ABSTRACT
Nepal's community forestry has improved forest conditions and restored degraded landscapes. Today, community forests have a surplus stock of timber and non-timber forest products with good market potential. Despite this, Nepal imports millions of dollars of timber and wood products annually. This paradox is linked to limited progress in business-oriented community forestry management, often attributed to policy, institutions, and market-related hurdles. This chapter documents the action research efforts to promote community-based forest enterprises in Nepal's Sindhupalchowk and Kavrepalanchowk Districts. The research included experimentation of diverse institutional mechanisms, technologies, policy dialogues, and community capacity building to promote commercial use. An assessment of Nepal's timber value chain and markets was also conducted. These efforts suggest that commercial management and marketing of community-managed forest resources is not straightforward. Policy challenges are enormous, and therefore, broader political attention is required. Quick policy fixes or solutions are insufficient, and revisiting the policy and regulatory practice is required to enhance the marketing of surplus forest products from community forestry.
