| Author | Karki, Durga Bahadur |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.NR-02-09 |
| Subject(s) | Community forests Economic aspects Nepal
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. NR-02-09 |
| Abstract | The community forestry program has received the highest priority in the forestry sector in
Nepal. Thousands of state controlled forest patches have been handed over to the local
forest users for their protection, development and utilization. The program has emerged to
embrace broader participatory forest management and rural development issues and is
being the most popular and successful program in the country. But there are very limited
studies available to measure the degree of effectiveness of the program based on the
analysis of its economic contribution. Most of the studies undertaken in community
forestry are confined in the hilly districts with no or little efforts towards the Terai and
Inner Terai region of Nepal. Furthermore, the available literatures provide conflicting and
inconsistent results. One of the main problems is now to assess the level of benefits
received by the user group members from community forests in different region of the
country and to identify the management measures needed for maximization of benefits
from community forests ensuring its' long-term sustainability.
This study is an attempt made to assess the economic contribution of community forestry
in Inner Terai districts of Nepal. It presents a case from Chitawan District in the Central
Development Region, where the study was undertaken in three forest user groups. The
main objectives were to find out the present harvest level of forest products; the growing
stock and the sustainable yield/allowable harvest; to assess the economic contribution of
community forests at the household level and to analyze the FUGs' institutional and
managerial status and the possible measures of benefit enhancement from community
forests.
Both the qualitative and quantitative information are taken as the basis for this study.
Household survey, forest inventory, reviews of users' constitutions and operational plans,
interview with members of forest user committees, informal discussion with key
informants and CF stakeholders, review of FUGs' records, local market survey and
participatory resource assessment are the main methods used to collect information needed
for this study. The data are analyzed using SPSS and MS-Excel to draw the results of the
study.
The study indicates that the users are harvesting less forest products compared to the actual
allowable harvest. Despite this, the community forest is providing substantially positive
contribution to the household economy of the FUG members. This study specify that the
net economic contribution would be positive even if there is substantial increase in costs
and decrease in forest products. The study has outlined that the institutional and managerial
capability building of forest user groups and the mobilization of available resources would
further enhance the economic contribution to the users household economy. |
| Year | 2002 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. NR-02-09 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Natural Resources Management (NRM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Webb, Edward L.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Shivakoti, Ganesh Prasad;Soparth Pongquan; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Danish International Development Assistance
(DANIDA); |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2002 |