Introduction
This case examines the grassroots struggle of a socially excluded low caste group in eastern Nepal to establish their right to the management and use of community forests. The Government brought in the concept of community forestry with the realisation that conservation of forest resource is not possible without popular participation and it should be linked to the livelihoods of poor and marginalised groups. Community Forest Users Groups (CFUGs) thrived as institutions with empowering potentials entrusted with the rights of local management and use of forest. However, due to the unjust social structure and power relations that permeate Nepali society, marginalised social groups were excluded from CFUGs.

The Saptari district located in the eastern Terai region has the highest number of dalits -low caste population in Nepal. When in 1997 139 hectares of the Bhaluwahi forest, located in the Hardiya Village Development Committee (VDC), Saptari, were handed over to the local CFUG, the dalits' livelihood became at risk. The CFUG of the Bhaluwahi community forest consists of 182 households, the majority of which are tharus, a locally powerful indigenous group. The chamars and musahars (dalit communities) are the economically, socially and politically backward minorities - over 75% of them are landless. Hence, the leadership of the CFUG was dominated by tharus.

15 chamar households had been residing on the periphery of the forest since 1990, prior to the formation of the community forest. Since 1996, there had been several attempts to inflict violence and evict chamars by the local tharus and the District Forest Office (DFO). But the chamars kept resisting threats and acts of eviction. On October 2002 the high caste tharus of Bhaluwahi CFUG, with the moral support of the local police, Chief District Office and DFO destroyed chamar houses. This was possible in a time when there was a state of emergency in Nepal and non-violent resistance or movements were not possible. Hence local chamars were displaced for three months.

Eventually, Dalit Chetana Sangam (DCS), a people's organisation of dalits, organised local chamars and launched a struggle for about a year against tharus. DCS' work involved thorough research into the situation of the dalits and training chamars in non-violent negotiation skills and practices. This non-violent struggle changed the leadership of CFUG. Chamar habitation was restored and they gained unrestrained access to the management and use of community forest.

The type and extent of policy change
The continued organised struggle finally restored the original habitation of local chamars and prevented future evictions. They brought changes in the leadership of local CFUG, thereafter obtaining significant impacts on the local policy and practices:

• Special consideration to be given to the existing poor households while deciding the physical boundary of community forest.
  
• Unrestrained access of forest to poor and marginalised social groups whose livelihood is dependant on the forest.
  
• Information of general assembly to be disseminated one month in advance to all the members of CFUG.

It became an exemplary case and influenced dalits in CFUGs in other parts of the district to demand participation in community forests. It also improved the social status and dignity of chamar in the society. The case brought significant changes in the actual practice of legal provisions concerning the participation of marginalised groups in management and use of community forest.

Lessons learned

Policy context

• Best practices in community forestry of Nepal coupled with democratic pro-poor policies are popular in South Asia. Policy change and institutional mechanisms are necessary conditions for participation of marginalised groups in the management and use of natural resources. But the existing social structures and relations determine to a large extent how much they could participate.
  
• Hence, democratic policy alone does not ensure its successful practice. The dynamics of local contexts and asymmetrical power relations have important bearing upon its practice.

Evidence

• Research has immense value in generating knowledge. The present case exemplifies that research based evidence, if engaged in a popular dialogue and linked with the grassroots realities of people, can contribute in the process of collective actions and enhancing grassroots democracy.
  
• DCS' research highlighted issues that were not being considered by both the authorities and the dalits themselves.
  
• In this case, research based evidence helped the dalits win the argument over the problem; while demonstrations, media and political support helped them win the argument over the solution.

Links

• This case shows the significance of local struggles of right holders through alternative processes to legal actions. In this case, the dalits' movement created new spaces of engagement between them and the authorities. The synergy of research based evidence and grassroots actions helped change the prevailing discourse.
  

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