User Groups Participation in Community Forestry Resource Management and Development in Syangza District of Western Nepal

Abstract

The social-cultural and cognitive dimensions of natural resources management, in-builtshortcomings of participation and CPR theories, and the failure to tackle issues hinderingprogress towards better CF resource management and development, and need for change inparticipatory approaches in CFUGs that goes beyond mere institutional reforms are vital issuesthat are scrutinized in this study. The study also investigated discrepancy in degree ofparticipation at various levels & dependence on CF.Drawing on research on CF resourcemanagement in 12 CFUGs of western Nepal, and on theories concerning the recursiverelationship between CFUG and its structureand functional pattern; it illustrates the need for amore complex comprehension of various issues in participatory approachesand CPR theories. This study addressed participatory Community Forestry as a holistic strategy and deducedthat social, cultural & cognitive veracity of rural societies and their relationships with CFresources are more complex & entangled in a Caste ridden & Priest ridden society where thereis a prime role of social/cultural/cognitive rather than technical factors in determining CFUGmember’s participation in CF resource management & development. It is revealed that at thetime when state machinery is not functioning well, sampledCFUGs have clearly demonstratedtheir capacity to function in a democratic way by mobilizing members partaking at variousstages & thus representing state at grassroot level by adopting local approaches, skills,knowledge founded on traditional cultural concepts to act in response to increasing pressures &opportunities in a complex world of commercialization, competition, privatization, globalization,westernization of culture.CFUG member’sparticipation in CF resource management is based onthe concept of cognitive reverence, mobilizing local power of knowledge and skill, generatingrespect on the part of more educated and influential to the less educated and less influentialwhile sharing their knowledge/experience in day-to-day functioning in CFUGs.Users have beenparticipating in diverse stages of CF resource management & development viz. resourceassessment, decision making, programme implementation, maintenance and follow up, benefitsharing, conflict management, evaluation/monitoring.User’s participation in these stages hasbeen diverse and invigorating. User’s feat in achieving participatory goals & variablesinfluencing participation in CFUGs:Structural, Conditional, Communicative, Compositional,Cognitiveand Social-Cultural stood vital. The structural factors like the size of CFUGs, CF area etcareplaying a determining role insettling on the success in terms of CFUG performance and users participation. User’sparticipation is high in the case of small CFUGs but with ample forest resources;whereas user’sparticipation is low in comparatively big CFUGs with small CF area and inadequate resources.Situational variables namely responsiveness/awareness of CFUG Constitution on the part ofusers, apparent benefits, leadership competence and acquisition of knowledge related to CF isaugmenting user’s participation. Interactional variables like frequency of communication,complexity in interpersonal communication at various levels between stakeholders hasinfluenced user’s participation in CF resource management & development. Smoothcommunication between users & committees is responsible for user’s lofty participation.Compositional variables like CFUG committee leaders and member’s age etc, has beeninfluencing user’s participation. The leadership competency of young & dynamic leaders,participation of married people esp. females compared to males, aged compared to tender,middle class compared to very rich or very poor, has good participation in CF resourcemanagement.But wealthy households participated keenly and consciously in higher levels offorest management (decision making) whereas very poorer households participated less at this.Majority of committee members have linkages with political parties but it is not responsible inlowering or towering participation.Internal heterogeneity of CFUG is also not responsible forinfluencing user’s participation in a negative way.Cognitive & social-cultural variables likeuser’s knowledge of their environment, surroundings, culture based system of knowledge,technology has been vital in guiding users day-to-day participatory behaviour in resourcemanagement practices as almost all sampled CFUGs members have their CF resourcemanagement practices identical with conventional values based on a core set of traditionalcognitive values of community with dependence on various social, economic, biophysical &status related factors.However, socio-cultural traditions, customs, & beliefs of users do notalways lead to ecologically sustainable behaviors in CFUGs; yet they motivate sustainablepractices in local context.Larger households,high social status, representation in committees,CFUG with large forest area, smaller forest area with a few users are the more activeparticipants in forest protection.Women of larger sized households, who reside close to theforest, have their strong positive influence on participation in forest resource management.Thekey factors for low participation of women & Dalits in decision making are education andtraditional customs, male machoism guided by culturally appropriate behaviour and culture ofpoverty.Middle and rich households derived more CF resources compared to poor/very poor.Households having more livestock and access to larger area of CF are dedicating more time inCFUGs & are extracting higher value of CF resources.User’s dependency on CF resourcesdeclined with rising incomes.Foreign transmittal, cash profits, agricultural income & otherforest income have inverse relation both with CF resource use and dependence. Likewise, CFUG governance is affected by awareness, adoption of transparent andaccountable mechanisms, existing conflict mechanisms, degree and extent of rules enforcementand relationship with external agency.For user’s optimum participation, governing process inCFUGs need to build upon transparent mechanisms in terms of access to information, decision-making, laws enforcement, benefits sharing, and emphasis on socio-economic objectives.CFUGstake over of pasture landsat the cost of degeneration of pasture resource in the present arecontributing enriching vegetation but may create serious future consequences. Fair participation and resource sustainability is feasible through negotiation over rights,better conflict management, and regard for cultural and social issues.However, so far, user’sparticipation has been conceived in a paradigm which views participation as a panacea ormagic bullet to solve problems rooted in bureaucracy, politics etc. It is necessary to use adifferent paradigm which views participation and resource use as an iterative learning processin CFUGs allowing for a more eclectic approach,asresource uses are embedded in cultural,social background, institutions & the use of cultural lenses is vital to comprehend these.Suchlenses are relatively easy to see in determining the status of participationto a new paradigm thatintegrates resource sustainability with gender equality & justice within and between generations. Last not least, this study deduced that there is a widespread consensus in favour of'community management' approaches to common property resources such as community forests.This is endorsed and legitimized by theories of CPR collective action theories which, this studyargues,generatedistinctively ahistorical and apolitical constructions of 'locality', and impose aparochial definitions of participation, resources and economic interest. Through ananthropological ethnographic exploration of community managed forests in western Nepal, thisstudy ultimately challenges the bureacratic-economic-institutional modelling of commonproperty systemsandargues for a more historically and politically grounded understanding ofusers participation,CF resources, rights, cognitionandurges for a reconception of commonproperty which recognizescognitive,symbolic as well as material interests and resources. Nepali society is complex in itself, likewise in rural Nepal community forest are viewed notonly as sources of forest products, but as forming part of a rural 'public domain' through whichsocial relations are articulated, reproduced, challengedor maintained. CF systems are alsoinfluenced by local conditions and environment. Thus, only externally designed scientificknowledge and technological approaches to comprehend locality, CF system and participationare inadequateas theyare based far from oriental ruralrealities and have limited goals, scopeand an inadequate institutional foundation. An integrated approach integrating modernknowledge ofCF resource management with traditional approach and the inclusion of both floraand fauna in CF programme will provide a richer base for user’s participation in communityforestry resources management.