Collaborative forest management (CFM) is a ‘community-based’ forest tenure regime that works in partnership between the central government, local government and local forest user groups in Nepal’s Terai, particularly in the management of large, contiguous forests. It has been in practice since the early 2000s in the form of ‘pilot initiatives’ and is gradually receiving greater legal attention. Through our own experiences, available literature and review of policies, we document the evolutionary history of Terai forest and CFM’s current issues. We found that the management aspects of Terai forests have been weak throughout its history. We also found a number of issues and challenges in the implementation of CFM. Some of the prominent issues include ambiguity in tenure rights and security, lack of appropriate and uncontested policy provisions for cost and benefit sharing among collaborators, limited decision-making space for forest-managing communities and local governments, and limited capacity of collaborators for the productive management of forests. We suggest tenure reform in terms of legal, institutional, technical and financial arrangements, so as to make CFM an effective forest management model in the Terai.

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Chiuri (Diploknema butyracea) is a medium-sized tree that inhabits in sub-Himalayan tracks of steep slopes and cliffs at an elevation of 400 to 1400 meters from west to east of Nepal. It belongs to Sapotaceae family of plant kingdom. This study was conducted to assess status of Chiuri tree in Raksirang Rural Municipality (RRM) with particular interest to location, khoria aspect, age and types. Primary data were collected through questionnaire survey, interviews, informal discussion, etc. whereas secondary data were collected through desk review. Biometric data such as seed size and seed count per kg of seeds were measured using measuring scale and weighing balance. Four types of Chiuri namely Wayo, Lanyo, Titiya and Tomyo were found in RRM depending on ripening time of fruit. Most of them have Chiuri older than 30 years of age and their khoria facing south direction. Chiuri takes 6-10 years to start fruiting from seedling. Based on survey, Wayo and Lanyo were found in lower elevation whereas Titiya and Tomyo were found in higher elevation. The timing of fruit ripening was different but followed a pattern of types located in lower elevation fruiting earlier. However, defoliation timing was different and was not influenced by elevation.

Background: Chepang, a semi-nomadic minority group, is dependent on common and private forest resources, Chiuri (Diploknema butyracea (Roxb.) H.J. Lam) to be precise, for livelihood. This study was carried out to understand the household economy of Chepang and evaluate the benefit of Chiuri and its by-products such as Chiuri butter, honey or seeds in Raksirang Rural Municipality (RRM), Makwanpur, Nepal. Methods: Primary data were collected through questionnaire surveys, interviews, informal discussions, etc. whereas the secondary data were collected through desk review. Results: Many Chepangs (41 percent) who collect Chiuri earn an average of US$ 41.43 annually by selling Chiuri seeds, which is very low in the present market value context. People of RRM are still living under poverty with annual income of less than US$ 414.35 per household (78 percent) and food availability for < nine months (56 percent) in a year. Many of them (55 percent) extract more than 30 kg of butter and surplus butter are sold for US$ 1.65-2.49 per kg. Normally they produce butter for domestic uses. Butter is applied for muscle spasm. Conclusions: Our result shows that Chiuri is a natural complement to the livelihood of Chepangs. Bee farming in Chiuri growing areas helps generate additional income. Beside local economy, bee and Chiuri products are folkloric for primary healthcare. Hence, Chiuri is a plant with various economic benefits. Proper management of Chepang, Chiuri and bee is an integrated approach of biodiversity conservation.

Chure forests, which is one of the youngest and most fragile landscapes of Nepal, continue to be degraded due to resource exploitation and conflict over its management. This region is considered to be the lifeline to down-stream communities -mainly for water -while inhabiting millions of poor and rural people that depend on natural resources -especially forests commons. Government initiatives to manage Chure have escalated contestations in the recent years. Its decision to declare Chure landscape as 'Environmental Protection Area' manifests a protection-centric management approach. This research scrutinises the genesis of contestation on Chure management utilising three-elements of conflicts described by Brown et al. (2017). It analyses power-relation to demonstrate potential implications on Chure landscape management as well as conflict resolution options, in the changed political context of federal Nepal. Our research reveals that all stakeholders are well aware of the continuous degradation of Chure landscape and have agreed on discovering the common locus of sustainable management. However, the state-community contestation still persists due to divergent understandings of degradation. Despite multiple strands of management options, contextualised communitybased approach still appears to be an appropriate option to solve this persistent contestation, building on the practices of community forestry and historic failures of top-down, protectioncentric management practice. The newly elected provincial and local governments could further facilitate a more effective management of Chure landscape through resolving the contentious state-community conflict.