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COVER STORY |
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COVER STORY |
Mature Model More than two decades after
the inception of community forestry in the country, there are visible changes in the
rural landscape and the perception of communities. The conservation of forests has
led to a drastic reduction in soil erosion and landslides. Rural Nepalese have easy
access to the forest products they need for their livelihood. With a clear focus on
conservation and protection, the community forestry program has also taught people the
importance of local institutions and leadership. Despite the turmoil at the center, local
communities have demonstrated that a people-centered approach to development can bring
significant changes. By KESHAB POUDEL Members of the Kusum Community Forest Users
Group of Bajrajogini Village Development Committee of Kathmandu district expect to
generate more resources locally in the next couple of years. The community has planted
medically valuable trees like chiraito on what was a denuded forest until a few years ago.
Thanks to the support provided by the Bagmati Integrated Watershed Management Program, the
villagers have an opportunity to protect their forest and generate part of the revenue
they need.
Sudal area in Bhaktapur district,
too, has a happy story to tell. Following the formation of the community user group, the
local people have changed the face of the hill behind their village in Nagarkot. The
villagers, whose local economy is dependent on milk sales, have seen a sudden surge in
production. The agriculture prospects of a community
are directly linked to its proximity to forests. "Whether it is in the far-western
district of Baitadi or Ilam in eastern Nepal, local communities have benefited from the
community forestry program," says Amrit Lal Joshi, technical adviser with the
Community Forestry Division of the Natural Resources Management Sector Assistance Program
(NARMSAP) of His Majesty's Government/DANIDA. "In terms of the local economy and
availability of forest products, we can see unbelievable changes in the villages.
Unfortunately, nobody ever mentions these successes." Kusum and Sudal are not isolated cases of
the substantial changes local initiatives in forest conservation have brought. The lives
of thousands of villagers across country have been transformed through community forestry.
The forest resources contribute to food security and provide commercial and employment
opportunities for the poor. User groups are central not only to the conservation effort
but also to the development of local governance. Although forest user groups are small in
terms of size and coverage, they are much better at local governance. There are few cases
of the irregularities and misuse of fund that tend to dog elected local bodies. "The community forestry program needs
to be linked with income-generating activities to motivate the local population,"
says Basanta Kumar Rimal, national coordinator of the Bagmati Integrated Watershed
Management Project, which is supported by the European Union. "We are encouraging
farmers to plant medically valuable plants to generate revenue and such incentives will
further motivate the local population," he adds. "More than 12 forest user
groups of Makwanpur and Lalitpur districts have signed purchase agreements with
Dabur-Nepal Ltd." Nepal's forests are known for their
bio-diversity and the plantation of medically valuable species will provide the local
people an opportunity to increase their income. Although many user groups in the terai
have already been generating revenue by selling commercially viable tree species, groups
in the hills are yet to reap such benefits. Even the midst of market inaccessibility,
community forests in remote parts of the country are making small but valuable amounts of
money by selling their product for local consumption. Many user groups generate their own budgets
by harvesting forest products. In the hills, the user groups are relatively poor compared
to those in the areas surrounding Kathmandu and in the terai. Whatever income they make,
the user groups are spending it on running health camps, schools and other socially
beneficial activities. "The concept of community forestry is
in the process of restoration. Now it is more focused on protection, but the coming
challenges will be on management," says Madhuri Karki, District Forest Officer in
Bhaktapur. "As a district very close to the capital city, people here are not as
enthusiastic as those in other parts of the country. But we have already formed 49 user
groups and some are spending their income on running the health camp and other social
activities." According to recent figures from the
Community Forestry Division of the Department of Forest, there are 11,095 forest user
groups, which possess 854,389 forest areas. The group includes 1,208,943 households.
According to the National Census 2001, Nepal has a total of 4,174,374 households, with an
average household size of 5.49. The number of rural households is 3,509,867. The statistics indicate that forest user
groups alone comprise one fourth of country's total households, and more than 40 percent
of the rural households. As the government is still handing over forests to the people,
community forestry can be expected to cover a wider area and many more households in the
years ahead. The analysis of these data shows that there are more than seven million
people under community forestry. The hills surrounding Kathmandu Valley,
which were once nearly bare, are covered by green forests. That is a scene witnessed
across the country. Whether it is in Bajrajogini village, Lapsifedi or other parts of the
country, community forestry has left a deep mark on the people and the local economy. Despite political instability and frequent
changes in central and local leadership, the rural population have shown that they have
the capability to run institutions to protect their own resources. Although this is one of
the largest locally managed forest schemes through the participation of people, it is yet
to be properly recognized in the country. "Sometimes I feel frustrated when
well-educated colleagues and other friends express ignorance about projects where Nepalese
people have shown extraordinary work. But our people are more aware about politics than
other things," says Joshi. "It seems our obsession with politics has obscured
our development focus." Through the successful preservation of
forests, Nepalese have shown how necessary community mobilization is for proper resource
management. The concept of community forestry is based on the democratic principles
propounded by American President Abraham Lincoln - ". by the people, for the people
and of the people". Change in the Concept Until a decade ago, people had to wait for
special occasions to plant trees. Ministers, politicians and social workers used World
Environment Day to extol the importance of trees and forest. After planting saplings on
June 5, they simply forgot about them for the rest of the year. The situation is different today at the
local level, as people plant trees whenever they discover the need. Forest offices no
longer distribute free plants. Most forest user groups supply various species of trees to
the local community. Across Nepalese villages, community leaders encourage the people to
protect the forest. Their experience is their inspiration. For a country desperately seeking to lift
the people out of the mire of absolute poverty, such programs have come as a boon.
Moreover, people-centered forestry programs have succeeded in giving new hopes in rural
areas without major investment. Nepal's experience has shown that forest resources
contribute to food security and create commercial and employment opportunities for the
rural masses. Community Forestry After the massive deforestation the country
saw during the run-up to the referendum in 1980 and amid growing cases of landslides, the
government agreed to hand over forests back to the community, which were nationalized in
1956. In the early days, the handover was too slow. Following the restoration of
multiparty democracy in 1990, community forestry has gained speed. Community forestry today has become an
integral part of rural Nepal. Compared to the hills, the expansion in the terai is slow.
In the last two decades, only 226 forest user groups have been formed, which comprise
806,101 households. "In the early phase, the process in
the terai was too slow, but now the government is expanding community forestry coverage
with support from donors," says K.B. Shrestha, chief of the Community Forestry
Division in the Department of Forest. "This policy shift will have a good impact in
the long term." User groups, too, agree that there is a
need to expand community forestry in terai region. "The government alone cannot
manage commercially valuable forests in the terai, and they need our support," says
B.P. Shrestha, President of the Federation of Community Forestry User Groups. Role of Community Forestry Community forestry has played a vital role
in transforming rural life. It has helped to establish institutions to select, groom,
conserve and distribute forest resources equally among the local residents. "Once we
hand over the forest to the community, the district forest office will provide only
technical support. It is the duty of user groups to plant, conserve and manage the forest
areas," says Shrestha. According to official guidelines, the local
user groups formed through the participation of the local community call annual general
meetings to decide which part of the forest needs to be harvested and which needs
protection. The annual general meetings are responsible for managing the resources. "As most of the user groups settle
internal issues locally, forest offices hardly need to intervene. The consumer groups have
disputes when the process of distribution of resources comes, but the guidelines are clear
enough to sort out the problems," says Joshi. The local people are the owners of their
natural resources and are free to decide in what way they need to distribute them. As
women are responsible for almost all household chores, they have a greater say in
planning. In many user groups, women often lead the meetings. "One of the important parts of
community forestry is the active participation of women in all kinds of decision
making," says Karki, the first woman to head a district forest office. "The
women are active participants of user groups in my district." The participation of women is vital to the
success of the program. "Although women are the primary users of forest products and
are dependent on forests to meet their daily needs for leaves, litter, fuel-wood, fodder
and grass, their involvement in decision making is still negligible," says Usha
Dahal, Community Forestry Officer with the Bagmati Integrated Watershed Management
Program. "Our experience has shown that the participation of women vastly improves
forest management." The people-based approach has shown that
community forestry is the easiest sustainable way to manage the resources. Once the user
group is formed, it will stand as a legal entity with the authority to operate various
programs. Planning and Programming Developed under the Forest Act 1992 and
Forest Regulations 1994, the user groups have to follow certain procedures. The
legislation identifies five phases: identification, user group formation, operational plan
preparation, review and revision. After the completion of these procedures, the district
forest office provides formal registration. From the planning to programming phases,
almost all user groups follow scientific forest harvesting methods. The people cut the
trees on the basis of rotation, as they divide the forest areas into various blocks. They
decide the number of trees they need to cut each year. In most parts of the country,
members of user groups use fodder and fuel wood from their own forests, and sell products
to deficit areas. Every resolution and decision needs to be
approved by the user group. At the annual meeting, the group discusses the plans, lapses
and forthcoming strategy for conservation. In this way, the community forest is gradually
promoting the democratization process at the grass-roots level. As members of user groups
choose their leader on the basis of his or her performance, the process also fosters
leadership growth. In many areas, the user groups are so
powerful that they can change the fate of the politicians. "Political leaders visit
our office to take a list of forest users group," said an official at theDepartment
of Forest. "This shows the political clout these groups have." Along with injecting a feeling of
democratization, the local community is also showing the way to sustainable resource
mobilization, natural resources management and fund utilization. "The country has
developed nation-wide grass-roots institutions for forest management. At a time when we
are stressing the need to eradicate rural poverty,† community forestry should be used
to enhance the marketing and commercial activities," says Rimal. Donors' Involvement The US Agency for International Development
(USAID) and the Australian government have long been involved in community forestry. Under
the EFEA\USA project, 119,357 hectares of forests in Banke, Bardiya, Dang, Pyuthan, Rukum
and Salyan have been handed over to user groups. The Australian government is supporting
community forestry in Kavrepalanchowk and Sindhupalchowk districts. DANIDA has been supporting more than 80
percent of the hill areas in the country. DFID, SDC, GTZ, and SNV are also supporting
parts of the community forestry program. Although the donors' support has changed the
state of forestry in the hills, the terai is yet to benefit. USAID, GTZ and SNV have started some
programs in the terai, but they are confined to certain areas. Commercially valuable
species of trees are rapidly vanishing from the terai and the rate of deforestation is
still alarming. The participation of the community is only way for the sustainable
management of forests. Backed by the western democratic world, the
concept of the community forestry in Nepal shows that the successful mobilization of
people at the grass-roots is the best way of implementing development activities. Future Challenge During its first two decades, the community
forestry program has made steady progress, with the people having accepted the concept as
their own. However, new challenges are coming up. The possibility of conflicts between
user groups and local bodies needs to be taken into consideration. With the implementation
of the Local Governance Act, elected village and district leaders have an evident desire
to control the forest user groups, which are registered under the Forest Act. As user
groups control more resources than the local bodies, local leaders seek a greater say in
their activities. As forest user groups are fewer in number and more homogeneous than
political institutions, they have a strong voice. Currently, elected village and district
bodies have been demanding control of the users groups in hushed tones. Once they raise
their voice, conflicts may be inevitable. As most of elected leaders in villages and
districts† are also members of users group, they may be able to avert serious
conflicts. As the people have their own institutions
to share, distribute and sustain the local resources for the benefit of the community, the
time has now come to use the resources to uplift the life of rural people. While most of
the forests in the southern plains are on the verge of disappearance, those in the Chure
hills are facing growing threats. If the recent trend of destruction goes unchecked,
Nepal's valuable tropical forests will vanish within a decade or two. "We need to implement national forest
management policies for the terai. If the national forest in terai is managed properly
with the participation of the local community, it can generate millions of rupees in
revenue for the government and fulfill the day-to-day necessities of the local
community," says Joshi. People who were often victimized by soil
erosion and landslides just two decades ago are now living in lush greenery. One of the
achievements of the last two decades is that the government has realized the importance of
public participation in forest management. The people, for their part, have realized the
need to preserve forests for their own benefits. "The forestry sector here has achieved
tremendous successes because of community participation," says Winston Ruthann
Rudder, representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), of the United
Nations. "These successes help in increasing agricultural productivity, enhancing
soil management and inhibiting erosion. The country has earned world-wide recognition for
successful community forestry. The FAO was also a pioneering partner in community forestry
in Nepal." At a time when the world is celebrating the
International Year of Mountains, the success story of the community forestry program needs
to be spread. Soil erosion and landslides in the upper belt of the mountains mean greater
vulnerability for the lowland farmers. As Nepal's Himalayan rivers have greater
sedimentation than those in other parts of the world, the preservation and conservation of
forest in the mountain region will ensure the well being of mountain and low-land
communities. Community forestry in Nepal seems to be entering a new phase with the motto:
increase the income of the local community through sustainable forest management. ‘The Real Challenge Lies In
Forest Management’ —K.B. SHRESTHA
K.B. SHRESTHA, who
headed the Community and Private Forestry Division for a long time, retired on Tuesday
after serving the government for more than 35 years. Shrestha spoke to SPOTLIGHT on
various issues related to community forestry in the country. How do you see the present state of
community forestry? Community forestry is not a new concept for
Nepalese. The local community traditionally had been protecting forest areas. As most of
the community forestry is now in production phase, the real challenge lies in its
management. We are now shifting from protection to distribution and generation. What is the status of community
forestry in the terai? Of course, the community forestry program
in the terai is yet to expand like in the hills. But we are in the process of further
expansion in the terai. The initial response is quite encouraging. The number of community
forestry user groups in the terai is very small in comparison to the hills. It is true
that community forestry in the terai has not been as successful as in the hills. How do you see the response of the
donor community? It is encouraging that donors have shown
interest in supporting community forestry programs in the terai. DFID, GTZ, USAID, and SNV
have been supporting the community forestry program in the terai. What benefits can the local people
get from community forestry programs? There is immense benefit for the rural
population, as availability of forest product determines the life of the people. Forests
available closer to the village can boost agriculture production and ensure a better life.
If a community has a forest nearby, women save time and energy. Generation of local
resources and protection of the environment are the other benefits to the community. How do you see the role of
community user groups? They have been working perfectly well under
our guidance. The users group has a modality to work on. Although there is a wide gap
among the users group in resource generation, some of the groups have been running schools
through their own resources. What is the role of community
forestry in poverty alleviation? Community forestry is now linked to poverty
alleviation through income-generation activities. It is reported that some community
users groups misuse public property. How do you look at it? We have received reports of misuse of
forest resources in the terai. Unlike the hills, the terai has easy access to the market.
Naturally, we need to be more cautious there. The sal tree species have greater commercial
value than other woods of the terai. How do you see the role of the
community in the terai in preserving forests? In the hills, the forest and habitations
are traditionally close. Every household has their own identified forest areas. So there
is a sense of belonging. But in the terai, the situation is different. Most of the forest
is national forest and traditionally people live far away from the forest. New migrants
live close to the forest, but they don't have any sense of belonging. 'People Have Realized The Need To
Protect Forests' - AMRIT LAL JOSHI
AMRIT LAL JOSHI is
technical adviser with the community forestry program of the Natural Resources Management
Sector Assistance Program (NARMSAP) of His Majesty's Government/DANIDA. From the very
inception of community forestry in Nepal, Joshi has been involved in various stages of the
program for about three decades. Joshi, who joined NARMSAP after resigning from the
Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, spoke to SPOTLIGHT on various issues related to
community forestry. Excerpts: You have been involved with
community forestry for the last 30 years. How do you see the challenges today? Community forestry is on the right track,
as it has become a part of day-to-day life of more than half of the population of the
country. We have more than 12,000 forestry users groups in Nepal comprising 1,208,943
households. It is not easy to destroy the forests. Had the country gained political
stability, the community forestry scheme would have done much better. In the hill areas,
community forestry has been quite good, but it is yet to pick up in the terai, where there
are 226 forest users group. There is a vast potential to generate resources by managing
the forest in the terai. Why are you stressing the need for
proper management of forest in the terai? We need to manage the forest to protect the
degrading environment and to generate resources. There is a huge opportunity in the terai
forest to generate resources. More than 500,000 hectares of forest in the terai are in a
position to generate economic resources for the country. In the terai, neither has the
government handed over forests to the community nor has it utilized the national forest to
generate resources. If the government cannot protect one third of the national forest, a
large portion of our resources would be wasted. The government has issued a notice
through Radio Nepal calling for the help of the community in the terai to protect forests
from illegal encroachment. Are there any major problems of illegal sale of timber? The problems of illegal felling of trees in
the terai are not new. Unlike in the hills, the community protects most of the forests but
the government is yet to hand over forest to the community in the terai. Unless the
government develops clear-cut policies regarding forest management in the terai, it would
be impossible to check the illegal felling of trees. A large number of people from the
north and south come to exploit the forests in the terai. Of course, the terai forest is
rapidly vanishing now. In the hills, the people manage their property themselves. If the
government and community come closer, the forest in the terai will be protected. What tangible changes have you seen
following the implementation of community forestry program? Those who have grown up in Kathmandu valley
can see tangible changes. Until two decades ago, one could see forest fires on the hills
in Kathmandu during the dry season. Now, one can hardly see such events. Most of the hill
forests have come under the community's care. This is unbelievable to my sons. There is so
much automatic change. Local people themselves burned the forest. If you travel to Pokhara
by bus, you can see greenery along the highway. That greenery is possible because of the
involvement of the community. The changes we have made in the forestry sector are
enormous. In the district level, the people are more cautious about the forest, which
gives them firewood, feeder and watershed. I am proud to say that we have made a lot of
progress. How do you see the other effects on
the life of the rural people? As the forest grows, the production of milk
and vegetables also increases. As the ownership of forest is handed over to the people,
they take the final decision on forest management. In the urban areas, the demand of fuel
wood has declined following the increase in the use of electricity, kerosene and gas. So
the pressure continues to decline in forest areas. People have realized the need to
protect the forest for their own benefit. Interestingly, many local users groups are
generating money through forest management. In many areas of Dang and other districts,
forest user groups are running schools. Even decaying woods are enough to generate
resources. The loss is also reduced. In my childhood, I used to see bundles of fuel wood
carried for sale in the market. The demand has been reduced, as people have started to
manage the forest properly. As you said, the community forest
sector is in the production stage. How do you see market prospects? There is growing demand of wood in the
urban areas and the community users groups are now supplying the wood to the market. In
the last decade, the prices of wood have stagnated, despite the rise in prices in other
areas. |
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editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
