Forest Governance in Nepal concerning Sustainable Community Forest Management and Red Panda Conservation

Timothy Cadman, Tek Maraseni, Upama Ashish Koju (), Anita Shrestha and Sikha Karki
Additional contact information
Timothy Cadman: Institute for Ethics, Governance, and Law, Griffith University, Nathan 4111, Australia
Tek Maraseni: Centre for Sustainable Agriculture System, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba 4350, Australia
Upama Ashish Koju: Kathmandu Forestry College, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal
Anita Shrestha: Kathmandu Forestry College, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal
Sikha Karki: Cities Research Institute, Griffith University—Gold Coast Campus, Southport 4215, Australia

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-23

Abstract: This paper investigates issues confronting forest management and sustainability, focusing on the governance of the community forest user group (CFUG) initiative in Nepal. The paper begins with a literature review to give a general overview of the historical and current situation of forest governance in Nepal. It explores the historical impacts of unsustainable logging in Nepal and the World Bank Report, which both investigated and explored avenues for improving the forest situation, including community forestry. The paper outlines the development of community forestry, the legislative, regulatory, and governance frameworks underpinning this unique system of community-driven forest management, and its relationship to sustainable forest management (SFM). SFM in turn has engendered a market for sustainably derived timber and labeling systems for ‘good’ wood. The paper continues by providing an analysis of stakeholder attitudes regarding the current forest governance situation in Nepal. Furthermore, it provides another small case study on how such standards might be applied in the local community context of protecting Nepal’s Red Panda while simultaneously delivering sustainable forest management and community development. It concludes with a discussion on the need for governance standards for forest management and community forestry in Nepal.

Keywords: sustainable forest management; community forest; forest governance; stakeholders; standards (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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