Two decades of community forestry in Nepal: What have we learned?

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Two decades of community forestry in Nepal: What have we learned? direction – particularly amongst those in the cluster areas. In some ways, the confl ict period also served to promote this trend. Given that the local village administration (VDCs) ceased to operate with an elected mandate in early 2002 (it not being possible to hold further elections), only interim (non-democratic) provisions are in place. This vacuum in local democratic processes was one that, in many ways, CFUGs came to fi ll. CFUGs provided a meeting ground for persons of all political parties, and were themselves non-political. They used their funds to undertake development activities that would normally be the responsibility of the State. This included the maintenance of paths, bridges and schools, small-scale local generation of electricity, humanitarian support to those in need, scholarships for poor children, and sometimes even teacher salaries. CFUGs initiated all these rural development activities from their own resources generated from community forests. Had their work been supported and recognised by the State, they could no doubt have done even better. “CFUGs’ contribution is still not recognised fully. Regular monitoring of activities carried out by CFUGs and their governance practice are still lacking – if it had been more intensive, CFUGs would have done even better ” Ganesh Karki, FECOFUN There are further positive “knock on” effects of CFUG learning in good governance, in that those who have gained experience within CFUGs represent a pool of resource persons for other community initiatives and elected offi ce. According to one observer (see quote of Karl Schuler), this was already this was apparent in the late 1990s. More recently, NSCFP has attempted to capitalise on CFUG experiences in good governance in pilot village level participatory planning (VLDP). “Through the community forestry approach, we had an opportunity to support practical democracy in the countryside. It was much easier to discuss democracy through the example of real things – access to forests, use rights – than in vague terms of political discourse. ..when the last VDC elections were held [in 1997] it was interesting to see that a good number of those elected had come up through their involvement in CFUGs” Karl Schuler, NSCFP Team Leader (for SDC) Sept 1995 – April 1999; Assistant (later Deputy) Country Director of SDC in Nepal to Feb 2004 42 Monitoring in community forestry is the key The pilot VLDP process was tested by NSCFP in six VDCs, notably Magapawa and Suspa in Dolakha district, Gumdel and Okhreni in Ramechhap district, and Narmadeshwor and Thulachhap in Okhaldunga district. This experience is analysed and documented by Byrne and Chhetry, 2011, and demonstrates at once both considerable insights into participatory planning processes on the part of community members, as well as the challenges that still exist. Thus, for example, even though the principle of social inclusion was recognised, literate individuals from advantaged backgrounds tended to dominate, and it was particularly diffi cult to ensure
Two decades of community forestry in Nepal: What have we learned? that persons from remote parts of the VDC could participate or be represented due the time needed simply to reach meetings. Although all political parties were actively involved, party politics sometimes interfered with decision making processes. Most importantly, however, the VLDP process was not grounded in an established institutional procedure. This gave fl exibility for testing a procedure, but undermined the legitimacy of the result, since its implementation depended on the willingness and goodwill of the (government appointed) VDC secretary, the district administration and all the stakeholders concerned. This said, the VLDP process very clearly demonstrated the need for transparency and accountability, and for strong linkages between different development actors at the village level. These it helped to foster – putting the pilot VDCs in a good position for the future. “NSCFP’s facilitation in the formation of VDC level Forest Coordination Committee has been vital in creating a common coordination platform among the political parties, VDC and other agencies.” Gorakh Bahadur Basnet, Chairperson, Bhitteri CFUG, Dolakha “Public and social auditing is required amongst the project stakeholders at the district and community level” Govinda Paudel, Forest Action Key issues for the future • Whilst CFUGs in the project area have shown marked signs of improved internal governance, this has required quite intensive facilitation. A single intervention of governance coaching is generally insuffi cient to make a long term difference; more regular support over a period of years is needed. However, if CFUGs are to manage their own funds and demand services according to their perceived needs, governance coaching may not be given priority. This must be taken into account in future support strategies. • The project’s pilot VLDP exercise demonstrated that CFUGs have much pertinent experience to offer in village level planning and decision-making. In the immediate term it seems worth supporting opportunities to further support such types of village level coordination as and when they arise. In the longer term, once VDCs are elected, it will be important to ensure that CFUG experience is fully recognised and incorporated into governance procedures. • At least in the districts where VDC-level social mobilisers have been introduced (Ramechhap, Okhaldunga and Khotang), continued efforts should be made to work through them. • With the civil confl ict over, and the State re-asserting its authority at local level, it is important that government staff will be able to respond to the people’s demand for good governance. In this respect, Forest Department and also district development staff are likely to need capacity building and reorientation to work within the framework of local government. • The pressure on NGO service providers to demonstrate good governance principles in their own organisational set-up and practice is likely to increase in future. They will need to focus their efforts on providing services at VDC level. • A healthy partnership between CFUGs and private entrepreneurs depends on both being socially responsible, with the latter agreeing to operate according to principles of good governance (see later section). More efforts are needed in developing an enabling regulatory framework in this respect. 43
Page 1 and 2: TWO DECADES OF COMMUNITY FORESTRY I
Page 3 and 4: Namdu, Dolakha, 1989 Namdu, Dolakha
Page 5 and 6: FOREWORD Over 20 years ago, the Swi
Page 7 and 8: List of Abbreviations AIDS : Acquir
Page 9 and 10: CONTENTS Foreword .................
Page 11 and 12: 1. INTRODUCTION Two decades of comm
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Page 91 and 92: REFERENCES Two decades of community

Two decades of community forestry in Nepal: What have we learned?

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