Resilience of community forestry under conditions of armed conflict in Nepal

Karna, Birendra; Shivakoti, Ganesh P.; Webb, Edward L.

doi:10.1017/s0376892910000263

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…We 520 also included covariates that might influence the implementation of CFM, including access to district headquarters, and baseline estimates of poverty and forest cover, which have been an emphasis of donor-funded programmes. We include district-level fixed effects to control for unobservable time-invariant factors common to each district, such as high levels of migration, urbanization or impacts of the Maoist insurgency 525 (although note that some prior research suggests that CFUGs were resilient to the insurgency 67 ).…”

Section: Identification Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Reductions in deforestation and poverty from decentralized forest management in Nepal

Oldekop

Sims

Karna³

et al. 2019

Nat Sustain

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134

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Paragraph: 20Since the 1980's, decentralized forest management has been promoted as a way to enhance sustainable forest use and reduce rural poverty. Rural communities manage increasing amounts of the world's forests, yet rigorous evidence using large-N data on whether community-based forest management (CFM) can jointly reduce both deforestation and poverty remains scarce. We estimate impacts of CFM using a large 25 longitudinal dataset that integrates national-census-based poverty measures with highresolution forest cover change data, and near-complete information on Nepal's > 18,000 community forests. We compare changes in forest cover and poverty from 2000-2012 for sub-districts with presence or absence of CFM arrangements, but that are otherwise similar in terms of socioeconomic and biophysical baseline measures. Our 30 results indicate that CFM has, on average, contributed to significant net reductions in both poverty and deforestation across Nepal, and that CFM increases the likelihood of win-win outcomes. We also find that the estimated reduced deforestation impacts of community forests are lower where baseline poverty levels are high, and greater where community forests are larger and have existed longer. These results indicate that greater 35 benefits may result from longer-term investments and larger areas committed to community forest management, but that community forests established in poorer areas may require additional support to minimize tradeoffs between socioeconomic and environmental outcomes. Main text: 40Forests are critical to sustainable development 1,2 . They regulate climate, sequester carbon, harbour biodiversity, and contribute to national incomes and local livelihoods 3 .Over the past four decades, governments and international organizations have promoted decentralized community-based forest management (CFM) to achieve sustainable forest use and reduce rural poverty 4 . In decentralized decision-making arrangements, 45 the primary responsibility for day-to-day management rests with forest-user communities. Ideally, this allows communities to make better use of their time and place-specific knowledge to promote more efficient, equitable, and sustainable multifunctional landscapes 5 .Local communities now legally manage approximately 13% of the world's 50 forests 6 . Debates about whether CFM truly reduces forest loss and alleviates poverty, nonetheless, continue 7,8 . Case studies from Latin America, Africa, and South Asia show that some CFM initiatives have improved forest and livelihood outcomes 9,10 , but that others have not achieved intended objectives 4,11 . The vast majority of existing studies have focused on limited sets of cases, and have used qualitative assessments of poverty 55 and livelihood outcomes that are difficult to compare across space and over time 7 .These studies have helped to identify how land tenure, local autonomy, and collective action may contribute to effective and equitable CFM, but have not tested whether CFM programs lead to net environmental and socioe...

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Section: Identification Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Reductions in deforestation and poverty from decentralized forest management in Nepal

Oldekop

Sims

Karna³

et al. 2019

Nat Sustain

Self Cite

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The Maoist rebels assumed control over CAs and CFs, killed conservation staff or forcibly evicted them, damaged physical infrastructure, and exploited natural resources within CAs and CFs. Nonetheless, both models showed a reasonable degree of resilience to the Maoist insurgency in Nepal Karna et al 2010). We conducted this research just after the Maoist insurgency officially ended, focusing on the roles administrators have played in the success of CBC programs.…”

Section: Comparing Camcs and Cfucsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative study of two community-based conservation models in Nepal

Baral

Stern

2011

Biodivers Conserv

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Conservation areas (CAs) and community forests (CFs) are generally considered to be two successful community-based conservation (CBC) models in Nepal. Nepal's two CAs are administered by a nongovernmental organization (NGO), and all of its CFs are administered by a government agency (GA). The goal of this research is to compare and contrast these two models using quantitative and qualitative data collected through field research in the Annapurna Conservation Area in the summer of 2007 and adjacent CFs in the fall of 2008. The Conservation Area Management Committee (CAMC) and the Community Forest User Committee (CFUC) are the functional decision-making entities at the local level in CAs and CFs, respectively. We conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 66 executive members of 10 CAMCs and 67 members of 9 CFUCs. While both models appear to have performed well overall, the CA under the direction of the NGO appears to have fared better with regard to (i) developing trust of local constituencies, (ii) garnering favorable attitudes among villagers, (iii) building capacity of executive members, and (iv) improving standards of living. We suggest that the particular accountabilities associated with NGOs may situate them in a better position to cultivate local governance than state entities on their own.

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“…The income of the community forests affects their governance capacity; this amount differs substantially based upon political connections, as well as differing resources and income streams. The buffer zone community forests registered with the national park receive annual funds distributed through the buffer zone committee to individual governance committees; the total amount of money available is impacted by political conditions, which have dramatically changed in recent years (see Karna et al 2010). Some governance committees supplement this income with tourist entry fees or selling resources like gravel, but their ability to engage in such activities is limited by the condition of the forest and their available resources, resulting in differential income opportunity, and thus governance capacity, across community forests.…”

Section: Collective Action and Governance Capacitymentioning

confidence: 99%

De jure versus de facto institutions: trust, information, and collective efforts to manage the invasive mile-a-minute weed (Mikania micrantha)

et al. 2017

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Differences in governance relationships and community efforts to remove an exotic, rapidly spreading invasive plant, the-mile-a-minute weed (Mikania micrantha), are explored in five case study community forests in the subtropical region of Chitwan, Nepal. An institutional analysis informs an examination of the de jure (formal) versus de facto (on the ground) institutions and actor relationships relevant to Mikania removal efforts. Contrary to the expectations set by the de jure situation, we find heterogeneous governance relationships and norms related to Mikania management across community forests. Content analysis of interview data illuminates reoccurring themes and their implications 172 Abigail Sullivan et al.for social and ecological outcomes in the communities. Complex governance relationships and regular discussion of distrust of government and non-government officials help explain collective action efforts and management decisions. The content analysis suggests that Mikania is impacting people's daily lives but the degree of severity and the response to the disruption varies substantially and is affected by other problems experienced by community forest members. Our results indicate that understanding how the de facto, or on the ground situation, differs from the de jure institutions may be vital in structuring successful efforts to manage invasive species and understanding collective action problems related to other social-ecological threats. We present data-informed propositions about common pool resource management and invasive species. This study contributes to a better scientific understanding of how institutions mediate social-ecological challenges influencing common pool resources more broadly.

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Resilience of community forestry under conditions of armed conflict in Nepal

Cited by 17 publications

References 29 publications

Reductions in deforestation and poverty from decentralized forest management in Nepal

Reductions in deforestation and poverty from decentralized forest management in Nepal

A comparative study of two community-based conservation models in Nepal

De jure versus de facto institutions: trust, information, and collective efforts to manage the invasive mile-a-minute weed (Mikania micrantha)

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