Sixty-five years of forest restoration in Nepal: Lessons learned and way forward
Article
Article Title | Sixty-five years of forest restoration in Nepal: Lessons learned and way forward |
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ERA Journal ID | 21007 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Laudari, Hari Krishna (Author), Aryal, Kishor (Author), Maraseni, Tek (Author), Pariyar, Shiva (Author), Pant, Bashant (Author), Bhattarai, Sushma (Author), Kaini, Tika Raj (Author), Karki, Gyandendra (Author) and Marahattha, Anisha (Author) |
Journal Title | Land Use Policy: the international journal covering all aspects of land use |
Journal Citation | 115 |
Article Number | 106033 |
Number of Pages | 15 |
Year | 2022 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
ISSN | 0264-8377 |
1873-5754 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106033 |
Web Address (URL) | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837722000606 |
Abstract | The increasing incidence of forest and land degradation is affecting billions of people, and causing loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Realizing the importance of forest restoration in moderating those impacts, various global and regional forest restoration initiatives (including Bonn Challenge 2011 and UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) have been launched. But the gap between restoration commitments and their ground realities is becoming a huge challenge because of the limited knowledge on forest restoration approach as well as underlying socio-economic and ecological factors impacting the restoration undertaking. Moreover, few studies have comprehensively looked at institutional, socio-economic, and ecological aspects of forest restoration in a common framework. By employing a systematic review of the literature (n = 64), review of policies, plans and project reports (n = 58) and expert survey (n = 22), this study has navigated the rise and fall of Nepal’s 65 years of forest restoration practices. Our study found that Nepal’s forest restoration interventions from 1956 to the early 1980s got mixed results because of the limited integration of socio-economic and ecological concerns in restoration programs. However, forest restoration works after the mid-1980 s charted a more successful pathway because of (1) policies favouring decentralized decision making and local institutions; (2) devolution of rights and responsibilities; (3) firmed commitment for and adoption of multistakeholder partnership for the forest and landscape restoration; (4) recognition of multifunctionality of forest ecosystems; (5) accommodation of socio-economic and ecological concerns in restoration program; 6) adoption of multiple restoration approaches at multiple scales; and 7) capacity development and extension services. As institutional, socio-economic, and ecological factors are often been overlooked in forest and landscape restoration initiatives, the inferences we made and suggestions we provided can inform the policymakers and practitioners (of Nepal and other countries) in translating regional and global restoration commitments into action. |
Keywords | Participation Decentralized governance; Bonn challenge; Ecosystem restoration; Community-based forestry; Landscape restoration |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 300707. Forestry management and environment |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
Byline Affiliations | Ministry of Forests and Environment, Nepal |
Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forests and Environment, Nepal | |
University of Southern Queensland | |
University of Southern Queensland | |
Department of Forests and Soil Conservation, Nepal | |
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal | |
Tribhuvan University, Nepal | |
Agriculture and Forestry University, Nepal |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q7178/sixty-five-years-of-forest-restoration-in-nepal-lessons-learned-and-way-forward
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