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Summary:

Sustainable socio-economic development of the upper slope regions of Nepal is reliant on the efficient management of community or common property resources (e.g. forest and non-timber forest products (NTFP), pasture and animals). The Yak crossbred production system is an integral component of the ecosystem in the Upper Slope areas of Nepal. It is a major economic activity, heavily reliant on pastureland and oak forest (Quercus semicarpifolia) resources. However, over the past two decades, these resources have been increasingly exploited and the available natural resources are now estimated to be beyond the limit of regeneration. As a result, the oak forests are showing signs of deterioration with poor regeneration. the alpine pastures are heavily infested with undesirable and unpalatable weeds and quality and quantity of feed production is deteriorating rapidly. Available medicinal and aromatic plants and other forest products have also seen a dramatic decline in many areas.
Over the last two years, the Nepal Australia Community Resource Management Project (NACRMP) has been currently working towards a management strategy for the upper slope resources of the Central Region of Nepal. NACRMP's approach involves the use of Participatory Action Research methodologies as a framework to empower communities and encourage collaborative decision-making. The major principles of the NACRMP strategy include:

•	the use of indigenous knowledge and local organisations;
•	a participatory approach involving all stakeholders;
•	a system approach that considers environmental, socio-economic, and production demands;
•	identification of appropriate interventions directed towards resolving livestock grazing related issues and
•	an evolutionary approach to the management and protection of upper slope through existing forest policy and legislation.

The major efforts of NACRMP are focused on:

•	improved oak forest and pastureland management practices;
•	formation of Forest User Groups (FUGs) responsible for the management of the community forests ( primarily oak forest) near their villages and
•	development of grazing and NTFP user right systems for those communities forests.

Keywords: Upper slopes, oak forests, participatory action approach, common property resources, pasture development.