Variation of financial benefits from provisioning ecosystem services between nearby and distant users in Partnership Forest Management in Nepal

Abstract

Partnership Forest Management (PFM) in Nepal was initiated to balance the supply of forest products between nearby and distant users' communities in the Terai region of Nepal. This study in Buddha Shanti Partnership forest analyzed the financial benefits of provisioning services and identified the socio-economic attributes influencing such benefits. A financial analysis of provisioning services was carried out using user prices outlined in the Operational Plan of the forest and on market-price-based approaches. This shows that timber provided more benefits to distant users, while nearby users have reaped more financial gains from fuelwood and fodder. Analysis revealed that home-to-forest distance, along with landholdings and livestock unit are the major factors impacting the overall financial benefits. This shows that the inclusion of distant users in PFM has provided financial benefits from provisioning services to those users.