Community forestry and its impact on watershed condition and productivity : a case study of Devghaat Watershed, Tanahun, Nepal | |
| Author | Ghimire, Krishna Prasad |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.AS-04-11 |
| Subject(s) | Community forests--Nepal Watershed management--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. AS-04-11 |
| Abstract | The study was carried out with the aim to assess the progress made by the Community Forestry Program and its contributions towards the watershed condition in middle hills of Nepal. It is believed that the local people are capable to manage their community forest according to the operational plan formulated by them with facilitation of the forest technicians. However, the practice of forest and watershed conservation have not been so easy to put in to an account and acts as on the harmony with two separate sectoral agencies as on Department of forest and Department of Soil Conservation in present context. The community Forestry has been effective to improving forest condition and benefits of forest products to the forest users and in decreasing in rate of forestland degradation, with the extraction of forest products. The analysis is done on the basis of empirical evidence from two VD Cs of Devghaat watershed. A field survey was carried out through household survey, user group's meetings formal and informal discussion with key informants. Acquired information and perceptions were ranked by the scale index and rating in to comprehend representation regarding the forest and watershed characteristics, based on which the overall analysis has been done. FU Gs and their dependencies to the forest resources, level of participation, satisfaction was studied by considering effectiveness on participation. An organizational performance was also estimated by considering these factors of participation, satisfaction, decision-making resource allocation and benefit sharing. This all the characteristics of the forest and watershed condition separately or associated with its characteristics were compared. These have strong correlation with the overall watershed condition and combined effects enhanced to the productivity of farmland. Beside these the impact of human interventions their adverse effects knowingly or unknowingly were faulty farming practices. At the same time commitment to use in natural resources and organizational sustainability of the watershed was eventually embedded by the financial as well as managerial capacity of the FU Gs. Such the situation can creates the conducive environment to efficient functioning of the FUGs. Overall the situation can assist to implement the FUGs as well as wise intervention of watershed management activities with in the forest operational plan during formulation or renewal of the forest management plan in closed co-ordination of the policy assurance. |
| Year | 2004 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. AS-04-11 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Aquatic Systems (AS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Zoebisch, Michael A.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Ranamukhaarachchhi, S.L.;Vogt, D. Schmidt; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | DANIDA; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2004 |