What motivates local leaders of community forests in Nepal? An examination of leaders’ expressed values and experiences

Nepal’s community forestry (CF) program, a globally recognized model of participatory forest management, relies on voluntary local leaders to guide forest management and governance decisions. Sustaining voluntary leadership has become increasingly challenging because of outmigration, declining forest dependence, and growing urban influence on rural livelihoods. In this study, we explore the values and motivations of existing leaders of community forest user groups (CFUGs), which underpin the leadership characteristics in sustaining these local institutions. We surveyed 144 leaders of 49 CFUGs in Nepal’s mid-hills and used their responses as indicators of leadership values, derived from the “Motivation to Lead” and related theoretical frameworks. Using exploratory factor analysis and a multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model, we identify three motivation factors and examine their associations with leaders’ individual and CF characteristics. The results suggest that, out of the 16 indicators, eight explain core values and motives clustered into three latent motivation factors, indicating three axes of leadership motivation in Nepal’s CF program: environmental stewardship, altruism, and power and influence. Leaders were likely to be motivated by either environmental stewardship or altruism. However, leaders motivated by either altruism or environmental stewardship were also motivated by the power and influence. Furthermore, individual leadership characteristics such as leadership position and duration, and CF characteristics such as forest type, support from non-governmental organizations, fire incidences, and leadership experience in local governments, are associated with leadership motivation factors. These findings inform understanding of voluntary leadership drivers in CFUGs, for strengthening and sustaining community-based forest management in Nepal. • We developed a survey to capture CF leaders’ values through response statements. • Factor analysis and a MIMIC model identified three core leadership motivations. • Eight indicators revealed three motivation factors: Stewardship, altruism, power and influence. • Leaders valued either stewardship or altruism, often tied with power and influence. • Leadership role, experience, forest type, NGO aid, and fire events associated with motivations.