Climate change is projected to increase in vulnerable areas of the world, and marginalized communities residing in rural areas are more vulnerable to the change. The perceptions of climate change and adaptation strategies made by such communities are important considerations in the design of adaptation strategies by policy-makers. We examined the most marginalized indigenous group "Chepang" communities' perceptions towards this change, variability, and their attitudes to adaptations and adapted coping measures in mid-hills of Nepal. We interviewed 155 individuals from two Chepang communities, namely, Shaktikhor and Siddhi in Chitwan district of Nepal. We also analyzed biophysical data to assess the variability. The findings showed that the Chepang community has experienced significant impacts of climate change and variability. They attributed crop disease, insect infestation, human health problem, and weather-related disaster as the impacts of climate change. Strategies they have adopted in response to the change are the use of intense fertilizers in farmland, hybrid seeds cultivation, crop diversification, etc. Local level and national level adaptation policies need to be designed and implemented as soon as possible to help climate vulnerable communities like Chepangs to cope against the impacts of climate change.

Community Forestry has long been considered an epitome of decentralized forest management in Nepal. The management of Community Forests are guided by their Operational Plans (OPs), the mandatory technical document. Their preparation demands substantial human and economic inputs. However, their extent of implementation and the significance of these plans to local user are topics of debate. In this context, this study analyzes users' perception about the OP and their implementation status. We took case study approach and conducted key informant interview (n=25), focus group discussion (n=16) and purposive household survey (n=246) in 15 Community Forest User Groups to compile required data. The perceptions were analyzed using qualitative methods. The results revealed that the users have poor understanding of their plans and considered the plan as technical legitimate documents. The implementation status of the plans was of sub-standard. Silvicultural operations prescribed in the operational plans were insufficiently carried out. We found that the users are adopting only the forest product harvest and utilization aspects of the plans. Provided the poor understanding of OPs among the users and quality of plan implementation, this study questions the relevance of current operational plans and emphasizes the need of reviewing the planning process so that their high-standard implementation can be assured.