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

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

Implications of selective harvesting of natural forests for forest product recovery and forest carbon emissions: cases from Tarai Nepal and Queensland Australia

Selective logging is one of the main natural forest harvesting approaches worldwide and contributes nearly 15% of global timber needs. However, there are increasing concerns that ongoing selective logging practices have led to decreased forest product supply, increased forest degradation, and contributed to forest based carbon emissions. Taking cases of natural forest harvesting practices from the Tarai region of Nepal and Queensland Australia, this study assesses forest product recovery and associated carbon emissions along the timber production chain. Field measurements and product flow analysis of 127 commercially harvested trees up to the exit gate of sawmills and interaction with sawmill owners and forest managers reveal that: (1) Queensland selective logging has less volume recovery (52.8%) compared to Nepal (94.5%) leaving significant utilizable volume in the forest, (2) Stump volume represents 5.5% of total timber volume in Nepal and 3.9% in Queensland with an average stump height of 43.3 cm and 40.1 cm in Nepal and Queensland respectively, (3) Average sawn timber output from the harvested logs is 36.3% in Queensland against 61% in Nepal, (4) Nepal and Queensland leave 0.186 Mg C m-3 and 0.718 Mg C m-3 on the forest floor respectively, (5) Each harvested tree damages an average of five plant species in Nepal and four in Queensland predominantly seedlings in both sites, and (6) Overall logging related total emissions in Queensland are more than double (1.099 Mg C m-3) those in Nepal (0.488 Mg C m-3). We compared these results with past studies and speculated on possible reasons for and potential implications of these results for sustainable forest management and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation

Enhancing REDD+ outcomes through improved governance of community forest user groups

Since forests are both source and sink of carbon, scholars have suggested reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including conservation and sustainable management of forest and enhancement of forest carbon stock (REDD+) to be part of climate negotiation. Studies have shown that forests can play a role in reducing emissions in a cheaper, quicker and effective way, while generating important co-benefits, including biodiversity conservation and watershed management. However, governance that shapes relations between different stakeholders at grassroots level has been shown to be a crucial issue in managing local forests in a way that sequester more carbon from, and emit less of it to, the atmosphere. The authors of this paper argue that the lessons gained at community forest user group (CFUG) level regarding forest governance could be useful in designing a REDD+ governance structure at grassroots level. For this, both positive lessons and challenges faced so far could be documented, analysed, synthesized and shared at broader level. REDD+, being an external intervention to local communities, can bring a range of challenges that influence the governance dynamics. However, if the programme is managed carefully, CFUGs are capacitated adequately and governed collaboratively, REDD+ may bring synergistic outcomes with existing community forestry at grassroots level, particularly by bringing both environmental and livelihood benefits

An assessment of the economic and environmental implications of selective logging: case studies in Queensland Australia and the Tarai Region Nepal

The Abstract is currently unavailable due to the thesis being under Embargo

Key interventions and learning from grassroots capacity building in REDD+ project in Nepal

Meaningful engagement and effective participation of developing countries and forest managing communities in international climate negotiations, national REDD+ policy formulation and local institutional processes of forest management have implications in the future global climate regime, national forest management strategy and the local ecosystem management. This article primarily draws on the process and learning of REDD+ capacity building activities implemented from 2009 to 2014 in Nepal. With a brief description of key initiatives taken, this paper aims to highlight some critical lessons from this NORAD- funded project that show both opportunities and challenges of REDD+ capacity building program in Nepal. Some important insights gained so far from the project experience and implications for the future program of REDD+ in the developing countries like Nepal are highlighted

An assessment of the policies and practices of selective logging and timber utilisation: A case study from natural forests of Tarai Nepal and Queensland Australia

Selective logging (SL) contributes nearly 15 percent of the global timber needs. Considering its role in sustainable timber production, biodiversity conservation and forest carbon enhancement, assessment of SL policies and practices is crucial. This paper assesses the policies and practices of SL in natural production forests of the Tarai region of Nepal and Queensland Australia to explore the key differences in such policies and practices and their possible implications in achieving sustainable forest management objectives. The primary methods applied in the study were review and synthesis of key policy documents and qualitative analysis of the information gathered from key informant interviews and stakeholders’ workshop. Altogether, 53 respondents from a wide range of stakeholder groups (government organizations-15, non-government organizations/networks-15, private sector including the individual landowners-13, local political leaders-3 and independent forest experts/scientists-7) were consulted. Findings suggest that: (1) frequent and inconsistent changes in policy provisions, lengthy administrative procedures and heavy engagement of state forest agencies in forest product harvesting and sales processes play key roles in sub-optimal forest production in Nepal, whereas lower dependency on forest-products, higher labour costs, lack of species-wise royalty rate and flexibility in selecting optional logs are the key factors for increased wastages of forest products in Queensland; (2) recovery and utilisation of the harvested forest product is better in Nepal but policy and practical considerations on biodiversity and environment are better in Queensland; and (3) Forest harvesting specific codes of practice, occupational health and safety standards, and their compliance mechanism of Queensland could be beneficial for Nepal to minimise operational harvesting risks and to attract professional harvesters that support promoting sustainable use and management of natural forests, as we found this aspect almost neglected in Nepal

Evolutionary dynamics of selective logging in the tropics: a systematic review of impact studies and their effectiveness in sustainable forest management

Selective logging is the dominant timber harvesting practice in natural tropical forests. Considering its scale and its contribution to forest management outcome, efficient management of selective logging is crucial to address challenges associated with timber demand, carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. Ongoing selective logging has been a key reason for forest degradation despite a set of recommended practices such as reduced-impact logging. With the objective of drawing the attention of scholars and policy makers to answer the question why effectiveness of selective logging practice is still an issue, we tracked the trend and pattern of scholarly research related to the impact of selective logging. Using a systematic review of literature, we explored and discussed the possible factors hindering implementation of improved forest harvesting practices and the overall knowledge gaps yet not explored in this field of research. This review found consensus among scholars that implementation of improved forest harvesting is still rare despite the constant efforts made by researchers since the 1970s. Based on the review findings we concluded that concentration of research on specific countries, insufficient coverage of diversified forest dimensions/thematic areas, and higher concerns relating to ecological impacts of forest management are the reasons behind poor adoption of research outcomes of improved logging practices. Likewise, their implementation is further hindered by limited attention to the interests and needs of the forest managers/owners, lack of coordination and collaboration among stakeholders and negligible support to develop stakeholders’ capacity. Our review suggests a broadening of the geographical and thematic focus of the study as well as a consideration of effective engagement and capacity development of the forest managers/owners and stakeholders in selective logging policies and practices

Impact of COVID-19 in the forestry sector: A case of lowland region of Nepal

All walks of life have been affected by COVID-19 but smallholders from developing countries have been impacted more than others as they are heavily reliant on forest and agriculture for their livelihoods and have limited capacity to deal with COVID-19. Scholars are heavily engaged in assessing the impacts of COVID-19 on health and wellbeing, gender, food production and supply, stock market and the overall economy but not on the forestry sector. Using questionnaire surveys and key informant interviews—informed by grey literature and published articles— representing Division Forest Offices, Provincial Forest Directorates, and the Ministry of Forests and Environment in Nepal, this study assessed the impact of COVID-19 on the forestry sector of Nepal. Our analysis suggests that: (1) nature-based tourism is more severely affected than other sectors; (2) private, religious and leasehold forests faced minimal impacts of COVID-19 than that of community and government-managed forests; (3) wild boar (Sus scrofa), different species of deer, and birds have been more impacted than other wild animals; (4) the price of the timber has increased significantly whereas the price of non-timber forests products (NTFPs) has decreased; and (5) illegal logging and poaching have increased but the incidence of forest encroachment has been reduced. Our study further reveals that agroforestry practices in home gardens, borrowing money from neighbors/banks/landlords and liquidating livestock remained key alternatives for smallholders during COVID-19. Many studies reported that reverse migration could create chaos in Nepal, but our study suggests that it may enhance rural innovation and productivity, as returnees may use their acquired knowledge and skills to develop new opportunities. As COVID-19 has created a war-like situation worldwide, Nepal should come up with a forward-looking fiscal response with alternative income generation packages to local living to counter the impacts of COVID-19 on the forestry sector. One of the options could be implementing similar programs to that of India's US$ 800 Compensatory Afforestation Program and Pakistan's 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Program, which will create a win-win situation, i.e., generate employment for reverse migrants and promotes forest restoration

Impacts of forest management on tree species richness and composition: Assessment of forest management regimes in Tarai landscape Nepal

The role of natural (non-plantation) production forests is increasingly recognized in conservation of forest biodiversity globally. Government and other forest stakeholders in Nepal are, however, still reluctant to promote active management of production forests for fear of negative impacts on forest biodiversity. Moreover, Nepal's government is converting production forests into protected areas thus restricting the area available for multiple uses. To assess the implications of forest management practices on forest biodiversity at landscape level, we compared the richness and composition of tree species among regularly harvested community forests, irregularly harvested community forests, protected area and national forests in sub-tropical forested landscape of Nepal using tree species inventory and assessment of key environmental variables. Results showed that regularly harvested community forests could be effective in supporting tree species richness and composition compared to other management regimes. Results supported the hypothesis that high forest disturbance and no disturbance do not support tree species diversity and composition. In addition, this study found that regularly managed community forests also protect ecologically important and vulnerable tree species. Some possible explanations for the better performance of these community forests could be tenure security, frequency and regularity of silvicultural operations and sensitivity of forest users to the ecological aspects of forest management. Our study reaffirmed the need for active forest management at the local level to contribute to global conservation initiatives such as sustainable forest management, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+) and biodiversity conservation. Better compliance with forest management plans and capacity development of local forestry stakeholders in forest management operations are suggested for managing forests outside protected areas that is, in national and community forests

Recognition of historical contribution of indigenous peoples and local communities through benefit sharing plans (BSPs) in REDD+

Achieving the objectives of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest(s) Degradation, Conservation and Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks and Sustainable Management of Forests in developing countries (REDD+) will remain an aspiration unless and until the historical contributions of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and Local Communities (LCs) to the state and management of forests are recognised and respected. REDD + is designed for developing countries where community-based forest management systems (CBFM) are becoming increasingly popular. Using the case study of Nepal, a pioneer of community forest (CF) management, we show how the traditional users of Tarai forests are systemically excluded from mainstream CF practices and discuss the potential negative implications of not rewarding their historical contribution. Considering the scope provided by REDD + benefit sharing plans (BSPs) and the greater number of developing countries involved in designing BSPs, we: (1) argue that BSP offers a unique opportunity to recognize historical contributions of traditional users; (2) suggest specific provisions for channelling REDD + benefits to the traditional users as a potential solution; and (3) conclude that the inability to provide such benefits may result in the failure of REDD + on a broader scale, nullifying global efforts for forest-based climate change mitigation