Assessment of the Role of Leasehold Forest in Livelihood Improvement in Gorkha District, Nepal

The leasehold forestry aims to free the poor from a complicated cycle of poverty by institutionalizing and manipulating the local resources. This study is based on the structured and semi-structured questionnaire and an examination of both published and unpublished records. The study was carried out in 283 Leasehold Forest User Groups (LHFUGs) of the Gorkha district representing 8 different clusters. This study makes a clear effort to identify livelihood improvement in the Gorkha district through leasehold forest by taking into consideration livelihood assets (natural, physical, human, financial, and social). The condition of livelihood capitals in the study area was examined using a judgmental scoring technique that looked at the changes that occurred in five different capitals. Three indicators have been used for each of the assets and scores; +1, -1, and 0 were given to represent improved, degraded, and remained unchanged respectively. A spider web diagram was used to express the change. The results depicted that Chepang, Gurung, and Magar are the predominant indigenous peoples who benefited from the LHF. The result showed the constructive impact of the leasehold forestry program on each asset. The social, physical, human, natural and financial capital received an average total score of 0.778, 0.951, 0.748, 0.589, and 0.722 respectively. The most notable accomplishments were construction and access to the physical capitals including the effectiveness of constructions and advancement of knowledge about community development. Better-managed natural resources can help achieve both conservation and livelihood options.