Women's Participation and Community Forest Planning (A sociological study of women of Piple Pokhara Commnuity Forest User Group of Makwanpur Distritt)

Abstract

The study entitled “Women's involvement and Community forest planning” is carried out in Piple Pokhara CFUG Hetauda Makwanpur Nepal" with an aim to find out out the level of participation of women in forest planning particularly community forest near to city area.

The overall objective of the study is to find out women's participation and community forestry planning with reference to Piple Pokhara Community Forest Users Group.

The PPCFUG has been selected as the study area. The study is based on descriptive exploratory research design. For the purpose of the study primary as well as secondary data has been collected through different sources. A set of questionnaire was developed and asked to randomly selected 406 respondents (30% of the total community forest users) from the study of 406 respondents, of which 75% were Bramins/Chhetries. 24% Ethnic group, 1% Dalits and 0.25% Madhesis, it is found that 23% of them are completely illiterate and 34% are just literate and the remaining respondents completed higher than school level courses. In conclusion, the educational status as well as awareness level of the majority of the respondents is found poor and limited, which resulted more than 5 family members among 35% of the total respondents. Despite the fact that one third of the respondent has more than 5 members in their family, the food sufficiency is found satisfactory, 45% of them have their own grew food for 9 to 12 months. Most of the respondents have their own land, 55% has 1 to 5 kaththa of land and 0.5% are landless. 99.0% owned at least some land and among them 46% are found practicing agriculture/horticulture as their way of living and 30% are found attracted to service oriented jobs. 49% of the respondents replied that they are motivated for the management of the forest mainly to fulfill their day timber and fodder requirement and it is found that only 5% are attracted to forest management for their direct economic growth from the forest. And 49% respondents replied that the motivational factor for the participation of women in the forest management are neighbor and neighboring community forest user group and their members. It signifies that their neighbor are the vital force for their motivated participation in the CFUG. The average women participation in the general assembly is quite upsetting, just 7.8%, but there is found some sign of changes in the percentage of participation from 4.3% in 2064BS to 13% in 2068 BS. But the most upsetting aspect is that 66% are passive audience among all participants and only 1.2% are playing active role in the decision making process. General assembly is the place where annual planning of the management of the forest is discussed and the best options for the related management practice is finalized form the discussion floor but poor and inactive women participation in the general assembly clearly signifies that the real user of the forest (female) are ruled and guided by the decision maker (male) and women seems just following their directions as a subordinate of male members of the community forest user group. For which, according to the 54% respondents, weak leadership skill is the major reason. There is found null participation of women in the advisory board of the CFUG, whereas in the executive body, there was unidirectional growth in the participation from 0% in 2047BS to 36% in 2060 BS and 33% in 2068 BS. The major growth in the participation of women is achieved only after the effective implementation of the legal provisions of the government policies with the co-ordination of the CFUGs, the women participation is found just formal and insignificant. After the study of the area, workload is found as the topmost hindering factor for their active and decisive participation of women in the CFUG.