May the Forest Be With You: Mapping Nepal’s Forest Landscapes and Livelihoods

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Highlights

• Evidence-based decision-making on forest management for local governments: Regularly updated and accurate subnational forest data is essential for equipping local governments to make evidence-based decisions on forest management planning. Such data also enables performance-based fiscal transfers in the forest sector.
• Inclusive forest management: Sustainable forest management must balance ecological and socioeconomic goals, ensuring equitable access and benefits for all, especially the most vulnerable. 
• Private tree potential: Expanding private tree planting on agricultural land can boost rural incomes and reduce pressure on public forests.
• Building blocks for climate action: Robust forest data is crucial for monitoring carbon stocks, unlocking climate finance, and guiding restoration efforts.

Key Findings

• Nepal increased its forest cover from 29% in 1994 to over 46% in 2022, thanks largely to community-based forest management.
• Despite gains in forest cover, forest fragmentation and degradation remain concerns. Average tree canopy cover and height have decreased between 2018 and 2022. Weakened forest conditions undermine biodiversity, watershed functions, erosion control, and productive ecosystem services.
• 66 percent of Nepali households collect non-timber forest products (NTFPs), with the poorest households most reliant on public forests. Private trees also play a key role in meeting household needs, with 48 percent of households collecting NTFPs from trees on private land.
• Women are the primary collectors of NTFPs, underscoring their vital role in forest-based livelihoods.
• The report provides subnational biophysical forest data for all 753 municipalities and the first nationally representative socioeconomic data on forest dependency in Nepal.

Recommendations

1. Sustain and regularly update subnational biophysical forest data to support evidence-based decision-making.
2. Integrate biophysical and socioeconomic objectives in forest management for ecosystem services, livelihoods, and climate action.
3. Continue supporting public forest management, especially community forestry user groups, to ensure equitable benefits for the poor and other vulnerable groups such as women and Indigenous People.
4. Promote intentional and informed private tree planting to enhance livelihoods across all income groups and reduce pressure on community forests.
5. Develop forestry and agroforestry extension services catered to small-scale tree planting needs to improve productivity and support regeneration. 
6. Systematically update official socioeconomic forest statistics to inform inclusive and adaptive forest management.

Important Knowledge Gaps

There are still important things we don’t know about forests. Having more detailed information on forest health would help stakeholders make better decisions about how to manage them. More complete maps would help too: maps of ecosystem types and watersheds, and maps showing who manages forests (community, government, or private owners), so we can see how management affects forest condition and local livelihoods.

On the people side, we don’t know enough about trees on private land—how they supply families with firewood, fodder, and other needs; which tree species households prefer; how much timber private owners produce; and what that means for wood-based businesses. We also need to understand the practical hurdles households face to grow more trees—getting seedlings and inputs, learning good planting and harvesting techniques, and overcoming barriers that limit productivity. 

In sum, Nepal’s community-centered model for forest management remains strong, but its durability depends on closing critical data gaps, aligning fiscal and investment tools with spatial evidence, and strategically integrating ecological and socioeconomic goals in practice.