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Importance of Community Forestry Funds for Rural Development in Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Puspa K.C. Bhandari

    (Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Pokhara Campus, Pokhara 33700, Nepal)

  • Prabin Bhusal

    (Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Pokhara Campus, Pokhara 33700, Nepal)

  • Ganesh Paudel

    (Ministry of Forests and Environment, Kathmandu 3987, Nepal)

  • Chiranjibi P. Upadhyaya

    (Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Pokhara Campus, Pokhara 33700, Nepal)

  • Bir Bahadur Khanal Chhetri

    (Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Pokhara Campus, Pokhara 33700, Nepal)

Abstract

Nepal’s Community Forestry (CF) process has implied the devolution of powers to collect, retain, and redistribute forest revenue from community forests products. This study contributes to our knowledge about these important aspects of CF by presenting an analysis of the dynamic pattern of income and expenditure of 43 randomly selected Community Forestry User Groups (CFUGs) from Kaski, Nepal. Results show that CFUG three-year average annual income accounts NRs 216,225 (1 US$ = NRs.114) and is highly skewed towards a few wells off CFUGs; the high-and-low average annual income of one-third of CFUGs in the sample ranges from NRs. 33,116 to NRs 502,363. Timber income and user’s contribution constitute the most important sources of income, comprising 40% and 25% respectively. The rural development investments of CFUG income are also highly variable and are shaped by income size of CF, and the other socio-political factors such as the number of households, distance to market, infrastructure status, and contextual factors. Overall, 44% of the CFUG income is invested in community development and 37% in forest conservation. Investment in community development increases with rising income. Accordingly, results presented here provide insights to promote community forests to generate more income which, indeed, could be a vehicle for community development as it appears in the mid-hills of Nepal.

Suggested Citation

  • Puspa K.C. Bhandari & Prabin Bhusal & Ganesh Paudel & Chiranjibi P. Upadhyaya & Bir Bahadur Khanal Chhetri, 2019. "Importance of Community Forestry Funds for Rural Development in Nepal," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jresou:v:8:y:2019:i:2:p:85-:d:228107
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Adhikari, Bhim & Williams, Frances & Lovett, Jon C., 2007. "Local benefits from community forests in the middle hills of Nepal," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(5), pages 464-478, January.
    2. Baral, Sony & Chhetri, Bir Bahadur Khanal & Baral, Himlal & Vacik, Harald, 2019. "Investments in different taxonomies of goods: What should Nepal's community forest user groups prioritize?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 24-32.
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    7. Rahman, Md Saifur & Sadath, Md. Nazmus & Giessen, Lukas, 2016. "Foreign donors driving policy change in recipient countries: Three decades of development aid towards community-based forest policy in Bangladesh," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 39-53.
    8. Lund, Jens Friis & Baral, Keshab & Bhandari, Nirmala Singh & Chhetri, Bir Bahadur Khanal & Larsen, Helle Overgaard & Nielsen, Øystein Juul & Puri, Lila & Rutt, Rebecca Leigh & Treue, Thorsten, 2014. "Who benefits from taxation of forest products in Nepal's community forests?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 119-125.
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    2. Sullivan, Abigail, 2022. "Bridging the divide between rural and urban community-based forestry: A bibliometric review," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).

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