1. Nepal is justifiably famous for its spectacular Himalayas, Mount Everest and
for being the recruiting ground and home of the British Ghurkhas. However,
these romantic images of hardy mountain peoples living in pristine environments
contrast starkly with the reality of the after-effects of 10 years of civil conflict.
Many thousands of people are internally displaced with 30% still living in desperate
poverty, barely able to survive on what they can grow in their small fields carved
out of terraced hillsides. Basic resources, electrification, sanitation, roads, health,
and education facilities are still lacking in many parts of rural Nepal. The task
of providing these creates significant challenges for Nepal’s new democratic
government.
A highly diverse country, there are 30 million Nepali people who speak about 92
different languages, and are culturally and religiously diverse. 80% of the population
live in rural areas and depend heavily on agriculture and adjacent forests, which
provide them with fuel, building materials, livestock fodder, and a source of cash
income. Meeting their diverse needs, and contributing to getting them out of
poverty is, therefore, a major task.
Since its inception in 2001, the Livelihoods and Forestry Programme (LFP)
has been enhancing the lives of poor rural people in Nepal. The programme is,
supported by the UK Government’s Department for International Development
(DFID) and it works closely with a range of partners, including the Government of
Nepal, and many non-government organisations on a range of initiatives. Working
in 15 districts of Nepal, the programme supports and encourages sustainable
management of about 4,500 community forests in a way that directly benefits the
households that depend on them for their livelihoods. The results after eight years
have been extremely encouraging. Not only have the livelihoods of many people,
especially the poorest households living adjacent to forests been enhanced, the
forests themselves, which were formerly controlled and managed by the state,
have now improved, making them more productive and better able to produce
environmental benefits and a range of forest products. The shared decision-making
in forest management by communities has led to a greater sense of ownership
and responsibility. This has led to the control of overharvesting, fires, and grazing.
Nowadays, if these take place, communities are able to halt them and there is
widespread collective responsibility for forests on which people depend.
LFP has been contributing over many years to forming and providing institutional
support to community forest user groups (CFUGs) to manage the patches of forests
they utilise. “Communities in Nepal now manage about 1.2 million hectares – that’s
more forest in area than is managed by the forestry commission in the whole of
Britain – and about 80% of rural people depend on forests for their livelihoods,” says
Peter Branney, LFP Programme Advisor. “So if we work with the communities and the
forest then we are going to have an impact on a large proportion of people in Nepal.”
CFUGs have increasingly been encouraged to establish and support
entrepreneurial enterprises and income generating activities amongst their
members, such as selling timber and non-timber forest products, livestock,
and agricultural produce. As these small-scale enterprises prosper and become
successful within CFUGs, their impact on reducing poverty and enhancing people’s
lives has become significant. As a result, the average income for poor families in
CFUG households in LFP areas has increased dramatically. Between 2003-08 about
72,000 households in seven hills districts moved above the World Bank poverty
line. Granted, there have been many contributing factors to this, but the increases
in income attributable to LFP and community forestry form a significant 25% of
the overall total. “The community are very much actively managing the forest and
distributing the benefits and the forest products to other communities in a free and
fair way,” says Vijay Shrestha, LFP’s Programme Manager.
In Dhungedhara CFUG, Sankhuwasabha District, group member and farming
entrepreneur, Laxmi Magar, raises pigs and chickens and grows vegetables,
which she sells at the market. Like many within her community, Laxmi joined
Dhungedhara CFUG after attending the community meetings to help improve her
family’s economic stability. “At first I got a small loan of piglets from the CFUG
and I started rearing pigs for a living. The pig manure I use for growing vegetables,
which I sell at the market, this gets up to 1,000 rupees extra per week. Now I can
rear chickens too and buy seeds for new vegetables. I have achieved a lot with my
business.” This has brought economic success for Laxmi. She has paid back the soft
loan to the CFUG and the resulting financial stability allows her and her husband to
sustain the running of their home and they are able to send their children to school.
Most importantly, as a woman, Laxmi feels empowered by the CFUG. “We feel part
of the community and have the same opportunities as everyone else.”
Before the arrival of LFP, women’s participation in community forestry meetings
was very low. However, over time, the representation of women in CFUGs has risen.
This involvement has empowered women across the region not only in improving
their rights but also in contributing to the regeneration of the forest for future
generations and for economic benefits. Gopi Gurung is a student and, in her free
time, a weaving entrepreneur in the Okhre CFUG women’s group. She explains the
process of her work. “We are given allo bushes from the forest and we take the fibres
from the small stems and dry them. We then boil it and beat it with sticks until it
becomes like cotton. From this we make thread which we use to weave clothes.” The
way these small enterprises empower women like Gopi is at the very core of LFP’s
achievements. The clothing products that Gopi and her colleagues make are then
sold at market and the profits are shared between those who work in the women’s
group. “As a member of CFUG, I feel I am getting equal rights. I enjoy working here
and am glad to be studying in school - this enterprise supports my education so I am
very happy.”
Education for all is particularly important considering the disparities of access
to education in Nepal’s rural and traditionally stratified communities. Education
is a critical issue specifically for poor and socially excluded families. Dhungedhara
CFUG has provided scholarships to the poor and to families from traditionally
excluded castes so that their children may have access to a good education. Indra
Bishwakarma is a scholarship student in this district. “Those scholarships were
to buy pens, uniforms and books. When I got the money, I became interested in
learning more and I bought books and pens. If I didn’t have the scholarship, then
I would have had to work and I wouldn’t have gone to school. I am very proud of
this community forest initiative as it encourages poor and excluded students like
me.” Furthermore, school buildings, education and, at times, teachers’ salaries
have also benefited from funds provided by CFUGs. Since the school programme
began, much funding has been ploughed into upgrading the Higher Secondary
School in Bagiswari village improving education, teaching resources and the schools
surrounding environment. Construction of a new school building, even students’
desks and chairs have used wood donated by the community forestry group, taken
from their own community forest.
The LFP approach has seen the condition and overall well-being of rural
communities improve. There are plans to establish more forest-based enterprises
and create jobs in rural areas. Providing environmental services such as carbon
sequestration by continuing to conserve the forest is one example. Small-scale
infrastructure development, the right to benefit from resources in an equitable way,
and the expansion of good practices will all continue with further support from the
UK Government. Rural communities now have the ability to empower themselves
with their own voice. They have the ability to govern their own actions and in turn
provide for their future sustainability. The LFP vision is based on a commitment to
help build a democratic ‘new Nepal’ and to improving the livelihoods of the poorest
and most disadvantaged people in Nepali society. “We are happy and encouraged by
the work we have done – although there is still so much more to be achieved for the
forest and for the community. We want to develop the forest and make it greener
so that community forestry can become an example to the world,” says Diliram
Shrestha, Chairman, Dhungedhara CFUG, of Sankhuwasabha District.
A Future For People & Forests
LIVELIHOODS
&FORESTRY
PROGRAMME
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