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Peer-reviewedCC BYCell Reports Sustainability

Community management and material wellbeing limit forest loss following precipitation anomalies

  • Matt Clark1
  • Adam M. Sykulski1
  • Siyu Liu2
  • Alexandros Sfyridis1
  • Thomas Pienkowski3
  • Birendra Karna4
  • Johan A. Oldekop5
  • Sushma Shrestha Sangat6
  • Cecylia Watrobska1
  • Martin Brandt7
  • Morena Mills1
7 affiliations
  1. 1Imperial College London
  2. 2University of Copenhagen
  3. 3University of Kent
  4. 4ForestAction Nepal
  5. 5University of Manchester
  6. 6Conservation International
  7. 7Københavns Universitet
Open at sourceDOICite

Abstract

Community-based conservation initiatives are essential for mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss. Yet, the communities leading these efforts are themselves disproportionately impacted by climate change. Despite this, there is little insight about how resilient community-based conservation institutions are to extreme weather and how contextual factors, such as material wellbeing, further affect their durability. We examined this dynamic across nearly 20,000 community-managed forests in Nepal using high-resolution mapping of forest change from 2018–2023. Our analysis revealed that, without community management, tree clearing doubled in response to anomalous precipitation patterns. In contrast, community-managed forests showed no change in tree loss, with resilience to extreme weather similarly bolstered by community wellbeing. Unlike formal protected areas, community-managed forests also maintain local access to essential resources, likely limiting tree harvesting by encouraging cultivation of non-timber forest products. These findings underscore the vulnerability of forests to climate instability and the protective potential of local management.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{clark2026community,
  title = {{Community management and material wellbeing limit forest loss following precipitation anomalies}},
  author = {Matt Clark and Adam M. Sykulski and Siyu Liu and Alexandros Sfyridis and Thomas Pienkowski and Birendra Karna and Johan A. Oldekop and Sushma Shrestha Sangat and Cecylia Watrobska and Martin Brandt and Morena Mills},
  journal = {Cell Reports Sustainability},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100903},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100903},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Community management and material wellbeing limit forest loss following precipitation anomalies
AU  - Matt Clark
AU  - Adam M. Sykulski
AU  - Siyu Liu
AU  - Alexandros Sfyridis
AU  - Thomas Pienkowski
AU  - Birendra Karna
AU  - Johan A. Oldekop
AU  - Sushma Shrestha Sangat
AU  - Cecylia Watrobska
AU  - Martin Brandt
AU  - Morena Mills
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/01
JO  - Cell Reports Sustainability
DO  - 10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100903
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100903
AB  - Community-based conservation initiatives are essential for mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss. Yet, the communities leading these efforts are themselves disproportionately impacted by climate change. Despite this, there is little insight about how resilient community-based conservation institutions are to extreme weather and how contextual factors, such as material wellbeing, further affect their durability. We examined this dynamic across nearly 20,000 community-managed forests in Nepal using high-resolution mapping of forest change from 2018–2023. Our analysis revealed that, without community management, tree clearing doubled in response to anomalous precipitation patterns. In contrast, community-managed forests showed no change in tree loss, with resilience to extreme weather similarly bolstered by community wellbeing. Unlike formal protected areas, community-managed forests also maintain local access to essential resources, likely limiting tree harvesting by encouraging cultivation of non-timber forest products. These findings underscore the vulnerability of forests to climate instability and the protective potential of local management.
SN  - 2949-7906
ER  -