Livelihoods

Humla, situated in the north-western corner of Nepal on the border with China, is one of the poorest and least developed districts of Nepal. Constraints are imposed by low agricultural productivity in mountainous terrain under harsh climatic conditions. Food subsidies and other forms of external support have created a state of dependency, stifling local initiative and reducing reliance on local resources. Development efforts were hampered until recently by theMaoist insurgency.

This report identifies the challenges for Nepal’s community forestry in responding to the changing livelihoods and emerging market opportunities. Whilst community forestry has been regarded as a radical programme with its early inception during the 1980s, it has not been adequately adaptive to the changing contexts of the recent years. Instead, the state has maintained control over the productive forests and lands in order to secure revenue and to meet the vested interests of the ruling elites.