Increase of forest carbon biomass due to community forestry management in Nepal

Community forest management helps in mitigating deforestation and forest degradation by addressing the negative aspects of rural livelihoods such as poverty and social exclusion. It is important in regulating global climate by encouraging sequestration of carbon in shoots, roots and soils. We studied the status of community forest management, forest resource harvest and carbon stocks in two community forests of the mid hill region of central and western Nepal. The study was based on primary and secondary data collected through carbon stock measurement from field visits and allometric equations, household surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and review of past studies. Socioeconomic variables such as gender, age group, livestock and landholding status were related to resource utilization, conservation, and management of community forest. Forest resources such as timber, firewood, fodder and leaf litter were harvested in sustainable ways. People were involved in forest thinning, co-management meetings, guarding and planting trees for forest conservation and management. Density and carbon stock of trees increased gradually in comparison to a previous study. We recommend further research on other community forests for more accurate and better results.     

Factors affecting forest cooperative's participation in forestry in Turkey

This study analyses forest cooperative's participation in forestry in Turkey. The study was carried out with 71 forest cooperatives in the Kastamonu province, located in the Western Black Sea Region. By using a principal component analysis it was found that the most important factors affecting forest cooperative's participation in forestry are: (1) member involvement, (2) forest ownership and administration, and (3) harmony within cooperatives and between cooperatives and the state. These three factors explained 59% of participation within a cooperative.Regression analyses indicate that active members, sufficiency of work, use of published material, and the availability of capital and credit are important variables to explain variations in participation. A game theoretic model indicates a positive link between a cooperative's wood production (payoff) and levels of participation as derived from the principal component analysis, indicating that a productive forest goes hand in hand with high levels of forest cooperative's participation in forestry.     

Conflict management and participation in community forestry

In this paper consideration is first given to how community forestry practitioners have commonly understood the term participation, and why the concept of conflict does not seem to have overlapped with notions of participation. Failure to perceive conflict as inherent in participation is shown to have led to problems in implementation of community forestry programmes. The emerging awareness of conflict today is shown to be associated with the move away from community forestry in the form of village-based tree planting schemes towards community forest management, which involves devolution of state authority over natural forests. The paper presents a number of methods for managing conflict and discusses their strong and weak points. Using the experience of the introduction of participation as a comparison, the paper considers the extent to which conflict management might be adopted as standard practice by forest agencies in community forestry. The paper concludes that because of the limited mandate of forest agencies, it is unlikely that they will be able to use conflict management tools to bring about social justice in forest conflict situations. However, the paper suggests that use of such tools could result in heightened awareness of the importance of conflict and in this way improve forest practice.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Community forestry in British Columbia: Policy progression and public participation

It is 17 years since the British Columbia Ministry of Forests instituted the Jobs and Timber Accord of 1997, which established British Columbia's (BC) Community Forest Pilot Program and formally introduced Community Forest Agreements into the provincial forest policy framework. For this special issue we present the results of a census of all active members of the BC Community Forest Association, evaluating the program using the method demonstrated by Maryudi et al. (2012) where evaluation is guided by the original aims of the policy; in this case the Community Forestry Initiative of BC. We sought the Community Forest Organisations' views on the strengths and limitations of the initiative, whether they were equipped to achieve the aims expected of the policy, and the degree to which the policy aims were their priorities. We found that community forests in BC assess themselves as having been broadly successful in terms of policy aims of public participation and environmental stewardship of forests, but that the policy has not enabled economic diversification. Corroborating other studies we report that community forests found that encouraging participation requires sustained effort, that diversifying from conventional forestry is desired but not usually achievable and that motivations for involvement in community forests are diverse.     

The influence of NGO involvement on local people's perception of forest management: a case study of community forestry in Nepal

Despite high expectations of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as project partners in bilateral-aid community forestry (CF) projects in Nepal, it remains unclear whether the NGO involvement favored by donors is efficient. This study examined the influence of NGOs on local people's perceptions of CF management by using a quantitative analysis based on a questionnaire survey. Three different forest user groups (FUGs) supported by the Nepal Swiss Community Forestry Project were selected from the Dolakha and Ramecchap districts: an FUG supported by another FUG acting as an NGO, an FUG supported by an NGO specializing in CF, and an FUG without NGO support. A structured survey examined the perception of CF management based on satisfaction, involvement, and self-reliance in 244 selected households belonging to the three FUGs. Knowledge of CF and personal information was also surveyed and analyzed. The results showed that NGO involvement influences factors such as self-reliance and knowledge of CF. FUG members who were supported by an NGO or an FUG had a significantly higher perception with respect to self-reliance and knowledge than did members without such support. This indicates that experienced FUGs can serve as adequate service providers for the CF formation procedure, in a manner similar to that of NGOs. On the other hand, the limited support from NGOs or FUGs during the formation process seemed insufficient to fulfill the expectations of aid agencies with respect to the enhancement of satisfaction and active participation on the part of FUG members. If aid agencies expect NGOs and FUGs to enhance the satisfaction and participation of members, these intermediary organizations should be assigned to support more CF activities than just the formation procedure. Aid agencies should take responsibility for strengthening the capabilities of NGOs and FUGs, as needed.     

Production efficiency of community forest management in Nepal

Nepal's forests have been transferred to community management with the twin objectives of supplying forest products and addressing local environmental problems. Community forests provide a range of benefits, from direct forest products such as timber and non-provisioning ecosystem services such as soil protection. There is a need to understand the extent to which environmental and community benefits are joint products or substitutes. Stochastic frontier production analysis (SFPA) was used to study the production relationship between environmental and community benefits and production efficiency analysis to study the extent to which communities were able to achieve maximum benefits. SFPA indicated that the magnitude of direct forest product benefits was influenced by various socioeconomic and forest related factors such as distance to the government office, community forest size, and group heterogeneity negatively affect community forest products benefits. On the other hand, links to the market, forest products dependency, and the number of households in the community augment benefits from community forests. In addition, forest product benefits and environmental benefits were complementary to each other. Production efficiency analysis showed that communities were not producing forest products efficiently. Factors such as social capital contributed positively to production efficiency, whereas caste heterogeneity in the executive committees of community forest user groups was negatively associated with efficiency. These findings can contribute to better implementation of community forestry programmes in Nepal, improving the welfare of communities by increasing direct forest product benefits without environmental harm.     

对林业分类经营与森林分类经营的见解

林业分类经营是根纫林种面积比倒及目标任务把森林经营单位分为商品林业经营单位和公益林业经营单位，对前者实行企业经营管理，后者实行事业管理。对其存在的权属问题，集体和个体林区．比被可行的解决办法是建立联营林场。森林分类经营是根据森林功能和经营目的不同，把森林分为一经林种、二级林种和三级材种。依其森林生态环境条件、树种生物生态学特性、培育类型、目的及其培育技术措施的差异组织经营类型。其经营类型技术措施体系包括立地类型、营造林技术措施及目标规划。     

Community-based forest management and its role in improving forest conditions in Nepal

The status of forest conditions before and after intervention of the forestry projects in community forest in three districts of Nepal is examined. Benefits are observed from the adoption of adaptive collaborative management and collective learning and action research in three sampled districts. The adoption of regular silvicultural treatments has increased the availability of forest products to local users. Moreover, improved forest condition and smallholder livelihoods have improved, as has environmental sustainability. However, the community forestry program has several limitations and shortcomings. Elite capture, social disparity, inequitable benefit-sharing and exclusion of poor and marginalized groups from the community forestry program are notable challenges to be solved in coming years. Special attention is needed to make community forestry inclusive with equitable benefit-sharing and a pro-poor focus.     

Linking physical, economic and institutional constraints of land use change and forest conservation in the hills of Nepal

This paper analyses the changes in spatial patterns of agricultural land use during the period 1976–2000 along the altitudinal gradients in a watershed in Nepal. Land change patterns during this period were examined using information on land use derived from satellite images from 1976, 1990 and 2000. During the 24-year period from 1976 to 2000 agricultural land use increased by 35% at a cost of loss of forestland. Agricultural expansion was most conspicuous at higher elevations (1150–2000-m). About 36%, 18% and 6% of forestland was converted into agricultural activities from higher, middle and lower elevations respectively in the period from 1990 to 2000. Spatial distribution of living standard parameters, including farm family income and, food availability obtained from family surveys, shows a decreasing trend as the elevation increases whereas percentage of food bought shows an increasing trend. In this way it was found that, lost forest areas were smaller when located around high-income areas with good quality agricultural land and near an administrative centre as compared to areas located around low-income areas with low quality agricultural land and far from an administrative centre. Additionally, a regression model is constructed, to link the socioeconomic variables with the conversion of forestland into agricultural activities, breaking the study area into smaller zones. The spatial trajectories of these zones are then contrasted, paying particular attention to the socioeconomic conditions and institutional arrangements governing access to land resources. The study finds that while overall land change patterns in the region are largely explained by elevation and the socioeconomic conditions of people living adjacent to the forestland, more specifically, in sub-regional areas, trajectories reflect the signatures of institutions governing access to land. As sustainability of the watershed is dependent on forests, continued depletion of forest resources will result in poor economic returns from agriculture for local people together with loss of ecosystem services.     

黄山市林木采伐管理系统在现代林政中的运用

黄山市林木采伐管理系统是全国最先进的林政软件之一,功能十分强大,性能稳定、内容丰富,优点突出。主要是应用现代电子信息技术,实行林木采伐、加工、外运有机结合,对服务对象提供一条龙服务;对管理主体(林业站、林业检查站、森林公安)实行三位一体全覆盖,有利于互联互通、信息共享,同时对推进行政审批改革,公开阳光操作,提高工作效率,意义深远。     

Factors affecting participation of user group members: comparative studies on two types of community forestry in the Dry Zone, Myanmar

Drawing on the example of community forestry in Myanmar’s Dry Zone area, this paper conceptualizes and empirically assesses key factors for obtaining the participation of user group members, with emphasis on the implementation stage. More specifically, the study clarifies the commonalities and differences in influential factors between two types of community forestry: agroforestry and natural forest types. Field data were collected by semi-structured interviews with 54 households in four selected user groups, by key informant interviews, by informal interviews, and by direct observations. Our analysis was conducted in accordance with a framework in which selected social/institutional, economic, and physical factors affect participation. The results show that social/institutional factors are the most influential factors in both types, while economic factors are directly related to participation of user groups in the agroforestry type alone. Results indicated that preconditions, such as selection of leaders, should be considered in accordance with the local context in which the people have a shared recognition of what confers legitimacy to leadership. We recommend collaboration of the Forest Department with user group members in providing information regarding the use and selling of forest products from agroforestry-type community forest, as well as frequent communication with user groups to provide incentives regarding property rights stability for future benefits to continue participation of user group members in managing the dry forest.     

中国森林认证试点——松江河林业有限公司森林经营认证中森林经营与保护实践分析

本文阐述了中国森林认证体系建设发展历程及松江河林业有限公司开展中国森林认证试点背景和过程,分析了森林经营认证过程中森林经营与保护方针、目标和原则,总结实践与经验提出具体森林经营与保护措施,并对吉林省森林认证前景进行讨论。     

Assessing the sustainability in community based forestry: A case from Nepal

Community based forestry is seen as a promising instrument for sustainable forest management (SFM) through the purposeful involvement of local communities. Globally, forest area managed by local communities is on the rise. However, transferring management responsibilities to forest users alone cannot guarantee the sustainability of forest management. A monitoring tool, that allows the local communities to track the progress of forest management towards the goal of sustainability, is essential. A case study, including six forest user groups (FUGs), two from each three community based forestry models—community forestry (CF), buffer zone community forestry (BZCF), and collaborative forest management (CFM) representing three different physiographic regions, was conducted in Nepal. The study explores which community based forest management model (CF, BZCF or CFM) is doing well in terms of sustainable forest management. The study assesses the overall performance of the three models towards SFM using locally developed criteria (four), indicators (26) and verifiers (60). This paper attempts to quantify the sustainability of the models using sustainability index for individual criteria (SIIC), and overall sustainability index (OSI). In addition, rating to the criteria and scoring of the verifiers by the FUGs were done. Among the four criteria, the FUGs ascribed the highest weightage to institutional framework and governance criterion; followed by economic and social benefits, forest management practices, and extent of forest resources. Similarly, the SIIC was found to be the highest for the institutional framework and governance criterion. The average values of OSI for CFM, CF, and BZCF were 0.48, 0.51 and 0.60 respectively; suggesting that buffer zone community forestry is the more sustainable model among the three. The study also suggested that the SIIC and OSI help local communities to quantify the overall progress of their forestry practices towards sustainability. The indices provided a clear picture of forest management practices to indicate the direction where they are heading in terms of sustainability; and informed the users on issues to pay attention to enhance sustainability of their forests.     

An approach to public participation in strategic forest management planning

An application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is presented for taking public preferences into account in choosing the management strategy for a forest area. An illustrative example of the use of the approach is given, and some experiences in practical planning at Ruunaa conservation area in Eastern Finland are discussed. The approach can be applied to representative, as well as to participatory democracy approaches. The use of the approach is mainly discussed with regard to representative democracy. In the representative approach, a level of players consisting of interest groups is added into the decision hierarchy, just above the level of decision objectives. In the participatory approach, the level of players consists of citizens. By applying the approach, valuable information can be obtained about public values and their effects on the choice of management strategy as well as about possibilities to attain a compromise between conflicting interests.     

Ecological and economical sustainability assessment of community forest management in Nepal: A reality check

This study analyzes the sustainability of community forest management, representing four forest types of two physiographic region Hills and Terai of Nepal. We assess the sustainability based on species composition, stand density, growing stock volume, and growth-to-removal ratio using inventory data of 109 permanent forest plots from four consecutive intervals of three to five years. In addition, forest users, forest committee members, and forest officials were consulted. We observed increment on the representation of economically valuable tree species in all forest types of both regions. The pole-size tree dominates in all forest types with declining number of trees and regeneration. In case of Hills forests, they were over-harvested until 2013 but were under-harvested in the recent period. In contrary, forests were under-harvested in the Terai. We found that ecological objectives of sustainable management are fully achieved while economic benefits remained unharnessed where harvesting is far below the growth. We conclude that maintaining a large number of trees may contribute to ecological but not on economical sustainability. We argue to rationalize annual harvest in all categories of the forest to enhance resource conditions together with regular benefits to the local communities.     

木兰林管局白桦次生林经营的建议

根据木兰林管局白桦次生林的经营现状与经营意义,按立地条件、生态功能和林分特点将生态公益林划分为严格保护型、重点保护型和保护经营型3个经营类型,将商品林划为一般经营型和集约经营型2个类型,并对相关经营措施进行了探讨。     

整合林业资源 实现林场经营转型

国有林场实行分类经营以后，面临如何生存和发展的新课题，本文介绍了东港市林场的做法和体会。东港市林场有80％的山林划分为生态公益林，林场由经济效益为主转向以生态效益为主，在这种新形势下，提出了首先调整林场的林种结构和树种结构，发展高效林业；其次，改革林场产权制度，建立有效的约束机构和激励机制。“十五”期间主要经营战略是：大力发展红松果材兼用林和板栗等经济林，把森林的生态效益和经济效益结合起来；把造林与培育绿化大苗相结合；加大开发森林旅游资源力度；加强工业设备技术改造和产品开发，扩大现有产品系列的生产规模。使林场真正成为林、工、商、旅各产业并存发展的国有控股企业集团。     

Impacts of different forest management scenarios on forestry and reindeer husbandry

In northern Sweden, the forests are used simultaneously for both timber production and reindeer husbandry. During the winter months, lichen is the most important fodder for reindeer. Forest management operations are generally considered having a negative impact on reindeer husbandry as harvesting and dense stands remove or obscure the ground lichen cover. In this study, we simulate three different scenarios for forest management, differing in the intensity and types of harvest operations. The resulting 100-year scenarios are analyzed with respect to their estimated suitability for providing reindeer pasture areas. Suitability is determined by vegetation type, stand density and stand height. The results indicate that the current trend of a decrease in lichen area will continue if existing forestry practice prevails. Implementing continuous cover forestry as a management alternative and carrying out precommercial thinning could halt the decrease in reindeer pasture area and even lead to a future increase in pasture area, with losses of approximately 5% in the net present value of forestry.