IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v127y2023ics0264837723000522.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Calibrating Nepal's scientific forest management practices in the measure of forest restoration

Author

Listed:
  • Aryal, Kishor
  • Awasthi, Nripesh
  • Maraseni, Tek
  • Laudari, Hari Krishna
  • Gotame, Pabitra
  • Bist, Dhan Bahadur

Abstract

Various restoration programs have been implemented worldwide to recover degraded ecosystems. Nepal implemented a signature policy— Scientific Forest Management (SciFM)—with the aim of restoring and enhancing forest conditions, as well as increasing employment, timber production and economic growth in the last decade. While SciFM might achieve these objectives, it may conflict with Nepal’s own biodiversity and emission reduction policies. So far, various aspects of SciFM, such as stakeholders' opinion, policy issues, and financial analysis have been conducted. However, the effect of SciFM in achieving various restoration objectives remains unexplored. Taking a case of Sal (Shorea robusta) dominated forest which resembles productive forests in the lowlands of Nepal, we evaluated land productivity, carbon, and biodiversity outcomes of SciFM. Employing the methods of policy review (n = 6), literature review (n = 35), expert consultations (n = 15), and forest and soil inventory, we found that SciFM has been beneficial for establishing regeneration of Sal. However, in the short-run, SciFM was found to be counterproductive to achieve national objectives of REDD+ (reducing carbon emissions from forestry sector), biodiversity conservation, and land productivity enhancement. Based on our analysis, we have discussed some learning areas from SciFM practices to align with the restoration objectives at a national and global scale. Implications of the findings in the other parts of the world, who are also implementing intensive forest management programs, are highlighted.

Suggested Citation

  • Aryal, Kishor & Awasthi, Nripesh & Maraseni, Tek & Laudari, Hari Krishna & Gotame, Pabitra & Bist, Dhan Bahadur, 2023. "Calibrating Nepal's scientific forest management practices in the measure of forest restoration," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:127:y:2023:i:c:s0264837723000522
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106586
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837723000522
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106586?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paudel, Ganesh & Bhusal, Prabin & Kimengsi, Jude Ndzifon, 2021. "Determining the costs and benefits of Scientific Forest Management in Nepal," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    2. Songlin Fei & Insu Jo & Qinfeng Guo & David A. Wardle & Jingyun Fang & Anping Chen & Christopher M. Oswalt & Eckehard G. Brockerhoff, 2018. "Impacts of climate on the biodiversity-productivity relationship in natural forests," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, December.
    3. Renato Crouzeilles & Michael Curran & Mariana S. Ferreira & David B. Lindenmayer & Carlos E. V. Grelle & José M. Rey Benayas, 2016. "A global meta-analysis on the ecological drivers of forest restoration success," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-8, September.
    4. Basnyat, Bijendra & Treue, Thorsten & Pokharel, Ridish Kumar & Baral, Srijana & Rumba, Yam Bahadur, 2020. "Re-centralisation through fake Scientificness: The case of community forestry in Nepal," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    5. Ahmad, Adnan & Liu, QI-Jing & Nizami, S.M. & Mannan, Abdul & Saeed, Sajjad, 2018. "Carbon emission from deforestation, forest degradation and wood harvest in the temperate region of Hindukush Himalaya, Pakistan between 1994 and 2016," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 781-790.
    6. Brendan Mackey & Cyril F. Kormos & Heather Keith & William R. Moomaw & Richard A. Houghton & Russell A. Mittermeier & David Hole & Sonia Hugh, 2020. "Understanding the importance of primary tropical forest protection as a mitigation strategy," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 763-787, May.
    7. Maraseni, Tek Narayan & Bhattarai, Nabin & Karky, Bhaskar Singh & Cadman, Timothy & Timalsina, Niroj & Bhandari, Trishna Singh & Apan, Armando & Ma, Hwan Ok & Rawat, R.S. & Verma, Nemit & San, Su Mon , 2019. "An assessment of governance quality for community-based forest management systems in Asia: Prioritisation of governance indicators at various scales," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 750-761.
    8. Bottazzi, Patrick & Cattaneo, Andrea & Rocha, David Crespo & Rist, Stephan, 2013. "Assessing sustainable forest management under REDD+: A community-based labour perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 94-103.
    9. Aryal, Kishor & Maraseni, Tek & Apan, Armando, 2023. "Spatial dynamics of biophysical trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services in the Himalayas," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    10. Frits Mohren, 2019. "Use tropical forests or lose them," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(1), pages 12-13, January.
    11. Aryal, Kishor & Ojha, Bhuwan Raj & Maraseni, Tek, 2021. "Perceived importance and economic valuation of ecosystem services in Ghodaghodi wetland of Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    12. Aryal, Kishor & Laudari, Hari Krishna & Maraseni, Tek & Pathak, Bhoj Raj, 2022. "Navigating policy debates of and discourse coalitions on Nepal's Scientific Forest Management," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    13. Karl-Heinz Erb & Thomas Kastner & Christoph Plutzar & Anna Liza S. Bais & Nuno Carvalhais & Tamara Fetzel & Simone Gingrich & Helmut Haberl & Christian Lauk & Maria Niedertscheider & Julia Pongratz & , 2018. "Unexpectedly large impact of forest management and grazing on global vegetation biomass," Nature, Nature, vol. 553(7686), pages 73-76, January.
    14. Baral, Srijana & Meilby, Henrik & Khanal Chettri, Bir Bahadur & Basnyat, Bijendra & Rayamajhi, Santosh & Awale, Srijana, 2018. "Politics of getting the numbers right: Community forest inventory of Nepal," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 19-26.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aryal, Kishor & Maraseni, Tek & Apan, Armando, 2023. "Examining policy−institution−program (PIP) responses against the drivers of ecosystem dynamics. A chronological review (1960–2020) from Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    2. Laudari, Hari Krishna & Aryal, Kishor & Maraseni, Tek & Pariyar, Shiva & Pant, Basant & Bhattarai, Sushma & Kaini, Tika Raj & Karki, Gyanendra & Marahattha, Anisha, 2022. "Sixty-five years of forest restoration in Nepal: Lessons learned and way forward," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Aryal, Kishor & Laudari, Hari Krishna & Maraseni, Tek & Pathak, Bhoj Raj, 2022. "Navigating policy debates of and discourse coalitions on Nepal's Scientific Forest Management," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    4. Beverly E. Law & William R. Moomaw & Tara W. Hudiburg & William H. Schlesinger & John D. Sterman & George M. Woodwell, 2022. "Creating Strategic Reserves to Protect Forest Carbon and Reduce Biodiversity Losses in the United States," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-15, May.
    5. Basnyat, Bijendra & Treue, Thorsten & Pokharel, Ridish Kumar & Kayastha, Pankaj Kumar & Shrestha, Gajendra Kumar, 2023. "Conservation by corruption: The hidden yet regulated economy in Nepal's community forest timber sector," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Eve Bohnett & Sanju Lamichhane & Yanjing Tracy Liu & Scott Yabiku & Digambar Singh Dahal & Siraj Mammo & Kossi Fandjinou & Bilal Ahmad & Li An, 2023. "The Implications of Community Forest Income on Social and Environmental Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-23, April.
    7. Stella Manes & Igor Rodrigues Henud & Kenny Tanizaki-Fonseca, 2022. "Climate change mitigation potential of Atlantic Forest reforestations," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 27(6), pages 1-15, August.
    8. Stella Manes & Igor Rodrigues Henud & Kenny Tanizaki-Fonseca, 2022. "Climate change mitigation potential of Atlantic Forest reforestations," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 27(5), pages 1-15, June.
    9. Maraseni, Tek & Poudyal, Bishnu Hari & Aryal, Kishor & Laudari, Hari Krishna, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 in the forestry sector: A case of lowland region of Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    10. Morgan, Edward A. & Buckwell, Andrew & Guidi, Caterina & Garcia, Beatriz & Rimmer, Lawrence & Cadman, Tim & Mackey, Brendan, 2022. "Capturing multiple forest ecosystem services for just benefit sharing: The Basket of Benefits Approach," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    11. Myrgiotis, Vasileios & Blei, Emanuel & Clement, Rob & Jones, Stephanie K. & Keane, Ben & Lee, Mark A. & Levy, Peter E. & Rees, Robert M. & Skiba, Ute M. & Smallman, Thomas Luke & Toet, Sylvia & Willia, 2020. "A model-data fusion approach to analyse carbon dynamics in managed grasslands," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    12. Pathak, Ravi & Thakur, Shinny & Negi, Vikram S. & Rawal, Ranbeer S. & Bahukhandi, Amit & Durgapal, Kamini & Barola, Anjali & Tewari, Deep & Bhatt, Indra D., 2021. "Ecological condition and management status of Community Forests in Indian western Himalaya," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    13. Changjun Gu & Pei Zhao & Qiong Chen & Shicheng Li & Lanhui Li & Linshan Liu & Yili Zhang, 2020. "Forest Cover Change and the Effectiveness of Protected Areas in the Himalaya since 1998," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-24, July.
    14. Filippo Caporale & Jimena Mateo-Martín & Muhammad Faizan Usman & Carsten Smith-Hall, 2020. "Plant-Based Sustainable Development—The Expansion and Anatomy of the Medicinal Plant Secondary Processing Sector in Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-20, July.
    15. Kumeh, Eric Mensah, 2023. "Contestations, counteractions and equitable conservation – a case study of Ghana's Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    16. Lei Chang & Han Luo & Huijia Liu & Wenxin Xu & Lixin Zhang & Yuefen Li, 2024. "Tracking Land-use Trajectory and Other Potential Drivers to Uncover the Dynamics of Carbon Stocks of Terrestrial Ecosystem in the Songnen Plain," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-20, May.
    17. Rakatama, Ari & Pandit, Ram & Ma, Chunbo & Iftekhar, Sayed, 2017. "The costs and benefits of REDD+: A review of the literature," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 103-111.
    18. Wehrle, Sebastian & Gruber, Katharina & Schmidt, Johannes, 2021. "The cost of undisturbed landscapes," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    19. Cacho, Oscar J. & Milne, Sarah & Gonzalez, Ricardo & Tacconi, Luca, 2014. "Benefits and costs of deforestation by smallholders: Implications for forest conservation and climate policy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 321-332.
    20. Sebastian Gräfe & Michael Köhl, 2020. "Impacts of Future Crop Tree Release Treatments on Forest Carbon as REDD+ Mitigation Benefits," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-17, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:127:y:2023:i:c:s0264837723000522. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.