For Environment, Democracy and Livelihoods
Nepal’s 2015 Constitution marked a shift to federal governance, emphasising cooperation among federal, provincial, and local levels. The Local Government Operation Act 2017 and Forest Act 2019 outlined local government’s (LG) collaborative roles in community forest management. While these frameworks laid the groundwork for a more integrated approach to community forestry governance, there are challenges.
With an aim to identify avenues for collaboration and areas of gaps and cooperation between the two institutions, consultations with LGs and community forest user groups (CFUGs) were organised to facilitate the dialogue and identify strategies to strengthen their partnerships. ForestAction Nepal with support from The Asia Foundation, conducted series of consultations at local, provincial, and federal level, which has drawn valuable lessons to address climate change and enhance socio-ecological resilience through improved community forest-LG collaboration.
The consultations engaged an extensive and diverse group of stakeholders, ensuring representation across different levels of governance and community forestry. It included mayors, deputy mayors, chief administrative officers, provincial forest officials, foresters, CFUG leaders, researchers, and representatives from organisations such as the FECOFUN and Community Forest Support Center. Local consultations were conducted in Syangja (Galyang Municipality) and Kailali (Tikapur Municipality), with additional provincial-level meetings in Gandaki and Sudurpaschim provinces. The consultations revealed governance gaps, poor coordination, untapped resource potential, environmental risks, human-wildlife conflicts, and declining youth engagement. Jurisdictional disputes, weak collaboration, restrictive policies, and market barriers has been hindering the community forestry’s effectiveness, simultaneously, climate risks and leadership challenges have threaten its sustainability.
