Influence of Rural Out-Migration on Household Participation in Community Forest Management? Evidence from the Middle Hills of Nepal

Rajesh Bista (), Sophia Graybill, Qi Zhang, Richard E. Bilsborrow and Conghe Song ()
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Rajesh Bista: Department of Geography, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Sophia Graybill: Department of Geography, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Qi Zhang: Department of Geography, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Richard E. Bilsborrow: Department of Geography, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Conghe Song: Department of Geography, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: Rural out-migration was a rare socio-economic phenomenon when community forestry began in the 1980s in Nepal. Now, out-migration significantly influences nearly every aspect of rural livelihoods in the country. However, it is unclear how out-migration affects community forestry governance, which is essential for sustainable rural development. Therefore, this paper addresses the following research question: Does rural out-migration affect forest users’ participation in community forestry decision-making and management practices? This paper draws on data collected from an extensive survey of 415 households from 15 community forest user groups in 2 Mid-Hill districts of Nepal. The research used ordered-logit regression to model the impacts of out-migration on participation in forest management and decision-making, while controlling for a number of other socio-economic factors. The model results show that total household size and number of internal migrants, together with multiple resource characteristics and institutional attributes, were major factors affecting participation in decision-making and forest management. However, the number of international migrants did not have a significant role in determining the levels of the participation. This study provides valuable insights for future community forestry policymaking that aims to address the effects of out-migration on community forest management in Nepal.

Keywords: out-migration; community forestry; forest management; participation; Nepal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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