The Department for International Development (DFID), UK has commissioned a Consortium led by the University of Leeds, UK to undertake the study "Improving Policy-Livelihood Relationships in South Asia" .

The goal of the work is to develop and promote practical policy options to support rural livelihoods through a range of research, development and advocacy activities. An early output of this work during the Inception Phase is to undertake a review and synthesise the literature on each of the specific policy arenas outlined in the research. This paper gives a preliminary account of the community Forestry Programme in Nepal.

The paper begins with an attempt to track the evolution of policies on forest management with reference to Nepal. It then discusses the linkages between forest management and livelihood issues that predicate the necessity for the Community Forestry approach. The paper then discusses how institutions and policy initiatives have dealt with, and might in future strengthen, the overall policy framework and implementation. There is a brief consideration of the progress of Community Forestry policies and how this might be improved.

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Oliver Springate-Baginski, Piers Blaikie, Om Prakash Dev, Nagendra Prakash Yadav and John Soussan. Community Forestry in Nepal - A Policy Review. Livelihood-Policy Relationships in South Asia Working Paper 3