Reinvigorate Leasehold Forestry

Nepal is a poor country, where most of the people, especially those living in rural areas, are living a hand-to-mouth life. They find it difficult to manage even two square meals a day. That is why most of the rural people are migrating to urban areas or abroad for a better life. There could be several ways of retaining the rural people in their own districts but the government should make arrangements for their livelihoods. One of such arrangements is leasehold forestry. 

Leasehold forestry is a practice of leasing degraded forest land to poor households so that they can work the land for their benefit as well as for ecological benefit. Under this concept, small groups of five to ten households living below the poverty line are formed and small patches of forest land are leased to them for forty years. The tenure can be renewed for another forty years. They can exclusively use the allotted land. Degraded forest land is only the land available for allotment under leasehold forestry. Poor people living adjacent to forest land may indulge in haphazard exploitation of the land to eke out a living. Government programmes like leasehold forestry motivate poor people to manage forest land and engage in preserving forests and the environment.

Poverty alleviation

Leasehold forestry is an effective poverty alleviation programme. The programme targets the poorest communities. It has a crucial role to play in alleviating poverty in many parts of the world, especially in relatively densely populated mountainous areas of South and Southeast Asia. In these areas, poor people live near forests. Forests are the most accessible resources for these people. By practising leasehold forestry, the livelihoods of such people can be improved.   

In Nepal, several government agencies are involved in programmes relating to leasehold forestry. The Department of Forests is mainly responsible for preparing and implementing leasing procedures. The Department of Livestock Services provides technical support for livestock and fodder development. The Agricultural Development Bank of Nepal arranges for credit for leasehold farming. And the Nepal Agricultural Research Council carries out research on agriculture and livestock development. 

Leasehold forestry households are allowed to work the forest land leased to them. They can grow cereals and rear livestock, especially goats. They can manage forage for their livestock and earn money by selling products such as milk from livestock farming. With a growth in vegetation cover, women can save time spent on collecting grass, fodder or other items. Those who have to struggle all the year round to manage food can greatly benefit from the practice of leasehold forestry. 

Leasehold forestry has several benefits. Leasehold forestry households can attain self-sufficiency in food and earn money to better their livelihoods. They can diversify their income. What is more, they contribute to improving ecological health by increasing vegetation cover and preserving biodiversity. Today, the importance of preserving ecology can hardly be overstated. Preserving forests is one of the important aspects in ecological preservation. Nepal has attained worldwide fame in forest preservation. Community forestry programmes have also played a vital role in this regard. 

Owing to poverty, rural people are forced to work on other people’s land for a meagre income. They are also exploited by their landlords. However, they are bound to bear exploitation for lack of other income-generating jobs. In such a case, leasehold forestry comes in hand for such poor people. They can work the forest land leased to them on their own for a long tenure. 

Government support is crucial to sustaining leasehold forestry. The government should ensure that seeds, pesticides, agricultural equipment and other essential items are supplied to leasehold forestry households in time. They should also be trained in farming practices and animal husbandry. They should also be provided with irrigation facilities. With such inputs and facilities, they can increase production and improve productivity. This will make them self-sufficient in food on the one hand, while on the other they can earn income by selling surplus products. This ensures food security for them.  

It would be pertinent to note that the government implemented the practice of leasehold forestry through the Hills Leasehold Forestry and Forage Development Project (1993-2003). The basic thrust of the programme was to alleviate poverty and improve the environment. With the success of this programme, the government ran another programme - Leasehold Forestry and Livestock Programme - from 2004 to 2014. The programme was targeted at the poor people living in mid-hill areas. They were living near degraded forest land. The programme also succeeded in its goal of reducing poverty and preserving forests.   

Conflict

There is also a conflict between proponents of community forestry and leasehold forestry. Both of the programmes aim at improving the livelihoods of poor people and preserving the environment. However, there is a tendency among well-off farmers to take advantage of community forestry at the expense of poor farmers. On the other hand, leasehold forestry favours poor farmers.   Leasehold forestry is a win-win concept for the government and poor households. The government should oblige the leasehold forestry households to protect forests against degradation and prevent grazing, forest fires and soil erosion. 

Under leasehold forestry, stall-feeding is preferred to grazing. The concept makes people realise that it is their responsibility to protect forests from which they can earn additional income to improve their standard of living. By doing so, they can play a catalytic role in preserving forests and the environment. A participatory approach to preserving the environment is the need of the hour. When the responsibility is given to local people, any programme can pan out because locals have indigenous knowledge and they are familiar with how to preserve natural resources like forests and the environment. Leasehold forestry holds potential in this regard.   

(Maharjan has been regularly writing on contemporary issues for this daily since 2000.)