book1

10
Green governance:
Development aid, local investment
and benefits from community forestry
114
Changing paradigms of aid eff ec� veness in Nepal
–B.K. Pokharel
THIS paper provides an analysis of forest sector governance, which is facing
challenges of contradic� ons stemming from old fashioned bureaucra� c
culture of classical forest service and new democra� c governance prac� ce of
Nepal's community forestry. In addi� on, it analyses the scale and the volume
of development aid, investment of Nepali government and local communi� es
in community forestry sub-sector. Local communi� es are increasingly seen as
the main investors and source of fi nancing, bearing more than two third cost
of Nepal’s community forestry. The benefi t however is not in commensurate
with what local communi� es have invested. So there is a challenge whether
local communi� es can invest on community forestry sustainably for its
protec� on and management if they are not empowered and favoured
by government in terms of securing tenure rights and autonomy so as to
op� mise livelihood opportuni� es for the people dependent on forests.
Forest governance woes:
Following restora� on of democracy in 1990, forest sector governance
has been one of the few sectors in Nepal undergoing massive transforma� on
from conven� onal technocra� c stereo-typed bureaucracy to a pro-poor and
democra� c public service. On the one hand, forest sector suff ers from illgovernance
prac� ces, on the other, it is transforming by itself.
On a posi� ve note, through community forestry, re-orienta� on of people