Leasehold Forestry and Poverty Reduction in Nepal

This impact assessment study highlights a case of Jhirubas Village Development Committee (VDC) in Palpa district of Nepal comprising of 227 households (HHs). This study of Leasehold Forestry (LF) at Jhirubas VDC towards poverty reduction under five-capitals approach (natural, human, physical, social, and financial) from years 2010 to 2012 was conducted through analysis of primary data collected using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques (Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions), past scenario recall sessions, and observation along with secondary data processing. LF has been found to empower the poorest vulnerable groups of people to manage degraded forested lands from low productivity to the highly productive lands. A short period of intervention has been able to gear up an optimistic impact on these five-capitals. While income levels of the participating HHs has shown an increasing trend upon LF intervention, the impacts toward rejuvenation and maintenance of nature has also been found to be substantial.