Local vs official criteria and indicators for evaluating community forest management

Processes to develop criteria and indicators (C and I) for sustainable forest management are often expert driven. Although the long-term objective of the Nepalese forest policy is sustainable forest management, no national level C and I specifically for this have been developed. However, the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation awards an annual prize to successful community forest user groups (CFUGs) based on evaluation according to 10 criteria. This study explored local C and I for successful forest management in Nepal through six meetings with CFUG members. A total of 14 local criteria and 52 indicators for awarding a prize to successful CFUGs were identified, and comparison with official C and I was undertaken. Most conspicuously, local C and I focus more on environmental and governance-related aspects than the official list, and the official list leaves much to the discretion of the evaluator. The study concludes that development of a national level C and I for sustainable forest management could benefit from involvement of local forest users.