Effects of concurrent conservation initiatives on forest-adjacent communities in the Chitwan Valley, Nepal

Abstract

Forest-adjacent communities in Nepal depend on livestock fodder and firewood for their livelihoods. This study examines how overlapping conservation efforts—namely, Community Forestry (CF) and silvicultural practices promoted under Scientific Forest Management (SFM)—have shaped household access to these resources. Using spatial mapping, forest committee surveys, and household data from over 1200 respondents in 2014 and 1400 in 2017, including a longitudinal analysis of over 600 matched households, we assess changes in travel distance to collect fodder and firewood across time and social groups. Our models reveal a shift in key predictors: under CF alone, household factors such as caste and land size were most associated with travel distance. Following the spread of SFM-inspired practices, forest management activities became stronger predictors. While these interventions appeared to improve fodder access, firewood collection distance increased significantly among marginalized groups, including Dalit, Terai Janajati, and female-headed households. This divergence highlights how concurrent conservation initiatives can produce unequal livelihood outcomes. Our findings underscore the need for integrated forest governance that addresses these social equity trade-offs, and they point toward a critical need for future research using mixed-methods and quasi-experimental designs to untangle the causal pathways of these complex policy interactions.