Tree Planting by Smallholder Farmers in the Upper Catchment of Lake Tana Watershed,Northwest Ethiopia

Tree growing by smallholder farmers is an emerging livelihood strategy in Lake Tana catchment. The objectives of this study were to (1) identify the most important tree species grown, (2) investigate the drivers of the existing pattern, and (3) identify determinants of the number and diversity of tree species and their spatial patterns. Survey data were collected from 200 households. Multiple linear regression was employed to identify the determinants of tree growing behaviour of households and spatial variables affecting the abundance of tree species. Eucalyptus globulus, Acacia decurrens and E. camaldulensis dominate woodlots. Only a fraction of the forest production is used by the households, the rest being sold as poles or charcoal. Location in relation to market centres, number of livestock owned, landholding size and age of household head were found to positively affected the number of tree species and trees grown. Gender affected the species and spatial pattern of trees. Woodlots, farm boundaries and homesteads were found to be important tree growing niches. These results substantiate the proposition that farmers assign their parcels of land to uses that increase the rent value of the land, and this value is affected by access to roads. Woodlots are on the increase at the cost of productive agricultural land. Provision of a tree planting extension service may increase participation of farmers in tree planting, and a management-oriented tree planting extension service may give desirable results.     

Indigenous market-oriented agroforestry: dissecting local diversity in western Amazonia

This paper reports on a study of local diversity and variation in indigenous agroforestry practices among Amazonian peasants in a traditional community near Iquitos, Peru. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with agroforestry-reliant households n = 36) on farming practices, demographic characteristics, income-expenditures and household wealth. Visits to crop fields and forest fallows n = 329) allowed the reconstruction of extensive cropping histories. More in-depth assessments of crop occurrence, density and diversity were conducted on 83 fields. Our results indicate considerable variation in field characteristics, agroforestry-cycles, and household agroforestry portfolios. Agroforestry practice is found to be strongly related to access to land within the community: households holding more land use both potentially more sustainable and more lucrative swidden-fallow agroforestry systems. Our results question the view of indigenous agroforestry systems as intrinsically ‘stable, equitable, and sustainable’, and underscore the importance of studying local variation in indigenous agroforestry practices. Promising avenues are discussed for future research on the factors related to the successful adoption of sustainable agroforestry systems. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

集体林地不同经营模式对林地经营投入的影响——以江西省为例

【目的】试图回答集体林地不同经营模式对农户林地资金投入和劳动力投入的影响,以促进森林资源增长和林业可持续发展。【方法】基于江西省集体林区10个样本县50个样本村500户农户调查数据,运用计量模型分析联户经营、股份合作经营对农户林地资金投入和劳动力投入的影响。【结果】联户经营对农户是否参与资金投入具有显著促进作用,其影响系数为1.013,且联户经营对农户资金投入规模也具有显著正向影响,对资金总投入和单位面积投入的影响系数分别为4.174 和1.909;股份合作经营对农户劳动力投入规模具有显著正向影响,对劳动力总投入和单位面积投入的影响系数分别为0.521 和0.180;股份合作经营对采伐政策具有正向调节作用,联户经营和股份合作经营能够减轻偏远山区交通不便对劳动力投入的限制;农户家庭人力资本、林地状况、经济能力等禀赋对农户林地经营投入也具有不同程度影响。【结论】联户经营和股份合作经营能够促进农户林地经营投入,但目前发展程度较低,对林地资金投入和劳动力投入的影响存在较大差异。为促进林业可持续发展,应引导联户经营和股份合作经营的规范化、程序化,尤其在交通偏远的地区,倡导联户经营和股份合作经营,发挥其成员多、信息广等优势;同时,加强集体林权配套改革和林区基础设施改善,增强农户营林积极性。     

Non-timber forest products and household incomes in Bonga forest area,southwestern Ethiopia

We identified the major non-timber forest products （NTFPs）, their contributions to household incomes, and the determinants influenc-ing engagement of households in using NTFPs in the Bonga forest area of Gimbo and Decha Districts of Kaffa Zone, southwest Ethiopia. Six Kebeles （the lowest administrative unit in Ethiopia） were sampled from two Districts and 150 households were randomly sampled using propor-tional-to-size techniques based on the number of farm households in each Kebele. Secondary data were collected from and focus group discussions were conducted with selected individuals. The farmers diversified liveli-hood activities such as crop and livestock production, collection of NTFPs and off-farm activities. NTFPs played a significant role in household incomes. The contribution from the major NTFPs （forest coffee, honey and spices） accounted for 47% of annual household in-come. The role of NTFPs was influenced by a number of factors. Vari-ables including being native to the area （＋）, total land holding （＋）, pos-session of livestock （＋） and access to extension （＋） significantly affected forest coffee production. Age of household head （-）, land holding （＋） and distance of the market from the residence （-） significantly affected honey production. Size of landholding （＋）, distance to market （-） and distance of the forest from the residence （-） were significant variables determining the NTFP incomes derived by the households. Attention is needed in the design of policies and strategies for the well-being of households to the contribution of NTFPs to local incomes and the variables that affect the collection of NTFPs must be considered.     

Conserving Forests in Privatized Commons: Trends and Management Options in an Ifugao Village,Philippines

This study addresses the question, ‘How can remaining forests be conserved when these are already individually privatized, and when the people prefer landuses other than forestry?’ These changes in landuse and forest ownership are demonstrated through a case study of a village in Ifugao, Philippines. A rapid and continued conversion of forest into agricultural land is observed, particularly for vegetable farming. Traditionally, most of the village total land area was under communal land ownership, but now almost half is under de facto private ownership. This transition in land (including forest) ownership is generally attributed to increased demand for land which is further attributed to changes in peoples’ values towards wealth accumulation rather than redistribution, greater integration to the market economy and a shift towards commercial agriculture. Past forest policies have been ineffective in regulating the landuse largely because they have not reflected local reality, and this appears to be true with the present national forest management strategy of community-based forest management. It is argued that the granting of land titles will improve forest conservation because it will improve the enforcement of forest laws and related contractual agreements. Based on the reality of private land ownership, it is further argued that forest policy in IP land should include private (individual, family or household) forest management. Given the possibility that indigenous people may prefer landuses other than forestry or may sell their property for various reasons, policies should regulate landuse as well as make it legal for IPs to transfer rights of ownership to ‘outsiders’. There is scope to improve the implementation of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act in the Philippines.     

Benefits of forests in Cameroon. Global structure,issues involving access and decision-making hiccoughs

Among many other stakes, the economic stake derived from the exploitation of tropical forest resources is a burning issue. This is evidenced by insecurity in intergenerational access to forest resources and financial benefits relating to the latter, on the one hand, and by a deep iniquity at the intra-generational level, on the other hand. The following paper highlights, as a moral, social and policy dilemma, how stakeholders and generations, ‘self-interested’, mark out access to forest resources and to financial benefits relating to the latter. Through intensive participatory research, quantitative data collection, participant observation, future scenarios and some International Forestry Research's social science methods and interactive games (SSM & IG) based on the evaluation of the sustainability of forest management systems, field research conducted in the forest zone of Cameroon on access to forest resources has generated two central results. Firstly, future generations will be confronted—in a dramatic way—to quantitative and qualitative scarcity of forest resources, following their over exploitation by present generations. Secondly, as concerns the intra-generational access benefits generated by commercial exploitation of forests and the assessment of the circulation of forestry fees, there is much inequity, in as much as those benefits are more profitable to a ‘forestry elite’—‘a self-interested block’—than to local communities, who strongly claim to have historical rights over these forests. As a contribution of social science to public knowledge and to policy development, this article is nourishing ‘rational choice’ and ‘rational egoism’ theory and is targeting decision-making processes in the ever first attempt of forest management decentralization and ‘legal’ benefits sharing in Central Africa (the second largest forest of the World). The article recommends the shortening of the distance between decision-making and beneficiaries, downwardly accountability, ‘bottom-up’ mechanisms of public dialogue in forest management and a collaborative infrastructure in the circulation and the distribution of forest benefits.     

Factors Affecting Small-Scale Farmers’ Land Allocation and Tree Density Decisions in an <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acacia decurrens</Emphasis>-Based <Emphasis Type="Italic">taungya</Emphasis> System in Fagita Lekoma District,North-Western Ethiopia

The development of woodlots as an additional source of livelihood and as a land management option for small-scale farmers is a challenging issue in the cereal-based subsistence farming systems of north-western Ethiopia. There is a need to understand why and which factors determine the decisions of small-scale farmers to grow short-rotation woodlots on their land. Data used in this study were collected from a survey of 200 randomly selected households in the region. A Tobit regression model was used to determine predictor variables for farmers’ decisions to allocate land to planting Acacia decurrens (J.C. Wendl.) Willd. and at what density trees are planted on the respective plots. The most important motivations for planting A. decurrens were income, soil fertility management, and soil and water conservation. Having a male head of household, long distance to markets and plots being on marginal land, among other factors, increased the allocation of land to A. decurrens woodlots. Having a male head of household, access to credit and plots being on marginal land, among other factors, increased tree planting density. Age had a negative effect on both allocation of land to woodlots and tree density, whereas farm size had an inverted U-shaped relationship with both decisions. These results suggest that wider expansion of A. decurrens-based plantation systems could be achieved through improving extension, credit access and road infrastructure to connect small-scale farmers to markets and finance.     

Impact of alternative livelihood interventions on household welfare: Evidence from rural Ethiopia

Livelihoods of a large number of households in Ethiopia depend on environmental resources. On the other hand, excessive reliance of households on environmental resources for their sustenance has already lead to high rates of deforestation and forest degradation in Ethiopia. A project was set out to provide alternative livelihood activities in order to improve the welfare of vulnerable families who derive their livelihoods mainly from selling firewood and charcoal. The project provided support to women groups to engage in income generating activities that create alternative means of livelihoods. This paper assesses the impacts of participating in alternative livelihood activities on household welfare and environmental protection in rural Ethiopia. The paper uses data from cross-sectional survey involving 450 sample households to examine the difference in household welfare between project participants and non-participants using propensity score matching and inverse probability weighting estimator with regression adjustment. Empirical results show that participation in alternative livelihood activities has contributed to increment in total grain production, increased household income and adoption of natural resources management technologies. Project households consumed more diverse food across food groups and earned an extra $35 per month from local market sales of tree and fruit seedlings. The result was robust and consistent across models. The findings support the notion that new streams of income generating activities can lead to improvements in household's well-being as well as reduction in environmental degradation.     

Contribution of Indian Gooseberry (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phyllanthus emblica</Emphasis>) to Household Economy in Sri Lanka: A Case Study from Udadumbara Divisional Secretariat

Indian gooseberry, one of the most popular medicinal fruit crops in South and Southeast Asia, has become an important source of income for rural forest dwellers in Sri Lanka. However, very little is known about the role of Indian gooseberry in household economies and its contribution to the local and national economies. To address this issue, we conducted a study in Udadumbara Divisional Secretariat, Sri Lanka to estimate the economic contribution of Indian gooseberry to household incomes and to quantify its dependency level among households with different socio-economic characteristics. The data were collected from 117 households through interviews using semi-structured questionnaires. The results show that Indian gooseberry contributes on average 10.1% of the total household income, which is the third largest share after off-farm income (53.1%) and agricultural income (35.1%). The contribution of Indian gooseberry to the household income increases as other sources of income decrease which results in higher contributions for lower income households (16.4%) and lower contributions for higher income households (2.1%). Indian gooseberry income is significantly and negatively correlated with the agricultural land owned by households and water availability for agriculture and is positively correlated with the time spent for collection. Our results also found that if there is access to other sources of income and higher levels of education, the collectors’ dependences on Indian gooseberry are decreased. Moreover, the study found that Indian gooseberry trees are under a threatened and declining due to the reduction of forest cover and inappropriate management system. Therefore, collaborative management system through partnerships among rural community and the Forest Department is suggested.     

Does communal forest intervention management enhance forest benefits of smallholder farmers? Evidence from Hugumbirda forest,Tigray, Ethiopia

Forest rehabilitation activities within centrally controlled state-owned forests in Ethiopia could not deliver communities with increased income. A study aiming to assess the benefits of forests for smallholder farmers whose land falls close to the state forest was conducted in Hugumbirda and Endedo kebele, two villages located adjacent to the Hugumbirda forest. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 251 randomly selected households living near or adjacent to the state forest. A logit model was used to analyze factors affecting household’s willingness to scale up forests at the communal level. Most of the respondents living near or adjacent to the national forest were found to be dependent on the forest for fuelwood and therefore energy, timber products, and farming equipment. Furthermore, households were found to perceive that communal intervention management is a significant factor in attempts to further scale up forests. Scale-up of forests at the community was one option to enhance the vegetation cover and therefore increase primary production by promoting infiltration and decrease evaporation and runoff water. Finally farmers have suggested the state forest should be devolved to the community to improve the current level of forest contributions to the livelihood of smallholder farmers.     

Understanding the Contribution of Non-timber Forest Products to the Livelihoods of Forest Dwellers in the Northern Zagros in Iran

One of the features of the forest dwellers in the Zagros region of Iran is their dependence on non-timber forest products (NTFPs). These products can play an important role in the livelihood of households located in the forest. The present study aims to determine the most important sources of forest dwellers’ incomes in the northern Zagros in terms of three income groups (lower, middle, and higher), to assess how changes in income are related to types of NTFPs harvested, and to investigate the most significant socio-economic factors determining absolute and relative household revenue from NTFPs. Income in higher- and middle-income groups come predominantly from border trade between Iran and Iraq, comprising 50 and 44 % of relative income, respectively. The main source of income for the lower-income group is remittance and government interest (such as cash subsidies), comprising 31 % of total household annual income. The relative income from NTFPs depends on the income group, varying between 10 and 21 %. Relative income from NTFPs (such as oak acorns, firewood, Gazoo, and Mazooj) for lower-income households is significantly higher than in middle- and higher-income households (p < 0.05). Feed used for grazing livestock in the forest is the most important type of NTFPs in this area, and its benefit in the higher-income group is significantly higher than that for groups with middle and lower income. A similar result is achieved for tree fodder. Relative income from the NTFPs is positively related to number of household members and negatively related to the average education of adult members of the household, the relative income from border trade, and the relative income from agriculture. Our results support our hypothesis that if there is access to other sources of income for forest dwellers, their dependence on forests would be reduced.     

Smallholder Teak and Agrarian Change in Northern Laos

Smallholder teak (Tectona grandis) plantations have become increasingly prominent in the landscape of Luang Prabang Province, Lao PDR. While the global market for teak-wood is attractive, investment has been driven by a range of factors, including changes to land legislation, land-use planning, taxation incentives, and government and non-government programs and promotions. The establishment of teak stands provides a labour-saving land use for households, potentially freeing up household resources for other farm and non-farm opportunities. However, the degree to which households can participate in the industry varies within and between villages. This paper reviews some of the underlying incentives for the expansion of teak plantations, examines the livelihood activities of both teak and non-teak producers in five case study villages in Luang Prabang, and explores the differential outcomes emerging from the expansion of smallholder teak production. The survey revealed that teak planting has been more extensive among households with a longer history of settlement, where the household head is older and better educated, where household members have off-farm sources of income, and where the household has access to paddy land and is thus more likely to be self-sufficient in rice. Households that depend on shifting cultivation for their livelihoods, without access to alternative productive land or income sources, will continue to have difficulty planting teak or holding on to the land they do manage to plant. The paper concludes that the establishment and improvement of teak plantations, like other apparently technical interventions aimed at providing a ‘pathway out of poverty’, need to be seen in the context of wider processes of agrarian change and differentiation to appreciate the resultant impacts on livelihood trajectories.     

Farmers’ Fruit Tree-growing Strategies in the Humid Forest Zone of Cameroon and Nigeria

Many studies have stressed the importance of trees to rural households. Few, however, have focused on actual numbers and densities of trees in different land-use systems. Based on community-level participatory research in six communities, semi-structured household interviews and full-farm fruit tree inventories, this study aims to understand farmers’ tree-planting strategies. Relationships between the diversity, number and density of fruit trees and farm size, land-use system, land tenure, distance from the homestead, proximity to the forest, market access and household characteristics are investigated. The key factors determining the differences in tree-growing strategies between communities appear to be market access, land use and access to forest resources. Within communities, differences between individual households were less easy to explain but tenure was important as was farm size. Smaller farms had higher fruit tree densities, a relationship that was particularly strong in communities with good market access. Overall there was a great deal of variability both within and between communities and many of the factors affecting tree-planting decisions were found to be highly inter-related. Despite this complexity, trees on farm play an important role in rural household's livelihoods. Therefore, expansion of tree cultivation should be recognized as a promising pathway to achieve increased income and food production by policy makers and extensionists alike. In addition to improved tree propagation and management techniques, farmers should be strengthened in the processing and marketing of agroforestry tree products and more emphasis should be placed on the development of tree enterprises. By doing so, farmers will be able to earn a more important and consistent income from fruit trees, contributing to the Millennium Development Goals.     

A short history of Dutch forest policy: The ‘de-institutionalisation’ of a policy arrangement

Over the past thirty years, forest policy in the Netherlands has almost entirely been integrated into nature policy. This process of ‘de-institutionalisation’ is surprising in view of widely accepted theories of institutional stability and ‘path dependency’. The process is investigated in this paper along the four dimensions of the policy arrangement approach: discourse, power, rules and actors. It is argued that a discursive shift, moving the focus from production forest to ‘forest as part of nature’ and fuelled by a number of underlying factors, lies at the heart of the process. In concordance with this shift, advocates of timber autarky lost power in favour of ‘nature advocates’. A more diverse set of actors became involved in forest policy, also reflecting a more general trend in Dutch politics towards greater openness and the erosion of neo-corporatist rules. Thus, changes in all four dimensions of the policy arrangement worked into one direction. This may explain the unusually quick and radical ‘de-institutionalisation’ of Dutch forest policy.     

Law Enforcement in Community Forestry: Consequences for the Poor

Decentralised forest management is believed to hold potential for increased economic and social equity. Implications of the associated local forest law enforcement on livelihoods, however, are not well understood. This paper explores the impacts of local forest law enforcement with a focus on the poorest forest users in community-managed forests. A case study including 14 community forest groups in western Nepal was conducted in 2008. Methods included review of archival data, a stakeholder survey (n?=?211), and recall of forest crimes by a random household sample (n?=?252). Local forest law enforcement was found to detect far more crimes than district-level enforcement. Crimes are primarily small-scale unauthorised appropriation of products for subsistence use by poorer households and rules are lightly enforced. It is argued that local law enforcement, while apparently not economically harmful to the poorer in the short term, may be used to perpetuate existing wealth and cast-based social inequities.     

Analysis of costs and people's willingness to enroll in forest rehabilitation in Gorno Badakhshan,Tajikistan

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, an energy crisis in Tajikistan led to extensive deforestation. Initial financial investment is necessary for the reforestation of the severely degraded areas. In such areas, the State Forest Agency, with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), began to test the Saving Book Approach (SBA) in Gorno Badakhshan region. SBA is a specific scheme of Payments for Ecosystem Services reforestation scheme. Local people participating in SBA receive compensation for six years, if the workload is fulfilled. This research has been carried out in order to analyze people's willingness to enroll in SBA and the suitability of certain forest plots for SBA implementation. The empirical results show that out of the factors tested — ‘benefit expectations’, ‘social pressure’, ‘age’, ‘income’ and ‘ability’, ‘ability’ was the only influential factor for willingness to enroll. ‘Ability’ is defined as the labor force availability, physical ability and amount of available time of the labor force in the household. The suitability of the forest plot depends on the needed investments for reforestation activities. Indeed, the willingness to enroll in SBA of local people does not necessarily match with plot suitability. These findings contribute to the improvement of the determination and understanding of factors that influence local peoples' decision to enroll and thus, provide the international development community with useful information for the design of future payment schemes.     

Contribution of forests to the livelihood of the Chakma community in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh

Natural forests offer numerous benefits to indigenous communities and society at large. Incomes from forest sources play an important role in rural households. In addition to this, environmental sources in the forests contribute significantly to rural households’ livelihoods and economic well-being. This paper examines the contributions of forests to the livelihoods of the Chakma tribe in Bangladesh. Using the data from 60 randomly sampled households from three villages, it measured forest-resource use with a monetary yardstick. As revealed through analyses, natural forest-sourced income occupies the second-largest share in total average household income next to shifting cultivation income in the study area. Forest products represent an important component in the local livelihoods, with a direct forest income of 11,256?tk?year^?1?household^?1 (tk = taka, the national currency of Bangladesh; US$1?=?tk70), or 11% of the total income, in addition to the households receiving monetary benefits of 18,951?tk?year^?1?household^?1, or 21% of the total income, through the consumption of forest products. The remaining income came from shifting cultivation practice. It was also observed that larger families with more people gathering forest products realized more forest income. This study will be relevant to forest and environmental policy-makers as well as indigenous community development practitioners.     

Economic dependence on mangrove forest resources for livelihoods in the Sundarbans,Bangladesh

This study examines the importance of mangrove resources to the livelihoods of people living beside the world's largest contiguous mangrove forest. Median annual household income was USD 1122, based on household survey data from 264 households in six villages adjacent to the Sundarbans, in Khulna, Bangladesh. Forest income represented 74% and 48% of the total household income for the lower and middle income households respectively, but just 23% for higher income households. Although higher income households derived a larger absolute income from forest resources than the lower income households, the addition of forest income to household income reduces measured income inequality by 27% suggesting that forests offer a more egalitarian source of income than most other sources at the study sites. Thus reducing forest income as a result of reduced access to forest resources would greatly affect the livelihood outcomes for the rural poor and increase wealth discrepancies among households near the forest margins.     

Forest utilization patterns and socio-economic status of the Van Gujjar tribe in sub-Himalayan tracts of Uttarakhand, India

The present study was conducted on the Van Gujjar tribe inhabiting a sub-Himalayan tract in the North Western Himalayas of Uttarakhand State,India.The Van Gujjars have been practicing transmigration over hundreds of years.They migrate each year with their households and livestock between summer and winter pastures.A few years ago with the announcement of the establishment of the Rajaji National Park,the tribe has been forced out of the forest area and rehabilitated outside the park,which has affected their lifestyle.The newly established rehabilitation colony in the Gandikhata area of Haridwar District of Uttarakhand State was taken as a case study.The aims of the present study were to understand and evaluate the socio-economic status of the Van Gujjars in their newly established rehabilitation colony,the utilization pattern of forest resources by the tribe and their relative preference for selective trees for various uses.A total of 176 households were interviewed (giving equal weight to all economic classes and family every size) by using pre-structured questionnaires.The education level was very low (12.9%) and the average income per household was recorded as Rs.36000 (approximately $ 803) per year.The major source of income was dairy production (80.6%) followed by labor employment (13.9%),NTFPs (4.2%) and agricultural production (1.4%).More than 90% of fuel wood and fodder is extracted from the forest.The average fuel wood and fodder consumptions per household per day were recorded as 25.86 and 21.58 kg,respectively.A total of 35 species of cultivated plants and 89 species of wild plants were found to be utilized as food sources.Selectively 25 wild tree species are well known as being used by the Van Gujjars as fodder,fuel wood,agricultural implements,household articles,dye,medicine,fiber and other products.According to their utility value,the most preferred and useful tree species is Ougeinia oojeinensis,followed by Terminalia alata,Bombax ceiba,Shorea robusta and Dalbergia sissoo.