The GoLFor-DEEPN project is part of the ANR research programme Man-environment interactions
Project coordinator: François Libois (École d´économie de Paris)
The GoLFor-DEEPN project aims to evaluate the effects of the decentralization of forest management in Nepal on (i) forest cover, (ii) collective action at local level and (iii) political economy at municipality level. After decades of deforestation and forest degradation, tree cover has slightly improved over the last 20 years. There are no large-scale studies that specifically analyze the causes of deforestation. Economic growth, rural exodus, civil war, the development of alternative energies, and the planting of trees on private land are other potential explanations for this improvement.
GoLFor-DEEPN wants to quantify the contribution of the groups to the stabilisation of Nepal’s forest cover, highlight the underlying mechanisms and discuss the expected distributional effects, both in terms of living standards in the villages and local authorities. It is structured around five testable hypotheses:
a) Does returning forest management to its users increase forest cover?
b) Does the creation of user groups negatively affect nearby areas? Does it increase the likelihood of the emergence of collective action in neighbouring forests and villages?
c) Do use restrictions imposed by user groups increase the adoption of alternative energies and new technologies among villagers living near newly managed areas at local level?
d) Does the type of public goods provided reflect inequalities within groups and villages?
e) Can local management of a resource, in a system where the executive committee is elected, be seen as a form of proto-democracy that helps to select leaders at higher-level elections?
Permanent members of CEH contributing to this project :
Olivia Aubriot
Joëlle Smadja
Doctor in geography affiliated to CEH:
Romain Valadaud