In recent decades, out-migration has become a key livelihood strategy for many rural households in the middle hills region of Nepal. In this region, rural communities are key actors in the management of local resources such as community forests. Analysis of the link between community forests and out-migration is largely missing in the literature, even though the demographic changes associated with out-migration affect forest resource use and management. This article discusses how rural communities and traditional landscapes in the middle hills are changing following out-migration and how this process has changed the management by rural communities of local forests (including community forests). Overall, the research found a reduced dependency by households on forest products (e.g. firewood, fodder and timber) sourced from community forests. Also, the reduced demand is being supplied increasingly from trees/forests grown on private farmland, including natural regenerated forests and trees planted on abandoned farmland. The declining need for forest products and the lack of an economic incentive for active forest management coupled with a decreasing sense of community has reduced the interest in community forests, leading to less intensive and infrequent forest management. Given the prevalence of out-migration and the changing socio-economic context in the middle hills, it appears time to reconsider the management of community forests beyond a narrow range of uses to enable greater commercialization and encourage ecosystem services to be harnessed so community forests better align with contemporary rural livelihoods and landscapes.

在最近几十年中，对于尼泊尔中部山区的许多农村家庭来说，外出移民已成为一项重要的谋生策略。在该地区，农村社区是社区森林等当地资源管理的主要参与者。尽管与人口外迁有关的人口变化影响森林资源的使用和管理，但文献中仍然缺少对社区森林与人口外迁之间联系的分析。本文讨论了外迁后农村社区和中山传统景观的变化，以及这一过程如何改变了农村社区对当地森林（包括社区森林）的管理。总体而言，研究发现，家庭对社区森林来源的林产品（例如木柴，饲料和木材）的依赖性降低。还，减少的需求越来越多地来自私人农田上种植的树木/森林，包括天然再生森林和废弃农田上种植的树木。对森林产品的需求下降，缺乏积极的森林管理的经济动力，加上社区意识的下降，降低了人们对社区森林的兴趣，导致森林集约化和不经常性的管理减少。鉴于中部丘陵地区普遍存在外来移民和不断变化的社会经济环境，现在似乎有必要重新考虑对社区森林的管理，而不仅仅是在狭窄的用途范围内进行，以实现更大的商业化并鼓励利用生态系统服务，从而更好地利用社区森林。与当代农村生计和景观保持一致。