Community Development Organization (CDO) is a right based non-governmental organization, engaged on issues of social/environmental justice and ecological democracy. Local people's - marginalized social groups in particular - access, right, control over natural resources especially " Jal, Jungle and Jamin " (water, forest and land) to ensure livelihood security has been CDO's key area of work. CDO is a pioneer pro poor NGO working on rights issues concerning protected areas in Nepal . CDO has been advocating for 'community conserved areas' and participatory management of protected areas.

In an expanded democratic space after 1990 people's movement, clamor and claims of marginalized social groups began to articulate in organized forms. Yet they could not exercise their rights in practice. In the pretext of hierarchical Nepali society rhetoric of 'development' could not percolate the grass roots that could transform social/power relations. Critical linkages between people's rights and subaltern vision of progress are often missed. CDO attempts to deconstruct conventional paradigm of 'development'.

Politics and conflict over natural resources are intertwined with politics of survival for poor and marginalized. CDO recognizes social ecology and livelihood as integral component of bio diversity conservation and believes in coexistence of people, nature and wilderness. With its potentials of grass roots activism it has been facilitating local movements and advocating for the cause of natural resource dependent tribal and indigenous nationalities and other minority groups ( Bote, Majhi, Musahar, Kumal, Chepang, Darai & Madheshi dalits).