Impacts of community forestry on farming system sustainability in the Middle Hills of Nepal

Recent years have seen greater official recognition and support for community-based natural resource management in hillside systems globally. In the Middle Hills of Nepal, this has led to adoption of Community Forestry with communities keen to conserve forest resources through greater control of access to forest resources. In this paper, we investigate the impacts of Community Forestry on agricultural sustainability using Participatory Learning and Action Research (PLAR) methods and soil and compost nutrient analyses to assess the nutrient balance for rainfed and irrigated fields. Studies demonstrate a yield dependence on annual nutrient inputs to fields, but a remaining positive balance of nutrient inputs. Concerns over soil degradation associated with increasing urea fertilizer dependence highlight the vital role played by organic compost inputs to the soils typified by very low organic carbon concentrations. The findings from two study villages show that Community Forestry has not yet had a major impact (either positive or negative) on farming systems and therefore the majority of rural livelihoods. However, opportunities are recognized that would increase the quantity and quality of compost supply, and consequently crop yields. Increases in natural capital (subcanopy plants) and the increased social capital (provided by Forest User Groups) offer the means through which potential increases to compost materials can be obtained and through which knowledge of the potentials of, and techniques for, improving compost supply could be disseminated. It is such strategies, which go beyond the traditional focus on forests, that will enable Community Forestry in Nepal (which already has many achievements) to realize its full potential in maintaining and improving the livelihoods of the hill farming communities it is intended to assist.