ABSTRACT

Community forest management (CFM) has gained momentum in South Asia over the last 20 years. In Nepal, more than one million hectares of forest, accounting for about one-third of total forest area, are currently being managed by local communities under Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) (Rasul and Karki, 2007). Similarly, in India, 21.44 million hectares of forest are being managed by local communities and about 14 million families are involved (Rasul and Karki, 2007).