Community Forestry and Its Impact on Rural Livelihood : A Case of Chaubas-Bhumlu Community Forest, Kavrepalanchok District, Nepal

Abstract

More than two decades have been pa$sed since the introductien of the people participatory community forestry in Nepal. This paper explores changes in rural livelihoeds with changed circumstances that have been 1argely brought by the community forestry. Chaubas-Bhumlu community forest of Middle Mountain was taken as a case study fer the analysis. Based on the case study, the situation befere community forestry intervention and the present situation after Community forestry have been analyzed at the household level. Households as units of analysis were chosen based on the systematic random sarnpling and were interviewed with structured questionnaire. Twe key informant groups, one consisting of ten vi11age elites and other ten elders, were formed and were discussed te access the comrnunity level information. The result indicates that community forestry is successfully achieving its objectives from reseurce$ demand fu1fi11ment to increased econemic benefits. However, economic improvement has been visible at the communily level but not at the household level. It means only the access te resources use is not enough for the household economic development. On the other hand, thc farm activities are gradually declining with increasing ofUarm activities. This situation has led the "complex" farming system from a stable state, though stagnant, to a vulnerable state. This paper concludes (1) the present community forestry model lacks mechanism to utilize the income from the forest te househelds' economic benefits; (2) the farming system which has a major rele in household economy has not been integrated to and supperted by community forest; (3) the socioeconomic development activities should go simultaneeusly with the development of community forest to multiply the tota1 benefit from forest.