Forum (Spotlight Weekly)

Local Bodies in Collaborative Forest Management

By Krishna Man Pradhan

Background: Forest and wildlife are the national heritage of Nepal. Natural resource is one of the factors that have provided an identity to Nepal in the world. In order to conserve and protect them, forests have been divided into different groups as per the Forest Act and rules. With the objective of conserving the forests in which each and every citizen has a direct stake, the government has, through its Forest Policy 2057, started to manage the forests in the districts of Terai region along with the participation of local bodies as well as users. A concept of collaborative forest management has been put forth in order to manage the national forest areas of Terai, Chure and Inner Terai region with the active participation of all stake-holders. The major objectives of this concept are to effectively manage the forests and wildlife resources of Terai, Chure and Inner Terai region for the sustainable development of forests; increase the forest productivity; conservation and promotion of biodiversity; and upliftment of the living standards of the local people.

District Forest Coordination Sub-Committee:

According to the principle of good governance and decentralization, the forest resources can be managed effectively and in a sustainable manner only through the active participation of local bodies and users. With this objective in mind, the District Development Committees (DDC) have set up District Forest Coordination Sub-Committee (DFCC) in order to achieve the environmental balance, use the forest resources for the alleviation of poverty, uplift the standards of living and judicious distribution of the resources for the sake of social justice through the conservation, scientific management and sustainable use of forest resources. In most of the districts of Terai, the DFCC have taken initiatives to help in framing the district-level forest policy and their implementation. The DFCC, which is set up under the coordinator of the DDC president, includes members such as DDC members who are concerned with forest sector, local development officer, representatives of various political parties, representatives of the municipalities and VDC Associations; chiefs of district-based forest-related government offices, representative of Chamber of Commerce and Industry; representatives of the local NGOs, representatives of forest users, and representatives of women development and women groups. The District Forest Officer is the member-secretary of the DFCC.

The DFCC attempts to involve all the stake-holders including the central government, local government, civil society, entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, people from backward classes, users, media and so on. This is the first time in Nepal when the programs would be implemented through a committee involving all stakeholders. This committee would - remaining within the limits of the Forest Act and Regulations and the policy of His Majesty’s Government – be responsible for duties such as developing the forest; approving and implementing the annual plans; monitoring and evaluation; resolving policy disputes; and coordinating the DDC, VDC and municipality.

Collaborative Forest Management (CFM)

The government has issued “Collaborative Forest Management Guidelines 2060” in order to manage the government-owned forests of Terai, Chure and Inner Terai region through the active participation and collaboration of all stake-holders. Moreover, the government has already designated eight Terai districts as model ones and has started the collaborative management of forests there. As per the guidelines, the DFCC is allowed to set up groups within the assigned area and appoint executive committees to mobilize the groups as well as appoint working units to carry out daily functions. Likewise, it can also set up sub-committees as per the need to implement different works. According to the guidelines, the collaborative group has been given the shape of a council including one user representative each from the wards within the designated area of the district; one user from each VDC and municipality; Ilaka (area) members of the DDC; representatives from the forest-related government offices; representatives of NGOs and women’s groups; as well as representatives from the District Forest Office and its line offices.

There is a provision allowing forming a working committee under the convenorship of DDC Illaka member from among the members of the group. The members of the group shall include the representatives of the concerned VDCs, user representative from within the five-kilometer radius of the forest area as well as those from beyond, forest assistant as a representative of government bodies, women representative and ranger. The Assistant Forest Officer shall be the member-secretary of the group. The major function of this nine-member committee would be to prepare action plans, implement them, monitoring and evaluation as well as coordinating between the stakeholders and partners. The committee shall form a five-member unit under the convenorship of the assistant forest officer. This unit shall have two members including a woman and shall have the ranger as its member-secretary.

Conclusion:

Although the management of forest as per the afore-mentioned machinery by including all the partners (His Majesty’s Government, local bodies and the users) and stake-holders (political parties, NGOs, civil society, entrepreneurs, traders, media) is easier said than done, it is the only option to achieve the institutional development, responsibility, transparency and benefit-sharing. Among the positive factors the CFM attempts to achieve include trying to share maximum benefits to the users near the forest area based on their level of participation and investment; involving and sharing benefits to the users who are farther away from the forest area but who need it for their daily life; involving the local bodies, who are in effect the local government, directly in the forest management and in the benefit distribution; directly involving the political parties – in the absence of whose involvement the state had to pay dearly in the past – for their policy and social sanction to the conservation and management of forests; and involving the civil society and the NGOs (who have constantly engaged in raising public awareness through research, workshops, seminars; coordinated among the users, local bodies, political parties and other stakeholders; and taken initiatives to reform the prevailing policies, acts, rules and regulations by exposing the practical difficulties through wide discussions).

In the end, the CFM has attempted to embrace and promote the concept about the collective ownership of the forest. Likewise, it aims to establish the feeling that it is everybody’s responsibility to conserve the forests and prevent its misuse. We should all hope that it would be able to work as per its noble objectives and targets and become successful in implementing its programs.

(Pradhan is the President of the Rural Development Foundation)