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Chapter 3. Enhancing Adaptiveness and Collaboration in Community Forestry in Nepal: Reflections from Participatory Action Research 1 Cynthia McDougall, Hemant Ojha, Raj Kumar Pandey, Mani Ram Banjade and Bishnu Hari Pandit C ommunity forests in Nepal are vital to both local livelihoods and environmental integrity. Moreover, the Community Forestry Programme in Nepal is considered a world leader in the field of participatory environmental governance. Despite the success of Nepal’s programme in formally handing over rights to thousands of local forest user groups, however, it has not yet fulfilled expectations regarding increased returns to forest users and regarding equity in governance and in the distribution of management burdens and benefits. Specifically, one of the main concerns is that some of the most marginalised groups of forest users are often not gaining as anticipated (Agarwal 2001; Malla 2001; Nurse and Malla 2005), reflecting the continuing global challenge of achieving democratic, equitable and productive forest governance. Stakeholders at all levels, from local to international, have thus identified the need for increased effectiveness and equity in management and governance systems in community forestry.
Chapter 3: Adaptiveness and Collaboration in Community Forestry in Nepal • 53 This chapter highlights the experiences and lessons of an innovative participatory action research (PAR) project of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Nepal Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, with funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Known as the Adaptive Collaborative Management of Community Forests project, it was implemented from 1999 to 2002. The project sought to enhance equity, sustainability and livelihoods in community forestry by identifying, developing and critically assessing institutional arrangements, processes and other factors to enhance community forest governance and management, especially at level of the community forest user group (CFUG). Because of the complex and dynamic nature of the community forest context, the innovations that were generated and assessed during this project were based in adaptive and collaborative management (ACM). The ACM approach to governance and management blends ideas of communication, relations and social learning amongst a diverse range of actors. At its core, the approach integrates two related themes: adaptive management and collaborative interaction amongst actors. The adaptive management aspect emphasises that all management and governance can be an opportunity for learning and continual adjustment and improvement in generating knowledge and taking action in the field. As Lee (1993: 9) suggests, ‘all policies are experiments—learn from them’. Adaptive management is especially important in dynamic and complex contexts that require responsive management. The concept of collaboration 2 —far from a naïve presupposition of constant cooperation—can be used as a window for insights into the effective and synergistic ‘bounding of conflict’ that takes place in successful natural resource management and governance (Ojha et al. 2003). An ACM approach creates space for groups to negotiate their inevitably diverse interests and unequal power relations as they make and implement natural resource decisions over the long term. Although it recognises differences and disparities, ACM also stresses opportunities to form collaborative (and more equitable) relationships among the actors. In fact, in an ACM approach, conflict is seen as unavoidable and even a constructive part of transformation towards cooperation. Conflict and cooperation are potentially linked through the linchpin of social learning 3 processes. The experiences of this initial project were powerful for researchers and forest user group members alike, and they provide important foundational lessons. Following the ACM project, CIFOR and Nepali research partners Forest Action and NewERA and others 4 built on these lessons
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Copyright © 2007 by Center for Int
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iv • Contents Chapter 5. Muddling
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vi • Foreword problem solving. Th
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viii • About the Contributors God
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Acknowledgements In early 1999, two
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Chapter 4: Improving Forest Quality
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Chapter 5: Muddling Towards Coopera
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Chapter 6: Facilitating Change from
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Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusio
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CIFOR is a leading international fo
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