provider supply chains and service use, citizen engagement interventions alone may not improve key wellbeing outcomes for target communities or state‐society relations. In addition, interventions promoting citizen engagement by increasing citizen pressures on politicians to hold providers to account, are not usually able to influence service delivery.
Conclusions
The citizen engagement interventions studied were more likely to be successful: (1) where the programme targeted a service that citizens access directly from front‐line staff, such as healthcare, as opposed to services accessed independently of service provider staff, such as roads; (2) where implementers were able to generate active support and buy‐in for the intervention from both citizens and front‐line public service staff and officials; and (3) where the implementation approach drew on and/or stimulated local capacity for collective action. From a research perspective, the review found few studies that investigated the impact of these interventions on women or other vulnerable groups within communities, and that rigorous impact evaluations often lack adequately transparent reporting, particularly of information on what interventions actually did and how conditions compared to those in comparison communities.
... Table 2 lays out an analytical framework for gauging prospects for REDD+. In order to assess effectiveness, we look at practical mechanisms such as fire control, provision of alternatives to fuel wood, grazing management etc. and institutional arrangements that would reduce deforestation and degradation as suggested by MFSC/GON (2013b) and Tachibana and Adhikari (2009). We also ask how much potential there is to create 'additional' carbon sequestration relative to a business-as-usual scenario. ...
... Edmonds (2002), for instance, shows that fire wood extraction is lower in community forests relative to state managed forests in Nepal. This result is supported by research that suggests that strengthened management rules and tenure in community forests help reduce forest product extraction and improve forest health (Nagendra, 2007;Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009). These findings from Nepal are reinforced by studies in the Indian Himalayas. ...
... Also, many CFUGs have introduced improved cooking stoves and bio-gas plants to reduce bio-fuel dependence and taken advantage of sapling distribution programs to promote planting trees in private lands for household needs (MFSC/GON, 2009). Furthermore, CFUGs seem to be able to better respond to forest fires, while control of forest fires in government managed forests can be slower since it is mainly the responsibility of forest guards (Nagendra, 2007;Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009). Thus, the presence of robust institutions contributes to better management of community forests relative to government managed forests, which get little actual protection through Forest Offices (Poudel and Karki, 2013). ...
This paper examines the role of national and sub-national institutions in managing carbon sequestration and trade in Nepal. It first asks whether it is feasible and advantageous to implement REDD+ in Nepal’s community managed forests. Then, using a pilot experimental program, it assesses whether community institutions can serve both existing needs and meet international demand for carbon. The review of
secondary evidence suggests that community forestry can effectively and equitably manage REDD+ activity. However, there may be higher carbons returns to converting forests currently directly managed by
the government to more efficient regimes. At the sub-national level, available evidence suggests that REDD+ activities can be successfully implemented, if, in addition to rent, communities receive technical mentoring that contributes to institutional strengthening.
... In Nepal, the community forestry program was launched in the mid-1970s and the implementation of the program has improved the biophysical environment throughout the country (read e.g. Gautam et al., 2004;Tanchibana and Adhikari, 2009). ...
... More recently still, the focus I. Mustalahti, et al. Forest Policy and Economics 111 (2020) Several studies conclude that the community forestry program has been successful in forest conservation (Gautam et al., 2004;Tanchibana and Adhikari, 2009). However, the program has been unable to enhance the livelihood of forest dependents (Adhikari et al., 2014;Thoms, 2008), and the comparatively poorer have benefited the least (Chhetri et al., 2012). ...
This compilation of articles and policy briefs constitutes part of the Responsive Natural Resources Governance Research Group’s international collaboration at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies of the University of Eastern Finland. The articles have been published in Responsibilization in Natural Resources Governance, a special issue of the Forest Policy and Economics journal. In this special issue, we describe how the participation in natural resources governance of local governments, citizens and various actors has increased and become more diverse. For example, decentralised models of natural resources governance have created new opportunities for participation, improved decision-making and increased transparency. Our authors, however, take a critical approach to examining the phenomenon of responsibilization in natural resource governance and its linkage with neoliberal economic policy, which aims at privatising state assets, reducing financial regulation, and replacing political activities with market control. Indeed, in the works of the French philosopher Michel Foucault, and in the extensive research literature stemming from his thinking, power structures and the responsibilization of citizens by their governments are given plenty of attention. Besides Foucault, we also refer to scholars of other disciplines who look at responsibilization in different fields, on different levels and from a variety of perspectives (such as Christopher Grey, Ylva Uggla, Meghann Ormond, Iain Ferguson, Tanya Marray Li, and Nancy Lee Peluso). In this compilation, we want to highlight not only natural resource governance, but also other fields that boast critical thinking and extensive research knowledge on responsibilization. The articles in this compilation rely on Foucault’s theoretical framework of power and governmentality, but we also approach responsibilization through the concept of symbolic violence. The term symbolic violence was coined by Pierre Bourdieu, a sociologist and a philosopher who has identified symbolic violence in nearly all power structures of society. Responsibilization has become a way to improve economic efficiency and the preconditions of continuous growth. Obligations, instruments of control and demands imposed from above, as well as culturally accepted yet oppressive practices, are examples of soft and invisible violence, which can lead to discrimination, social inequality, corruption, passive governments, and biodiversity depletion. Case studies show how responsibilization impacts to various actors when local governments’, citizens’ and various actors’ responsibility for natural resources governance is increased without at the same time providing them with adequate operating conditions, information and resources. The book is open access from here: https://erepo.uef.fi/handle/123456789/26111
... This is partly driven by the fact that many voluntary environmental organisations have multiple objectives. For instance, as noted by Baland and Platteau (1998) and Tachibana and Adhikari (2009), community values such as identity may be placed above sustainable resource management goals. 2 Indeed, while collective action is often necessary, it is not sufficient in itself for generating sustainable environmental outcomes. ...
... This contrasts with some of the empirical literature that has shown that local groups who did not receive state support had improved environmental outcomes. For instance, Tachibana and Adhikari (2009) found that community based management groups in Nepal who did not receive official support had better natural resource management outcomes than those who did. Ito (2012) has also found similar results for community irrigation organizations in rural China. ...
In 1965, the Commons Registration Act came into force in England and Wales. The Act led to the removal of the capacity of commoners to regulate the intensity of grazing via traditional legal means. From this policy shock a number of voluntary commons associations were formed. These voluntary groups relied on their members to agree upon how the commons should be managed. Using two-stage least squares regression analysis we find that commons governed by these associations are much more likely to produce sustainable grazing outcomes. These results are robust to the existence of a variety of controls, including overlapping institutional frameworks. Importantly, they highlight the ability of voluntary environmental organisations to deliver sustainable environmental outcomes.
... Previously, Ives and Messerli (1989) reported that upland forest area had remained more or less constant despite population growth. Other studies have shown that forest cover in the hills and mountains of Nepal has increased since the launch of Nepal's community forestry program in 1978 (Gautam et al 2003;Kanel 2004;Tachibana and Adhikari 2009;Pandit and Bevilacqua 2011;GoN 2013;Niraula et al 2013). Resource assessment conducted between 2010 and 2014 showed that the forest occupied 40.36% of the total area of Nepal and that the middle mountain regions have greater forest cover (37.8%) (DFRS 2015). ...
... These measures have reduced cultivation, restricted open grazing, reduced the number and intensity of forest fires, and helped to promote natural regeneration in the area we studied. Our results are comparable with the findings of other studies conducted in different parts of Nepal (Gautam et al 2002;Gautam et al 2003;Kanel 2004;Nagendra et al 2007;Tachibana and Adhikari 2009;Pandit and Bevilacqua 2011;GoN 2013;Niraula et al 2013). Along with the gradual increase in forest cover through the merger of patches, there has been an increase in ED, suggesting that forests are more heterogeneous and irregular or elongated in shape. ...
The movement of rural households from remote uplands to valley floors and to semiurban and urban areas (internal migration) is a common phenomenon in the middle mountain districts of Nepal. Understanding the causes and effects of internal migration is critical to the development and implementation of policies that promote land use planning and sustainable resource management. Using geospatial information technologies and social research methods, we investigated the causes and effects of internal migration on land use and land cover patterns in a western mountain district of Nepal between 1998 and 2013. The results show a decreasing number of households at high elevations (above 1400 m), where an increase in forest cover has been observed with a consequent decrease in agricultural land and shrub- or grassland. At lower elevations (below 1400 m), forest cover has remained constant over the last 25 years, and the agricultural land area has increased but has become geometrically complex to meet the diverse needs and living requirements of the growing population. Our findings indicate that internal migration plays an important role in shaping land use and land cover change in the middle mountains of Nepal and largely determines the resource management, utilization, and distribution patterns within a small geographic unit. Therefore, land use planning must take an integrated and interdisciplinary approach rather than considering social, environmental, and demographic information in isolation.
... Although there is no large-scale evidence to suggest that any one type of forest management is better at enhancing carbon stocks, numerous studies identify community forestry as an effective, even superior, forest management strategy relative to state forestry in the Himalayan region of Nepal and India (Nagendra et al. 2005, Nagendra 2007, Kanel 2008, Somanathan et al. 2009, Baland et al. 2010, Miteva et al. 2012. Empirical research suggests that extraction of forest goods such as fuel wood is lower in community forests relative to state managed forests in Nepal (Edmonds 2002, Tachibana andAdhikari 2009). Thus, strengthened management rules and tenure seem to help reduce grazing and forest product collection (Nagendra 2007, Tachibana andAdhikari 2009). ...
... Empirical research suggests that extraction of forest goods such as fuel wood is lower in community forests relative to state managed forests in Nepal (Edmonds 2002, Tachibana andAdhikari 2009). Thus, strengthened management rules and tenure seem to help reduce grazing and forest product collection (Nagendra 2007, Tachibana andAdhikari 2009). Community groups are also able to respond to signals of forest change more rapidly and introduce conservation practices such as stall feeding of cattle, forest fire prevention, encouraging tree plantation in private land to meet daily needs, and guarding against illegal felling (Nagendra 2007, Nepal et al. 2007, Kanel 2008, Pokharel 2012. ...
We examine the role of subnational institutions in carbon sequestration and assess whether community forest user groups can meet both existing forest needs and international carbon demand. By conducting a qualitative evaluation of a pilot program in Nepal that made carbon payments to forest user groups, we examine if community forestry institutions can be effective, efficient, and equitable in implementing Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)+. Our evaluation relies on focus group discussions, meetings, and community and program documents of forestry user groups that participated in the REDD+ pilot and matched groups that did not. Compared to control groups, REDD+ user groups appear to be more effective in carbon sequestration, perhaps because of increased prevention of forest fires and grazing, nursery establishment, and other forest management. REDD+ user groups report a larger number of forest conservation, forest utilization, and community development activities relative to control groups. Participating communities bear transaction costs of US2.5/hectare on average (or NPR 50,000 (US1.3. Targeting of benefits improves partly because some marginalized groups, particularly women, participate more in the planning and management. In terms of equity, microcredit and capacity development activities were skewed to the poorest households, whereas alternate fuel and carbon monitoring were more advantageous to middle or high income households. Overall, our analyses suggest that REDD+ activities can be successfully executed, if communities receive technical and capacity building support for institutional strengthening, in addition to carbon payments.
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... Compare different forestry programmes : Many studies examine programmes that engage communities and compare their effectiveness with the status quo such as government managed systems or unmanaged systems (Somanathan et al. 2005 ;Tachibana and Adhikari 2009 ;Scullion et al. 2011 ;Edmonds 2002 ). 3 In India Somanathan et al. ( 2005 ) show that in community managed forests performed no worse and perhaps better than state managed forests. Tachibana and Adhikari ( 2009 ) examine this question in Nepal and show that community co-managed forests are more successful in helping deforested areas recover forests than forests that are solely managed by communities. ...
... Compare different forestry programmes : Many studies examine programmes that engage communities and compare their effectiveness with the status quo such as government managed systems or unmanaged systems (Somanathan et al. 2005 ;Tachibana and Adhikari 2009 ;Scullion et al. 2011 ;Edmonds 2002 ). 3 In India Somanathan et al. ( 2005 ) show that in community managed forests performed no worse and perhaps better than state managed forests. Tachibana and Adhikari ( 2009 ) examine this question in Nepal and show that community co-managed forests are more successful in helping deforested areas recover forests than forests that are solely managed by communities. They also fi nd that co -managed forests are able to especially protect forests better where large visible extraction is taking place (such as of timber). ...
In this chapter, we examine how impact evaluations can contribute to measuring and understanding the overall effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of forestry programmes. In most cases we find that impact evaluations have used quasi-experimental methods rather than experimental methods to identify and measure change that can be causally attributed to forestry programmes. We conclude that in measuring the change that be attributed to these programmes, impact evaluation methods help to measure the overall effect, deal with sources of potential bias and mitigate confounding factors while undertaking these measurements. Impact evaluations also hold enormous potential because they are able to leverage the potential held by big and open data. However caution must also be exercised in using these methods. Impact evaluation methodologies must also incorporate causal pathways and methods of implementation research if they are to be relevant to policy and programme managers.
... These situations place women, especially forest-dependent poor women, at greater risk of losing their rights to forest resources or not receiving an equitable share of the compensation for forest protection activities if REDD+ national strategies and processes are not gender and social inclusive Khadka et al., 2014). Although it's too early to judge the livelihood impacts of REDD+ mechanism, since it has not yet been implemented, scholars argue that REDD+'s success will largely be contingent on its capacity to fully integrate a broad range of stakeholders, especially indigenous people and forest dependent communities (Adhikari, 2009). ...
... This review paper attempts to show the linkage between community forestry and livelihood improvement in the rural areas of Nepal because community participation in forest management can help to increase the household income and reduce poverty among participant households. Numerous field studies have found that community forestry practices have increased forest cover and improved environmental conditions (Schweik et al., 1997(Schweik et al., , 2003Jackson et al., 1998;Gautam et al., 2002;Adhikari et al., 2007;Kanel, 2008;Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009;Pandit and Bevilacqua, 2011). The community forestry program in Nepal is a unique program which offers both opportunities and limitations to contributing sustainable livelihoods of the local users. ...
This review paper is designed to demonstrate how community forestry has played an important role in the livelihood improvement of poor people in the rural areas of Nepal. The Community Forestry Program in Nepal has been a successful model for participatory action oriented especially in environmental governance and community-based forest management in developing countries which encompasses well-defined policies, institutions and practices. The program addresses the twin goals of forest conservation on one hand and livelihood improvement on the other hand. It is well known that there is a great diversity among resource users in terms of access, use and control over community forestry but still it is playing a large role in improving livelihood, increasing forest resources and also mitigating climate change. Promoting community forest management in Nepal can be an effective policy instrument for poverty eradication and improvement of overall living standards like in many developing countries. There is always a problem of capture of the benefits by the elites in each community, so increase in the level of awareness is always necessary to ensure the involvement of disenfranchised people where their needs are met, so giving access and management rights over forest resources to local communities is expected to enhance livelihoods and other benefits of these impoverished people. Policy-makers, experts and the local communities should be involved in developing and improving the benefits obtained from community forestry for the benefits of local people. Some challenges still remain, including elite capture, social disparity, inequitable benefit-sharing and exclusion of poor and marginalized users faced by the community forestry, local users, government officials and other stakeholders which should be solved soon to show the profound impact of community forestry management, utilization and conservation on a sustainable basis. © 2016, Pakistan Agricultural Scientists Forum. All rights reserved.
... However, Ives & Messerli (1989) revealed that the forests of upland hills and mountains are more or less intact despite of population growth, challenging the theory of Himalayan environmental degradation. In addition, several studies (Gautam et al., 2003;Government of Nepal, 2013;Kanel, 2004;Niraula, et al., 2013;Pandit & Bevilacqua, 2011;Tachibana & Adhikari, 2009) have revealed that forest condition has been significantly improved in the hills and mountains of Nepal following the initiation of community forestry (CF) program and prominent source for supplying forest products to local households (Adhikari et al., 2004;Pandit & Bevilacqua, 2011;Mahat et al., 1986). Study conducted from 1989 to 2000 in the Chitwan valley of Nepal, shown that community based forest management was successful in halting and reversing the ongoing trend of deforestation and forest fragmentation (Nagendra et al., 2007). ...
... As a result, shrub and natural regenerations have gradually converted into forests. The result showed similarity with the findings of the other studies conducted on different parts of Nepal (Gautam et al., 2002;Gautam et al., 2003;Government of Nepal, 2013;Kanel, 2004;Niraula, et al., 2013;Tachibana & Adhikari, 2009). The studies also indicated a positive trend in forest protection and enhanced natural regeneration following the implementation of the CF in Nepal. ...
Understanding the complexity of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes and their drivers at a local or landscape level is essential to better understand the relationship between human and the environment, and to support local planning process for the sustainable management of ecosystem goods and services. Internal migration is a common and ongoing phenomenon in the middle mountains of Nepal which largely determine the resource use, its distribution and management. Most of the research conducted so far emphasized the issues related to outmigration of people and its consequences. However, increasing trend of internal migration, its relation and consequences to LULC changes has not been well documented. Therefore, this research was designed to answer the question how LULC has changed in the last 25 years due to internal migration, and how the changes in human settlements have impacted the surrounding landscapes in the middle mountains of Nepal.
The LULC change analysis from the year 1988 to 2013 was conducted using Landsat images with Support Vector Machines. The internal migration pattern of households in the study area was analysed by an interaction with local communities through focus group discussions. Based on the internal migration pattern, whole landscape was divided into higher (above 1400 m) and lower (below 1400 m) landscape. The fragmentation analysis was carried out in each landscape using FRAGSTAT software. Consequently, the impacts of different human settlement densities on surrounding LULC were analysed using ArcGIS and FRAGSTAT software.
The results reveal that the forests in the study area have increased gradually in the last two decades with an overall decrease in shrub/grass and agriculture. A trend of household migration from high to low elevations villages has been revealed, although the trend was not uniform in all villages. The fertile agriculture lands in the valley floors, construction of rural road with accumulation of income opportunities, and facilities along the road head were found as pull factors for internal migration. Similarly, erratic rainfall, natural hazards, decreasing agriculture production and productivity, limited income opportunities and labour shortage were reported as major push factors for migration of people from uplands towards the valley floors. At higher elevations, forest had increased at the cost of agriculture and shrub/grass, while at lower elevations, forest was more or less constant with increase in agriculture at the cost of shrub/grass. However, the agriculture have become geometrically complex in shaped in lower elevations due to expansion of settlements and infrastructure development. Near to the settlements (within 0.5 km; inner buffer), the low density settlement had highest coverage of shrub/grass and lowest forest. However, the area around the medium and high density settlements had higher percentage of agriculture followed by forests. Far away from the settlements (1 km from inner buffer; outer buffer), the medium density settlement had largest coverage and dominance of forest. However, the areas around the medium density settlement had large number of forest patches compared to the high density settlement. Among all, the areas around the high density settlement had largest percentage of agriculture and more homogenous and compact forests. Agriculture was found to be more fragmented near to settlements compared to the areas far from the settlements.
The research suggests that internal migration plays an important role in LULC change in the middle mountains of Nepal. The unplanned migration of people and its impacts on natural resources may lead to food shortage and environmental degradation in the long run. So, the government need to formulate policy to regulate internal migration in a planned way. Moreover, the land use planning should be taken as integrated and interdisciplinary approach rather than considering it in isolation. Despite the increase in human population, community based forest management have demonstrated successes in maintaining and recovering forests in the fragile mountainous ecosystems of Nepal.
... It uses data from Nepal, where the aims of the national-level community based forest management program are to conserve the forest while improving the livelihoods of forest users, primarily through subsistence provision of forest products (Acharya, 2002). There is general agreement in the literature that implementation of community forestry in Nepal has resulted in increased forest product supply and improved environmental conditions at the forest stand level (e.g., Pandit & Bevilacqua, 2011;Tachibana & Adhikari, 2009;Thoms, 2008). Studies of the financial consequences of this to households are, however, few (Adhikari, Falco, & Lovett, 2004;Adhikari, Williams, & Lovett, 2007;Malla, 2000) and do not include quantitative estimates of impacts on household income. ...
... Third, the standard approach to forest management planning and implementation in Nepal needs to be reconsidered: rather than emphasizing rigid standard conservative management interventions in community forest operational plans (Acharya, 2002;Dev & Adhikari, 2007;Yadav, Yadav, Yadav, & Thapa, 2009) these should take into account spatial and temporal species-level variations in harvesting possibilities. This would serve to avoid the widely reported Gautam, Shivakoti, & Webb, 2004;Pandit & Bevilacqua, 2011;Schweik, Nagendra, & Sinha, 2003;Tachibana & Adhikari, 2009;Thoms, 2008) underutilization of community forests. ...
... Micro level studies and visual interpretations have revealed that Nepal's forest coverage and condition has significantly improved in the middle mountains due to the initiation of community forestry program (Kandel, 2010). The community based forestry practice has improved biophysical environment/tree generations throughout the country (Gautam et al., 2002(Gautam et al., , 2004Yadav et al., 2003;Nagendra et al., 2008;Gautam, 2009;Tanchibana and Adhikari, 2009). ...
... This might be due to change in the forest composition and condition after taking the management responsibility by the local communities. The change in forest composition and condition has been observed in community forests (Gautam et al., 2002(Gautam et al., , 2004Yadav et al., 2003;Nagendra et al., 2008;Gautam, 2009;Tanchibana and Adhikari, 2009) after the formation of CFUG. Shrestha and McManus (2008) demonstrated that density of trees (i.e., number of trees per ha), and greenery of the community forests have increased compared with the highly degraded state from which most community forests started. ...
... Micro level studies and visual interpretations have revealed that Nepal's forest coverage and condition has significantly improved in the middle mountains due to the initiation of community forestry program (Kandel, 2010). The community based forestry practice has improved biophysical environment/tree generations throughout the country (Gautam et al., 2002(Gautam et al., , 2004Yadav et al., 2003;Nagendra et al., 2008;Gautam, 2009;Tanchibana and Adhikari, 2009). ...
... This might be due to change in the forest composition and condition after taking the management responsibility by the local communities. The change in forest composition and condition has been observed in community forests (Gautam et al., 2002(Gautam et al., , 2004Yadav et al., 2003;Nagendra et al., 2008;Gautam, 2009;Tanchibana and Adhikari, 2009) after the formation of CFUG. Shrestha and McManus (2008) demonstrated that density of trees (i.e., number of trees per ha), and greenery of the community forests have increased compared with the highly degraded state from which most community forests started. ...
Community based forestry is seen as a promising instrument for sustainable forest management (SFM) through
the purposeful involvement of local communities. Globally, forest area managed by local communities is on the
rise. However, transferringmanagement responsibilities to forest users alone cannot guarantee the sustainability
of forest management. A monitoring tool, that allows the local communities to track the progress of forest
management towards the goal of sustainability, is essential. A case study, including six forest user groups
(FUGs), two from each three community based forestry models—community forestry (CF), buffer zone
community forestry (BZCF), and collaborative forest management (CFM) representing three different
physiographic regions, was conducted in Nepal. The study exploreswhich community based forest management
model (CF, BZCF or CFM) is doing well in terms of sustainable forest management. The study assesses the overall
performance of the three models towards SFM using locally developed criteria (four), indicators (26) and
verifiers (60). This paper attempts to quantify the sustainability of the models using sustainability index for
individual criteria (SIIC), and overall sustainability index (OSI). In addition, rating to the criteria and scoring
of the verifiers by the FUGs were done. Among the four criteria, the FUGs ascribed the highest weightage to
institutional framework and governance criterion; followed by economic and social benefits, forestmanagement
practices, and extent of forest resources. Similarly, the SIIC was found to be the highest for the institutional
framework and governance criterion. The average values of OSI for CFM, CF, and BZCF were 0.48, 0.51 and 0.60
respectively; suggesting that buffer zone community forestry is the more sustainable model among the three.
The study also suggested that the SIIC and OSI help local communities to quantify the overall progress of their
forestry practices towards sustainability. The indices provided a clear picture of forest management practices
to indicate the direction where they are heading in terms of sustainability; and informed the users on issues to pay attention to enhance sustainability of their forests.
... Our future challenge is to enhance the productivity of CF, and to ensure the equitable distribution of its benefits through the transformation of natural resources into assets that can address the livelihood priorities of CFUGs, particularly those of the poorest (Allison et al., 2004). The user groups receiving official support have substantially improved the condition of their CFs, for example by way of reducing forest fire occurrence (Tachibana & Adhikari, 2009). ...
The study was carried out in four community forest user groups (CFUGs) of Sindhupalchok
district of Nepal with a view to find out the consumption pattern of forest products especially
timber and fuelwood from the community forests (CFs). A set of structured questionnaires
was used to collect data from the respondents of the selected CFUGs. Four CFUGs were
randomly selected from among those meeting the predetermined criteria such as: more
than 5 years old, regularly harvesting timber and fuelwood, and active in forest
management. With a 20% sampling intensity, 103 respondents were identified from the
groups for household visit and personal interview. Records of forest product distribution
together with a checklist of secondary data were obtained from the District Forestry Office
(DFO) and the CFUG records. This data were analyzed using both descriptive and
inferential statistical analysis. Results indicated that there was no significant difference in
the use of timber and fuelwood among the users. Similarly, there was no correlation
between the number of livestock and use of firewood. However, there was a strong
relationship between the number of livestock and fodder trees on their farmland. There
was a higher demand for fuelwood than timber but the pine-dominant community forests
were found to be producing more timber, thereby creating a big gap between the demand
and supply of firewood. However, the supply of timber was comparatively consistent with
demand.
Keywords: Community forest user group, demand and supply, farmland, fuelwood, timber
... It provides evidences of effective livelihood role of KCF in Lamatar. This result is similar with the result of livelihood contribution to the local households (Schweik et al., 1997(Schweik et al., , 2003Jackson et al., 1998;Gautam et al., 2002;Adhikari et al., 2007;Kanel, 2008;Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009;Pandit and Bevilacqua, 2011, Gurung et al., 2013, Ojha et al., 2014, along with social inclusion of marginal and untouchable community. However, these literatures have not quantified inequality reduction. ...
This study is to examine empirically livelihood dependency and inequality of the community from the community forest in Nepal. This study used the follow up survey data in 2018 in the Kafle Community Forest of Lamatar-6, Lalitpur District, Nepal. The data was collected from household survey to 48 sample household. Gini coefficient was used as analytical tool. As the results, 67 percent households are absolute poor and 23 percent households are relatively poor. The poor households excessively and directly dependent on the forest products of the community forests for their daily livelihood objectives. This study found that community forests contributed 45 percent livelihood income (firewood, leaf litter, and grass, water etc.) to the forest-dependent households, along with service and agriculture income sources. Labor contribution based proportional distribution was used to meet social and economic justice. The poor could get more benefit than the well-off households. Additionally, the study found declining inequality among households after being a member of KCF. Without the income of the community forests, the inequality was 0.99. With the income of the community forests, the inequality sharply dropped at 0.64. Thus, the community forests reduce income inequality and poverty level of the poor households with increasing livelihood security and support. Therefore, the community forests are an effective and collective action to sustainable forest management and livelihood security.
... Poachers and hunters induce fire to have a better sight of game animals whereas villagers set fire to scare dangerous animals and for the removal of weeds (International Forest Fire News, 2016). The uncontrolled forest fire has detrimental impacts on both wildlife and plants (e.g., saplings, timber and non-timber forest products) (Byers, 2005;Nagendra, 2003;Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009) and is considered as one of the major causes of deforestation in Nepal (Chaudhary et al., 2016). ...
Averting biodiversity loss has been one of the most urgent challenges in our time. The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic gave a clear message that human is a part of nature, and protecting/restoring biodiversity requires a more stringent and comprehensive conservation strategy. The most agreed strategy, among others, is to educate people—from every walk of life—about values and importance of biodiversity.
This photo book is an attempt to educate people through photos and their stories, featuring different aspects of biodiversity in Nepal
This book is an outcome of the “Photo Conference 2021”, organized on June 05, 2021, by the Nepal Chapter of the Society of Conservation Biology. This virtual conference allowed thousands of people to discuss local conservation issues through photographs as a case study. We decided to give a shape of book with relevant scientific information, hoping to serve as a resource book. The book features many of our conservation challenges we are facing: from a tortoise crossing on the highway, to human-snow leopard conflict, to indiscriminate sand mining from a river and to the ruthless killing of the globally endangered King Cobra. Photos speak undeniable truth and we have no choice other than providing solutions to these challenges. We need to tackle head-on the issues guided by science.
... Now community forestry is practiced all over the world for environment conservation in context-specific forms to engage local communities (Brosius et al. 2005;Glasmeier and Farrigan 2005) and is practiced broadly on different aspects such as forest ownership, responsibility, and management authority (Edmunds and Wollenberg 2003;Ribot et al. 2006). Research indicates that community forest practices bring lots of positive environmental and forest changes in Nepal (Schweik et al. 1997;Jackson and Kearsley 1998;Gautam et al. 2002;Schweik et al. 2003;Adhikari et al. 2007;Kanel and Dahal 2008;Tachibana and Adhikari 2009). According to the Food Agriculture Organization (FAO 2011), community forestry is an important form of forest management for developing countries as a means of response to centralized forest ownership, promoting sustainable forestry management (Schusser 2013;Maryudi et al. 2012;Casse and Milhoj 2011;Sunderlin 2006). ...
The chapter aims to examine the extent and determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure with the stance of both legitimacy and stakeholder theory. The study used annual reports of 100 sample manufacturing corporations selected based on the market capitalization method. The extent of CSR disclosure was evaluated through the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact. Ordinary least square regression was conducted to analyze data. The study findings indicate that only 11% of sample corporations disclose more than eight principles through the lens of both legitimacy and stakeholder theory. The study also finds that board size, corporate size, and operating risk management have a significant, positive association with CSR disclosure. Findings are only based on manufacturing corporations and the principles of the United Nations Global Compact, so the generalization of findings on financial corporations and comparison with other voluntary standards should not be prudent. Findings also support policymakers and industry practitioners to develop a methodological guideline along with improving the instruments of social value system for enhancing CSR disclosure. The study empirically tested the positions of both legitimacy and stakeholder theory for CSR disclosure in the emerging economies like Bangladesh for which the findings provide new insight into the literature. In addition, the findings regarding the role of independent directors and operating risk management for CSR disclosure in the emerging economies will keep a significant appeal to policymakers.KeywordsBoard sizeIndependent directorCorporate profitabilityCorporate sizeOperating risk managementUnited Nations Global Compact
... Notwithstanding isolated cases (Pandit and Thapa, 2003;Sarkar, 2008), CFM systems are generally effective in managing forest resources in the Himalayas under a favourable policy environment that supports decentralization [ Fig. 3, POL → CFM] (Pagdee et al., 2006;Singh et al., 2009;Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009;Webb and Gautam, 2001;Niraula and Pokharel, 2016b). Devolution of power to communities in Nepal began in 1978 with the establishment of Panchayat Forests (PF) and Panchayat Protected Forests (PPF). ...
Mountains are critical ecosystems that have a strong influence far beyond their topographic boundaries. More than 50 million people inhabit the Himalayas, and more than one billion people depend on the ecosystem services they provide. Anthropogenic activities have driven concurrent deforestation and regeneration in the Himalayas, and interventions to reduce forest loss and promote forest recovery require a synthetic understanding of the complex and interacting drivers of forest change. We conducted a systematic review of case studies from 1984 to 2020 (n = 137) and combined a system dynamics approach with a causal network analysis to identify, map and articulate the relationships between the drivers, actors and mechanisms of forest change across the entirety of the Himalayan mountain range. In total, the analysis revealed five proximate drivers, 12 underlying drivers, two institutional factors and five 'other' factors connected by a total of 221 linkages. Forest change dynamics have been dominated by widespread smallholder agriculture, extensive non-timber forest product extraction, widespread commercial and non-commercial timber extraction, and high rates of agricultural abandonment. Underlying drivers include population growth, poor agricultural productivity, international support for development projects, and successful community forest management systems. Contradictory linkages emerge from a combination of contextual factors, which can have negative impacts on conservation goals. Global processes such as shifts in governance, transnational infrastructure-development programs, economic slowdowns , labor migrations and climate change threaten to destabilize established dynamics and change forest trajectories. The underlying and proximate drivers interact through multiple pathways that can be utilized to achieve conservation goals. Based on this analysis, we highlight five thematic focus areas to curtail forest loss and promote recovery: (1) decreasing the population pressure, (2) sustainable increase of agricultural productivity, (3) strengthening of forest management institutions, (4) leveraging tourism growth and sustainable infrastructure expansion, and (5) fuel transition and establishing firewood plantations on degraded land. The broader adoption of systems thinking, and specifically, a system dynamics approach and causal network analysis, will greatly enhance the rigour of policy development, help design site-specific interventions at multiple spatial scales which can respond to local and global changes, and guide deeper inquiry to enhance our understanding of driver-forest dynamics.
... Alhassan, 2016 incl. Duku, 2018Bandyopadhyay, 2010Capuno, 2010Kasim, 2016Gullo, 2017Humphreys, 2014Bandyopadhyay, 2004Grossman, 2018Huang, 2014Palladium, 2015Banerjee, 2014Molina, 2014Pandey, 2007Goncalves, 2013Berman, 2017Tachibana, 2009Touchton, 2015Rasamoelina, 2015Timmons, 2015Barde, 2017 ...
Does engaging citizens in the planning, management and oversight of public services –
such as health care, social protection or physical infrastructure – that are critical to
enabling large-scale development of populations impact the quality of and access to
services and citizens’ quality of life? This systematic review examined high quality
evidence from 35 citizen engagement programmes in low- and middle-income
countries that promote the engagement of citizens in service delivery through four
routes: participation (participatory priority setting); inclusion of marginalized groups;
transparency (information on rights and public service performance); and/or citizen
efforts to ensure public service accountability (citizen feedback and monitoring);
collectively, PITA mechanisms.
... The community forest management practice after 1990 has been successful particularly in Hill region as it increased forest coverage, improved livelihoods opportunities for forest dependent people, developed local institutions, and improved ecological conditions of forest (Ojha and Kanel, 2005;Jackson et al., 1998;Gautam et al., 2002;Adhikari et al., 2007;Kanel, 2008;Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009;Pandit and Bevilacqua, 2011;Virgo and Subba, 1994;Collett et al., 1996;Jackson et al., 1998;Gautam et al., 2003). A few recent publications (Niraula et al., 2013;Sharma et al., 2014;Poudel et al., 2014;Jaquet et al., 2015;Poudel et al., 2015) from various parts of Nepal confirm that forest coverage has increased in this millennium. ...
The environmental situation of the Hiamlayas is a matter of global concern. Understanding on Himalayas environment is usually shaped by the changing views expressed by research institutions, doner organizations, and finally by politics and power relations. In line with changing paradigms in knowledge-producing institutions, different understandings of environmental challenges in the Himalayas have emerged. Based on the literature and available data, we have tried to discern changes in forest policies, their implication on forest management and various understandings of deforestation in Nepal Himalayas that are salient in the scientific literature. The debate of deforestation/degradation on the state of Himalayan environment came on the global agenda in the 1950s. The initial focus was on population growth and pressure on natural resources. It was followed by attention to processes of development and physical interventions in a fragile environment. Most recently local participation and poverty alleviation have been high on the agenda. In this context, the present paper attempts to examine the debates in the light of recent events and circumstances related to environmental processes in general and forest management of Nepal in particular.
... Notwithstanding isolated cases (Pandit and Thapa, 2003;Sarkar, 2008), CFM systems are generally effective in managing forest resources in the Himalayas under a favourable policy environment that supports decentralization [ Fig. 3, POL → CFM] (Pagdee et al., 2006;Singh et al., 2009;Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009;Webb and Gautam, 2001;Niraula and Pokharel, 2016b). Devolution of power to communities in Nepal began in 1978 with the establishment of Panchayat Forests (PF) and Panchayat Protected Forests (PPF). ...
Deforestation in the Himalayas has been a long-standing concern and has been well-documented in the literature; however, case studies of afforestation are far and few in between. Additionally, highly focused studies fail to identify the distant actors that influence local processes. A fundamental conceptual map of various social, political and ecological components is therefore necessary for interventions to minimize deforestation and foster sustainable development.
We analysed 101 peer reviewed documents published between 1984 to 2018 which documented 137 case studies of forest change in the Himalayan region. We combined a system-dynamics approach and a causal-network analysis to determine the relationships between proximate causes and underlying drivers which influenced forest cover and quality in the Himalayas. Proximate causes included agricultural expansion, agricultural abandonment, timber extraction, non-timber forest product (NTFP) extraction, infrastructure expansion and community and government management practices. We identified 21 underlying drivers of forest change including formal policies, development projects, international funding, industrial growth, agricultural intensification and output, poverty, population dynamics, alternate energy, and institutional factors. Through the causal-network analysis we identified priority areas for interventions, for example increasing supply of NTFPs from non-forest land, reforestation of abandoned agricultural land, and community involvement forest management. We succeeded in unpacking the different processes that drive forest change and integrated scattered linkages between various factors. We recommend this approach for a holistic understanding of complex ecological systems.
... These studies have helped to identify how land tenure, local autonomy and collective action may contribute to effective and equitable CFM, but have not tested whether CFM programmes lead to net environmental and socioeconomic improvements at national scales 7 . Some studies use more rigorous evaluations of CFM but they generally focus on single outcomes, studying the relationship between CFM and either forests [12][13][14] or poverty 15,16 -often at single points in time 17,18 . ...
Since the 1980’s, decentralized forest management has been promoted as a way to enhance sustainable forest use and reduce rural poverty. Rural communities manage increasing amounts of the world’s forests, yet rigorous evidence using large-N data on whether community-based forest management (CFM) can jointly reduce both deforestation and poverty remains scarce. We estimate the impacts of CFM using a large longitudinal dataset that integrates national census-based poverty measures with high-resolution forest cover change data, and near-complete information on Nepal’s >18,000 community forests. We compare changes in forest cover and poverty from 2000–2012 for subdistricts with or without CFM arrangements, but that are otherwise similar in terms of socioeconomic and biophysical baseline measures. Our results indicate that CFM has, on average, contributed to significant net reductions in both poverty and deforestation across Nepal, and that CFM increases the likelihood of win–win outcomes. We also find that the estimated reduced deforestation impacts of community forests are lower where baseline poverty levels are high, and greater where community forests are larger and have existed longer. These results indicate that greater benefits may result from longer-term investments and larger areas committed to CFM, but that community forests established in poorer areas may require additional support to minimize tradeoffs between socioeconomic and environmental outcomes. Rural communities manage much of the world’s forests, but the effects on both landscapes and people are still unclear. This study estimates the impacts of such community-based forest management in Nepal from 2000–2012 and finds significant net reductions in both deforestation and poverty.
... These studies have helped to identify how land tenure, local autonomy and collective action may contribute to effective and equitable CFM, but have not tested whether CFM programmes lead to net environmental and socioeconomic improvements at national scales 7 . Some studies use more rigorous evaluations of CFM but they generally focus on single outcomes, studying the relationship between CFM and either forests [12][13][14] or poverty 15,16 -often at single points in time 17,18 . ...
Land protection, whether public or private, is often controversial at the local level because residents worry about lost economic activity. We used panel data and a quasi‐experimental impact‐evaluation approach to determine how key economic indicators were related to the percentage of land protected. Specifically, we estimated the impacts of public and private land protection based on local area employment and housing permits data from 5 periods spanning 1990–2015 for all major towns and cities in New England. To generate rigorous impact estimates, we modeled economic outcomes as a function of the percentage of land protected in the prior period, conditional on town fixed effects, metro‐region trends, and controls for period and neighboring protection. Contrary to narratives that conservation depresses economic growth, land protection was associated with a modest increase in the number of people employed and in the labor force and did not affect new housing permits, population, or median income. Public and private protection led to different patterns of positive employment impacts at distances close to and far from cities, indicating the importance of investing in both types of land protection to increase local opportunities. The greatest magnitude of employment impacts was due to protection in more rural areas, where opportunities for both visitation and amenity‐related economic growth may be greatest. Overall, we provide novel evidence that land protection can be compatible with local economic growth and illustrate a method that can be broadly applied to assess the net economic impacts of protection.
... Community based forestry has demonstrated the potentiality of improving local livelihoods where communities have been able to exercise a high level of empowerment (FAO 2016). In Nepal, following the implementation of the community forestry program, the biophysical environment throughout the country has improved (Gautam et al. 2004, Tachibana andAdhikari 2009) and community forestry has played a vital role in meeting the needs of rural communities (Adhikari 2005). However, in practice, actual implementation fails to reflect the needs and aspirations of poorer and marginalized users (Gautam 2006). ...
The objectives of Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, forest conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+) can be achieved if communities are actively involved in and benefit from forest resource management. The study examined factors affecting justice in REDD+ benefit sharing in community forestry in Nepal’s Terai region. The most influential factors identified were the economic status of forest users, the decision-making process, conflicting issues within the community and the accountability of local leaders. Poor people are highly dependent on forest resources, while the rich benefit comparatively more from their control over decision-making structures. Rich people participate less in community development work but more in the decision-making mechanism in community forestry. The poorer representation of disadvantaged forest users in decision-making limits their influence on the accountability
of the authorities to local needs. Democratically elected and accountable leadership creates opportunity for justice in REDD+ benefit sharing among users. Accountability towards poor and disadvantaged people could be improved by developing the leadership skills of the poor and disadvantaged forest users at local level. The factors described in the study affect justice in benefit sharing, and have policy implication for the success of REDD+ both at the local and regional level.
... Since then, Forest User Groups formed from rural households have been responsible for the development, conservation, management, and utilization of forest resources in Nepal. The successes of these groups in relation to forest conservation have been attributed to the socio-economic benefits they derive from the forests (Tachibana andAdhikari 2009, Chhetri et al. 2013). ...
Due to the shortcomings of state control over forests, participatory approaches to managing forests have evolved. However, the motivation for people to participate voluntarily in forest management has received less research attention in Ghana. This research examined what motivated the fringe communities of the Suhuma Forest Reserve in Ghana to participate in its management. The study was designed to be consistent with the convergent parallel mixed methods. In this regard, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected at the same time to determine the motivation of the communities to participate in the management of the reserve. The qualitative data were obtained through focus group discussions with members of Community Forest Committees. The quantitative data were also obtained through a survey of 112 households (half of whom were members of Community Forest Committees) selected from 12 fringe communities. Analyses of the data revealed that participation in the management of the reserve was through voluntary Community Forest Committees. Access to the forest reserve for non-timber products, and the hope of getting degraded portions of the forest to farm were the factors that motivated the members of the Community Forest Committees to participate voluntarily in the management of the forest reserve. However, the Committees complained about the lack of motivational packages, inadequate logistics and non-response to requests for assistance from the Forest Services Division, but the need for farmlands has kept them on. The study recommends that the committees should be motivated by allocating the degraded sections of the forest to them for tree-crop planting, which could not only contribute to the restoration and sustenance of the forest reserve but also serve as a source of livelihood for the members of the Committees.
... 20 Prior work on these two types of forest protection find generally positive impacts for forests and livelihoods. Previous studies find that CFUGs are associated with greater forest carbon stocks and other improvements in forest health (Tachibana and Adhikari 2009). CFUGs have been found to increase food consumption for nearby households (Paudel 2016) while protected areas have been found to reduce consumption of forest-goods without increasing reliance on market purchases (Howlader and Ando 2016) and to increase local welfare when combined with ecotourism (Yergeau et al. 2017). ...
Household biogas systems are a renewable energy technology with the potential to provide sustainable development benefits by reducing pressure on forest stocks and by shifting household time allocation towards higher value activities or long-term investments in human capital. We estimate the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of biogas expansion in Nepal using an instrumental variables approach that exploits conditional variation in access to biogas installation companies. We confirm prior evidence that biogas use significantly reduces collected fuelwood, estimating changes of approximately 800-2000 kg per year per household. We find new evidence that biogas saves time in fuelwood collection (23-47%), and results in reallocation of time away from home production and wage labor towards agricultural labor and education. We find that biogas reduced forest cover loss in the Hill region and when combined with other forest protection policies. Together the results suggest that biogas can contribute modestly to sustainable development, particularly in combination with complimentary opportunities or policies.
... Many studies have examined programs that engage communities and compare their effectiveness with the status quo, such as government managed systems, or unmanaged systems. For example, Tachibana and Adhikari (2009) showed that in Nepal, community co-managed forests recover much more quickly than forests where communities are solely managing their forests. And Cropper, Puri and Griffiths (2001) found that protected areas are less effective in protecting forests than wildlife sanctuaries by themselves, perhaps because the latter have more resources devoted to them. ...
... Since then, Forest User Groups formed from rural households have been responsible for the development, conservation, management, and utilization of forest resources in Nepal. The successes of these groups in relation to forest conservation have been attributed to the socio-economic benefits they derive from the forests (Tachibana andAdhikari 2009, Chhetri et al. 2013). ...
Due to the shortcomings of state control over forests, participatory approaches to managing forests have evolved. However, the motivation for people to participate voluntarily in forest management has received less research attention in Ghana. This research examined what motivated the fringe communities of the Suhuma Forest Reserve in Ghana to participate in its management. The study was designed to be consistent with the convergent parallel mixed methods. In this regard, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected at the same time to determine the motivation of the communities to participate in the management of the reserve. The qualitative data were obtained through focus group discussions with members of Community Forest Committees. The quantitative data were also obtained through a survey of 112 households (half of whom were members of Community Forest Committees) selected from 12 fringe communities. Analyses of the data revealed that participation in the management of the reserve was through voluntary Community Forest Committees. Access to the forest reserve for non-timber products, and the hope of getting degraded portions of the forest to farm were the factors that motivated the members of the Community Forest Committees to participate voluntarily in the management of the forest reserve. However, the Committees complained about the lack of motivational packages, inadequate logistics and non-response to requests for assistance from the Forest Services Division, but the need for farmlands has kept them on. The study recommends that the committees should be motivated by allocating the degraded sections of the forest to them for tree-crop planting, which could not only contribute to the restoration and sustenance of the forest reserve but also serve as a source of livelihood for the members of the Committees but also serve as a source of livelihood for the members of the Committees.
... It also allows for the integration of local and indigenous knowledge in resource management (Blaikie, 2006;. In addition, co-management programs often aim at an equitable benefit distribution from resource use and may generally provide a more sustainable way to manage natural resources Adhikari et al., 2004;Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009). ...
Diese Doktorarbeit trägt durch eine Analyse der chinesischen Landgenossenschaften zum Verständnis von Politik und Prozessen im Ko-Management natürlicher Ressourcen bei. Im Mittelpunkt dieser Arbeit steht die Frage wie der lokale Kontext und Haushaltscharakteristika mit der Implementierung von Landgenossenschaften interagieren. Ich adressiere diese Frage in drei empirischen Forschungsartikeln. Im ersten Artikel untersuchen ich die Wirkung verschiedener lokaler Kontextvariablen in verschiedenen Dörfern auf den Anteil der Landflächen, der von einer Landgenossenschaft verwaltet wird. Es wird gezeigt, wenn lokale Eliten, wie Regierungsbeamte, Dorfkader oder gebildete Menschen, Genossenschaftsvorsitzende sind, ist der Anteil von Land, der an die Genossenschaft übertragen wird, deutlich größer. Im zweiten Artikel wenden ich uns der Haushaltsebene zu und untersuchen Bestimmungsfaktoren der Mitgliedschaft in einer Genossenschaft und die Auswirkungen der Mitgliedschaft auf die Allokation der verfügbaren Arbeitskraft. Ich stelle keinen allgemeinen Effekt von Genossenschaftsmitgliedschaft auf die Wahrscheinlichkeit der außerlandwirtschaftlichen Berufstätigkeit des Haushaltsvorstandes fest. Im dritten Artikel analysieren ich, wir den Zusammenhang zwischen Partizipation in Entscheidungsprozessen und Haushaltseinkommen aus Landgenossenschaften. Ich zeige, wohlhabendere Mitglieder und solche mit Mitgliedschaft in der kommunistischen Partei haben eine höhere Wahrscheinlichkeit an Entscheidungsprozessen teilzunehmen. Genossenschaftsmitglieder weniger von ihrer Mitgliedschaft profitieren, wenn sie nicht in Entscheidungsprozesse involviert sind. Zusammenfassend zeigt diese Dissertation, dass der lokale Kontext einen Unterschied in der Implementierung von Landgenossenschaften macht. Um die Genossenschaften zu fördern sollten politische Entscheidungsträger die Heterogenität der lokalen Bevölkerung.
... By including local people in decision-making processes, co-management programs can usually overcome information asymmetries commonly found in top-down approaches and allow for the integration of local and indigenous knowledge in resource management (Blaikie, 2006;Dasgupta and Beard, 2007). In addition, co-management programs often aim at achieving equitable benefit distribution from resource use and may generally provide a sustainable way to manage natural resources (Agrawal, 2001;Adhikari et al., 2004;Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009). ...
Member participation in decision-making is a critical part of resource co-management. However, little is known about the welfare consequences of participation. This paper analyzes the impact of cooperative member participation in decision-making on their incomes, using data from 364 members of China's land cooperative program. We distinguish two levels of participation in decision-making – voting and obtaining financial information – and use a bivariate probit model and propensity score matching to estimate their impact. The results indicate that household head's age, gender and education and family size, wealth, and political affiliation determine participation in decision-making. Participation in either voting or obtaining financial information has a positive impact on cooperative members' land income. There is also a strong joint effect of voting and obtaining information, with an increase in land income of > 16%. We conclude that broad participation can ensure more equitable access to land income for members.
... Most studies on the livelihood impacts of PES have focused on programs implemented in forest ecosystems for reforestation, afforestation and forest protection (Landell-Mills and Porras, 2002;Grieg-Gran et al., 2005;Pagiola et al., 2005;FAO, 2007a;Porras et al., 2008;Wunder, 2008;Tacconi et al., 2010). This is because the majority of PES programs in developing countries are implemented in forest ecosystems rather than in agro-ecosystems Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009). However, the potential of agro-ecosystems to restore or provide valuable ecosystem services is increasingly acknowledged (FAO, 2007b;Cole, 2010;Branca et al., 2011;Smith and Sullivan, 2014). ...
Research on PES programs in agro-ecosystems is recent and limited in developing countries. We use a multi-method, quasi-experimental impact evaluation approach to examine direct and indirect livelihood impacts of the Equitable Payments for Watershed Services (EPWS) program piloted in the Morogoro region in Tanzania. The evaluation is based on a survey of 116 program participants and 117 non-participants, 32 semi-structured interviews and 16 focus group discussions to complement the survey data. We find that whilst the EPWS program incentives resulted in direct benefits, indirect benefits such as increased crop yields, higher land values, new employment opportunities, more knowledgeable farmers, improved leadership skills as well as increased trust, expanded internal and external networks and strengthened institutions were more important. The results clearly indicate the potential of PES schemes to generate win-win outcomes in agro-ecosystems, but they also call for attention to equity in the design of PES programs implemented on agro-ecosystems.
... Drawing upon common pool resource theory, it was assumed that forests can be better managed with the active involvement of users (Ostrom, 1999). There is plethora of literatures claiming that involvement of local people in forest management has brought positive changes in forest cover in Nepal (Gautam et al. 2004, Nagendra and Gokhale 2008, Pokharel et al. 2007, Tachibana and Adhikari 2009). Despite the increase in number of community forests in the country, the programme is still not successful in achieving people's effective participation in the governance and management of these forests (Agarwal 2001, Agrawal and Gupta 2005, Buchy and Subba 2003, Chhetri et al. 2013, Adhikari et al. 2014. ...
Determinants of people's participation in community forestry activities in Tanahun district, Nepal were investigated through a survey of 304 households across ten community forest user groups, key informant interviews, and informal group discussions. Data were analysed through an ordered probit model as well as through the marginal effects of socio-economic factors on the probability of households' participation. Of the 12 variables considered in this study, only gender, caste, household size, livestock holding, network, and amount of firewood extraction proved statistically significant. In all household wealth categories, a moderate level of participation was by far the most common. Further, the results indicate that users participating more in community forestry activities have extracted higher amounts of firewood, fodder and timber although this relation was not statistically significant. Female headed and low caste households, however, participated significantly less than other household categories.
... In addition, environmental impact assessments are receiving increasing attention in Nepal. Numerous field studies have found that community forestry practices have increased forest cover and improved environmental conditions [53][54][55][56][57][58][59]. ...
Nepal’s Community Forestry Program is a
sustainable forest management and livelihood enhancement
program reformed from earlier programs of the previous
century. The government’s initial policy was to
provide the basic forest resources to local communities
through their active participation in forest improvement
and management. Nepal’s policy and development program
was based on sustainability concepts. Community
forestry can be sustainable and produce socially, economically,
and ecologically beneficial results. A number of
both qualitative and quantitative options have been applied
to measure the sustainable use of forests and other natural
resources in community forests, but classifying the results
is challenging. Policy-makers, experts, and the communities
should be involved in developing and improving criteria
and indicators for community forest management,
reflecting the diversity of perspectives that must be
accounted for and the increasing worldwide demand for
sustainability and governance. The main findings were that
sustainability can be measured with numerous tools, but
there are several challenges. A literature review revealed
that nationally and internationally defined criteria and
indicators have not been extensively applied in Nepal due
to lack of technical and other expertise.
... The implementing body of the CFUG is the Users' Committee elected at the annual General Assembly. The programme is considered a success in terms of both forest conservation and socioeconomic contribution (Kanel and Dahal, 2008;Tachibana and Adhikari, 2009), although concerns with elite capture and marginalisation of poor and low caste forest users are voiced (Gilmour, 2003). All CFUGs in the study areas restrict households from using substantial quantities of forest products, apart from the collection of smaller value products like forest litter and twigs which is unrestricted (Chhetri et al., 2012b). ...
The paper empirically examines the contribution of forest-environmental income, and its role in well-being outcomes among the forest dependent households in rural Nepal. The results are based on a one-year survey of 303 households that included the detailed information on household demographics, income and assets and the people's perception in the change in their well-being compared to the last five year. To capture likely non-linear dynamics of well-being status, a probit regression model is tested. Overall, forest environmental income contributed an average of 16% of the total household income. Relative environmental reliance decreased with rising income while absolute environmental income increased. The perception of well-being was related to shock exposure and households' endowments to cope with shocks. In particular, households exposed to several consecutive shocks (two or more severe shocks) over the course of five years significantly reported to be worse-off. The limited role of forest in improving the well-beings of the households is associated with their limited access to the resources. Identification of income groups, their expected wealth status, and asset and access constraints that limit economic advance are used to suggest appropriate targets of intervention.
... The outcomes of Nepalese community forestry are discussed intensively in literature. Plentiful empirical studies from 1998 to 2009 on community forestry in Nepal have clearly indicate that community forestry served as an effective approach for the conservation, restoration of degraded forest lands and ultimately improving the condition of the forests (Tachibana and Adhakari, 2009; Kanel, 2008; Gautam, 2006; Thoms, 2006; Chakraborty, 2001; Branney and Yadav, 1998 ...
Community forestry, acknowledging as an expanding model of forestry devolution, has emerged from the failure of 'centralized forest management' with the aims to enhance social, economical and ecological outcomes of the forest for local and global forest users. The concept of community forestry designs a convincing model how tenures rights, decision making and management activities should be reorganized in order to give the forest back into the responsibility and hands of local users. This paper checks the practices in cases from Nepal and Indonesia and shows that the formal and legally based devolution is accompanied by an informal power network which guaranties for the state even more influence on the forest community than before. The methodology of power analyses can describe and explain these paradox results.
Effective, accountable and transparent institutions, that engage in inclusive and participatory governance, are crucial for the sustainability of global development investments. However, there is a debate about whether effective approaches to improving governance processes operate from the bottom up (e.g. by enabling citizens to hold service providers accountable) or the top down (by enabling service providers to be held accountable by the State). This paper systematically reviews participation and accountability mechanisms in a range of sectors, drawing on principles of realist evaluation to develop and test middle-range theory using framework synthesis and statistical meta-analysis. We show that interventions promoting citizen engagement through participatory priority setting or accountability mechanisms are often effective in stimulating active citizen engagement in service delivery and realising improvements in access to services, where they facilitate direct engagement between service users and front-line service providers, such as in health care. However, citizen engagement interventions alone are not effective where services are accessed independently of service provider staff, for example road infrastructure. Interventions promoting participation by increasing citizens’ pressures on politicians to hold providers to account are also not usually able to influence service delivery.
Community forestry praxis has a long history in Nepal. The country is often considered an exemplar in promoting community forestry for environment and development. In this paper, we provide a critical review of Nepali community forestry scholarship to offer internationally relevant lessons and to identify areas of future research. Our review shows that community forestry outcomes have been mixed. Despite playing a role in improving social and environmental outcomes, its provision of economic benefits are modest, not always clear and unevenly distributed. The impacts of community forestry have been heavily influenced by government intervention, with the government controlling valuable forests. We conclude that: 1) more rigorous and consistent methodologies are needed to evaluate community forestry outcomes; 2) the notion of community needs to critically be questioned to understand the dynamics of internal migration patterns, and; 3) a deeper understanding of the politicization of community forestry needs to be developed.
Community forestry user groups (CFUGs) in Nepal, created multiple livelihood options for the local community while building financial and technical local capacity to cope with climate change impacts. The research reported in this study explored the multiple roles played by community members on different activities aimed to minimize climate vulnerability and building climate-resilient communities equipped with adaptation and mitigation coping mechanisms. This study aims to explore the impacts of climate change on forest and livelihoods while discussing on existing adaptations and mitigations methods on climate change. The methodological approach of this research involved the use of social-ecological production landscapes (SEPLS) resilience indicators applied to measure climate resilience through activities conducted by CFUGs. Additional data were collected through participatory rural appraisal (PRA) tools, household survey, field survey with key informants, focused group discussion, systematic literature review, policy, and document analysis. The research was undertaken at four (4) CFUGs in Chitwan district of Nepal selected due to their economic and management status, infrastructural development, and management committee composition. Findings showed that climate change had negative impacts on forest resources, water resources, agricultural crops and people’s daily life through drought, higher temperature, changing crop characteristics, etc. Activities such as control in wildlife hunting, forest fire, encroachment, and control grazing help to increase biodiversity inside the forest. CFUGs had attracted funding, i.e., revolving fund or subsidy, to enhance livelihood of poor and pro-poor households. Applied research was conducted to explore the connections between forest and climate change policy and opportunities to integrate the international development agenda into sustainable forest management.KeywordsCommunity forestry user groupsClimate changeResilienceClimate adaptation and mitigation measuresLivelihoodSustainable forest management
Repeated forest-resource inventories provide indispensable information to evaluate, for example, the mean growth rate of stands and changes in tree-species composition in an area. This paper presents a summary of such longitudinal forest inventory data in the Middle Hills of Nepal, where deforestation has been an issue. Our first inventory was implemented between 1997 and 1999 and measured 3839 plots of 100 square meters (m 2). Our second inventory was conducted between 2014 and 2016 and measured 3765 plots of 100 m 2. We found that over these two decades, the number of trees per hectare (ha-1) significantly improved. The number of stands ha-1 with diameter at breast height (DBH) of 10 centimeters (cm) and above went from 361.2 in the first inventory to 466.2 in the second inventory. We also found that not only the number of stands but also the quality of stands significantly improved. The number of stands with DBH of 30 cm and above ha-1 increased from 72.9 to 99.6. The mean alpha diversity, the number of trees species in a plot, rose to 2.1 from 1.6 in the initial inventory. In sum, "green has made a bold comeback in the Middle Hills". Our indices evaluating the intensities of human activities on the plots suggest that these improvements in forest-resource conditions may be due to the decreased use of forests in the Middle Hills over these two decades.
In the extensive literature scholars have demonstrated that the goals of power transfer in the decentralization of natural resources governance have not been fully achieved. Powerful actors have maintained their positions of domination, while the interventions have transferred tasks and duties to communities and local decision makers without adequately attending to their capabilities, capacities and resources for natural resources governance. Our research cases from Mexico, Nepal and Tanzania reveal the limits of such responsibilization. We argue that natural resource governance interventions increasingly rely on a new logic that requires citizens, local authorities and communities to be responsible for their own well-being and for resource sustainability. In our case study countries, decentralized forest governance has been a way to demonstrate a "romantic doxa" which national and international actors created via the phenomenon of "responsibilization" esomething seemingly innocent which has created symbolic violence. In this article, we argue that three aspects ecapabilities, agency, and level of structures eneed to be better understood to support locally responsive and collaborative natural resources governance instead of responsibilization in the resources governance. We consider that: 1) the concept of human agency is centrally connected to collaborative and responsive natural resources sustainability transformation processes; 2) the capabilities to exercise human agency need to match the duties, and the duties must be appropriate and moderate with respect to the agents in the natural resources governance and; 3) the gov-ernance structures need to be changed so as not only to support human agency to carry out duties but also to ensure capabilities.
p>Community based forestry is seen in many countries as a way to enhance sustainable forest management through close involvement of local people. This paper aims to develop understanding of local perspectives on criteria, indicators and verifiers for evaluating sustainable community based forest management practices. This study includes ten different forest user groups ranging from full autonomy to semi-autonomy in making decisions regarding forest management practices covering three districts from three physiographic (mid-hill, inner-tarai and tarai) regions of Nepal. A village to village approach was used to acquire the perspectives from male, female and different castes. The findings show that local people identified four criteria, 26 indicators and 60 verifiers for evaluating sustainable community based forest management practices. Three locally identified criteria were found to be identical with the institutional topdown criteria. The paper concludes that understanding local knowledge, local practice and associated institutions are important to manage forest resources in a sustainable manner. There is also a need to have continuous collaborative works between forest professionals and local people to enhance sustainable forest management.
Banko Janakari
A Journal of Forestry Information for Nepal
Vol. 28, No. 1, 2018, page: 37-47
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This evidence gap map examines the high-quality evidence available in the area of forest conservation in low-and middle-income countries. Our clearest finding is that there a paucity of high-quality evidence in areas significant for policy such as the effect of forest-related climate change policies, trade laws and management, or education and awareness campaigns on environmental and social outcomes in forests.
This report presents the findings of an evidence gap map that assesses the evidence available on the effects of land-use change and forestry programmes on greenhouse gas emissions and human welfare outcomes. Our clearest finding is that there is a major gap in the evidence addressing effects on both emissions and human welfare outcomes, including food security. Moreover, few studies measured greenhouse gas emissions or food security directly.
Available Online: http://www.3ieimpact.org/en/publications/3ie-evidence-gap-map-report-series/3ie-evidence-gap-map-report-3/
This chapter presents the background of the inception of community-based forest management (CBFM) in tropical countries, and in particular Bangladesh. It also sets the aim(s) of this book. The CBFM programs have been promoted in many countries as an innovative and potential approach to improved forest management and conservation strategies with a comprehensive blend of ecological and socioeconomic objectives. Many countries have now developed, or are in the process of developing, changes to national policies and legislation that institutionalize the CBFM. The government of Bangladesh has also put emphasize on the CBFM since the early 1980s and a number of forestry projects have been implemented with the participation of local community having both success and failure in intended project outcomes. In this book, we aim to shed light on evolution of the CBFM in Bangladesh and critically evaluate the performance of various CBFM practices. Stress is given on how to sustain the CBFM and integrate these into (i) carbon forestry projects (e.g., REDD+) for meeting the triple benefits of forest management: poverty reduction, forest conservation, and climate change mitigation; (ii) mutual rotating fund for creating alternative income generation opportunities so that dependency on forests is reduced and (iii) corporate social responsibility activities of corporate agencies so that they provide funding for environmental conservation and social development. These strategies might facilitate sustainability of CBFM in Bangladesh. So far our knowledge goes, there is no such book publication available in Bangladesh. Therefore, we believe that this publication would fill this gap and be useful for scholars, policy makers, and students as a reference book.
There is a variety of forest management institutions ranging from state management to community and private management. This article attempts to identify the conditions under which one institution outperforms the others in the efficiency of forest management based on a review of the literature, empirical evidence on the dominant forest management institutions, and theoretical arguments. In conclusion, we argue that the community management system performs best for non-timber forests, whereas a mixed management system, in which forest protection is carried out communally and tree management is carried out individually, is likely to work best for timber forests.
A growing literature documents the positive impact of community management on non-timber forest conservation but not on the condition of timber forests, which require higher management intensity than do non-timber forests. Using ground-level data of the age composition of trees and the management activities of timber forests and applying a rigorous econometric technique to deal with the endogeneity of handing over forest use rights to the community, we find that a longer period of community management is associated with a higher density of pole-size trees, indicating that community management facilitates the rehabilitation of timber forests. We also find that population pressure leads to deforestation under state management but encourages forest management under community management.
The paper examines property regimes and common-pool resources. Using examples and case studies, the relative merits of private, community, and state-based rights are detailed. The insights from the case studies and an analysis of institution costs provide a tentative framework for understanding the role of the state in the governance of the commons.
In this paper we develop full information methods for estimating the parameters of a system of simultaneous equations with error component structure and establish relationships between the various structural estimators.
This study analyzed spatial and temporal changes in land use/land cover in a typical mountain watershed covering an area of 153 km2 in central Nepal by comparing classified satellite images from 1976, 1989 and 2000 coupled by GIS analyses and also investigated changes in the shape of land use patches over the period. The results show an increase in broadleaf forest, conifer forest and winter-cropped lowland agricultural area and decrease in area under shrublands, grasslands and upland agriculture in between 1976 and 2000, although shrublands increased during the second half (1989–2000) of the study period. The number of forest patches decreased substantially in between 1976 and 2000 suggesting merger of patches in the latter periods due to forest regeneration and/or plantation establishment on lands previously separating two or more forest patches. A shape complexity index (SCI) used to study patchiness of land use indicated improved forest habitat in the watershed but increased mean deviation between actual and optimal SCI of forest polygons indicated higher edge effects at the forest patch level during the latter periods. One of the significant changes within non-forestry land use was increased fragmentation of lowland agricultural areas due to expansion of settlements and infrastructural development in the lowlands.
In the past two decades, scholarship on resource use and management has emphasized the key role of institutions, communities, and socio-economic factors. Although much of this writing acknowledges the importance of a large number of different causal variables and processes, knowledge about the magnitude, relative contribution, and even direction of influence of different causal processes on resource management outcomes is still poor at best. This paper addresses existing gaps in theory and knowledge by conducting a context-sensitive statistical analysis of 95 cases of decentralized, community-based, forest governance in Himachal Pradesh, and showing how a range of causal influences shape forest conditions in diverse ecological and institutional settings in the Indian Himalaya. In focusing attention on a large number of cases, but drawing on findings from case studies to motivate our analysis and choice of causal influences, our study seeks to combine the strengths of single case-oriented approaches and larger-N studies, and thereby contributes to a more thorough understanding of effective resource governance.
"This paper describes changes in forest condition and forest management practices in a Nepali village between 1980 and 1990, and attempts to identify the factors behind these changes. In 1980-81 the author spent a year studying forest-use practices and forest products in a villagein the Middle Hills of central Nepal. Species composition, density (tree/ha), and tree size (area) were described. The quantity of forest products collected from forest lands wwas measured. Weekly accounts were kept from a sample of households on the amount of firewood and fodder collected, and the number of hours animals were grazed. In 1990 the author returned to the same village to resurvey forest lands and to assess changes in forest-use practices. Despite an annual population growth rate of 2.5%, forests were found to be in much better condition in 1990 than they were in 1980."
This paper investigates links between the strength and type of social networks and private forest conservation activity in rural Nepal. Using Nepal household survey data, this paper tests the effects of alternative social network indices on the number of trees planted on private land. Our findings show that social networks can have positive spillovers effects. However, this generalization requires careful qualification about the type of social network involved. While there has been considerable discussion about building and enhancing social networks, the policy implication is that not all networks are created equal when it comes to enhancing critical conservation activities.
This study compares the management performance of timber production among three management systems in Nepal: private forestry, community forestry with collective management, and community forestry with centralized management. While collective management relies entirely on community labor for the whole management, centralized management uses community labor for the protection of forests and hired labor for silvicultural operations, for example weeding, pruning, and thinning. We found that collective community management is less costly for the protection of planted trees but allocates less labor for the management of trees than private management. We also found that centralized management of natural forests leads to higher revenue and profit than collective management. These findings support the hypothesis that, while collective management is more efficient than private management for the protection of trees due to effective mutual supervision, profit-seeking private management or centralized management is more efficient than collective management for silvicultural operations due to superior work incentives. This study, however, failed to compare efficiency of private and centralized management.
The Community Forestry programme was formally launched in Nepal in 1978 with the enactment of the Panchayat Forest Rules and the Panchayat Protected Forest Rules. The Community Forestry policy along with Community Forestry legislation has been continuously reformed over time. These reforms have recognised the use rights of the local people in the management of forest resources and established them as managers. Since the inception twenty-four years ago the progress in policy shift has been tremendous. However, the actual implementation is still slow in pace. This paper aims to review and analyse the policy changes during this period and discusses the constraints and opportunities provided by the Community Forestry programme in Nepal.
It has been suggested that African rangelands would be utilized and managed on a more sustainable and profitable basis if they were governed by co‐management arrangements, with state governments defining group rights and governing inter‐group interactions and local organizations governing interactions among members within particular groups. In this paper we develop a discrete‐time dynamic model of a rangeland to investigate the possibilities for internal management of resource use interactions within a common property regime. We find that there can be effective internal management without any formal institutional structure within the regime if: (1) group members are confident that the boundaries of the regime will be effectively protected; (2) the group of resource users is kept relatively small; (3) future pasture potential is not overly sensitive to changes in the current stocking rate; and (4) individuals do not discount future payoffs too heavily.
The governance of natural resources used by many individuals in common is an issue of increasing concern to policy analysts. Both state control and privatization of resources have been advocated, but neither the state nor the market have been uniformly successful in solving common pool resource problems. After critiquing the foundations of policy analysis as applied to natural resources, Elinor Ostrom here provides a unique body of empirical data to explore conditions under which common pool resource problems have been satisfactorily or unsatisfactorily solved. Dr Ostrom uses institutional analysis to explore different ways - both successful and unsuccessful - of governing the commons. In contrast to the proposition of the 'tragedy of the commons' argument, common pool problems sometimes are solved by voluntary organizations rather than by a coercive state. Among the cases considered are communal tenure in meadows and forests, irrigation communities and other water rights, and fisheries.
Using a dynamic intergenerational game, this paper analyzes the effects of inequality among resource users and their access to outside markets and credit on cooperative use of a local commons. The study finds that, depending on the agents' harvest sharing rule, the conditions under which homogeneous agents can cooperate in equilibrium may not be sufficient for cooperation when agents differ in harvesting productivity. The resource users' access to outside markets or credit may have a negative effect on efficient local resource management.
This paper considers the effect on local resource extraction of an ambitious, government-initiated community forestry program in Nepal. Beginning in 1993, the government of Nepal began to transfer all accessible forestland from the national government to local communities by creating local groups of forest users. This study uses institutional details about the implementation of this program to evaluate its impact on the extraction of wood for fuel. Transferring forests to local groups of forest users is associated with a significant reduction in resource extraction in communities that receive new forest user groups.
Current studies of local resource management examine many factors thought to be associated with good resource conditions. Despite the number of studies and the importance of such resources to millions of people worldwide, a lack of theory and hypothesis testing beyond the case level limits the lessons empirical studies offer. We argue that regular monitoring and sanctioning of rules—rule enforcement—is a necessary condition for successful resource management. We test our theory using data regarding 178 user groups and by pairing rule enforcement with other important factors: social capital, formal organization, and dependence on forest products.
The purpose of this chapter is to identify the reasons for collective action failures and successes in natural resource management, and to understand, in the light of economic theory, the mode of operation of the factors involved whenever possible. In the first section, we clarify the notion of a common property management regime and provide cautionary remarks about estimation methodologies commonly used. In Section 2, we focus on the general case where common property regulation is feasible yet only if governance costs are kept to a reasonable level. Emphasis is placed on such factors as the size of the user group, income or wealth inequality, and availability of exit opportunities. Special attention is paid to the aspect of inequality since this has remained a rather confused issue in much of the empirical literature. Economic theory can contribute significantly to improving our understanding of the manner in which it bears upon collective action. In Section 3, we discuss cognitive problems as an important impediment to the design and implementation of efficient common property management systems. We also present evidence of the deleterious effects resulting from the absence or inappropriateness of state interventions, particularly where they are motivated by private interests. In Section 4, the importance, under a co-management approach, of appropriate incentive systems at both the village and state levels is underlined and illustrated.
There is a fair degree of misplaced optimism about common property resource (CPR) management. In investigating common property issues for woodlands in communal areas in Zimbabwe, we are struck by the numerous case studies showing a breakdown of local institutions for CPR management, and the lack of any emerging alternative institutions for such management. There are a number of contributing economic, social and ecological factors to this phenomenon. We argue that the formal rule-based systems that form the cornerstones of the proposed CPR systems are far removed from the current institutional systems, rooted in norm-based controls. We suggest that advocacy of CPR systems has to be tempered with critical analysis.
Building and nurturing institutions are most challenging tasks in any development work. In this paper an attempt has been made to understand the rise and fall of institutions involved in the management of forest resources. This has been done through comparative case studies of Van (Forest) Panchayats of Uttaranchal and Forest Protection Committees of West Bengal in India. As has been documented, Van Panchayats have been created as a response to the people’s movement against forest reservation at the beginning of the 20th century. The concept of Forest Protection Committees under Joint Forest Management in India has recently emerged in response to the severe degradation of forest resources and the persistent conflicts and movements against the State. The paper goes on to explain the evolution, management systems and effectiveness of these institutions along with the issues they are confronted with in the management and protection of forest resources.
Accounts of the 1988 monsoon flooding of Bangladesh blame recent population growth of Himalayan farmers for the deforestation which causes upland erosion and lowland flooding. The research to specify and reverse these processes, however, has shown that: deforestation has deep historical roots and has been profoundly influenced by state policies; having many children is one of the few ways households can confront their poverty; and recent vegetation changes affect rates of erosion, mass wasting, sedimentation, and flooding much less than previously thought. The inclusion of political-economic as well as environmental factors not only provides a more accurate explanation, but also allows for effective policy initiatives.
I develop a model of cooperation in small irrigation systems. I give conditions under which an equalizing redistribution of wealth increases the level of equilibrium cooperation, but also show that some redistributions that increase inequality can also increase cooperation. The distributive rule, a combination of arrangements for maintenance-cost sharing and water allocation, also affects the cooperation level. I estimate statistical models of cooperation for three maintenance indicators using field data from a study of Mexican irrigation societies. Social heterogeneity and landholding inequality are significantly associated with lower maintenance. Distributive rules that allocate water proportionally to landholding size likewise reduce maintenance.
Incl. abstract, bibl. This article critically reviews the role of participatory theory in managing development projects and programmes in poor countries. Participation has emerged in response to global demands for greater individual and social control over the activities of state and private agencies, and especially to the manifest failures of traditional 'top-down' management systems in LDCs. Claims made on behalf of these participatory methodologies are critically reviewed and a distinction is drawn between strong and weak versions of the theory. Empirical evidence is then considered to evaluate the effectiveness of these methodologies, using long-standing insights of social science theory to show that participation can succeed for specific kinds of projects and programmes in favourable circumstances, but is unsuitable for many others. It commonly fails in contexts where local conditions make co-operative and collective action very difficult, or where it is manipulated by implementing agencies to justify their own actions or poor performance.
Do local people, especially vulnerable households, benefit from devolution of forest management? We apply the propensity-score matching and decomposition techniques on household data from Chimaliro and Liwonde forest reserves under the pilot forest co-management program in Malawi. After controlling for selection bias, we find that while the program raises forest income for participants in Chimaliro, it reduces revenue for participants in Liwonde. Interestingly, results indicate that the program raises forest income for female and low-income participants, although male and richer participants capture more benefits due to discrimination and endowment differences accounting for 100% and 60% of the inter-group income disparity, respectively.
The discussion here is based on Nepal's experience in transferring all of its forestland from the central government to local communities by creating local groups of forest users. The scale of this massive institutional change has required funding and assistance from multiple sources. The Forest Act of 1993, which authorizes the forest transfers in hill and mountain areas of Nepal, envisions a straightforward group formation process: local forestry staff identifies a forest for transfer, finds all of the users of the forest, and organizes them into a forestry user group to manage the forest. In reality, the process of group formation is considerably more subjective. Donors may have different concepts about what a forest is, what users are, and what the forest group's ultimate purpose is. This study finds that some donors are more active in creating forest user groups and that these donors generate groups with physical characteristics (number of participants, physical area) different from those of groups created by less active donors. Thus, donors can have a large effect on how new community institutions are created even when a single institutional reform does not envision such heterogeneity. The article is organized as follows. The next section provides background on the operation of official development assistance in the institutional reform being considered here. Section III introduces the data and develops the methodology of the study. Section IV considers the relationship between ODA and the scale of program implementation. Section V considers how institutional characteristics are influenced by the source of funding for the institutional improvements. Section VI provides the conclusion.
Applied economists have long struggled with the question of how to accommodate binary endogenous regressors in models with binary and nonnegative outcomes I argue here that much of the difficulty with limited dependent variables comes from a focus on structural parameters, such as index coefficients, instead of causal effects. Once the object of estimation is taken to be the causal effect of treatment, several simple strategies are available. These include conventional two-stage least squares, multiplicative models for conditional means, linear approximation of nonlinear causal models, models for distribution effects, and quantile regression with an endogenous binary regressor. The estimation strategies discussed in the article are illustrated by using multiple births to estimate the effect of childbearing on employment status and hours of work.
In this article, local institutions for forest conservation and management are analysed. The discussion is based on data from 37 villages and 180 households randomly sampled from a protected area in Rajasthan, India. Local management institutions are described, factors affecting inter-village differences in management institutions and collective action are analysed in a logit model, and the impact of institutions and other variables on common resource dependency and forest outcomes is tested using instrumental variable regression. Village population size has a positive effect and prior institutional experience a negative effect on the probability of collective action. It is concluded that efforts at improving forest management should not be confined to the poorest farmers. Large landowners are heavily involved in degrading use practises, especially when resources have good market potential. Local management institutions play a positive role in the area, but their impact appears insufficient to safeguard forests and commons from continued degradation. Conservation policies should target win win options through interventions aimed at improving technologies for private and common lands as well as institutional changes.
The Political Ecology of Community Forestry in Nepal. Saarbrü cken: Verlag fü r Entwickungspolitik
- Elvira Graner
Graner, Elvira. 1997. The Political Ecology of
Community Forestry in Nepal. Saarbrü cken:
Verlag fü r Entwickungspolitik.
Forests and Forestry in Nepal
- Sharad Negi
- Singh
Negi, Sharad Singh. 1994. Forests and Forestry in
Nepal. New Delhi: Ashish Publishing House.
Land Tenure and Natural Resource Management
- Keijiro Otsuka
- Frank Place
Otsuka, Keijiro, and Frank Place. 2001. Land
Tenure and Natural Resource Management.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Trees and Shrubs of Nepal and the Himalayas
- Adrian Storrs
- Jimmie Storrs
Storrs, Adrian, and Jimmie Storrs. 1998. Trees and
Shrubs of Nepal and the Himalayas. Delhi: Book
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