Institute of Geography. The School of Geosciences.The University of Edinburgh
Abstract
In this paper I outline a history of community forestry in Nepal and highlight how it
has been embedded within different understandings of ecosystems and development.
In particular, the Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation (THED) was
instrumental in catalyzing the formation of community forestry. I briefly review the
history of the programme as it arose nationally and then delve into the daily
functioning of a user-group in Mugu District, north western Nepal to give a more
nuanced snap-shot of community forestry in action. Through this narrative I try to
draw out the ways in which different kinds of knowledges are both employed by
different actors within community forestry contexts, but also how the methodologies
and theoretical constructs used to investigate the programme produce different
knowledges of community forestry and the forests themselves