LSP Working Paper 7 Access to Natural Resources Sub-Programme The culture of access to mountain natural resources Policy, processes and practices Stephen D. Biggs and Don Messerschmidt International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Nepal December 2003 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Livelihood Support Programme (LSP) An inter-departmental programme for improving support for enhancing livelihoods of the rural poor. The culture of access to mountain natural resources Policy, processes and practices Stephen D. Biggs and Don Messerschmidt International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Nepal December 2003 Cover photograph by Frits Ohler The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Hemant Ojha and Krishna Paudel of ForestAction, a Kathmandu-based NGO, in the preparation of this study This paper was prepared under contract with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The positions and opinions presented are those of the authors alone, and are not intended to represent the views of FAO. The culture of access to mountain natural resources The Livelihood Support Programme The Livelihood Support Programme (LSP) evolved from the belief that FAO could have a greater impact on reducing poverty and food insecurity, if its wealth of talent and experience were integrated into a more flexible and demand-responsive team approach. The LSP, which is executed by FAO with funding provided by DfID, works through teams of FAO staff members who are attracted to specific themes being worked on in a sustainable livelihoods context. These cross- departmental and cross-disciplinary teams act to integrate sustainable livelihoods principles in FAO’s work, at headquarters and in the field. These approaches build on experiences within FAO and other development agencies. The programme is functioning as a testing ground for both team approaches and sustainable livelihoods principles. Email: [email protected] Access to natural resources sub-programme Access by the poor to natural resources (land, forests, water, fisheries, pastures, etc.), is essential for sustainable poverty reduction. The livelihoods of rural people without access, or with very limited access to natural resources are vulnerable because they have difficulty in obtaining food, accumulating other assets, and recuperating after natural or market shocks or misfortunes. The main goal of this sub-programme is to build stakeholder capacity to improve poor people’s access to natural resources through the application of sustainable livelihood approaches. The sub-programme is working in the following thematic areas: 1. Sustainable livelihood approaches in the context of access to different natural resources 2. Access to natural resources and making rights real 3. Livelihoods and access to natural resources in a rapidly changing world This paper contributes to the first thematic area by looking at sustainable livelihood approaches to access to natural resources in mountainous areas. The paper concentrates on access by poorer and marginalized groups to policy processes whereby long-term sustainable access to natural resources is achieved. Policy, processes and practices TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1 1.1 Background to the study .......................................................................................1 1.2 Access and policy defined ....................................................................................2 1.3 Framework for analysis: an actor innovations systems framework......................3 2. DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS .............................................................................5 2.1 Competing narratives............................................................................................6 2.2 Economic and financial imperatives.....................................................................8 2.3 Policy processes and development practice........................................................10 2.4 Poverty reduction and social inclusion ...............................................................14 2.5 Sources of institutional and technological Innovations ......................................17 3. WAYS FORWARD................................................................................................19 3.1 Future applications of the framework .................................................................19 3.2 Keeping up with the times ..................................................................................19 3.3 Brief analysis of some other sectors ...................................................................20 3.4 Other countries in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya.....................................................22 3.5 Encouraging the institutions of democracy.........................................................24 3.6 Integration of social scientists within policy processes and innovation systems...............................................................................................................24 3.7 Decentralization and devolution .........................................................................26 3.8 Pro-active search for positive institutional innovations......................................28 3.9 Personal commitment: finding room to manoeuvre............................................29 4. CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................31 5. CASE STUDY 1 - Community forestry: participatory forest management in action...................................................................................................................33 5.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................33 5.2 Community forestry user groups defined............................................................34 5.3 The history of community forestry in Nepal.......................................................35 5.4 The reality at implementation .............................................................................46 5.5 Community forestry actor and roles ...................................................................47 5.6 Community heterogeneity and stake of the poor ................................................53 5.7 Inconsistent Government moves.........................................................................54 5.8 Markets and entrepreneurship.............................................................................55 5.9 Conclusions.........................................................................................................55 6. CASE STUDY 2 - Targeting the poor: the Leasehold Forestry project ...........56 6.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................56 6.2 Benefits to the leaseholding poor........................................................................60 iii The culture of access to mountain natural resources 6.3 Technical problems with Leasehold Forestry .....................................................61 6.4 The cost of access ...............................................................................................64 6.5 Conclusions.........................................................................................................66 7. CASE STUDY 3 - CFUG Federation: institutional innovation in practice ......67 7.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................67 7.2 Stages of CFUG networking and federation.......................................................69 7.3 FECOFUN’s organizational structure.................................................................70 7.4 FECOFUN’s main areas of activity....................................................................72 7.5 The Nepalese Federation of Forest Resource User Groups (NEFUG) ...............74 7.6 Conclusions.........................................................................................................74 8. CASE STUDY 4 - Entrepreneurship and access: handmade paper from lokta bark................................................................................................................75 8.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................75 8.2 Institutional moves to enhance access ................................................................77 8.3 Issues of access ...................................................................................................79 8.4 Discussion...........................................................................................................81 8.5 Conclusions.........................................................................................................83 9. REFERENCES.......................................................................................................87 iv Policy, processes and practices 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study This study has been commissioned by FAO to look at sustainable livelihoods approaches to access to natural resources in mountain areas. We concentrate on access by poorer and marginalized groups to policy processes whereby long-term sustainable access to resources is achieved. We have opted to concentrate on one country, Nepal and to focus