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The
DFID Forestry Research Programme (FRP) is working with country
partners toward the eradication of poverty of forest and tree
dependent poor people. In order for FRP to arrive at a manageable
number of priority issues to address through research projects,
surveys of cause-and-effect-linkages of poverty were initiated
in 1999 and the latest survey, in Nepal, has just been concluded
and a report published.
The
initial objective of the surveys was to map the causes of
poverty, as perceived by stakeholders, including the poor
themselves, researchers, government officials, NGO staff and
so on. FRP could use the maps to identify hotspots for research
that would address issues that otherwise would lead to future
serious problems; issues such as policy and forest law development,
land use compensation mechanisms, market development for non-timber
forest products and alternative income generating opportunities.
It
has become clear, that the survey results have a beneficial
side effect as they highlight problem areas outside the remit
of forestry research. This, of course, is not surprising as
the livelihoods of the poor are a mosaic of various enterprises,
and non-forestry, even non-natural resource, issues play an
important part in the ability of the poor to improve their
livelihoods. In the past the label 'Forestry' has been unhelpful
in discussing these wider livelihoods issues with policy makers
and stakeholders outside forestry. The recently completed
study in Nepal takes a much broader view than the earlier
reports and could therefore feed into the country's poverty
reduction strategy process. The findings of the Nepal study
agree substantially with our surveys in quite different cultural,
political and social situations in 22 countries in Africa,
the Caribbean and Central America.
Although
the findings of the report are not surprising, for the first
time in Nepal, our surveys allow the poor themselves to voice
their views and their suggestions for remedy. Our surveys
provide documented evidence for causes of poverty, and they
highlight areas where interventions are more likely to be
successful, and those where interventions are probably going
to be unsuccessful because the issues are so intricately linked
with other issues that tackling one alone, by itself, will
not help.
 Survey of
the Priority Probelms of the Forest and Tree-Dependent People
in Nepal PDF
Also
available in Nepali by emailing ForestAction: forestaction@wlink.com.np
Dr.
Hannah Jaenicke
Deputy Manager, DFID Forestry Research Programme
Natural Resources International Ltd.
United Kingdom
Visit the
FRP website
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