Sustainable Land Management in Churia Range, Nepal (SLMCRN)

The SLMCRN project, implemented by WWF GEF Agency and executed by WWF Nepal with five Government of Nepal ministries, aimed to reduce degradation in 2,500 ha of agro-pastoral lands and 5,000 ha of forests. The terminal evaluation rated the project as 'Overall Satisfactory', noting strong output delivery but weaker outcome integration. Key successes included the establishment of 'open grazing free zones', the introduction of income-generating activities like Sal leaf plate making and milk chilling centers, and the use of bio-engineering for riverbank protection. However, the evaluation identified significant gaps in district-level coordination, a 'top-heavy' governance structure, and the failure of certain technologies like Sloping Agriculture Land Technology (SALT) due to insecure land tenure. The report recommends transitioning to longer project cycles (at least 5 years), integrating climate resilience into all activities, and reforming the National Land Use Policy 2012 to ensure nationwide implementability.

• The project is rated as 'Overall Satisfactory', having achieved most progress targets through adaptive management, though it struggled to translate numerous outputs into collective outcomes.
• The project successfully implemented 'open grazing free zones' (OGFZ) to manage degraded forest land, though this required a 'Grievance Redress Mechanism' to address the curtailment of traditional pastoralists' rights.
• Income-generating activities (IGAs) based on forests and livestock were highly effective, specifically broom grass cultivation, Sal leaf plate making, turmeric cultivation, and milk chilling centers.
• Bio-engineering works, such as gabion wall dykes and spurs, effectively halted land degradation and helped recover agricultural land destroyed by river flooding.
• The project's governance structure was criticized as 'top-heavy', with the Project Steering Committee (PSC) and Project Coordination Committee (PCC) located at the central level, leading to poor coordination among district line agencies (DLAs).
• Sloping Agriculture Land Technology (SALT) failed to achieve expected results because it requires secure land tenure, which was lacking in the project districts, and the implementing agencies lacked expertise.
• The project demonstrated strong gender mainstreaming, with women occupying leadership roles in Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) and benefiting from NTFP enterprises.
• Financial management was sound, with total co-financing from the Government of Nepal and WWF reaching US$ 4,748,615.08, exceeding the original commitment.
• The evaluation found that the National Land Use Policy (NLUP) 2012 remains largely unimplemented due to a lack of political will and institutional capacity, necessitating a critical review.
• The project's three-year duration was deemed too short to assess long-term impacts, leading to a recommendation for future projects to span at least five years.
• Natural regeneration of forests through fencing was found to be faster, cheaper, and more effective than active replanting with nursery seedlings.
• The project's M&E system was professional and utilized tools like 'Smart sheets' for tracking, although it was overly focused on quantitative outputs rather than qualitative outcomes.

APA

Karki, M., Wagely, M., & Khadka, S. R. (2017). Sustainable Land Management in Churia Range, Nepal (SLMCRN). WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/969/3y7i99ijxh_SLMCRNTerminal_Evaluation_Report_final.pdf

Chicago

Karki, Madhav, Mohan Wagely, and Sarba Raj Khadka. Sustainable Land Management in Churia Range, Nepal (SLMCRN). WWF International, 2017. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/969/3y7i99ijxh_SLMCRNTerminal_Evaluation_Report_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Karki |first1=Madhav |last2=Wagely |first2=Mohan |last3=Khadka |first3=Sarba Raj |title=Sustainable Land Management in Churia Range, Nepal (SLMCRN) |publisher=WWF International |date=2017 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/969/3y7i99ijxh_SLMCRNTerminal_Evaluation_Report_final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{karki2017sustainable, author = {Karki, Madhav and Wagely, Mohan and Khadka, Sarba Raj}, title = {{Sustainable Land Management in Churia Range, Nepal (SLMCRN)}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2017}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/969/3y7i99ijxh_SLMCRNTerminal_Evaluation_Report_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }