Changing Rural Livelihoods and Forest Use Transition in the Middle Hills of Nepal

Bhawana K C; Digby Race; Robert Fisher; William Jackson

doi:10.1007/s11842-021-09477-6

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Changing Rural Livelihoods and Forest Use Transition in the Middle Hills of Nepal

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Changing Rural Livelihoods and Forest Use Transition in the Middle Hills of Nepal

Bhawana K C, Digby Race, Robert Fisher and William Jackson

Small-Scale Forestry, Vol.20, pp.479-501

2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-021-09477-6

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Abstract

abandoned farmland

community forests

forest management

forest products

land-use transition

out-migration

In recent decades, out-migration has become a key livelihood strategy for many rural households in the middle hills region of Nepal. In this region, rural communities are key actors in the management of local resources such as community forests. Analysis of the link between community forests and out-migration is largely missing in the literature, even though the demographic changes associated with out-migration affect forest resource use and management. This article discusses how rural communities and traditional landscapes in the middle hills are changing following out-migration and how this process has changed the management by rural communities of local forests (including community forests). Overall, the research found a reduced dependency by households on forest products (e.g. firewood, fodder and timber) sourced from community forests. Also, the reduced demand is being supplied increasingly from trees/forests grown on private farmland, including natural regenerated forests and trees planted on abandoned farmland. The declining need for forest products and the lack of an economic incentive for active forest management coupled with a decreasing sense of community has reduced the interest in community forests, leading to less intensive and infrequent forest management. Given the prevalence of out-migration and the changing socioeconomic context in the middle hills, it appears time to reconsider the management of community forests beyond a narrow range of uses to enable greater commercialization and encourage ecosystem services to be harnessed so community forests better align with contemporary rural livelihoods and landscapes.

Details

Title: Changing Rural Livelihoods and Forest Use Transition in the Middle Hills of Nepal
Authors: Bhawana K C (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests & People Research Centre
Digby Race (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests & People Research Centre
Robert Fisher (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests & People Research Centre
William Jackson (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests & People Research Centre
Publication details: Small-Scale Forestry, Vol.20, pp.479-501
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
DOI: 10.1007/s11842-021-09477-6
ISSN: 1873-7854
Organisation Unit: USC Business School - Legacy; Forest Research Institute; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Tropical Forests & People Research Centre; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99518608202621
Output Type: Journal article

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