Course:FRST370/2021/Community forestry in Chitwan National Park in the context of Covid-19

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This wiki page details the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on community forests around the state of Nepal; with a special focus on the community forests within Chitwan National Park. To quantify the effects of the covid-19 pandemic, we explore shifts in trends in a related timeframe to the Covid-19 pandemic such as illegal poaching, wildlife wellbeing, employment, and tourism. To fully encompass Nepal’s community forests, we explore the various affected and interested stakeholders and review what role they may be playing, especially during this trying time. Finally, we suggest ways for the community forests in CNP to improve based on the data we have collected.


This conservation resource was created by Course:FRST370.
Royal Chitwan National Park

Description

Nepal's history with forestry

Nepal is a 147,516 km² independent state located in east Asia. Wedged between India and China, Nepal is a small landlocked country with roughly 29 million residents. Nepal's strenuous relationship with the natural world can be seen through the treatment forests nation wide. Between 1990-2005 Nepal lost nearly 25% of its total forest cover or a staggering 1,181,000 hectares of forest cover (Adhikari, 2018, page 1). The long term consequences of these actions have already shown themselves through a rapid increase in erosion, landslides, and flooding due to deforestation. In addition, local people lost access to fuel and non-timber related forest products that were and still are vital to many communities wellbeing. Realizing the devastating consequences of disforestation and forest degradation, the government of Nepal passed the Forest Act of 1993 which recognized community forestry as a legitimate option. Since that day, Nepal has become one of the world leaders in community forestry with over "22,519 CF with an area of 2,312,545 hectares of national forests being managed by 3,088,259 households" (Pandey & Pokhrel, 2021, page 5). This accounts for nearly 16% of the total land mass in Nepal and over 62% of the population (Pandey & Pokhrel, 2021, page 5). Community forestry is now a staple in Nepal's national economy and provides services that surpass all common land management objectives.

Figure 1: Areas in white represent the legal sections of the CNP for community forest operations to take place. Green areas represent the state-owned areas for public use. Public access to the areas within the buffer zone is dependent on the rules and regulations set in place by the government and local community forest counsels.

Community Forest Location

Chitwan National Park, Nepal, is home to multiple community forests user groups spread out over hundreds of kilometers of land within CNP. Chitwan National Park itself is located with in the Narayani Zone, one of 14 zones that make up Nepal (Bhattarai & Wright, 2019).

Within the park, (See figure 1) Community Forests within Chitwan NP are located within the "buffer zone" of the park. The southeastern quadrant of the park has the largest stretch of land within the "buffer zone" and holds most of the user groups (Jones, 2007, page 561).

Topography and regional climate

Located at the base of the Himalayan mountains Chitwan National park has a tropical climate with high temperatures and high average rainfall for most of the year. Specifically, Chitwan NP receives 250cm rainfall annually and has an average temperatures in the winter is 25 degrees Celsius. In the summer, temperatures can reach up to 43 degrees Celsius. The high temperatures and rainfall make this tropical region a perfect location for biodiversity. Being towards the base of the Himalayan mountains, Chitwan National Park is much lower in elevation than the Northeaster sections of the country. Elevation in the park ranges from 100m to 800m (figure 2).

Figure 2: Chitwan National Park, located towards the bottom of the figure, shows changes in elevation ranging from 100m to 800m. The light green color that covers most of the park shows a low elevation, while the darker green shows a mountain range stretching from east to west across the southern end of the park.

General Community Forest Background

Chitwan National Park was established in 1973 under the "National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act". The Buffer Zone Act of 1993 was the first legal recognition of community forestry within CNP. A survey in 2017 found 53 Buffer Zone Community Forests (BZCF) across 28,292.00ha of land and 25,543 households were in Chitwan National Park alone (Thing & Poudel, 2017, page 62). This number continues to grow as community forestry becomes a more widely noted source of sustainable living.

Tenure arrangements

Tenure arrangements. Describe the nature of the tenure: freehold or forest management agreement/arrangements, duration, etc.

Chitwan National Park Tenure arrangement

Forests within the CNP are managed under the Chief Warden of the RCNP. User groups are allowed to section off areas for community forests but only after collaboration with the government. Specifically , the chief warden of RCNP must ratify the plan before any management is shifted to the user groups (Jones, 2007, page 559). The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMT), and the involved user groups must agree upon a set of rules called a "operational plan". The "operational plan" is a comprehensive layout of tenure rules and details regarding the user groups bundle of rights. Once the operational plan has been ratified, the user groups may have control of the land. While user groups do hold control of the land this does not mean it becomes private property, instead, user groups are allowed to be the sole proprietors over the land, but the land is still under government control. There are restraints to which strands of the bundle of rights different user groups have and van by on a case-by-case basis. Tenure arrangements for CNP community forests are for a duration of 5 years (Jones, 2007, page 564).

Figure 3: Table depicting the allocation of the bundle of rights to different areas of Chitwan National Park

Administrative arrangements

Administrative arrangements. Describe the management authority and the reporting system.

Institutional Arrangements

Community forestry in the Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) has aspects that range from national to local due to its significance for the economy of Nepal. The institutions and administrative arrangements of the park can be split into the two broad groups of national interest and local interest, with the former focusing on Nepal’s economy and the latter focusing on the livelihoods of communities living within RCNP. RCNP is a renowned protected area that houses abundant yet diverse flora and fauna, rendering it attractive for tourists, who in turn create employment opportunities for the tourism and hospitality sectors (Mclean & Straede, 2003).

However, the introduction of COVID-19 to the world has largely disrupted the tourism and hospitality sectors and crippled economies. In turn, priority has been given to revive the national economy which favours community forestry from the aspect of national interest while neglecting local institutions.

Institutions managing for the national interest of Nepal during COVID-19

For some context, the tourism industry accounted for 7.9% of Nepal's GDP in 2018 (Sah et al., 2020). Tourism also supported over 1.05 million jobs in that year, with the expectation that it will provide 1.35 million jobs by 2019 (Sah et al., 2020). However, there were abrupt and massive cancellations of tourist bookings due to COVID-19 which in turn caused widespread unemployment and loss of income while threatening the livelihoods of over a million people.

Government of Nepal (GoN)

The closing of RCNP from GoN policies due to COVID-19 for the sake of health and security of the nation caused adverse effects on tourism service providers (Anup, 2021). The result was a lack of revenue from visitors to protected areas including the RCNP from March to the end of October and hotels near Chitwan had to lay off the bulk of their staff (Anup, 2021). In particular, the elephant safari in RCNP suffered as they were unable to feed the elephants and had to return hired elephants from India (Anup, 2021). Porters and low paid seasonal workers living in trekking trails suffered financially as well since they were jobless since March and had no saved money (Anup, 2021). During lockdown, the GoN took advantage of the low traffic to tourist areas and renovated tourism infrastructure with the aim of building up ecotourism potential (Anup, 2021).

Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC)

The DNPWC is a government agency with the responsibility of conserving wildlife with a history of relocating over 22,000 people living within the RCNP since 1964 (Mclean & Straede, 2003). The indigenous Tharu group face restrictive rules that limit their livelihoods such as a 5 day grass harvesting allowance per year and reduced space for large herds to graze despite conservation "success" in terms of biodiversity (Mclean & Straede, 2003). Unlike other community forest users who rely on tourism for their livelihoods, the Tharu rely on extraction of natural resources from the forests (Mclean & Straede, 2003). Since cultural diversity and biodiversity are linked, the DNPWC is starting to make improvements to their management style, setting up a scheme to recycle 50% of the revenue from RCNP for community development (Mclean & Straede, 2003).

Institutions managing for the interest of communities within RCNP during COVID-19

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)

According to Gentle et al. (2020), CSOs play the most important role globally in reducing the impacts of disasters (such as the COVID-19 pandemic). They are only limited by their lack of knowledge or skills but CSOs possess local, cultural context that global nongovernment organizations (NGOs) do not have (Gentle et al., 2020). Local CSOs are also important because of their proximity to areas affected by disaster. Their success can be attributed to three crucial determinants: strong social and economic infrastructure, strong social cohesion, and shared values (Gentle et al., 2020). In Nepal, NGOs such as The Committee for the Promotion of Public Awareness and Development Studies (COPPADES) rally for the social development and economic self-dependence of rural areas (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2021).

Community Forestry User Groups (CFUGs)

CFUGs are committed, have resources, institutional capacity, national networks, local networks, and infrastructural facilities (Gentle et al., 2020). They are effective and proactive in community-based disaster management especially in rural areas (Gentle et al., 2020). CFUGs emerged from civil society advocacy rather than government initiatives, which results in an increased responsibility to address community interest and needs, as well as enhance social cohesion and shared values (Gentle et al., 2020). Additionally, CFUGs are effective in identifying vulnerable households and distributing relief support on priority basis, something the government is not able to do (Gentle et al., 2020). Their effectiveness can be attributed to well-established policies, governance systems, governance mechanisms, familiarity with local context, and ability to properly target most vulnerable groups by applying well-established well-being rankings of households (Gentle et al., 2020).

Village Development Committees (VDCs)

VDCs are administrative units that represent rural areas. However, they are limited in power and self-governance as they must follow GoN regulations.

Affected Stakeholders

Affected stakeholders are social actors (stakeholders, user groups) whose livelihood is directly impacted by changes made to Chitwan National Park or their respective community forest. Their main relevant objectives, and their relative power are as follows.

  1. Village Development Committee such as Padampur Village Development Committee (Padampur VDC)
  2. Padampur, Jayamangala and Tharu villagers
  3. Other indigenous: Tharu-Bote, Tharu-Kumal, and Musahar, and the immigrants from the hills such as the Darai, Brahmin-Chhetri, Newar, Magar, Damai, Kami, Chepang, Gurung, Tamang, and Sarki

Common Goal:

Affected stakeholders in the buffer zone of the Chitwan National Park share a similar level of power. As occupants of tenured land granted to them by the government of Nepal, all user groups are all allowed to act upon the agreed set of rights within the bundle of rights. The Village Development Committee (Padampur VDC) holds the most power as it is in direct negotiation with the government when it comes to setting an "operational plan", or agreed upon terms for the community forest (Jones, 2007, page 559). The indigenous groups that make up the user groups have say in who represents them in the Village Development Committee. Affected stakeholders can be very susceptible to outside influence as their bundle of rights only grants them so much power, even on their own land. However, the government of Nepal is heavily invested in the wellbeing of community forests as it has revolutionized the efficiently of forests nationwide. In addition, community forests have brought new jobs and decreased rates of poverty. For these reasons the government is heavily committed to the wellbeing and growth of community forestry. The goal of Chitwan National Park community forestry is to aid the user groups through extraction of resources providing daily necessities (large herds, agriculture and needs of religious rituals); Local economic development and community building (Vocational skills training). However, community forestry stretches beyond materialist goals. Community forestry, especially in a biodiverse location such as Nepal seeks to grow the bond between humans and nature through the restoration and protection of local biodiversity.

Interested Outside Stakeholders

Interested stakeholders are social actors (stakeholders, user groups) who influence what happens to a community but may not be directly impacted by these actions. Their main relevant objectives, and their relative power are as follows:

Power analysis of listed stakeholders
  1. Nepal Conservation Research and Training Center (NCRTC)
  2. Nepal Indigenous Development Society (NIDS)
  3. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC)
  4. land settlement commission or Resettlement Committee
  5. Ministry of Forests (MF)
  6. Ministry of Local Development (MLD)
  7. IUCN
  8. Managers of Chitwan national park
  9. Timber mills
  10. Travel agencies

Interested stake holders can be categorized into two main groups: those who are looking to improve land quality and biodiversity in sensitive areas, and those looking to profit. Stakeholders such as (NCRTC), (NIDS), (DNPWC), (MF) and others have a specific focus on replenishing natural resources and protecting endanger species through community forestry. One of the main goals presented in the "Forest Act" of 1993 was to protect endangered species such as the one-horned rhinoceros and Bengal tiger (Thing & Poudel, 2017, page 62). This is not to say that these Interested stakeholders listed above do not have money in mind, but instead, they see it as just one of many goals. On the other hand, businesses not owned and operated through community forests look to use the new found interest in community forest to their advantage via a financial perspective. These business range from timber mills to hotels. While these business are interested stakeholders, there is little indication that they strongly impact community forests in Nepal.

Impact of Covid-19 lockdown

Due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus, the Nepalese government's lockdown policy have had a great impact on local community forestry. This section will discuss the impact of covid-19 on stake holders.

General threat to community forestry due to Covid-19

Nepal is a country rich in tourism resources. There are many high mountains in Nepal that are popular places for climbers and extreme lovers, especially the south face of Everest . The tourism industry is an important part of Nepal's community forestry. Locals engage in tourism such as homestays and tour guides to get rewards. Nepal’s tourism industry is expected to contribute US$2 billion out of US$30 billion GDP to the country in 2020 (Gautam & Khatri, 2021). International pandemic of Covid-19 lead to lockdown of boundary and significant reduction in inbound tourists, from 81273 in January 2019 to 79686 in the same month 2020 (2% reduction) (Nepal Tourism Board, 2020). At the same time, the amount of tourists spent and the amount of capital injected have decreased , the country’s economic order has fallen into chaos, and self-employed individuals are facing economic problems such as loan interest and salary reduction (Nepal Tourism Statistics, 2019).

The timber industry has been severely hit, and Nepal’s national timber production had dropped by 80% in 2020. Although the forest sector only contributes 1% of GDP, it is particularly important to the community (MoF 2020 a). The community faced losses of NRs 117.9 million and 147447 days of employment during the Covid-19 catastrophe (Basnyat et. al, 2020). The decline in forest logging is due to three reasons: Covid-19 makes it impossible to concentrate work, the legislation only allows logging from October to June of the following year, and the newly issued regulations restrict logging from government forests (Forest Rule, 1996). In addition, money loss occurs. The government loses royalties, forest users such as community timber factories have no sales, and timber factory entrepreneurs have to pay liquidated damages (Basnyat et. al, 2020). The forestry sector’s budget fell by 9.6%, and the sector’s expenditure on forest protection and livelihoods for the community dropped significantly by 23.3% (MoEF, 2020 b).

A large number of male laborers in Nepal immigrate to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and about 1,500 people immigrate every day (GoN, 2012). Covid-19 has worsened the employment situation in foreign countries, and 3.5 million people will return to Nepal, especially the community (Shrestha and Mandal, 2020).

Effect of Covid-19 on local community forestry (how has Covid-19 affected local community forestry)

5 capitals of community based forestry management (CFM) in Chitwan all are impacted in Covid-19 pandemic.

Cultural (academic): Due to government regulations on physical distances and restrictions on gatherings, traditional activities in the Chitwan tourist area, such as group dancing, singing, and handshaking, were forced to cancel. But some villagers held gatherings secretly and illegally. Technical training schools set up for tourism and other industries are also closed. 52% of the people interviewed believe that Covid-19 has affected their cultural activities (Dhakal, 2021).

Natural: Without human disturbance, wild animals appeared more frequently in the forests around the community, because of the blockade of Chitwan national park. Park managers and security personnel have been confined to their homes, and supervision of the park has been relaxed. Poaching activities have become rampant, and the average number of wildlife injuries per month has increased by 9.75%. Poachers also exchanged fire with the police resulting in casualties. Within the first ten days of the blockade, vicious poaching of an elephant and three endangered gharials occurred in Chitwan national park. Non-timber products (NTFP) in the park, such as bamboo shoot, ferns, and medicinal materials, were stolen. Compared to the usual 26.5 incidents reported, an average of 182.25 incidents occurred every month during the lockdown period in Chitwan national park (CNP) (Koju, 2021). In addition, all animal related injuries increased 10% to a new CNP record high.

Social: Under mass unemployment, the frequency of workers participating in illegal activities has increased. These activities include: gambling, rape, alcoholism, drug abuse, quarrels, fights, etc. 56% of respondents believe that social order has fallen into chaos and public security has deteriorated in the context of Covid-19 (Dhakal, 2021).

Economic: Because of the announcement of Nepal Tourism Year 2020, many tourism practitioners in Chitwan built 190 tourism-related facilities such as hotels in 2019. Due to the Covid-19 blockade in 2020, they cannot open stores and bear the interest of the bank. 92% of Chitwan national park residents indicated that their income has changed, and 10% of them switched from the tourism industry to the medical products industry, which increased their income. Due to the payment of bank loans, 72% of households surveyed need to sell land, furniture, vehicles, etc., and their holdings have dropped significantly (Dhakal, 2021).

Tourism and hospitality: The number of tourists decreases and income decreases. Hotel operating costs are rising, and special animal tours such as elephant riding experience need to continue to bear the rental fee. It has been reported that despite travel restrictions easing up, tourism in Chitwan national park is still only 50% of what is was before the pandemic. This drop in income has forced many in the tourism business so close up shop and sell their assets. Elephant rides are one of the main attractions in the CNP but they have not been operational during the pandemic. In turn, businesses have been forced to sell their elephants to India. One businesses reported having just 35 elephants left as of December 2020, down from almost 65 in 2019 (Pyakurel, D, 2021).

Figure 3: Elephant safari in Chitwan National Park

Agriculture: Kobayashi Agriculture’s sales are blocked

Timber business: Delay in the completion of a large timber processing plant

Microfinance and financial system: Indigenous personal loans decreased, the incubation of indigenous private small and micro enterprises decreased, and bankruptcies increased

Human resource development: Due to the control of the epidemic, the training of indigenous people's skills ceased

Employment: Seasonal timber mining does not require so many workers in previous years. The demand for tourism reception has decreased, and tourism practitioners such as tour guides have decreased.


Discussion

A discussion of the aims and intentions of the community forestry project and your assessment of relative successes or failures. You should also include a discussion of critical issues or conflicts in this community and how they are being managed

Community Forest Mission

Under normal times:

Hotel of Chitwan national park provided by https://www.merokalam.com/best-hotels-in-chitwan-national-park/
  1. communities regulate resources use by themselves and acquire professional guidance outside.
  2. Stabilize social structure
  3. protect cultural diversity of indigenous
  4. increase personal employment rate and income level
  5. protect relocation compensation rights and interests
  6. develop local economy
  7. Own the voice in the planning and construction of the park

Under the special period of Covid-19 pandemic:

Weakening the impact of the epidemic on the tourism industry: 50 billion of funds with an interest rate of 5% are invested in the tourism industry. The government grants a 20% income tax discount to the tourism industry such as the hotel industry and aviation industry, further abolishes value-added tax, and extends the tax period. For example, the tax period for micro-enterprises is extended to 5-7 years. The central bank refinances, reorganizes and rearranges the capital of affected industries, especially the tourism industry (Shrestha & Prasain, 2020; Khabarhub, 2020).

Reducing the impact of Covid-19 on the economy and livelihoods of the people: the government uses the Social Security Fund and the Prime Minister’s Employment Fund to subsidize community members who live on daily wages. The government also urged the central bank to extend the time and amount of refinancing (Shrestha, 2020).

Helping yourself to reduce the impact of community tourism: The Nepalese government has implemented a subsidy of Rs50000 per person to encourage domestic tourism. In the country, the red zone and the green zone are divided, so that domestic travelers can easily choose safe travel destinations. The VNY2020 budget may be used to further subsidize domestic travelers (THT, 2020).

Community Forest assessment and feedback

Under normal times:

Failures:
  1. Tharu residences cannot adapt from a self-sufficient agricultural model to a daily wage-based part-time job model such as tour guides, craftsmen, etc. They have a more negative attitude towards relocation.
  2. Padumpur residences were deprived of fishing jobs and forced to accept agriculture.
  3. Land compensation implemented by community forestry reduces social wealth inequality.
  4. Vicious violations such as illegal grazing and collecting firewood occur frequently, because deprivation of key bundle of rights such as entry and withdrawal rights.
Success:
  1. Local leaders acclaim their needs in meetings with governments each two years. For example, leaders of forestry community reported that they were lack of fuels and fodder.
  2. Wildlife invasion is a serious problem locally. In order to protect life security and reduce damage of crops, village committees will set adjacent to those villages which haven’t had protective natural boundaries.

Under the special period of Covid-19 pandemic:

  1. The number of domestic tourists in Citwan national park has increased, and local hotels offer discounts to attract customers. The local hotel industry has managed to ease the impact as much as possible, because domestic tourists are enjoying the hotel facilities. These changes have attracted media reports, so more tourists come. Demand for services such as local tour guides has increased, and self-employed individuals have more income (Mandal, 2020; Madai, 2020).
  1. Part of the government's investment in the tourism industry has also been used to repair infrastructure such as hiking routes in Chitwan national park, because the blockade of tourists reduces interference (Anup, 2021).

Assessment of Power

GoN and DNPWC

  • Governmental jurisdiction has the highest influence, power, and importance
  • Power used to secure national interests such as GDP growth through tourism growth

CSOs/NGOs

  • Global NGOs such as the UN hold a lot of influence but not as much power and importance as government
  • Power used to promote sustainable economic growth and the alleviation of poverty

CFUGs

  • Limited by power and influence but of high importance for community forestry
  • For protection, ownership, management of forest resources
  • Gained momentum after 1990s but established since 1970s as local institutions
  • Promote improving forest conditions, democratic decision-making, local development
    • Socio Economic and environmental benefits (ecological, institutional, financial, social services safety nets, climate change adaptation)
      • However may not provide viable safety net for poor people
  • However, CFUGs are limited by skills, knowledge, experience, basic equipment required for rescue/post-disaster support
    • Government needs to properly recognize contribution of CFUGs to create close collaboration
  • Can mobilize community with sense of volunteerism, accountability, social responsibility to provide rescue and recovery support

VDCs

  • Highly important but hold low power and influence
  • Power used to ensure the well-beings of village residents

(Gentle et al., 2020)

Recommendations

Without a doubt, the well-beings of many people around RCNP relies on tourism which brings in jobs and revenue (Sah et al., 2020). Tourism service providers such as hotels and trekking workers suffered greatly from the lack of tourists that came with COVID-19 policies. The aspect of retribution needs to be developed to move further with community forestry due to the history of displacement of users in RCNP. The needs of Padampur (the only settlement left within the RCNP) must also be recognized and Padampur Village Development Committee should have more involvement in park planning and management decision process (Maclean & Straede, 2003).

The tourism industry is also in need of financial support due to the hit that it's taken from COVID-19, and the welfare of the nation must be balanced with considerations to local economies. Traditional land users should also not be adversely affected by measures taken to revive the tourism industry, highlighting the need to balance multiple values. The participation of women, poor people, and marginalized people at the local level should also be encouraged, instead of leaving decision-making to local elites. Moving forward, transparency, participation, and accountability are all traits that community forestry needs for success.

References


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