|
|
|
Journal
of Forest and Livelihood Vol. 2 (1)
July 2002
|
This
installment of the Journal presents articles
covering four key aspects of Nepal's forestry
sector. All of the articles have been focused
on the institutional and policy aspects
of community livelihoods and the sustainable
management of forest resources, both at
micro and macro level decision-making. Some
of the papers have a focus on the issue
of the impact of community forestry on livelihoods
of the poor, women and marginalized groups,
presenting evidences of impact and exploring
policy and institutional implications. Management
of Nepal's Terai forest has remained a contentious
issue for the past several years and articles
presented herein have highlighted complexities
involved in the management and use of Terai
forests and introducing a number of new
approaches being taken in planning and designing
forestry interventions to address the complex
issue of Nepal's Terai forests. Non-timber
forest products have been recognized as
an important resource for both livelihoods
and biodiversity conservation. Yet, several
unresolved challenges exist in aspects of
policy, marketing and resource management.
The authors have addressed a number of these
issues, putting forth analyses and making
suggestions for the sustainable management
of these resources. Finally, protected area
management is a highly contested issue in
Nepal, seen as a mechanism that seeks to
separate people from nature, resulting in
conflicts between conservation authorities
and local people. |
| Contents and Abstracts |
| COMMUNITY FORESTRY
AND LIVELIHOODS |
 |
Household
Characteristics and Common Property
Forest Use: Complementarities and Contradictions
-Bhim Adhikari |
| |
Abstract:
Being limited in supply but accessible
for community usage, sustainable management
of Common pool resources is still
an important question facing both
development planners and the academia.
Experience from community forestry
program in Nepal, and elsewhere, has
so far indicated that poorer households
are still marginalized even if resources
are managed under community ownership.
In this paper, I seek to analyze the
socio-economic attributes of households
that determine labor allocation decisions
for forest product collection activities.
This will help better understand why
poorer groups have not been benefited
from the management of community forests.
I will then highlight the need for
more effective policy and institutional
interventions that would help ensure
efficient and equitable access to
the local level natural resource base.
Key words: Common
Pool Resources, labor allocation,
collective action, socio-economic
attributes |
|
Impact of
Community Forestry on Women's Workload
and the Use of Chemical Fertilizer
-Rabindra
Roy |
|
Participating
or Just Sitting In? The Dynamics of
Gender and Caste in Community Forestry
-Dr. Andrea
J. Nightingale
|
| |
Abstract:
Community Forestry has successfully
promoted sustainable resource use
across Nepal. But to what extent do
the programs fulfill the goal of providing
resources for the poorest of the poor?
Although some attention has been paid
to the issue of participation of women
and marginalized castes within CF,
there is no or limited investigation
into how such members participate,
the extent to which they influence
management decisions and the implications
of this for sustainable resource management.
This article first outlines why equating
gender with women is problematic and
then highlights the importance of
integrating other forms of social
difference into an understanding of
social power. Using case study data
from north-western Nepal, it is shown
that how implementation of community
forestry needs to take into account
pre-existing social relations for
the programs to be universally successful.
Key words: community
forestry, social relations, gender |
|
Private Property Arrangement
Within Community Forest: A Case of Raktamala
Forest User Group
-Him
L. Shrestha and Hima Uprety |
|
Empowerment or Marginalization:
A Debate in Community Forestry in Nepal
-Netra
Timsina |
| |
Abstract:
The impact of community forestry
program in Nepal is debated around
the potentials for empowerment and
risk of marginalization. This article
draws some evidences of both scenarios.
Evidences in the filed show that community
forest management process can be a
forum for all users including women,
poor and 'lower' castes on the one
hand, and equally it can be a vehicle
for the elite group of people to legitimize
their interests by the unconscious
consent of the users, on the other.
This articles concludes with a recommendation
for monitoring policy implementation
and democratizing the Forest User
Groups at local level in a way that
enables the poor and marginalized
to articulate their interests and
needs to the decision making process
of the forest resource management.
Key words: user group,
empowerment, marginalization, community
forestry, power structure |
|
| MANAGEMENT OF TERAI
FOREST |
|
Depleting
Forests, Silent Spectators: Who Should
Manage Nepal's Terai forests?
-Dr Jagadish
C. Baral |
| |
Abstract:
The paper, based on observations
drawn from Siraha district, highlights
some of the complexities involved
in the management and use of Terai
forests. It is argued that while the
Terai forest needs a decentralized
management approach, it requires a
participatory approach different from
the hill model, which tends to focus
on people living in the proximity
of the forest. The paper argues that
it is critical to embrace multitudes
a/stakeholders extending up to miles
away to the south of the Terai despite
the complexities involved in the intervention.
Key words: community
forest, stakeholder, sustainability,
equity |
|
Strategic
Forest Panagement Planning in Terai
-James Bapton
|
|
| MANAGEMENT OF NON-TIMBER
FOREST PRODUCTS |
|
|
| CONSERVATION AND LIVELIHOODS |
|
Integrating
People and Nature: A Perspective for
Environmental Conservation and Livelihoods
in the Context of Nepal
-Naya
S. Paudel |
| |
Abstract:
In Nepal, protected
area approach to environmental conservation
has been a highly contested issue,
particularly in view of the conflicts
between local people and conservation
authorities. Presenting evidences
and insights from Royal Chitwan National
park and reviews of relevant theoretical
knowledge, the paper argues that the
protected area approach involves enormous
local social costs in terms of limiting
livelihoods opportunities to local
people, as well as ignoring the potential
of local institutions in the conservation.
It then suggests a social ecology
perspective to balance conservation
and local livelihoods.
Key words: conservation,
livelihoods, social ecology, protected
area, conflict |
|
| RESEARCH BRIEFS |
|
|
| POLICY/BOOK REVIEWS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
