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Factors Affecting Collective Action for Forest Fire Management: A Comparative Study of Community Forest User Groups in Central Siwalik, Nepal

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Abstract

The attributes of social ecological systems affect the management of commons. Strengthening and enhancing social capital and the enforcement of rules and sanctions aid in the collective action of communities in forest fire management. Using a set of variables drawn from previous studies on the management of commons, we conducted a study across 20 community forest user groups in Central Siwalik, Nepal, by dividing the groups into two categories based on the type and level of their forest fire management response. Our study shows that the collective action in forest fire management is consistent with the collective actions in other community development activities. However, the effectiveness of collective action is primarily dependent on the complex interaction of various variables. We found that strong social capital, strong enforcement of rules and sanctions, and users’ participation in crafting the rules were the major variables that strengthen collective action in forest fire management. Conversely, users’ dependency on a daily wage and a lack of transparency were the variables that weaken collective action. In fire-prone forests such as the Siwalik, our results indicate that strengthening social capital and forming and enforcing forest fire management rules are important variables that encourage people to engage in collective action in fire management.

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Notes

  1. Woody plants having breast height diameters ≥30 cm.

  2. Woody plants having breast height diameters between 10 and 30 cm.

  3. Woody plants having height >1 m but breast height diameters <10 cm.

  4. Woody plants with heights between 30 cm and 1 m.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway, for financially supporting the field work conducted for this research. Similarly, we are indebted to the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, for creating a conducive environment for the entire process of this study. We would like to acknowledge the active support from the District Forest Office staff, forest users and field assistants in the study. Finally, we appreciate the invaluable comments from two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ECARDS Nepal, Kathmandu, 8115, Nepal

    Lok Mani Sapkota

  2. Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand

    Rajendra Prasad Shrestha, Damien Jourdain & Ganesh P. Shivakoti

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  1. Lok Mani Sapkota
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  2. Rajendra Prasad Shrestha
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  3. Damien Jourdain
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  4. Ganesh P. Shivakoti
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Correspondence to Lok Mani Sapkota.

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Sapkota, L.M., Shrestha, R.P., Jourdain, D. et al. Factors Affecting Collective Action for Forest Fire Management: A Comparative Study of Community Forest User Groups in Central Siwalik, Nepal. Environmental Management 55, 171–186 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0404-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0404-x

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