Strengthening governance for people and forests: A SAGE assessment in Barandabhar Forest Protection Area, Nepal

The Barandabhar Forest Protection Area (BFPA) in Nepal’s Chitwan district forms a crucial corridor connecting Chitwan National Park with the Mahabharat hills. Spanning 10,302 hectares, it is home to vast sal (Shorea robusta) and broadleaf forests, wetlands and riverine grasslands. It is a vital landscape for biodiversity conservation and habitat connectivity.

The protection area supports diverse wildlife, including endangered species like the one-horned rhinoceros, the Asian elephant and the Bengal tiger. It is an Important Bird Area (IBA), home to globally threatened bird species such as the lesser adjutant, the Pallas’s fish eagle, and the Great hornbill.

The protection area is divided into a fringe area managed by 17 community forest user groups (CFUGs) and a core area governed under a dedicated management plan. While the BFPA is a testament to community-based conservation, like many protected areas, it too faces governance, equity and participation challenges.

RECOFTC Nepal facilitated a site-level assessment of governance and equity (SAGE) at BFPA under the ‘Scaling-up equitable governance in area-based conservation’ (SEGA) project to better understand and address these challenges. Our goal has been to ensure that site-level actors are able to gauge the status of governance and equity implementation in conservation practices, and to plan actions for further implementation accordingly.

What is SAGE?

As a concept and practice, SAGE enables site-level actors to achieve better social and conservation outcomes. As a participatory assessment methodology, it was developed under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) framework to assess the quality of governance and equity in protected and conserved areas (PCAs).

SAGE is grounded in 10 globally recognized principles of equitable governance, ranging from respect for rights and participation in decision-making to transparency, accountability and equitable benefit sharing. It is a process-based tool structured into three phases. The first, preparation, involves introducing tools, building site profiles and identifying stakeholders through community meetings. The second, assessment, covers participatory scoring and dialogue based on governance principles. Finally, taking action, the third phase, includes communicating results and supporting implementation of identified improvement actions.

What did the SAGE assessment in Barandabhar look like?

The BFPA SAGE assessment followed this holistic structure and engaged six site-level actor groups: the Barandabhar Forest Protection Council, the Division Forest Office (DFO), local governments, CFUGs, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and women’s groups.

Phase 1: Preparation

The preparation phase was about aligning all stakeholders and ensuring a solid foundation for the assessment. We organized training sessions for convenors and co-facilitators responsible for guiding the process and supporting discussions with community members. A stakeholder analysis identified key actors – local communities, forest officials and other groups – with an influence and interest in the forest.

We helped develop a detailed site profile, drawing from both primary data collected from local stakeholders and secondary policy documentation to understand the forest’s ecological and social contexts, including potential threats, benefits for local livelihoods, and community rights. These steps helped ensure that the assessment would be fair, participatory and well-organized.

We identified key threats to conservation in the area – poaching; crop damage and livestock loss due to human–wildlife conflict; illegal collection of forest resources like firewood, fodder and wild vegetables; and unplanned road construction activities that lead to floods and landslides.

The entire process was taken forward with the rights and roles of different actors in mind. We were cognizant of community members’ rights to access forest resources and participate in local planning, and worked to ensure that women, Dalits (social groups historically marginalized in Hindu caste society) and Indigenous Peoples were represented in decision-making. The process also recognized the benefits of conservation and development activities such as nature-based tourism, skill-based employment for men and women, infrastructure development, capacity building, financial independence for women and improved wildlife protection.

Phase 2: Assessment

We trained lead and assistant facilitators, equipping them with the skills to guide discussions. The SAGE questionnaire was reviewed and adapted to ensure readiness for the site-level assessment. From 25–30 April 2025, the Barandabhar Forest Protection Council, the DFO, local governments, CFUGs, NGOs and women’s groups participated in separate assessments.

Following these, a synthesis workshop was held on 2–3 May 2025 to verify evidence and discuss actionable steps. Drawing on participant discussions, the number of action ideas generated, scores on the principles, and the merging of action plans with similar themes, eight governance principles were consolidated into six – respect for rights, participation in decision-making, transparency and accountability, mitigation of negative impacts, equitable benefit sharing, and coordination-collaboration.

We conducted a participatory prioritization exercise to help evaluate proposed actions based on importance (impact on conservation and community well-being) and feasibility (practicality given available resources, skills and time). All efforts were to ensure that the final action plan focused on initiatives that were meaningful, achievable and reflective of diverse perspectives. Throughout the facilitation process, our goal was to help stakeholders interpret governance scores and collaboratively develop a plan for effective reform and forest management.

Phase 3: Taking action

Building on the insights generated during the assessment, stakeholders formulated a set of actionable outcomes under the prioritized governance principles. These range from raising awareness of gender and resource rights to strengthening local government involvement and simplifying grievance procedures. Clear implementation pathways were defined, outlining responsibilities, budget considerations and indicative timelines.

This action phase – currently in motion as part of an ongoing implementation plan – focuses on disseminating results, mobilizing stakeholder engagement and initiating early reforms. It also focuses on capacity building and, where necessary, technical and financial assistance. These steps are intended to build trust among actors and signal a collective commitment to improving governance in forest landscapes.

What can we expect as implementation progresses?

Looking ahead, the SAGE assessment in Barandabhar marks a significant move toward democratizing forest governance in Nepal. By offering a participatory and structured platform for reflection, it has enabled stakeholders to co-create solutions that uphold biodiversity conservation while centering the rights and well-being of forest-dependent communities.

As implementation progresses, RECOFTC Nepal and our partners remain dedicated to supporting BFPA in fostering a governance system that is more inclusive, accountable and resilient.

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Barshani Joshi is knowledge management and communication officer at RECOFTC Nepal.

The SEGA project is a four-year project that aims to promote equitable governance in protected, conserved and biodiversity-rich forest areas in Nepal. The project uses the Site Level Assessment on Governance and Equity (SAGE) tool to assess governance and equity in biodiversity conservation and oversee ecosystem services, including benefit-sharing schemes. Through the application of SAGE, site-level actors are empowered to improve social and conservation outcomes.