| Author | Thakur, Shoharat Prasad |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.NR-01-07 |
| Subject(s) | Community forests--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-01-07 |
| Abstract | The concept of community forestry was incorporated in Nepal's 1st National
Forestry Plan (1976), and its related forest legislation of 1977. This legislation, the rules
and regulations framed under it and further modifications of these, and the ensuring
programs have made it possible for development of community forestry in Nepal.
Substantial success has been achieved in the development of community forestry in the
country.
The CF model has been successful in the hilly region in order to established
number of FUGs, but initial difficulties have arises in the Terai. This is due to the CF
program staiied in the hills few decades ago and only at a late hours reached to the
lowlands. The donor supported the CF projects widely in the hills, but the lowland still
waiting for effective CF program. The problems of Terai should not be underestimated and
a proper analysis is of most importance. Therefore, the objective of the study is
contemplated to explore those limitations by a comparative study of components of
community forestry such as socioeconomic, institutional and biophysical aspects of both
regions Hills and Terai. It is widely believed that community forestry has shown promising
results in biological, economic and social fronts, and is leading towards desired outcomes.
The findings of socioeconomic concern reveals that the major factors influencing
the community forestry are; size and condition of forest area, village structures and
demographic situations and historical back ground. Basically there are two reasons for the
slow progress of community forestry program in the Terai. They are; the participatory
forestry concept for the Terai is still unclear and the hill community forestry concept
cannot be directly replicated in the Terai. The Terai have more specific surroundings and
problems than the hills.
The institutional parts are devoted to the analysis of the forest user groups. The
HMGN and donor agencies play key role for promotion of FUG institutions. The study
concludes that the user group of hills is more motivated and moving forward in
participatory approaches in community forestry performance than the Terai.
The forest resources of the Terai region are more valuable than hills due to
accessibility and transportation facilities. The horizontal type of landscape provide
advantageous surroundings to the Terai, but the hilly and rugged geomorphology of hills
made the accessibility difficult and consequently the transportation facilities become hard.
The forest products of Terai community forest has access to market all over the country,
but in hills it is very hard to extract the forest product and transact it to desired
destinations.
At last, Community forestry is needed in the Terai, and the FUGs should be given
training and guidance to be able to manage the valuable forest resources growing in the
area as the Terai villages have a weak tradition in forest management. Firstly there is a
need to further adjust the CF concept to suit the Terai conditions. Criteria have to be
developed and guidelines should be given. Here, the projects are most inevitable in Terai
and have an important role to play, and there are an urgent need of further investment in
the community forestry concept in the area. |
| Year | 2001 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. NR-01-07 |
| 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) | Apisit Eiumnoh; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad ;Soparth Pongquan |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Danish International Development Assistance
(NARMSAP, DANIDA) ; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2001 |