An assessment of governance quality for community-based forest management systems in Asia: Prioritisation of governance indicators at various scales

Maraseni, Tek; Bhattarai, Nawraj; Karky, Bhaskar Singh; Cadman, Timothy; Timalsina, Niroj; Bhandari, Trishna S.; Apan, Armando; Ok, Hwan; Rawat, R. S.; Verma, Nemit; San, Su Mon; Oo, Thaung Naing; Dorji, Kinley; Dhungana, Sindhu Prasad; Poudel, Mohan

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.11.044

Cited by 48 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…In the context of encouraging global results from community-based forest management (CBFM) [34,35], the involvement of stakeholders is critically important for assessing resource problems and reaching agreement on the objectives, options and strategies for an effective forest management governance framework [36]. Differences in stakeholders' understandings and conceptualisations of appropriate forest management policies challenge the forest management efforts [13,14].…”

Section: Creating Enabling Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Forest Management Practice in Nepal: Critical Reflections from Stakeholders’ Perspectives

Poudyal

Maraseni

Cockfield

2019

Forests

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Design and application of context-specific forest management practices with the participation of key stakeholders plays a significant role in sustainable forest management outcomes. However, key forestry stakeholders often hold different, and sometimes conflicting, expectations in relation to forest management policies and management objectives. Applying the triple-perspective typology of stakeholder theory, this paper assessed the evolution of “Scientific Forest Management” (SciFM), a signature programme of the Nepalese Government, as well as its policy processes and explored compatibility, complexity, cost and relative advantages of the adoption of SciFM. The government believes that without this programme, Nepal is losing 91 Million US Dollar (USD) per year. This study revealed that participation of key stakeholders remained contested from the beginning of its implementation, primarily due to differences they held in understanding and interpretation of SciFM. Although stakeholders’ views converged on the potential role of SciFM to increase forest product supply and the domination of timber-centric management, their perspectives differed in nomenclature and implementation modality of SciFM. Primarily, the community forest users and their networks did not own the concept from the beginning, as they were suspicious of recentralization and bureaucratic dominance in forest governance through SciFM. Since historically ingrained skepticism in both government officials and community forest users’ networks towards each other has negatively influenced the trust-building environment, the management of stakeholders’ relations through frequent and meaningful deliberations, and the simplification of bureaucratic procedures in implementation and capacity development of key actors could be instrumental in achieving SciFM objectives.

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Section: Creating Enabling Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Forest Management Practice in Nepal: Critical Reflections from Stakeholders’ Perspectives

Poudyal

Maraseni

Cockfield

2019

Forests

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“…Moreover, Nepal recently inaugurated a federal political structure authorising the seven provincial states to manage their existing CBFM modalities. There is growing fear among forest users that this may de-establish the CBFM system and further degrade forest ES [29].…”

Section: Selection Of Case Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

An Ecosystem Services Valuation Research Framework for Policy Integration in Developing Countries: A Case Study from Nepal

2020

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Forest ecosystem services (ES) valuation research has increased exponentially in recent years, and scholars accept that such research could be useful in reshaping governments’ policies. Despite such scholarly efforts, the research outcomes have had limited application in actual policies and plans. This study explores reasons why ES valuation research recommendations are not reflected in policy processes and proposes a research framework which, when appropriately applied, would lead to the adoption of research findings. Literature review, semi-structured expert interviews (N = 29), and a workshop (N = 2), were used to achieve these objectives. Experts expressed that limited stakeholder engagement is the key factor hindering incorporation of ES research outcomes in policies and plans. We developed a framework that comprises four major components (inputs, actors, outcomes, impacts) and sets out the seven major steps involved in implementing this framework. Effective engagement of relevant stakeholders in each step is critical to integrate the ES research outcomes in policy and plans although this will demand a lengthy timeframe and a high investment requirement. Such engagement would create an environment of trust that enhances the acceptability of research outcomes among stakeholders. The acceptability of the research outcomes can increase ownership leading to more informed decision making, and ultimately yield desired outcomes in ES conservation.

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“…The community based forest management (CBFM) system is the dominant forest management regime in developing countries. In this system, local people play a vital role in planning, decision-making, implementation, and benefit sharing [30,31]. About 511 million hectares of global forests (almost 15.5%) are either owned or managed by such communities [32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…About 511 million hectares of global forests (almost 15.5%) are either owned or managed by such communities [32]. The trend for adoption of these systems is increasing in developing countries (22% in 2006, 27% in 2010, and >30% in 2015) [30,32]. The CBFM system comprises different users of a forest, both living nearby and distant from the forest and with different socioeconomic backgrounds [33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Local Users and Other Stakeholders’ Perceptions of the Identification and Prioritization of Ecosystem Services in Fragile Mountains: A Case Study of Chure Region of Nepal

Acharya

Maraseni

Cockfield

2019

Forests

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Forest-based ecosystem services (ES) play a vital role in improving people’s livelihoods, the environment, and the economy. Prior studies have focused on technical aspects of economic valuation such as biophysical quantification through modeling and mapping, or monetary valuation, while little attention has been paid to the social dimensions. Taking case studies of two dominant community-based forest management systems (community forestry—CF and collaborative forestry—CFM) in the Chure region of Nepal, we investigate how local users and other stakeholders perceive the valuation of forest-based ecosystem services based on proximity (nearby vs. distant users), socio-economic class (rich vs. poor users), and forest management modalities (CF vs. CFM). We found that local users and other stakeholders in the Chure region identified a total of 42 forest-based ecosystem services: 16 provisioning, 15 regulating, and 11 cultural services. While all local users prioritised firewood, water quality improvement, and bequest values as the top three services, genetic resources, hazard protection, and hunting services were valued as having the lowest priority. The priorities placed on other services varied in many respects. For instance, rich users living near a CF showed a strong preference for fodder, grasses, and soil conservation services whereas users living far from forests prioritised timber, fresh water, and flood control services. In the case of CFM, rich users adjacent to forests preferred timber, soil conservation, and carbon sequestration services but those living far from forests chose timber, poles, and flood control as their top priorities. Differences in rankings also occurred among the regional managers, national experts, and forest users. The reasons for these differences and their policy implications are discussed, and ways of reaching consensus between the users are suggested.

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An assessment of governance quality for community-based forest management systems in Asia: Prioritisation of governance indicators at various scales

Cited by 48 publications

References 32 publications

Scientific Forest Management Practice in Nepal: Critical Reflections from Stakeholders’ Perspectives

Scientific Forest Management Practice in Nepal: Critical Reflections from Stakeholders’ Perspectives

An Ecosystem Services Valuation Research Framework for Policy Integration in Developing Countries: A Case Study from Nepal

Local Users and Other Stakeholders’ Perceptions of the Identification and Prioritization of Ecosystem Services in Fragile Mountains: A Case Study of Chure Region of Nepal

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