Farmers' responsibilization in payment for environmental services: Lessons from community forestry in Nepal

Highlights

• Farmers show substantial concern and emphasize personal action in response to water scarcity in community forestry.

• Farmers are willing to pay for irrigation water services in the community forest if sustainable supply of water resources is assured.

• Well-being status and gender have substantial influence on the individual farmer's willingness to pay for environmental services.

• Changing form of environmental governance in community forestry might lead to two-way responsibilization of service providers and receivers, thus opening a new discourse in payment for environmental services.

Abstract

As attention to individual responsibility and the potential for self-realization through responsibilization grows, there is a need for better understanding of how environmental governance is also changing. In considering changes in community forestry priorities, from reversing deforestation to environmental governance, it is essential to understand how environmental responsibilities are being shifted to individuals and how people react to particular environmental conditions within such changes. In community forestry, farmers` decisions to receive and provide environmental services are guided by rational choices and market mechanisms. This study assessed how farmers value irrigation water supply services from community forests based on the economic and environmental importance of these services. The study also investigated whether responsibilization persists and reframes individual choices to pay for environmental services. Rajapani community forest user group in Rupandehi district, Nepal, was selected for the study due to its ongoing procedures to supply water for irrigation in the village. For data collection farmers were purposively selected to represent different well-being status, gender and distance of paddy field from the water source. Contingent valuation and focus group discussions were employed as research methods. The study revealed that mean willingness of the farmers to pay was USD 77.13 per ha per year for irrigation water. Distance from paddy field to water source, well-being status, education, age, gender and caste of the farmers were tested against willingness to pay (WTP). Pearson correlation tests showed distance of paddy field from water source, well-being status and gender have a substantial influence on the individual's WTP. Farmers also expressed substantial concern for the sustainability of water resources, and were exposed to responsibilizing discourses mainly because they were willing to emphasize personal action to respond to the situation and overcome potential imposed threats of climate change. The shifting forms of environmental governance have implications for responsibilizing service providers and receivers in payment for environmental services, and opens a new discourse in community forestry.