Community forestry in Nepal
Hemant Ojha, Lauren Persha, and Ashwini Chhatre
Case studies:
Integrating people and the environment
Key period: 1978–present
Geographic region: Nepal
The intervention: Policy reforms have facilitated innovation in participatory, community-based governance of Nepal’s forests, an important natural resource, over the last three decades. The country moved from a conservation-focused agenda to a more broad-based strategy encompassing forest use, enterprise development, and livelihoods improvement. By combining forestry and agriculture within a framework that includes experiential learning, a strong civil society network, and progressive policymaking, Nepal has developed community forestry into an important contributor to food security for an estimated 1.7 million rural households. As of 2009, one-third of Nepal’s population was directly managing over one-fourth of Nepal’s forest area, using it as a source of raw materials, cash income, and employment.
Book Chapter:
Seeing the Forest Through the Trees: Community forestry in Nepal**
Hemant Ojha, Lauren Persha, and Ashwini Chhatre
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Discussion Paper:
Community forestry in Nepal: a policy innovation for local livelihoods
Ojha, Hemant; Persha, Lauren; Chhatre, Ashwini. 2009. IFPRI Discussion Paper 913.
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