Community Forestry in Nepal : A policy innovation for local livelihoods and food security

Community Forestry program in Nepal is a global innovation in participatory environmental governance that encompasses well-defined policies, institutions, and practices. The program addresses twin goals of forest conservation and poverty reduction. As over 70% of Nepal’s population depends on agricultural livelihoods, community management of forests has been critically important for food and overall livelihoods security. Through legislative developments and operational innovations over three decades, the program evolved from a protection-oriented, conservation-focused agenda to a much more broad-based strategy for forest use, enterprise development, and livelihoods improvement. By April 2009, one-third of Nepal’s population was participating, directly managing over one-fourth of Nepal’s forest area.

The immediate livelihood benefits derived by rural households – as inputs to agriculture, food security, and cash incomes – bolster strong collective action wherein local communities actively and sustainably manage forest resources. Community forests also became the source of diversified investment capital and raw material for new market-oriented livelihoods. Community Forestry shows traits of political, financial and ecological sustainability, including emergence of a strong legal and regulatory framework, and robust civil society institutions and networks. However, a continuing challenge is to ensure equitable distribution of benefits to women and marginalized groups. Lessons for replication emphasize experiential learning, establishment of a strong civil society network, flexible regulation to encourage diverse institutional modalities, and responsiveness of government and policy-makers to a multi-stakeholder collaborative learning process.