Forest Rights Programme (FRP) is the third undertaking of CAED. It works in the Siwalik hills called Chure and surrounding areas of Udayapur, Siraha and Saptari districts in the eastern region of Nepal. The area is made of unstable sandstone and conglomerates of great geological antiquity. The area immediately at the foot of the Chure hills called the Bhabar is characterised by porous soil, with boulders and gravel and a low water table. The area was formerly a dense forested land dominated by Sal (Shorea robusta) and associated species. Following an anti-malaria programme in 1950s, the area has witnessed an unprecedented inflow of migrants from both the north and the south, and little of the natural forest remains at present. The growing population's demand for space for human settlement, agriculture, timber and firewood together with wood smuggling across the southern border has exerted tremendous pressure on the forest of this area.

Community forestry has been found one of the best ways for ensuring sustainability of the forest resources and it has unanimously received the credit for 'increased greenery'. However, the community forestry practices in the area still lack the spirit of community forestry as it is envisioned. It is common that a decision of the Users Committee is hijacked by a couple of powerful people in the group. Sometimes, wood smugglers themselves become senior dignitaries of the groups or the committees. Women, oppressed and indigenous groups of people are shared to have little benefits. Most of the marginalized groups of people are deprived of information on their rights to Community Forests despite the fact the provisions vow for a unanimous decision. Further, community forestry practice has largely fallen in the technical domain both in practice and in the mindset of the people and government officials. Paradigm of forest management has not shifted from technocentric to anthropocentric. Technocratic accuracy overweighs social issues. FRP, in this context, is in the area to build on the capacity of local NGOs as parts of civil society in order to help the forest users to take up the issues of community forestry. It is conceived that NGOs as parts of civil societies can help the users to assert their rights over the forests, help the marginalized section of the community to obtain an equitable share from the community forests (CFs) while contributing to the conservation of environment.

Objective
 Build on the capacity of local NGOs to equip user groups with necessary social attitude, legal information and technical skills in acquiring CFs as rights and managing acquired CFs leading to increased, equitable and sustainable benefits from CFs while contributing to environmental conservation.

Approach
Here FRP is working as a supporting institution for local NGOs. It has conceived that CFUGs can be reached to extend required support through local NGOs if they are oriented as representatives of civil society to acquire community forests as peoples' rights and trained on community forestry technical competencies to protect and manage the forests as civil responsibility as envisioned in government's community forestry policy.

FRP promotes community forestry as users' rights as well as the responsibility. It works with local NGOs by providing hands on trainings and on the spot coaching so that they can support the communities to acquire and manage the community forests. It together with the local NGOs addresses the issues of participation of marginalized groups and women with priority in view of the concerns of their livelihood in community forest user groups (CFUGs). It seeks to generate support in favour of the forest users by sensitising the local governments in the process of taking over the community forests and watching their management and the distribution of benefits. It also seeks to build networks with like-minded organizations for solidarity in order to promote the exchange of experiences and ideas and protect the interests of the forest users. It tries to bridge the gap amongst the concern including the government in the community forestry process. It stresses the need of the shift of paradigm (technocratic to anthropocentric) among the players through training and networking. Strategies for addressing community forestry issues are refined as a participatory activity with the NGOs who in turn reflect users group views and spiral out the activities gradually in terms of coverage and input.

Activities
 Community Forestry Training and Education
 Sensitising Local Governments on Community Forestry
 Lobbying and Advocacy
 IG opportunities in CF with Focus on marginalized groups of people
 Need-based Support/On-the-Spot Coaching to NGOs

Achievements
FRP has become able to reach to the core of collaborating NGOs. Now it understands well about the power relations both in the collaborating NGOs and in the CFUGs assisted by them. FRP together with collaborating NGOs have reached to 73 CFUGs in three districts for the first year of the programme. Interventions in the area have increased awareness of users' communities on rights over their forest resources. Many of the CFUGs have started to listen to the voices of marginalized sections of the community, re-structure their user committees and 'actively' manage the community forests.

NGOs/CFUGs have increased dialogue with District Forest Offices on community forestry issues. Local governments such as Village Development Committees are sensitised and they have started showing their concern on community forestry. Some of the NGOs are gradually developing as community forestry resource centres and the NGO-activists as the resource persons. Rights-based community forestry has now become a major area of the activities of many of the collaborating NGOs.

Future
FRP's interventions will focus on grooming collaborating NGOs and their activist as resource centres and the resource persons on community forestry in the area. These together with CFUGs, other civil societies and forest stakeholders would take up the community forestry issues. Emphasis will be given in expanding the range of available livelihood options of the marginalized sections of the community consistent with the sustainable use of the forest resources.

Funds
FRP is supported financially by the Churia Forest Development Project (ChFDP) of GTZ, the German Technical Cooperation.

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