scholarly journals Green Vegetation Cover Has Steadily Increased since Establishment of Community Forests in Western Chitwan, Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 4071
Author(s):  
Jie Dai ◽  
Dar A. Roberts ◽  
Douglas A. Stow ◽  
Li An ◽  
Qunshan Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Vegetation Dynamics ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Green Vegetation ◽  
Local Residents

Community forests have been established worldwide to sustainably manage forest ecosystem services while maintaining the livelihoods of local residents. The Chitwan National Park in Nepal is a world-renowned biodiversity hotspot, where community forests were consolidated in the park’s buffer zone after 1993. These western Chitwan community forests stand as the frontiers of human–environment interactions, nurturing endangered large mammal species while providing significant natural resources for local residents. Nevertheless, no systematic forest cover assessment has been conducted for these forests since their establishment. In this study, we examined the green vegetation dynamics of these community forests for the years 1988–2018 using Landsat surface reflectance products. Combining an automatic water extraction index, spectral mixture analysis and the normalized difference fraction index (NDFI), we developed water masks and quantified the water-adjusted green vegetation fractions and NDFI values in the forests. Results showed that all forests have been continuously greening up since their establishment, and the average green vegetation cover of all forests increased from approximately 30% in 1988 to above 70% in 2018. With possible contributions from the invasion of exotic understory plant species, we credit community forestry programs for some of the green-up signals. Monitoring of forest vegetation dynamics is critical for evaluating the effectiveness of community forestry as well as developing sustainable forest management policies. Our research will provide positive feedbacks to local community forest committees and users.

scholarly journals Effects of forest certification towards sustainable community forestry in Nepal

1970 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pem N Kandel
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Forest Certification ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Forest Stewardship Council ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Sustainable Community ◽  
Forest Stewardship ◽  
Forest Users

In early 2005, 10,045 ha Community Forests (CFs) were certified in Bajhang and Dolakha districts of Nepal by using the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme. After two years of forest certification, subsequent questions are being asked such as: What benefits have certification brought for the Forest Users Groups (FUGs)? What tangible differences are there in forest management system because of forest certification? and What lessons have been learnt from the certified forests? In an attempt to answer these questions, a study was carried out in April 2007 in Dolakha district where 11 (2,182 ha) community managed forests were certified in 2005. On the basis of field study from two certified forests (Vitteripakha and Suspa) of the district, this paper analyzes the effects of forest certification and its implications for enhancing Sustainable Community Forestry (SCF) in Nepal. Key words: Sustainable forest management, forest certification, community forestry Banko Janakari: A journal of forestry information for Nepal Vol.17(1) 2007 pp.11-16

Evaluating capital assets in governing protected area co-management in the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-28
Author(s):  
M.S. Bhuiyan ◽  
S. Islam ◽  
M.M.U. Haque ◽  
S. Aktar ◽  
R. Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Process Analysis ◽  
Future Application ◽  
Wildlife Sanctuary ◽  
Capital Assets ◽  
Participant Selection ◽  
Resource Collection

Co-management in the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary was evaluated to assess how fairly capital assets were considered in the beneficiary selection, and to what extent it affected vegetation cover. A semi-structured questionnaire survey was employed to collect necessary information along with satellite images. The study revealed that many variables of social capital and a few variables of natural and financial capital played a significant role in the participant selection process. Analysis of dependency showed that the participants did not rely significantly on the forest both in terms of resource collection and their monetary value implying that the most dependent people were not adequately represented in the co-management team. The dominance of local leaders suppressed the voices of others in the management venture. An increase in forest vegetation cover was observed during the project period, although shortly after the end of co-management projects a slight deterioration of forest cover was noted. The findings of the study can serve as a guide in the future application of community forestry programmes in protected areas of Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world within similar socio-physiographic settings.

scholarly journals Community forestry, Italian style: The Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme

1998 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter N. Duinker ◽  
Reino E. Pulkki
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Forest Stewardship Council ◽  
Community Forest ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Wood Processing ◽  
History Of ◽  
Forest Stewardship

In June 1997, we visited the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme (MCF), a community forest in the Alps of northern Italy. We have prepared this article to help broaden the perspectives of Forestry Chronicle readers on community forests and what they mean in various parts of the world. We first describe the area and its forests, and then give a brief history of the MCF. Then we review the forest-management strategies used in this Norway spruce forest, and summarize the logging and wood-processing activities of the enterprise. We continue with a comparison of this community forest with three community forests in Canada, concluding that generalization on what makes a community forest successful is dangerous — each situation is unique. Finally, given that the MCF recently won permission to use the eco-label of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), we discuss our perceptions of how the MCF operation does and does not meet the FSC's Principles and Criteria of Forest Stewardship. Despite several shortcomings, we believe that the MCF is in most respects a sound example of sustainable forest management.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Local Participation in Community Forestry: The Case of Tinto and Bimbia-Bonadikombo Community Forest, Cameroon

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Mbunya Francis Nkemnyi
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Feedback Systems ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Theoretical Formulation ◽  
Local Participation ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Participatory Policy

<p><em>Local participation in forest management remains a fundamental challenge to be solved despite the growing political and academic interest in participatory management. This study analyzed how community forestry implementation in Cameroon has affected the participation of local people using two case studies. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were the main methods in data collection. The main findings revealed that majority of local community members (73.3%) were less informed of the purpose of community forestry. This limited participatory efforts in the implementation process. The creation and management process of the community forests were more focused on engaging influential actors rather than enabling social justice as proposed by the legislation. Marginalization of local community members, which community forestry was created to resolve was still evident. This study argues that although participatory policies are usually designed to benefit the less privileged, the outcomes most often do not match the purpose. There is need for participatory policy debates and development to go beyond theoretical formulation to crafting mechanisms and feedback systems that could ensure successful implementation and follow up. </em></p>

scholarly journals Socio-economic factors and management regimes as drivers of tree cover change in Nepal

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujata Shrestha ◽  
Uttam B. Shrestha ◽  
Kamal Bawa
Keyword(s):  
Forest Cover ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Forest Cover Change ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Socio Economic Factors

Despite the local and global importance of forests, deforestation is driven by various socio-economic and biophysical factors continues in many countries. In Nepal, in response to massive deforestation, the community forestry program has been implemented to reduce deforestation and support livelihoods. After four decades of its inception, the effectiveness of this program on forest cover change remains mostly unknown. This study analyses the spatial and temporal patterns of tree cover change along with a few socio-economic drivers of tree cover change to examine the effectiveness of the community forestry program for conserving forests or in reducing deforestation. We also investigate the socio-economic factors and policy responses as manifested through the community forestry program responsible for the tree cover change at the district level. The total tree cover area in the year 2000 in Nepal was ∼4,746,000 hectares, and our analysis reveals that between 2001 and 2016, Nepal has lost ∼46,000 ha and gained ∼12,200 ha of areas covered by trees with a substantial spatial and temporal variations. After accounting socio-economic drivers of forest cover change, our analysis showed that districts with the larger number of community forests had a minimum loss in tree cover, while districts with the higher proportion of vegetation covered by community forests had a maximum gain in tree cover. This indicates a positive contribution of the community forestry program to reducing deforestation and increasing tree cover.

scholarly journals IMPORTANCE OF MONITORING OF FOREST HEALTH IN MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNITY FORESTS (Case Study of HKM Beringin Jaya managed by KTH Lestari Jaya 8)

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43
Author(s):  
Fansuri Fikri Haikal ◽  
Rahmat Safe’i ◽  
Arief Darmawan
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Final Value ◽  
Forest Health Monitoring ◽  
The Right

Community forestry is a social forestry scheme in state forests. Hkm empowers communities around the forest area to increase the ability and independence of the local community. Forest health monitoring is still rarely applied in the management of HKm. Forest health monitoring results can be a reference in making the right decisions in managing HKm so that the results obtained can be optimal. This study aims to determine the results of forest health monitoring in Beringin Jaya HKm managed by KTH Lestari Jaya 8. The research was conducted using the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) method. Forest health monitoring results show that there are 6 cluster plots with the final value of forest health status in cluster 1 (2.53) bad category, plot 2 (8.98) good category, plot 3 (6.31) moderate category, plot cluster 4 (10.51) category is good, cluster plot 5 (10.74) category is good and cluster plot 6 (8.98) category is good. Thus the results of forest health monitoring obtained by KTH Lestari Jaya 8 with an average final value of forest health status is moderate

The Contested Role of Management Plans in Improving Forest Conditions in Nepal's Community Forests

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Baral ◽  
H. Meilby ◽  
B.B. Khanal Chhetri
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Community Forest User Groups ◽  
Forest Legislation ◽  
Forest Conditions

Nepal's forest legislation requires community forest user groups to prepare inventory based management plans. Several studies have observed positive changes in forest cover after the establishment of community forestry; however, the role of management plans in bringing about such change is less examined. Based on a case study of nine community forests in the mid-hills of Nepal, this paper discusses the role of plans in changing the forest conditions. The study assessed changes in forest conditions, observed forest management activities, conducted household surveys, and interviewed forest bureaucrats. Image analysis showed improvement in forest conditions after the introduction of inventory based planning; however, improvements cannot be attributed to the plans, as the prescriptions in these were not used in practice. Instead, it emerged that a culture emphasizing forest conservation, changes in demography and increased remittance incomes together with increasing bureaucratic requirements contributed to the improved forest conditions. The role of the plan remains contested since it largely serves as a basis for controlling communities and, hence, preparation of such plans appears as an empty ritual with little connection with actual forest management.

scholarly journals Forest Cover Change Pattern after the Intervention of Community Forestry Management System in the Mid-Hill of Nepal: A Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 2756
Author(s):  
Shankar Tripathi ◽  
Rajan Subedi ◽  
Hari Adhikari
Keyword(s):  
Management System ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Community Forest Management ◽  
Community Perception ◽  
Forest Cover Change ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
The Government ◽  
Forest Users

An account of widespread degradation and deforestation in Nepal has been noticed in various literature sources. Although the contribution of community forests (CF) on the improvement of forest cover and condition in the Mid-hill of Nepal is positive, detailed study to understand the current situation seems important. The study area (Tanahun District) lies in the Gandaki Province of western Nepal. The objective of this study was to estimate the forest cover change over the specified period and to identify factors influencing the change. We used Landsat images from the years 1976, 1991, and 2015 to classify land use and land cover. We considered community perception in addition to the forest cover map to understand the different causes of forest cover change. Forest cover decreased from 1976 to 1991 annually at a rate of 0.96%. After 1991, the forest increased annually at a rate of 0.63%. The overall forest cover in the district regained its original status. Factors related to increasing forest cover were emigration, occupation shift, agroforestry practices, as well as particularly by plantation on barren lands, awareness among forest users, and conservation activities conducted by local inhabitants after the government forest was handed over to community members as a community forest management system.

Policy Landscape for Customary Forest Management in the Philippine Cordilleras

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Abayao
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Collective Ownership ◽  
Customary Practices

Forest management strategies in the Philippines recognize the cultural attributes of forests and customary practices accorded to them. Local communities view forests as an essential and contiguous resource. The Philippine Cordilleras is home to local community forests, natural and man-made or built. Natural forests are held collectively and managed according to customary practices. Man-made forests are developed by kin groups. These are small patches of forests that when surveyed make up a significant portion of the community’s natural resources. The “principle of collective ownership of forests” and the “customary tenurial security” are important principles in sustainable forest management in the Philippine Cordilleras. Agencies and local government units (LGUs) are challenged to strengthen their capacity to proactively encourage contemporary customary principles and practices to be used alongside official processes. These customary principles, when used within existing platforms, will prepare communities to face issues that affect their customary forests. Forests in some parts of the Cordilleras are tenured customarily, and such tenure comes with responsibility under the customary regime. The customary regime needs to be given equal attention in official processes to strengthen and effectively enforce forest local governance.

scholarly journals Between socio-economic drivers and policy response: spatial and temporal patterns of tree cover change in Nepal

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujata Shrestha ◽  
Uttam B Shrestha ◽  
Kamal Bawa
Keyword(s):  
Forest Cover ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Temporal Patterns ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Forest Cover Change ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Community Forests ◽  
Year 2000

Despite the local and global importance of forests, deforestation driven by various socio-economic and biophysical factors continues in many countries. In Nepal, in response to massive deforestation, the community forestry program has been implemented to reduce deforestation and support livelihoods. After four decades of its inception, the effectiveness of this program on forest cover change remains mostly unknown. This study analyses the spatial and temporal patterns of tree cover change along with a few socio-economic drivers of tree cover change to examine the effectiveness of the community forestry program for conserving forests or in reducing deforestation. We also investigate the socio-economic factors and policy responses as manifested through the community forestry program responsible for the tree cover change at the district level. The total tree cover area in the year 2000 in Nepal was ~ 4,746,000 hectares, and our analysis reveals that between 2001 and 2016, Nepal has lost ~46,000 ha and gained ~12,300 ha of areas covered by trees with a substantial spatial and temporal variations. After accounting socio-economic drivers of forest cover change, our analysis showed that districts with the larger number of community forests had a minimum loss in tree cover, while districts with higher proportion of vegetation covered by community forests had a maximum gain in tree cover. This indicates a positive contribution of the community forestry program to reducing deforestation and increasing tree cover.

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