Community Forestry Governance and Management in Nepal
Summary
Community forestry in Nepal represents one of the most enduring and large-scale examples of participatory governance of common-pool resources. Originating in the late 1970s, the programme devolved management rights over degraded hill forests to locally formed Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs), charged with stewardship, resource allocation and benefit-sharing among members. Over four decades, this model has delivered notable gains in forest cover, biodiversity and rural livelihoods, while refining institutional arrangements for collective action, democratic decision-making and conflict resolution. Key features include legally recognised user rights, constitutionally mandated executive committees, and collaborative monitoring with government foresters. Practical challenges remain, notably equitable inclusion of marginalised groups, adaptive responses to socio-economic change, timber market participation, and transparent revenue management. Lessons from Nepal’s experience resonate globally as a template for balancing conservation objectives with community empowerment.
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Community Forestry Governance and Management in Nepal publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in community forestry governance and management in nepal across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Community Forest User Group (CFUG): A legally recognised local institution comprising forest-dependent households, authorised to manage and utilise a designated forest area.
Forest transition: A shift from net deforestation to net reforestation in a landscape, often driven by socio-economic transformations and institutional interventions.
Common-pool resource: A natural or man-made resource system characterised by difficulty of exclusion and subtractable use, requiring collective governance to prevent overexploitation.
Collective action: Coordinated effort by multiple stakeholders to manage shared resources, encompassing rule-making, monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.
References
- Examining forest transition and collective action in Nepal’s community forestry. Land Use Policy (2023).
- Land covers associated with forest expansion hot spots in the Nepal Himalaya. Environmental Research Letters (2024).
- Evaluating Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs)’ Performance in Managing Community Forests: A Case Study in Central Nepal. Sustainability (2024).
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