2010- Year of Forest Governance Contestation For Nepal’s forest sector, the year 2010 was marked by two major developments: i) growing concern over the threats of climate change and its implications for forest management; and ii) the (re-)centralization of forest tenure allegedly due to poor community governance. Climate change discourses have brought forests to the forefront of policy debates in Nepal and offer us both challenges and opportunities. The government of Nepal has joined with the World Bank in preparing the country for REDD (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and related efforts are underway in carbon assessment, capacity building and exploring institutional arrangements for benefit sharing. These discourses and initiatives towards forest carbon financing pose major challenges, including a reorientation of forest management towards maximizing carbon, which may produce some tradeoffs for biodiversity and other presumed ‘co-benefits’. Moreover, conditions associated with this new carbon regime could inhibit the everyday management and use of forest products, which could compromise access to vital forest products for forest-dependent people. However, carbon financing could also present important opportunities, including direct financial benefits to local communities. In addition, some argue that REDD and similar schemes may promote good governance in forestry.

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