Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) recently completed a three-year research project, "Improving Livelihoods and Equity in Community Forestry in Nepal: the role of adaptive collaborative management (ACM)". The objective of the project was to better understand the dynamics entrenching social inequity in Nepal's world-leading community forestry management program, and test the viability of a more collaborative approach.

While the community forestry program has been generally successful in preserving forest cover, after 20 years it has not entirely met expectations for improving local livelihoods. The benefits have proven relatively low, and marginalised community members - the poor, women, and low-caste - receive a disproportionately small share.

CIFOR teamed up with NewERA, ForestAction, and the Environmental Resources Institute to undertake the research in partnership with governmental, civil and other representatives, and members from 11 Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs).

But as the project got underway, civil strife also peaked. NewERA senior researcher Bishnu Pandit said field teams were under pressure from government and Maoist forces to support their respective political agendas.

Members of CFUGs were personally affected; the Chairperson in one site had his leg broken in an attack and he and his family had to flee to the city. Being caught in the cross-fire if violence broke out was another constant fear.

"Bombs killed one Ranger and two or three were wounded in Sankhuwasaba district," Pandit recalls. "Four to six Range Post Offices—that normally provide service and regulatory support to CFUGs—in Kaski and all in Sankhuwasaba district were either evacuated or burnt. In some areas, especially where local people would disappear, we avoided staying overnight."

While security issues in rural areas impeded travel and the ability to meet with local people, work in Kathmandu was disrupted by demonstrations, curfews, strikes and power cuts. Researchers regularly walked or cycled 90 minutes across the city each way, dodging burning tyres and vehicles, to keep the project going.

But despite the civil unrest, project team leader Cynthia McDougall said local people, including Maoists, valued the pro-poor, equity-oriented nature of the research, and would go out of their way to ensure researchers were kept as safe as possible.

She recalls the time they were warned to leave their hotel early in the morning, only to learn that an adjacent building was blown up a couple of hours later. "On another occasion, Maoists went door to door in the night demanding 'donations' in the village where we were staying, but left the home in which we were staying undisturbed," she said.

Such experiences shed invaluable light on the broader social and political context in which community forest management was struggling to deliver pro-poor benefits.

The top-down, externally driven decision-making approach that excluded the poor and women was reflective of historically-embedded power structures. The civil unrest—although 'equality oriented' in mandate—further marginalised these groups by fragmenting communities and undermining fragile livelihoods.

The research found local forest users groups that adopted ACM introduced more women and the poor into the decision-making processes, thereby creating more livelihood opportunities for them.

For example, firewood collection and trade was previously prohibited to protect trees, but this was the only source of income for many poor households.

The ACM approach, however, created space in the CFUG decision-making for firesellers and other marginalized people and maintained equity on the groups' agenda through 'self-monitoring' processes.

In the case of Ms Manamaya Darji, this lead to her CFUG agreeing to give her a firewood collection permit in return for a small fee and a small female pig.

This way, she and her husband were able to supplement the meagre income they earned from tailoring, and were more positive about community forestry. A little compromise - without compromising the overall integrity of forest protection - made all the difference to this family.

Source: CIFOR News

CIFOR has nominated project leader Cynthia McDougall for CGAIR Outstanding Partnership Award. CIFOR Announcement states:

"Cynthia McDougall was nominated for its formidable, highly-engaged partnership base between CIFOR, three Nepali research organizations and numerous governmental, civil and local institutions. Despite a backdrop of civil uncertainty, this unique partnership has succeeded in addressing fundamental challenges to poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods. It has had a potent impact in policy change, forest governance, poverty alleviation and enhancing sustainable livelihoods.

The project's success has not only been shared by the partners involved but also by many marginalized groups, including women, poor and low caste people. The project delivered lessons from 165 community forest user groups, and has seen the balance of benefits begin to shift towards the most marginalized people.

For example, poor women whose livelihoods depended on fuelwood sales have said that they no longer felt persecuted or the need to steal fuelwood. "We could raise our voices," one woman said. "These days we have different options." The project also strengthened the research system by breaking down the barriers between key national forestry stakeholders, opening the door to more inclusive and effective policy research. "