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Published VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Book chapter
Looking back, moving forward: The evolution of community forestry policy and practice in Nepal
Restoring Forests and Improving Livelihoods in Nepal: Four Decades of Community Forestry, pp.23-36
The Earthscan Forest Library, Routledge
2026
Abstract
The first mention of local communities having formal rights to access and use forest products appeared in a draft policy document in 1952, although nothing was done to incorporate such rights in forest policy for several decades. The first substantive move was the Panchayat Forest and Panchayat Protected Forest Rules and Regulations in 1978. However, this policy had little impact. Field experience suggested that communities could be effective forest stewards if local groups of forest users were empowered to manage local forests. This was a revolutionary paradigm shift in the power dynamics of forest management. An enabling regulatory framework was put in place in the late 1980s and early 1990s and forest cover increased substantially across the country. However, the context of the 1980s is very different from that in the 2020s, particularly the reduced dependence of local villagers on forest goods and services. This has led to declining interest of villagers in active involvement in managing their community forests. It is time once again to reflect deeply on the relevance of the current community forestry modality in the contemporary context so that community forests continue to play a long-term role, albeit a different one, in Nepal's landscape.
Details
- Title
- Looking back, moving forward: The evolution of community forestry policy and practice in Nepal
- Authors
- Don Gilmour - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Research Institute
- Contributors
- Hemant Ojha (Editor) - Australian National UniversityKrishna Shrestha (Editor) - UNSW SydneyNaya S Paudel (Editor) - ForestAction NepalRahul Karki (Editor) - ForestAction NepalDil Khatri (Editor) - Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesSony Baral (Editor) - Tribhuvan UniversityMani Ram Banjade (Editor) - ForestAction NepalIan Nuberg (Editor) - The University of Adelaide
- Publication details
- Restoring Forests and Improving Livelihoods in Nepal: Four Decades of Community Forestry, pp.23-36
- Series
- The Earthscan Forest Library
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781032705613-3; 10.4324/9781032705613
- ISBN
- 9781032705613
- Copyright note
- This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND license.
- Organisation Unit
- Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; Forest Research Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991206278302621
- Output Type
- Book chapter
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