Community Forestry: An Opportunity for Participatory Biodiversity Conservation

"Although locals were unfamiliar with even the local term for ‘biodiversity' they readily understood the concept and its importance after a brief explanation. Furthermore, it became clear that, as a result of the security of use rights in their community forests, locals did indeed value species for their contribution to the overall health of the ecosystem regardless of any other benefits they may bring."

From 2003-2005, an informal group of organizations in Nepal has worked to develop a system of participatory monitoring of biodiversity which takes account of the decentralization of forest use rights through the expansion of community forestry. The community forestry programme offers an opportunity to create a network of self-motivated monitors committed to generating and sharing information for their own mutual benefit and that of their forest resources. This article documents the conceptualization of this scheme, the activities involved and the lessons learned since monitoring began.