Stability and outcomes of common property institutions in forestry: evidence from the Terai region of Nepal

Chakraborty, Rajarshi

doi:10.1016/s0921-8009(00)00237-8

Cited by 94 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…In the middle hills, where the population densities are the highest, there has been little reduction in forest cover since the early to mid-20th century, although there has been considerable deterioration in the quality of forest habitat and in wildlife populations (20). Major losses in forest cover have occurred in recent decades, but in the lowlands of the Terai, not in the hills (37,43). Thus, a simple model of unidirectional land-cover change from forest to agriculture, caused by population increase, fails to adequately describe the complexity of land-cover change in this highly varied socioculturally and biophysically complex mountain region.…”

Section: Forest Change In Nepalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, a simple model of unidirectional land-cover change from forest to agriculture, caused by population increase, fails to adequately describe the complexity of land-cover change in this highly varied socioculturally and biophysically complex mountain region. It also fails to take into account the diverse array of institutional responses that communities are capable of when faced with such change (35,43).…”

Section: Forest Change In Nepalmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drivers of reforestation in human-dominated forests

Nagendra

2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

171

105

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Tropical forest habitat continues to decline globally, with serious negative consequences for environmental sustainability. The small mountain country of Nepal provides an excellent context in which to examine trajectories of forest-cover change. Despite having experienced large-scale forest clearing in the past, significant reforestation has taken place in recent years. The range of biophysical and ecological environments and diversity of tenure arrangements provide us with a context with sufficient variation to be able to derive insight into the impact of a range of hypothesized drivers of forest change. This article draws on a dataset of 55 forests from the middle hills and Terai plains of Nepal to examine the factors associated with forest clearing or regeneration. Results affirm the central importance of tenure regimes and local monitoring for forest regrowth. In addition, user group size per unit of forest area is an important, independent explanator of forest change. These variables also can be associated with specific practices that further influence forest change such as the management of social conflict, adoption of new technologies to reduce pressure on the forest, and involvement of users in forest maintenance activities. Such large-N, comparative studies are essential if we are to derive more complex, nuanced, yet actionable frameworks that help us to plan better policies for the management of natural resources.community forestry ͉ group size ͉ institutions ͉ monitoring ͉ Nepal I n recent decades, humankind has witnessed unprecedented destruction of forest cover, with its accompanying fallout on global climate, health, biodiversity, air quality, soil fertility, water flow, and other environmental variables. Deforestation also impacts the lives and livelihoods of the many millions of forest-dependent inhabitants around the world. Awareness of the extent of forest clearing and the magnitude of the ensuing problems have led communities, governments, and international organizations to create an array of protection mechanisms that range from government-owned protected areas to private conservation parks and community reserves. These plans have had mixed success, and it is difficult to unambiguously attribute success or failure to a specific formal mechanism (1, 2). Yet, conservation organizations, indigenous communities, and policy makers continue to engage in often heated debates concerning the presumed single best approach to conserve forest biodiversity (3).The remarkable dearth of reliable large datasets on forest change only exacerbates the already heated deforestation debate. Until recently, estimates by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations were used for most global studies. These data are based on information provided by government agencies in Ͼ200 countries and have been strongly criticized for providing an inaccurate picture complicated by variations in methodology and frequently changing baseline definitions of forest (4). More reliable assessments of rates of tropical d...

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Section: Forest Change In Nepalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Forest Change In Nepalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of reforestation in human-dominated forests

Nagendra

2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

171

105

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“…While researchers such as Adhikari have shown that poorer households benefit less in absolute terms from community forest than less poor households, others such as Fonta et al (2011) have put forth the opposite view. There are still those who think the impact of common property on poverty alleviation is ambiguous (Chakraborty, 2001). There is therefore no clear answer as to the extent to which poorer households benefit from community forests in Nepal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<b>Forest Dependence and Inequality: An Empirical Study from Community Forests in Kaski, </b><b>Nepal</b>

Chhetri

Asante

Yoshimoto

2016

FORMATH

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Abstract:This paper examines the importance of income generated from community forest to the rural poor in Kaski District, Nepal. The results of the study show that on average, households earn 7.4% of their cash income from community forests. Poor households are more reliant on forest activities compared with the better off. They earn 13.6% of their total household income from community forest compared to the rich households who earn only 2.1%. The results of the study also reveal that income from community forest have a stronger equalizing effect on local income distribution. The Gini coefficient was computed as 0.37 when income from community forest was considered and 0.53 when it was ignored. These findings show the importance of community forests to the rural poor and underprivileged households. The findings also suggest that in designing community forestry programs, policy makers should not ignore socio-economic disparity among the forest user households.

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“…The success of institutions in the CPR management depends on the ability of the user groups to devise rules for access to and maintenance of the CPRs (Stern et al 2002;Marothia 2003). A strong system of authority within the group of CPR users and external support in the enforcement of rules helps to stabilise institutions that manage CPRs in a sustainable manner (Chakraborty 2001). Based on the above-mentioned theoretical backgrounds, this article contributes to the theoretical debate by comparing the effectiveness of informal and formal institutions to sustainable…”

Section: Theoretical Debatementioning

confidence: 99%