This journal issue provides a selection of articles about research on the impacts of community forestry in Nepal which were funded by DFID. Seven papers are presented based on three NRSP research projects which were centered around the low-value, often degraded forests of the Middle hills. The first paper provides an overview of the history and current status of community forestry in Nepal. The second paper provides an assessment of institutional development of 11 case study Forest User Groups (FUGs). The third paper focuses on the impact of community forestry on vegetative resources. The fourth paper presents an approach for micro-level action planning which was piloted in 11 FUGs. The fifth paper assesses the impact of community forestry on livelihoods in the Middle hills. The sixth paper asks why poor people aren’t benefiting more from community forestry, focussing on the roles of social standing and participation in FUG discussions and committees. The final paper presents two tools for FUGs to quantitatively assess the equity impact of community forestry initiatives and also provides a comparison of the effectiveness of each.

Overall, the papers provide critical insights into the process, impact and challenges of community forestry in Nepal.

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