How to Register a Community Forest User Group (CFUG) in Nepal

A Community Forest User Group (CFUG), in Nepali samudayik ban upabhokta samuha, is an autonomous, self-governing body of local people who protect, develop and use a defined patch of national forest for their collective benefit. The forest itself remains national forest owned by the Government of Nepal; what is handed over to the group is the right to manage, use and sell its products, not ownership of the land. This model has made Nepal one of the world's best-known examples of community-based forest management, with tens of thousands of groups managing millions of hectares.

The governing law is the Forests Act, 2019 (2076 BS) and the Forest Regulation made under it, together with the Community Forestry Development Guideline (Samudayik Ban Karyakram Margadarshan) issued by the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation (DoFSC). Chapter 9 of the Act (Sections 31-33) covers forming and registering the users' group, while Chapter 5 (Sections 18-22) covers handing over the forest, approving the work plan, taking it back, and how income must be spent.

Two documents sit at the heart of the process: the constitution (vidhan), which sets out who the users are and how the group governs itself, and the operational or work plan (karyayojana), which is the technical forest-management plan for the specific patch of forest. The group is registered on the basis of its constitution; the forest is handed over on the basis of the approved work plan. Both are submitted to, and dealt with by, the Division Forest Office (DFO) that covers the area.

Registration begins in the community, not the office. Under Section 31 of the Forests Act 2019, the users of a forest who wish to protect, develop and manage it for their collective interest may constitute a users' group. The first practical task is to identify the genuine, traditional users of a specific forest patch, usually the households of one or more settlements or wards that have customarily depended on that forest for firewood, fodder, grass, timber and other products.

The community then holds a general assembly (bhela) of all user households to agree that they want to manage the forest as a community forest, to enrol member households, and to elect an executive committee (karyasamiti) to lead the process. Nepal's community forestry rules require the committee to be inclusive: under the Community Forestry Development Guideline, at least 50 percent of committee members must be women, with proportionate representation of the poor, Dalits, indigenous nationalities (Janajati) and other marginalised users, and either the chairperson or the secretary must be a woman.

The Division Forest Office is required to help at this stage. Section 18(4) of the Act allows the Divisional Forest Officer to provide the technical and other assistance needed to constitute the group with users' participation and to prepare the work plan. In practice a ranger or forest technician from the local range post or sub-division facilitates the assembly, helps map users, and guides the drafting of documents.

The constitution is the group's governing charter and is the document on which registration is based. Section 31(3) of the Forests Act 2019 requires that an application for registration be submitted along with the group's statute (constitution). It is normally drafted at a users' assembly using the model constitution in the Community Forestry Development Guideline, then adopted by the assembly.

A CFUG constitution typically records the group's name and boundaries, the full list of member households, the objectives, membership rules and fees, the size and composition of the executive committee, election and meeting procedures, decision-making and quorum rules, fund management and audit arrangements, and rules on distributing forest products and settling disputes. It must reflect the inclusion requirements above and should align with the local level (Rural Municipality or Municipality) where the forest lies.

Getting the constitution right matters beyond registration. Because a CFUG is later held accountable to its own constitution and work plan, vague or contradictory provisions cause disputes over membership, product sharing and committee elections. Groups are advised to keep an accurate, dated household register and to have the constitution formally endorsed by the general assembly before it is submitted.

The operational plan, also called the work plan or forest management plan, is the technical blueprint for the forest itself. It is prepared for the specific patch being handed over and describes the forest's boundaries and area, its condition, the blocks and management prescriptions, how much and which products (timber, firewood, fodder, grass, non-timber forest products) may be harvested each year, protection and silvicultural activities, any forest enterprise or eco-tourism, and how income will be raised and spent.

The plan is prepared by the CFUG with technical support from Division Forest Office staff, who carry out or verify the forest inventory (resource assessment) that underpins the allowable harvest. Community forest work plans are commonly written for a ten-year period, after which they are revised and renewed; the group may also amend the plan when needed, in consultation with the local level, and must inform the Divisional Forest Officer before implementing a new or amended plan under Section 18(5).

The plan must be realistic and environmentally sound. Section 18(6) empowers the Divisional Forest Officer, within thirty days of being informed of a new or amended plan, to direct the group not to implement it if it is likely to cause significant adverse environmental impact, and the group must comply. Harvesting and sale therefore always operate within the limits fixed by the approved plan.

With the constitution and work plan ready, the group applies in the prescribed form to the Division Forest Office that covers the area. Registration of the group and handover of the forest run together in practice: under Section 31 the office registers the users' group on the basis of its constitution, and under Section 18 the group applies with its work plan to have the forest handed over so it can develop, conserve, use and manage the forest and sell and distribute forest products at prices it fixes itself.

Before or during handover the boundary of the forest is demarcated and agreed on the ground so that the community forest is clearly separated from adjoining national forest and private land, and the same boundary is recorded in the work plan and map. The Divisional Forest Officer inquires into the work plan and, if satisfied, approves it under Section 18(2).

Once the plan is approved, Section 18(3) requires the Divisional Forest Officer to issue a certificate of handover in the prescribed format to the users' group. From that point the CFUG is a registered, autonomous body corporate under Section 32, with perpetual succession, its own seal, its own fund under Section 33, and the power to hold property and to sue and be sued in its own name. It may then operate the forest, and run approved forest enterprises and eco-tourism programmes under Section 34.

A handed-over CFUG has broad rights over its forest products. Section 18(1) lets the group develop, conserve, use and manage the forest and sell and distribute forest products by fixing their price independently, and Section 34 lets it run forest enterprises and eco-tourism, alone or in partnership with the local level, private sector or cooperatives, provided these are specified in the approved work plan. All harvesting and sale of timber, firewood and other products must stay within the annual limits and prescriptions set by that plan.

How the money is used is regulated. Under Section 22, the group must spend at least twenty-five percent of the annual income earned under the work plan on the development, protection and management of the forest, and at least fifty percent of the remaining amount on poverty alleviation, women's empowerment and entrepreneurship development in coordination with the local level; only the balance may be used in the general interest of the group. The Community Forestry Development Guideline similarly earmarks a share of income for pro-poor and inclusion programmes.

Income and grants flow through the group's own fund under Section 33, which may hold government and non-government grants, membership fees, fines, and money from the sale of forest products, and out of which relief is paid if wildlife from the forest harms a member's life or property. The group must, within three months of the end of each fiscal year, submit an annual report to the local level and the Division Forest Office setting out its financial statements and the status of the forest, as required by Section 31(4).

A community forest is not handed over for a fixed, expiring term, but the work plan is time-bound and must be renewed. Work plans are typically written for ten years; when a plan nears expiry the group revises it, updates the inventory, and submits it for re-approval so management can continue without a gap. The constitution and household register are usually updated at the same time.

Registration and handover can be cancelled. Under Section 19, the Divisional Forest Officer may cancel the group's registration and take the community forest back if the group fails to operate in accordance with the work plan, does something likely to cause significant adverse environmental effect, or fails to comply with the Act and rules, but only after giving the group a reasonable opportunity to explain. A group unhappy with that decision may complain to the Province Forest Director, whose decision is final.

The forest can also be restored. Under Section 20, if the Province Forest Director voids a decision to take the forest back, the Divisional Forest Officer must re-hand it over to the same group; and if the decision stands, the officer hands the forest over again after reconstituting the users' group and completing the Section 18 procedures. Separately, Section 21 lets a CFUG fine members who breach the work plan, and refer serious cases to the Division Forest Office for action.