Governing the Sectoral Divide: A Polycentric Framework for Integrating Community Forestry and Agricultural Cooperatives in Nepal

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Abstract
Rural development in the Global South requires governance frameworks that bridge the sectoral divides between community-based rural institutions amid compounding socio-economic and climate pressures. Community forestry (CF) and agricultural cooperatives (AC) are two such foundational institutions that operate in institutional silos despite their functional interdependence. Focusing on Nepal through Ostrom’s polycentric governance theory, this study explores:(1) How can the governance structures of CF and AC be analysed through a polycentric lens? (2) What institutional, legal, economic, and socio-cultural factors enable or constrain their collaboration? (3) What models effectively integrate them to strengthen rural resilience? A narrative synthesis of 107 peer-reviewed and grey literature sources (screened from 886 records, spanning 1990-2026) reveals a critical governance paradox: the robust legal foundations for legal collaboration exist, yet a compound governance deficit-fragmented vertical linkages, elite capture, and capacity constraints-prevents operational integration. Building on this diagnostic framework, the study develops a novel conceptualization demonstrating that CF-AC integration improves co-managed resource management, enhances livelihood diversification and climate resilience, and promotes inclusive decision-making. To operationalize these synergies, policymakers should develop integrated governance frameworks that incentivize collaboration through financial support and capacity-building, driving both ecological conservation and agricultural productivity. This study makes three core contributions: (1) theoretically extending polycentric governance to the underexplored CF-AC nexus; (2) analytically combining Ostrom’s design principles with cross-scale analysis to diagnose barriers; and (3) practically proposing three implementable governance models that preserve institutional autonomy, offering transferable insights for developing countries facing coupled socio-ecological challenges.

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