Political Ecology of the Chure Region in Nepal

Abstract

Conservation of Chure landscape is at the limelight of public policy debate given its geo-ecological and socio-economic prominence and its real and perceived environmental degradation. The dominant narrative of the Chure environmental crisis coupled with increasing pressures of some political constituencies prompted government’s declaration of the Chure as Environmental Protected Area. This policy response of the state has engendered contestations and dissonance among different actors associated with the Chure. This paper is based on review of relevant literature, direct observation and participation in the national and regional policy dialogues and public debate. We identify two broad strands of contested actors: the ones who strongly favor the government policy decision and those who are opposing it. We argue that this can be attributed to the competing understandings of the problem and the proposed solutions to the Chure conservation. Actors’ understandings of the Chure are based on their own identical political strands and do not necessarily reflect the underlying causes at the ground. The politics of scientific facts and evidences is also critical to this contestation. We identified three major strands of management approaches in the Chure discourse: state centric, community based and state-community collaborative. Deliberative scrutiny of current policies and attention to the political ecology of conservation could help arrive at negotiated understanding of the problem and sustainable approach to the Chure management.

Dynamics of Land Use Land Cover Change and Soil Erosion Rate in Chure Landscape of Sudurpaschim Province

“…This indicates a reduction in the rate of forest degradation, with an increase in the rate of change in agricultural land at the expense of the settlement area. Bare land, as noted in previous studies (Pooja et al, 2019) The Chure region is highly vulnerable, primarily due to mounting anthropogenic pressures such as illegal logging, unsustainable land use, and uncontrolled commercial quarrying of sand and stones (Bishwokarma et al, 2016). Increased grazing pressure, particularly in the Terai and Hills of Nepal, has significantly degraded soil physical conditions, impacting the soil's water and nutrient holding capacity (Chalise et al, 2019).…”

Breaking the Bottleneck: Conflicts Metamorphosis of Chure Landscape Management in Federal Nepal

“…The issues around Chure landscape and its forest management are broadly associated with 'a complex and multiple set of underlying causes' (Bishwokarma et al 2016). It is essentially associated with broader political, social, economic, and ecological contexts.…”

“…Considering its ecological fragility and geo-political significance, the government initiated 'Chure Conservation Program' as the nation's priority initiative in 2014. Building on the existing initiatives, Nepal government declared Chure landscape as an 'Environmental Protection Area (EPA)' and formulated the 'President Chure-Terai-Madesh Conservation Development Committee' (here after Chure Board) -an overarching body to manage Chure landscape including its forests in 2014 (Bishwokarma et al 2016). The declaration of EPA and formation of the Chure board led to differences in opinion among the stakeholders and contestation between the government and local CFUGs.…”

An Assessment of the President Chure-Tarai Madhesh Conservation Development Program

“…The District Development Committees (DDCs) in the Tarai collect sizeable revenue through licensing for the extraction of these materials from the Chure region. Consequently, this region experienced heavy environmental degradation which was frequently reported in media highlighted to illegal logging, unsustainable land use, and uncontrolled quarrying of sand, gravel and boulders (Bishwokarma et al 2016). The widespread media coverage drew attention of diverse actors including former President of Nepal, Dr. Ram Baran Yadav.…”

“…There are several policy instruments related to Chure landscape conservation. Number of authors such asKanel (2010),Bishwokarma et al (2016), PCTMCDB (2074) and Singh (2017) have described the major policy instruments related to Chure landscape that have facilitated to implement the programs in conserving Chure landscape. All these policies highlight Chure as an important landscape, which needs to be conserved because of its very fragile nature, sensitive to erosion and landslides, water recharge for Tarai, and also interconnection to southern Bhavar and Tarai Madhesh landscape.…”