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During the 1990's community-based forest management gained momentum in Nepal
. This study systematically evaluates the impacts that this had on land cover change and other associated aspects during the period 1990–2010 using repeat photography and satellite imagery in combination with interviews with community members. The results of the study clearly reflect the success of community-based forest management in the Dolakha district of the mid-hills of Nepal: during the study period, the rate of conversion of sparse forest into dense forest under community-based management was found to be between 1.13% and 3.39% per year. Similarly, the rate of conversion of non-forest area into forest was found to be between 1.11% and 1.96% per year. Community-based forest management has resulted in more efficient use of forest resources, contributed to a decline in the use of slash-and-burn agricultural practices, reduced the incidence of forest fires, spurred tree plantation, and encouraged the conservation and protection of trees on both public and private land. The resulting reclamation of forest in landside areas and river banks and the overall improvement in forest cover in the area has reduced flash floods and associated landslides
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Policies, practices, and discourses on forest management in developing countries have largely concentrated on shifting property rights from the state to community regimes
. The “state to community” approach has often been glorified as a panacea to poverty reduction in national and global development frameworks such as gross domestic product and contribution to Millennium Development Goals, which have essentially overlooked the issue of livelihood justice at the household level from the “relative poverty” perspective. These frameworks, which focus on average incomes at the country level irrespective of variance between rich and the poor households and gender injustice even at the intrahousehold level, have often been insensitive to understanding the significance of natural, human, social, physical, and emotional livelihood outcomes to poorer households and the intrahousehold level. In Nepal, some recent initiatives look at how the poorer households can claim and demand community-level spheres of decision making, and gain equitable access to resource bases, rights, and other benefits. Such initiatives are emerging under different community-based forest modalities, notably in leasehold forestry (LHF) and community forestry. LHF was initiated in the early 1990s targeting at least in principle the poor households as the beneficiaries, excluding nonpoor households. Community forestry, although originally based on the broader community as the beneficiaries regardless of well-being status, has also started, at least at a token scale, providing opportunities to poorer households. Major pro-poor innovations in community forestry include, but are not limited to: allocation of forest patches for the poorest households, their involvement in enterprises and microfinance activities, and development and enforcement of household–community agreement to include the poor in forest users’ executive committees.
This paper examines the inadequacy of the prevailing community approach to reducing poverty from forestry and highlights the shift to the household approach for equitable poverty-reduction outcomes. The paper discusses the roles of critical civil society agents, the learning-oriented practices of development projects, ongoing social inclusion movements, and weakening feudal production relations as the enabling factors of the initiatives. Despite being a noble concept, the household approach to pro-poor forestry innovations has not gained momentum in Nepal, and it is still unclear whether poorer households can continue to expand their claim to rights, resources, and benefits from communal resource governance. We conclude that high transaction costs, the recentralising tendency of the Government, and inadequate policy–legal frameworks need to be analyzed to understand why the pro-poor initiative has not been expedited
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Glacier lakes are common phenomena in the Himalaya region of Nepal
. Glacier lake outburst floods have repeatedly caused the death tolls and severe damage to downstream infrastructures. In Himalayas, a vital uncertainty about the glacier lake hazard potential still exists, thereby the effects of accelerating rates of glacier retreat and expansion of Glacier Lake could be the wake of recent global warming and resulting climatic changes. The paper, first describes the general different-level approach upon which the study is based. Then, in the methodological part, applicable remote sensing techniques, geographic information system (GIS) and statistical methods are presented. Observed data of lake area, volume, and depth having similar lake characteristics reported in the different literature are used to develop empirical equations by using statistical methods. The values of r2 (coefficient of determination) - obtained are very high (r2=0.939 for depth – area relationship and r2= 0.990 for volume – area relationship). The comparison of the empirical expression clearly indicated that there is more than 90% variation in the dependent variable, lake volume,as explained by the linear regressions in both cases. Area of Imja glacier lake for different years are determined from the available satellite imagery and volume of the Imja glacier lake are estimated using the expression: V = 0.094A1.453.developed from linear regression analysis of the observed data. Similarly, mean depth can be estimated by using the expression: D = 0.94A0.452. After the preparation of maps and data, a scheme of decision criteria for the evaluation of hazard potential of Imja glacier lake is established. A list of decision criteria is a documented set of factors that are used to examine and compare for evaluating the hazard potential of a glacier lake. The empirical scores are given in terms of hazard magnitude for hazard rating. Analysis of Imja glacier lake based on the empirical scoring system clearly indicated that GLOF risk of the possible outburst from Imja glacier lake is MODERATE. A systematic application of remote sensing based methods for glacier lake outburst flood risk assessment is applicable and thus recommended. Keywords: Glacier lake outburst; remote sensing; risk assessment; hazard potential; empirical parameters; climate change DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jhm.v7i1.5618 JHM 2010; 7(1): 75-9
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Nepal has embraced the promise of international carbon markets as a means of mitigating the impacts of climate change while promoting the economic development of both the country as a whole, and of forest-dependent communities in particular
. The government is formulating a national policy and institutional framework for the REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) mechanism and various actors are initiating piloting activities. Meanwhile, Payment for Environmental Services (PES) regimes are receiving increasing attention as a potential means of enhancing forest conservation while providing vital services, such as water supply for municipal and hydropower uses. Community forestry in Nepal is at a crossroads—one that will determine whether local communities and their forest management practices can be effectively linked to broader carbon markets and thereby help reduce the global threats of climate change and biodiversity loss. However, before recommending international carbon-trading schemes such as REDD for Nepal or countries with similar forest conditions and governance regimes, we must study and draw lessons from the outcomes of existing PES schemes; conceptualize carbon as but one element in a suite of nested environmental services provided by forests; innovate a variety of carbon trading options; and resolve fundamental constraints to effective forest governance
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