Who We Are

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The Livelihoods and Forestry Programme promotes more equitable, efficient, and sustainable use of forests by rural communities, focusing particularly on the needs of the 53% of households identified as being poor and socially excluded. As a 10-year programme that began in 2001, we work in 15 districts with government and civil society partners. We support more than 4,500 Forest User Groups, representing over 0.5m households, to manage 370,000 ha of forest. We work through a diverse range of initiatives that focus on sustainable forest management, enterprise development, employment, governance and social inclusion. We develop partnerships and capacity at every level and are addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation. 

The Livelihoods and Forestry Programme (LFP) is a bilateral aid programme of the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and the Government of Nepal's Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MFSC). DFID has provided support to the forest sector in Nepal since 1979 and LFP is supported in line with DFID's Country Plan. The 1988 Master Plan for the Forest Sector and the 1993 Forest Act  provide the legal framework for DFID and other organisations to work within community forestry. LFP began in April 2001, building upon the experience and lessons learnt from the Nepal UK Community Forestry Programme (NUKCFP). LFP differs from NUKCFP in many ways, principally in being designed using approaches for sustainable livelihoods.

LFP’s main organisational objective is to reduce the vulnerability and improve the livelihoods of poor and excluded rural people. It provides strategic support to incorporate "second-generation" issues of livelihoods, governance and social inclusion to strengthen livelihoods and pro-poor forest sector policies and practices on all levels. The programme budget is £18.67 million, comprising technical cooperation and financial aid funding for a duration of ten years.

Goal
Reduced vulnerability and improved livelihoods for poor and excluded rural people.

Purpose
Assets of rural communities enhanced through more equitable, efficient and sustainable use of forest and other natural resources.

Outputs

1. Forest managers responsively manage and utilise forest resources to sustainably maximize the multiple benefits.
2. Poor and excluded people actively participate in and benefit from the forestry/natural resources sector. 
3. Capacity within and coordination amongst institutions for forestry sector development strengthened and livelihoods enhanced. 
4. Innovative and conflict sensitive approaches to field implementation tested, shared and incorporated into forest sector planning. 
5. National Level forest sector capacity and response to field reality strengthened.

Activities include

• Capacity-building of government institutions, forest users, managers and other service providers.
• Initiatives specifically for poor and excluded members (e.g. income generating activities, enterprise development and small-scale infrastructure). 
• Livelihood diversification (both forest based and other enterprises). 
• Sustainable natural resource management (active forest management, improved public land management, soil conservation and watershed management, private forestry, and promotion of alternative energy technologies).
• Addressing climate change through mitigation and adaptation strategies and
  aligning natural resource management efforts.

Further details can be found in the Logframe.

The programme priority is to support the development and implementation of poverty-focused and inclusive forest sector policies and strategies at all levels, in line with the government's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. LFP ensures they are informed by practical experience and grounded in field realities.

Of the 0.57 million households LFP works with, about 53% households are poor or very poor, as identified through participatory well-being ranking. 14% are Dalit and 40% are disadvantaged Janajati or from religious minority groups. Forestry User Groups (FUGs) and LFP partners work specifically with poor and excluded interest groups to help them identify and address their key needs. The FUGs and their sub-groups also provide entry points for wider rural development activities.