ABSTRACT
Over the past two decades, the government of Nepal has handed over patches of forest to local communities. These communities form forest user groups as part of the nationwide community forestry program supported by the Master Plan for the Forestry Sector (1988), the Forest Act (1993), and the Forest Rules (1995). The main aim of this program is to provide a legal basis for access to forests by local communities as a means to improving livelihoods, as well as to reverse the trends of forest degradation and deforestation, particularly in the middle hills of the country.
