Pastoralism in the Himalayan region of Nepal has undergone significant socio-economic and ecological changes. While there are numerous contributing factors behind these changes, the effect of a changing climate has not been thoroughly studied. This paper adds a significant contribution to the knowledge base through analysis from a survey of 186 herder households, interviews with 38 key participants, and four focus group discussions with individuals from three National Parks and Conservation areas in the high-mountain region of Nepal. Additionally, a review of the existing policies and programs on pastoralism was carried out. Results demonstrate several reasons behind the decline of transhumance pastoralism: Policy focus on the establishment of conservation areas, increasing vulnerability to extreme events (avalanches, snowfall, storms, and disappearing water sources), and ineffective government policies and programs. Hardships involved in herding combined with changing social values and the degradation of pasture quality were identified as contributing factors to the growing challenges facing mountain pastoralism. Similarly, the declining interest among herders to continue their profession can be traced to vulnerability associated with escalating climate change impacts. Considerable knowledge gaps regarding threats to high-altitude pastoralism remain, and continued research on pastureland conservation, capacity development, facilitation for climate change adaptation, and coping strategies for herders in the high mountains is urgently needed. Our analysis suggests that non-climatic variables such as policy and globalization were more influential in eroding pastoralism as compared to climate change.

Community forestry (CF) signaled the institution of governance mechanisms for forest management and community livelihoods. Till date, there is still a strong debate on the outcomes linked to CF governance. Scholars agree on the need for shared-learning in advancing CF in the Global South. We contribute here, by comparatively reviewing CF governance processes and outcomes for two regional pacesetters – Cameroon and Nepal. Guided by the Program on Forests (PROFOR) framework, we review 60 articles and 12 institutional reports, and discuss what both countries can (un)learn. We derive five key lessons: (1) As in Nepal, Cameroon needs a strong legal and institutional setup. (2) Multiple legal entities complicate CF governance in terms of peasants’ membership inclusion. (3) Cameroon’s policy reforms can draw inspiration from Nepal to ensure significant female representation. (4) Instituting scientific forestry does not necessarily usher in benefits to peasant households. (5) Both countries need reforms to overcome techno-oriented CF approaches.

The co-management concept has been echoed in scientific literature for over two decades. Emphasis has been tailored towards an understanding of structural and functional issues linked to its application and the outcomes thereof. However, a crucial aspect which still begs for scientific and policy edification, concerns the motivational drivers of actors’ participation in co-management arrangements. Studies contend that actors are motivated to participate in co-management based on their perceived benefits (e.g., income). Conclusions from these lines of argument further raise a theoretical quagmire, requiring further grounding, with regards to context-specific (de)motivators of users’ participation in co-management. The case of Nepal is pertinent. Although Nepal has a rich community-based forest management history, scientific investigations have virtually ignored the motivational drivers of participation in the co-management of natural resources (forests). Against this background, this paper seeks to explore the following: (i) the decision-making and monitoring structure of rules regulating the co-management of forests, (ii) the implications of this system on users’ motivation to participate, and (iii) the motivational drivers of users’ participation in co-management. To achieve this, five focus group discussions and 10 key informant interviews were conducted in five villages (Kunjo, Titi, Parshyang, Cchayo, and Taglung) within the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA). We further employed narratives, framework, and thematic analyses to discuss the decision-making structure and motivational aspects of co-management. The results point to the following conclusions: (1) Despite the rather top-down decision-making setting, users remain motivated to participate in co-management. (2) Interestingly, the motivation by actors to participate is not largely driven by users’ perceived benefits. The results present another twist, a deviation from the previously understood rationale, which should be factored into co-management theory development. However, the paper equally makes a succinct request for further studies, including quantitative investigations, to ground this assertion.

Nepal’s Community Forestry (CF) process has implied the devolution of powers to collect, retain, and redistribute forest revenue from community forests products. This study contributes to our knowledge about these important aspects of CF by presenting an analysis of the dynamic pattern of income and expenditure of 43 randomly selected Community Forestry User Groups (CFUGs) from Kaski, Nepal. Results show that CFUG three-year average annual income accounts NRs 216,225 (1 US$ = NRs.114) and is highly skewed towards a few wells off CFUGs; the high-and-low average annual income of one-third of CFUGs in the sample ranges from NRs. 33,116 to NRs 502,363. Timber income and user’s contribution constitute the most important sources of income, comprising 40% and 25% respectively. The rural development investments of CFUG income are also highly variable and are shaped by income size of CF, and the other socio-political factors such as the number of households, distance to market, infrastructure status, and contextual factors. Overall, 44% of the CFUG income is invested in community development and 37% in forest conservation. Investment in community development increases with rising income. Accordingly, results presented here provide insights to promote community forests to generate more income which, indeed, could be a vehicle for community development as it appears in the mid-hills of Nepal.

Conflicts over natural resources are likely to escalate under changing socio-economic contexts and climate change. This paper tests the effectiveness of what we term Adaptive Learning and Deliberation (ALD) in understanding and addressing conflicts over the local management of forests and water, drawing on experimental work in Nepal. Based on a three-year action research project, the paper offers policy and practical insights on how complex and protracted conflicts can be addressed through the researcher-facilitated enquiry and deliberative processes that form the core of the ALD approach. The conflicts included in the study are a result of diverse environmental, political and economic factors. We analyze experimental practices in two sites, where our research team facilitated the ALD process, gathering evidence in relation to conflicting institutional issues, all of which was then fed into researcher-mediated and evidence-informed deliberations on conflict management. The analysis shows that the ALD process was helpful in rearranging local institutions to accommodate the interests of the conflicting groups and, to some extent, to challenge some of the underlying exclusionary provisions of forest and water institutions in Nepalese society. We also identify three key limitations of this approach – transaction costs, the need for strong research and facilitative capacity within the research team, and researchers’ engagement with the conflicting stakeholders. Key policy insights

While much emphasis has been placed on scientific and policy issues in forest management, there is a lack of clarity on users’ perspectives concerning the implementation of scientific forest management. To clarify this nuance, this study explores users’ opinion on scientific forest management implementation, focusing on four criteria—ecological, social, economic, and technical. Twelve key informant interviews and six focus group discussions were conducted in three selected communities within Nawalparasi District. This was further complemented by six expert interviews. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was employed to rank within and between groups of developed factors and their criteria. Users’ identified increased forest products (58%), community development (55%), employment opportunities (65%), and intense silviculture management (51%) as the dominant factors linked to the ecological, social, economic, and technical criteria, respectively. For between groups, economic (52%) and social (33%) criteria got the highest ranking. The findings suggest that the long-term success of this modality cannot be achieved if the users largely view it as economically and socially profitable. This study calls for tailor-made interventions to enhance ecological and technical knowledge linked to scientific forest management. The paper also makes a succinct request for further studies (including quantitative investigations) to ground this assertion.