An Institutional Model to Explain Utilization Problems of Community Forest Products

This study examined utilization problems of community forest products (firewood and timber quantity harvested, and fodder collection days) on an institutional model. The data for this study were collected from forest user groups of three mid hill districts in Nepal. The results showed that the problems and practices of product utilization were determined by many factors of forest user group institutions. This study identified that the forest product utilization is a double hurdle decision process. The first hurdle is to decide whether or not to utilize the products. The second hurdle is how much to utilize for those who decide to utilize. Some factors played a positive role in the first decision step and for some products and a negative role in the second decision step and for other products, or vice versa. Some institutional factors exhibited endogenous roles in determining the outcomes of other institutional factors. The findings imply that improvement of institutional factors can increase in some extent, the rural households’ access to forest products in Nepal. Improvements of the determinants for better utilization of the forest products require technical supports specific to the conditions of each decision step