Betrayal or 'business as usual'? access to forest resources in the Nepal terai

Environment and History

Volumn 17, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 433-460

  Sinha, Deb Ranjan ^a  

^a MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Community forest; Nepal; Terai

Indexed keywords

AGRARIAN CHANGE; COMMUNITY FORESTRY; ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY; ETHNIC GROUP; FEDERAL SYSTEM; FOREST RESOURCE; FORESTRY POLICY; SETTLEMENT PATTERN; SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION;

NEPAL; TARAI;

EID: 80054858160     PISSN: 09673407     EISSN: 17527023     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3197/096734011X13077054787226     Document Type: Article

References (187)

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3. Hobley, M. 1996. Participatory Forestry: The Process of Change in India and Nepal. (London: Overseas Development Institute).
4. Chakraborty, Rabindra Nath, Ines Freier, Friederike Kegel and Martina Mäscher. 1997. 'Community Forestry in the Terai Region of Nepal: Policy Issues, Experience, and Potential'. (Berlin: Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik);
5. KMTNC. 2000 Annual Report 2000: Conservation for Development. (Kathmandu: King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation);
6. MWR. 1986. Land Use in Nepal: A Summary of the Land Resource Mapping Project Results With a Emphasis on Forest Land Use. (Kathmandu: Water and Energy Commission, Ministry of Water Resources, HMGN).
7. Guneratne, Arjun. 1994. 'The Tharus of Chitwan: Ethnicity, Class and the State in Nepal'. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago.
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9. Guneratne, 'The Tharus of Chitwan'.
10. Müller-Böker, Ulrike. 1999. The Chitwan Tharus in Southern Nepal: An Ethnoecological Approach. Trans. by P. Pierce. (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag).
11. Gautam, Krishna Hari. 1991. 'Indigenous Forest Management Systems in the Hills of Nepal'. Unpublished M.Sc. Dissertation, Australian National University.
12. Species harvested for timber included Acacia catechu, Dalbergia sisso, Cedrela toona, Terminalia tomentosa and Shorea robusta.
13. Regmi, Mahesh C. 1988. An Economic History of Nepal: 1846-1901. (Varanasi: Nath Publishing House).
14. India gained independence in 1947. Other than reciprocating the NCP's support during its freedom struggle, India had strong interests in maintaining Nepal as a stable and strategic buffer between itself and China and did not want Nepal's democratic movement to undermine Indian national interests.
15. Ghimire, Krishna. 1992. Forest or Farm? The Politics of Poverty and Hunger in the Nepal. (New Delhi: Oxford University Press).
16. Even after the emergence of other political parties, professional organisations and bureaucracy after 1951, the political and economic power remained within the dominant Brahmin, Chhetri and Newar communities. Half of all the cabinet positions in the first transitional cabinet were occupied by members of the royal family.
17. Guneratne, 'The Tharus of Chitwan'.
18. Ghimire, Forest or Farm.
19. The US had long been interested in Nepal due to its geostrategic location but did not have a politically-correct excuse prior to the installation of the NCP government in 1951. Despite the official position, the Point Four Programme was often used by the US government during the Cold War to win support from uncommitted nations.
20. Bhandari, Bishnu. 1985. 'Landownership and Social Inequality in the Rural Terai Area of Nepal'. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin.
21. Guthman, Julie. 1997. 'Representing Crisis: The Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation and the Project of Development in Post-Rana Nepal'. Development and Change 28: 45-69.
22. Blaikie, Piers. 1983. 'The Political Economy of Soil Erosion'. In Progress in Resource Management and Environmental Planning, ed. by J. O' Riordan and R.K. Turner (Chichester: John Wiley and Sons).
23. Earlier attempts in post-WWI years had been unsuccessful due to the high incidence of malaria.
24. Bhandari, 'Landownership'.
25. The political reorientation of Nepal after 1951 meant that the preservation of the forests of Chitwan was not necessary as a buffer against external aggression. B.M. Gurung is credited with convincing the Gurung community to migrate to the Terai from the hills of Lamjung district.
26. Müller-Böker, The Chitwan Tharus.
27. Bhandari, Landownership.
28. Guneratne, The Tharus of Chitwan;
29. Müller-Böker, The Chitwan Tharus.
30. WHO. 1954. Information on the Malaria Control Programme in Nepal. Paper read at Malaria Conference for Western Pacific and South-East Asia Regions, at Taipei.
31. Following the success in Chitwan, malaria eradication was extended to other parts of the Terai and the country. The success of the programme can be judged from the fact that by 1970, 91 percent of the area affected prior to 1955 was declared free of malaria. Whereas in 1956, 71 percent of all children in Chitwan were infected with malaria, by 1964, the district was largely free of the disease.
32. Guneratne, 'The Tharus of Chitwan';
33. Müller-Böker, The Chitwan Tharus.
34. Kansakar, Vidya Bir Singh. 1979. Effectiveness of Planned Resettlement Programme in Nepal. (Kirtipur: Centre for Economic Development and Administration, Tribhuvan University).
35. Müller-Böker, The Chitwan Tharus.
36. By 1961, Chitwan received 27,560 immigrants along with adjoining Nawalparasi district.
37. Guneratne, 'The Tharus of Chitwan'.
38. Bhandari, 'Landownership'.
39. This organisation was modelled on the Moshav cooperative settlement in Israel.
40. Bhandari, 'Landownership'.
41. Elder, John Arthur. 1989. 'Agricultural Change and Disparities of Wealth and Income Among Resettled Farmers in Nepal'. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell University.
42. The Indian migrants in the Nepal Terai were politically sensitised by the freedom struggle in their country of origin and formed the core of opposition to the royal family.
43. Ghimire, Forest or Farm.
44. Even Nepalese people of hill origin who had settled abroad (e.g. in Burma and India) were encouraged to return home and were provided with land in the Terai. In 1972, the government ordered a 3-7 kilometre strip of forest to be cleared along the entire Nepal-India border and the retired military personnel were settled on this land. The official position stated that the function of these settlements was to deter the presence of robbers, criminals and timber smugglers from India.
45. Elder, 'Agricultural Change';
46. Ghimire, Forest or Farm.
47. Whelpton, J. 2005. A History of Nepal. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
48. The US saw land reform as an ideal deterrent against the spread of communism and applied the most pressure on the Nepalese government. The Nepalese monarchy saw land reform as an opportunity to regain the international political and economic support it lost after the 1960 coup, in addition to using it as an effective tool to limit the influence of its political opponents amongst the large landowners in the Terai.
49. Ghimire, Forest or Farm.
50. Officially, the reform was expected to impose ceilings on land holdings and procurement and redistribution of excess land amongst tenants and landless people. The reform also intended to fix rents and make provision for a compulsory saving scheme to supply credit for investment in agriculture. The land reform process covered 16 districts in 1964, another 25 in 1965 and the remaining 34 districts in 1966. In addition, shifting cultivation and Jagir land holdings were banned in 1951, Birta tenure was abolished in 1959 and the Jimindari system was abolished in 1964.
51. Ghimire, Forest or Farm;
52. Müller-Böker, The Chitwan Tharus.
53. Gaige, Regionalism and National.
54. Ghimire, Forest or Farm.
55. While the land ceiling was set at 17 hectares in the Nepal Terai, similar land reform programmes in neighbouring countries had much lower ceilings (e.g. 3 ha in Japan, Taiwan and Korea; 4-6 ha in India; and 7 ha in the Philippines).
56. Ghimire, Forest or Farm.
57. The delay between the issuing of land documents in 1957 and the abolition of the Jimindari system in 1964 gave the landowners enough time to change records in their favour. The delay also allowed modification of land records that resulted in transfer of land holdings to family members, relatives and friends. The landowners were also permitted to retain home sites (unlike the tenants) and sons above 16 and unmarried daughters above 35 years were considered separate families for home site purposes.
58. Ghimire, Forest or Farm;
59. Müller-Böker, The Chitwan Tharus.
60. By 1978, 50,580 hectare of land was declared as excess but only 34,705 hectares were actually appropriated and only 21,050 hectares were actually redistributed.
61. Ghimire, Forest or Farm;
62. Kansakar, Effectiveness.
63. The land rent for tenants was fixed at 50 per cent of the gross product (later changed to 50 per cent of the main crop) and they were required to bear the cost of cultivation. This rate is again very high compared to other regional countries where the maximum rents were set below 25 percent of the agricultural produce.
64. Ghimire, Forest or Farm.
65. While there are no reliable figures on the total number of 'illegal' settlers (or Sukumbasis) in the Terai, some estimates have suggested figures of 70,500 to 130,000 individuals. In 1979-80, between 14,000 and 32,000 families were involved in illegal occupation of land in the Terai. These Sukumbasi movements continue today.
66. Ghimire, Forest or Farm;
67. Müller-Böker, The Chitwan Tharus.
68. Elder, 'Agricultural Change'.
69. Guneratne, 'The Tharus of Chitwan'.
70. The Ministry of Forests was created in 1959.
71. Pokharel, Bharat Kumar. 1997. 'Foresters and Villagers in Contention and Compact: The Case of Community Forestry in Nepal'. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of East Anglia.
72. Graner, Elvira. 1997. The Political Ecology of Community Forestry in Nepal. Ed. by H.-G. Bohle, Freiburg Studies in Development Geography. (SaarBrücken: Verlag Für Entwicklungspolitik).
73. Guthman, 'Representing Crisis'.
74. Robbe, E. 1954. Report to the Government of Nepal on Forestry. (Rome: EPTA/FAO).
75. Graner, The Political Ecology, p. 39.
76. Graner, The Political Ecology.
77. Irrespective of his views, Robbe claimed that local people, while aware of the problem, were caught in a vicious cycle and should be consulted on any proposed solutions.
78. Bajracharya, D. 1983. 'Deforestation in the Food/Fuel Context: Historical and Political Perspectives from Nepal'. Mountain Research and Development 3 (3): 227-240.
79. Robbe's analysis could be seen as the precursor of what later came to be known as the 'Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation'.
80. Robbe, Report to the Government.
81. Graner, The Political Ecology, p. 39.
82. The 1957 Act also led to creation of nurseries, plantations, and forest reserves that were later converted to protected areas.
83. Graner, The Political Ecology;
84. Guthman, 'Representing Crisis'.
85. Joshi, Amrit Lal. 1991. 'Nationalisation of Forests: Why was it Needed?' The Nepal Journal of Forestry 7 (1): 13-15.
86. Graner, The Political Ecology, p. 42.
87. Interestingly, though the 1961 Act denied access to individuals, it retained options of handing over designated State forests to local communities. The control of these community forests was to be handed over to local Panchayat institutions for utilisation as it pleased, while the State retained legal ownership. This provision of the Act was never implemented.
88. Graner, The Political Ecology;
89. Malla, Yam B. 2001. 'Changing Policies and the Persistence of Patron-Client Relations in Nepal: Stakeholders' Responses to Changes to Forest Policies'. Environmental History 6 (2): 287-307.
90. Pokharel, 'Foresters and Villagers'.
91. Graner, The Political Ecology.
92. Shrestha, Nanda R. and Dennis Conway. 1996. 'Ecopolitical Battles at the Tarai Frontier of Nepal: An Emerging Human and Environmental Crisis'. International Journal of Population Geography 2: 313-331.
93. Most of the large deforested areas of the Middle Hills were cleared before 1964. Minimal or no land was converted from forest to other land uses between 1964-1965 and 1978-1979 in the High Mountains and the Middle Hills.
94. Malla, 'Changing Policies';
95. Metz, John J. 1991. 'A Reassessment of the Causes and Severity of Nepal's Environmental Crisis'. World Development 19 (7): 805-820.
96. Nield, R.S. 1985. Fuelwood and Fodder - Problems and Policy. (Kathmandu: Water and Energy Commission Secretariat).
97. Unlike the diverse Terai population with its long and continuous history of migration, community life in the Middle Hills continued to be dominated by patron-client relationships. The caste-based feudal history of Nepal created these relationships through various tenure rights (e.g. Birta, Jagir) and titles (e.g. Mukhiyas, Jimmawals).
98. Malla, 'Changing Policies'.
99. Reduction of aid dollars in the early 1970s was caused by the devaluation of the dollar and the following instability of the global market.
100. Guthman, 'Representing Crisis'.
101. Goldman, Michael. 1998. 'Inventing the Commons: Theories and Practices of the Commons' Professional'. In Privatizing Nature: Political Struggles for the Global Commons, ed. by M. Goldman. (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press).
102. Little, Peter D. 1994. 'The Link Between Local Participation and Improved conservation: A Review of Issues and Experiences'. In Natural Connections: Perspectives in Community-based Conservation, ed. by David Western, R. Michael Wright and Shirley C. Strum. (Washington D.C., Island Press), pp. 347-372.
103. The 1973 McNamara Doctrine of The World Bank, the 1973 New Directions of the USAID, and development practitioners (e.g. Robert Chambers, Norman Uphoff) took the lead in advancing the idea of community participation in conservation and development.
104. Alcorn, Janis B. 1993. 'Indigenous Peoples and Conservation'. Conservation Biology 7 (2): 424-426.
105. Barraclough, Solon L. and Krishna B. Ghimire. 1995. Forests and Livelihoods: The Social Dynamics of Deforestation in Developing Countries. (New York: St. Martin's Press).
106. Ostrom, Elinor. 1990. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. (New York: Cambridge University Press).
107. Ostrom, Elinor and Vincent Ostrom. 1977. 'A Theory for Institutional Analysis of Common Pool Problems'. In Managing the Commons, ed. by Garrett Hardin and John Baden (San Francisco: W.H. Freeman), pp. 157-173.
108. Ostrom, Elinor. 1977. 'Collective Action and the Tragedy of the Commons'. In Managing the Commons, ed. by Garrett Hardin and John Baden (San Francisco: W.H. Freeman), pp. 173-181.
109. This theory claimed that rapidly growing population, intensification of agriculture and overgrazing in the Middle Hills had increased pressure on existing agricultural land and forests surrounding it, resulting in large-scale deforestation and massive soil erosion. If this was allowed to continue, the Himalayas and its southern plains were facing an environmental disaster of epic proportions. The International Mountain Society and the journal Mountain Research and Development were launched during this period.
110. Hrabovszky, Janos P. and K. Miyan. 1987. 'Population Growth and Land Use in Nepal: 'The Great Turnabout''. Mountain Research and Development 7 (3): 264-270.
111. Guthman, 'Representing Crisis'.
112. Subsequent studies, however, proved that Himalayan erosion is predominantly a process of mass-wasting rather than surface erosion as suggested by previous studies. While deforesta tion was shown to cause shallow landslides, studies showed that 90 per cent of mass wasting sediment is associated with faults and geologically weak rocks that are produced by large landslides rather than deforestation.
113. Metz, 'A Reassessment'.
114. Thus, community forestry was regarded as a response not so much to the perceived land degradation but to the failure of forestry as a viable development industry.
115. Guthman, 'Representing Crisis'.
116. Regmi, Mahesh C. 1988. An Economic History of Nepal: 1846-1901. (Varanasi: Nath Publishing House).
117. Graner, The Political Ecology, p. 46.
118. Gautam, A.P., G.P. Shivakoti and E.L. Webb. 2004. 'A Review of Forest Policies, Institutions, and Changes in the Resource Condition in Nepal'. International Forestry Review 6 (2): 136-148.
119. CFDP. 1983. Annual Progress Report. (Kathmandu: HMG/UNDP/FAO, Community Forest Development Programme, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit);
120. CFDP. 1985. Annual Progress Report. (Kathmandu: HMG/UNDP/FAO, Community Forest Development Programme, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit);
121. CFDP. 1986. Annual Progress Report. (Kathmandu: HMG/UNDP/FAO, Community Forest Development Programme, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit);
122. CFDP. 1987. Annual Progress Report. (Kathmandu: HMG/UNDP/ FAO, Community Forest Development Programme, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit);
123. CFDP. 1988. Annual Progress Report. (Kathmandu: HMG/UNDP/FAO, Community Forest Development Programme, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit).
124. Graner, The Political Ecology;
125. NWG. 1995.
126. Nickel, William and Ian Hill. 2002. Saving Nepal's Forests: The Promise of World Bank (undated) Nepal - Second Forestry Project, 1983-06 [Internet]. Staff Appraisal Report, East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, The World Bank 1998. http://archives.worldbank.org/ Apps/WBArchives/archives.nsf/($Summaries)/2A7A495C0A1261DD8525694C001E6569. Viewed 11 February 2002.
127. NWG. 1995. Exploring Strategies for Community Forestry in the Shivaliks and Terai Region of Nepal. (Kathmandu: Nepal Working Group, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)), p. 5.
128. HMGN/ADB/FINNIDA. 1988. Master Plan for the Forestry Sector (MPFS): Main Report. (Kathmandu: HMGN, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation).
129. Graner, The Political Ecology, p. 47.
130. Ibid. pp. 47-48.
131. Use of the community forest is allowed only after the formulation of the Operational Plan in consultation with the local District Forest Office.
132. Shrestha, Krishna B. and P. Budhathoki. 1993. 'Problems and Prospects of Community Forestry Development in the Terai Region of Nepal'. Banko Jankari 4 (1):24-27
133. Personal communication, Chitwan DFO representative.
134. Graner, The Political Ecology.
135. MPE. 2000. State of the Environment, Nepal. (Kathmandu: Ministry of Population and Environment, HMGN), p. 41.
136. Chakraborty, 'Community Forestry'.
137. CFD. 2001. Database of the Community Forest User Groups in Nepal. (Kathmandu: Community Forestry Division, Department of Forests, HMGN).
138. Bhattarai, Bhola. 2006. 'Widening the Gap between Terai and Hill Farmers in Nepal: The Implications of the New Forest Policy 2000'. In Hanging in the Balance: Equity in Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Asia, ed. by Sango Mahanty, Jefferson Fox, Michael Nurse, Peter Stephen and Leslie McLees (RECOFTC and East-West Center), pp. 143-161.
139. Chakraborty, 'Community Forestry'.
140. Community Forestry Division, Department of Forests, HMGN.
141. MPE, State of the Environment, p. 41.
142. Bhattarai, 'Widening the Gap'.
143. According to World Bank figures, official development assistance to Nepal increased from US$8.2 million in 1960 to US$369 million in 2003. Nepal received Nepalese Rupee (NRs.) 282.8 million in foreign grants and NRs.104 million as foreign loan in the Fiscal Year (FY) 1974-1975. By FY1999-2000, the corresponding figures were NRs.5,720.6 million and NRs.13,650.1 million. The budget deficit increased from NRs.222.5 million in FY1974- 1975 to NRs.19,261.4 million in FY1999-2000. Central Bureau of Statistics, 1974-2001. (HMG, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Kathmandu);
144. LOC. 2005. Country Profile: Nepal: Library of Congress.
145. Central Bureau of Statistics (1974-2001), Statistical Yearbooks (1987-2001) and Statistical Pocket Books (1974-2000). HMG, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Kathmandu.
146. Foreign aid disbursement on forest resources totalled NRs.3,660.2 million between FY 1975-1976 and FY 1995-1996.
147. CBS. 1998. A Compendium on Environment Statistics 1998, Nepal. (Kathmandu: HMG/NPCS/CBS.)
148. This 'responsibilisation' was especially useful in reducing the financial burden on the federal exchequer during the aid crisis of the early 1970s.
149. Ribot, Jesse C. 1999. 'Decentralisation, Participation and Accountability in Sahelian Forestry: Legal Instruments of Political-Administrative Control'. Africa 69 (1): 23-65, 50.
150. Central Bureau of Statistics, 1974-2001. (HMG, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Kathmandu).
151. One US$ was equivalent to NRs. 7.60 in 1960, NRs. 12.40 in 1975 and NRs. 42.60 in 1992. On July 6, 2009, one US$ was equivalent to NRs. 76.63.
152. Graner, The Political Ecology.
153. Chakraborty, 'Community Forestry'.
154. Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation. 2009. Nepal Forestry Outlook Study. (Bangkok: Food and Agriculture Organization).
155. International donors in the Terai have been divided on this approach; some, for example GTZ, CARE and DFID, mostly support community management and others, for example SNV and WWF, support the government's protectionist approach for biodiversity conservation.
156. Satyal-Pravat, Poshendra. 2006. A History of Forest Politics in the Terai, Nepal: A Case of Equity or Ecology? (Staffordshire: Keele University).
157. Whelpton, A History of Nepal.
158. Pokharel, 'Foresters and Villagers'.
159. Malla, 'Changing Policies'.
160. Ghimire, Forest or Farm, p. 71.
161. A 2001 study recommended that the TCN be liquidated. However, a Cabinet decision in 2001 endorsed a recommendation to downsize TCN as an interim step rather than liquidate at this stage.
162. Satyal-Pravat, A History of Forest Politics;
163. Whelpton, A History of Nepal.
164. Rabi Bahadur Bista, once the Secretary at the Ministry of Forests, was found guilty on charges of corruption by the Public Accounts Committee in 2002. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority ordered the Secretary to pay NRs. 128,000 ($1,730) as a fine. The secretary resigned and reportedly fled overseas to escape further prosecution. Anonymous. 2002. 'Secretary Bista files suit against CIAA, resigns'. Kathmandu Post, April 9.
165. Maoist rebels in the region have often used the Terai forests for refuge. Sometimes they deliberately targeted ranger posts and forestry officials, encouraging the activities of illegal loggers. At other times, the Maoists demonstrated a conservationist tendency by targeting timber poachers and regulating forest use.
166. Satyal-Pravat, A History of Forest Politics.
167. DFRS. 1993. Forest Resources of the Terai Districts, 1990/91. (Kathmandu: Department of Forest Research and Survey, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, HMGN).
168. DFRS. 1993. Forest Resources.
169. Pokharel, 'Foresters and Villagers'.
170. Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation. Nepal Forestry Outlook Study.
171. The Terai Arc Landscape project spreads across more than 49,500 kilometres and envisages connecting 11 protected areas in Nepal and India. The Nepalese portion of the project includes over 75 per cent of the remaining forest in the Terai. WWF-Nepal. 2002. Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) - Nepal, Annual Technical Progress Report. (Kathmandu: World Wide Fund for Nature - Nepal).
172. Despite challenges to its validity, it has been difficult to eliminate the influences of the Himalayan Degradation Theory altogether. Popular environmentalist literature throughout the 1980s and early 1990s kept on using the theory to its advantage.
173. Guthman, 'Representing Crisis'.
174. WWF-Nepal, Annual Technical Progress, p. 3.
175. The corridor is home to 24,795 people from indigenous groups including members of the socio-culturally oppressed and politically marginalised Dalits. By 2002, the Terai Arc Landscape project had 'removed encroachment' from 5,500 hectares of forests.
176. D'Agnes, Leona, Judy Oglethorpe, Sabita Thapa, and Tara Prasad Gnyawali. 2008. Forests for the Future: Farmers on the Front Line in Nepal's Terai Region. (Washington, DC: Environmental Change & Security Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars).
177. WWF-Nepal, Annual Technical Progress.
178. CEPF. 2009. Synopsis of Current Investment [Internet]. Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund 2005. Available from http://www.cepf.net/WHERE_WE_WORK/REGIONS/ASIA_PACIFIC/EASTERN_HIMALAYAS/ECOSYSTEM_PROFILE/Pages/synopsis_of_ current_investment.aspx. Accessed 5 July 2009.
179. Due to the populist nature of community forestry, most political parties have also been eager to support the forest user groups. Some of the national NGOs are even headed by politicians. For example, the chairperson of FECOFUN in 2001 was also a prominent leader and elected representative of the Communist Party in Nepal. The forest user groups have also tapped the support of local politicians by electing committee members who represent the three major political parties - the Nepali Congress Party, Nepali Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) and National Democratic Party.
180. On March 5 2001, forest users from 60 districts (including all the Terai districts) organised sit-in protests in front of their respective District Forest Offices. This was followed by a large rally of 25,000 FUG members from all over Nepal in Kathmandu on 12 March.
181. Shrestha, Narayan Kaji. 2001. 'The Backlash - Recent Policy Changes Undermine User Control of Community Forests in Nepal'. Forests, Trees and People 44: 62-65.
182. Satyal-Pravat, A History of Forest Politics.
183. CFD. 2005. Database of the Community Forest User Groups in Nepal. (Kathmandu: Community Forestry Division, Department of Forests, HMGN).
184. Grove, Richard. 1990. 'The Origins of Environmentalism'. Nature 345 (May 3): 11-14.
185. The exclusion is reflected in the persistence of 'illegal' activities in the region. About 90 per cent of the Terai forests were affected by fires, of which 58 per cent were set deliberately by grazers, hunters, poachers, shifting cultivators, forest produce collectors and loggers. Fire is also used as form of protest against the forest department and annual incidents of fire damage in government-managed forest was ten times than that of community-managed forest.
186. Kunwar, Ripu M., and Sarala Khaling. 2006. 'Forest fire in the Terai, Nepal: Causes and Community Management Interventions'. Kathmandu: International Forest Fire News.
187. Bhattarai, 'Widening the Gap'.