Livelihood Strategies and Forest Product Utilisation of Rural Households in Nepal

Most Nepalese rural households adopt diversified strategies of income generation and use products directly collected from forests. To analyse the influence of livelihood strategy on forest product utilisation, a survey of 336 rural households in lowland Nepal was conducted. Four livelihood strategies were identified by means of a Principal Component Analysis based on income variables, followed by hierarchical cluster analysis. Two livelihood strategies are assigned to on-farm activities and two to off-farm activities. The off-farm based strategies were found to result in higher household incomes. To test for differences across the livelihood strategies, additional socio-demographic variables, physical assets and location information have been analysed using ANOVA. The forest product utilisation behaviour of the households differs significantly between livelihood strategies. The households adopting a subsistence-based strategy collect the most forest products while achieving the lowest total income. However, a general influence of the total household income on the forest utilisation intensity is not confirmed. Households receiving remittances from abroad achieve the highest incomes but still collect forest products. The group of most forest-dependent households is mainly characterised by living near the forest and far from city centres with commodity and labour markets, and by having low education and a young head of household. The households relying mainly on private business income have the lowest forest product utilisation and are characterised by the highest education, proximity to markets and greatest area of agricultural land.     

Understanding the role of forests in rural household economies: experiences from the Northern and Western provinces of Rwanda

Forests have conventionally been seen as a source of products for sustaining resource-poor households. Nonetheless, forest management strategies have often not been designed to meet these pressing needs. The objectives of this research were to examine the contribution of forest products to household income and determine the level of forest dependence among poor households in four sectors selected from the Musanze and Nyabihu districts of Rwanda. A multistage sampling process was used to select 165 households in a questionnaire-based survey. Data analysis was mainly based on a binary probit regression model checked for multicollinearity, hetero- scedasticity and specification bias. Forest products accounted for 31% of annual household income. Household location, number of cattle owned, and household size had a positive and significant effect on dependence on forest resources (p < 0.05). However, gender was significant at the 10% level (p < 0.1). Forests have a plural role for the rural poor and this justifies the implementation of sustainable forest management strategies. There is a need to improve the use of agroforestry innovations to enhance the contribution of forests to rural incomes. This can be achieved through a multisectoral approach involving training of rural farmers in appropriate technologies.     

The economic contribution of forest resource use to rural livelihoods in Tigray,Northern Ethiopia

By explicitly incorporating forest environmental products (FEPs) in household income accounting, this paper examines the role and significance of FEPs in household income and in rural poverty and inequality. As most conventional household surveys do not incorporate income from environmental sources, substantial gaps exist in our understanding of the actual functioning of rural economies and the extent of rural poverty and inequality. Using data from 360 randomly sampled rural households from 12 villages in Tigray (northern Ethiopia), we measure forest environmental resource use with a monetary yardstick and compares the value of FEPs with other household economic activities. We found that products from environmental sources represent an important component in rural livelihoods. Our analyses indicate that in the study area income from forest environmental sources occupies the second largest share in average total household income next to crop income. Poverty and inequality analyses show that incorporating forest environmental incomes in household accounts significantly reduces measured rural poverty and income inequality. Therefore, we suggest that sustainable forest management schemes should be adopted to maintain and enhance the flow of economic benefits to the surrounding communities without damaging the natural resource system.     

Living on the forests: Women and household security in Nigeria

A survey was conducted to obtain information about the use of forest products by rural women for sustaining food and financial security at household level in the Nigerian rainforest zone. Data analysis reveals that the rural women are heavily engaged in harvesting, processing and marketing of forest products; collection of forest products is a specialised activity based on acquired skills and an ecological knowledge of the forests; and collection of medicinal plants is shrewd in secrecy and involves the performance of rituals. Net income generated from natural forests by rural women in the study area varies from about N23,000 to N113,080 per household per season. Forest regeneration has received little attention from both the rural communities and government and this tends to undermine sustained use of the forests.     

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.     

非木质林产品与减少贫困研究综述

在我国日益成为世界主要林产品生产和对外贸易大国,而林区尤其是偏远山区非木质林产品资源丰富却普遍贫困的背景下,文中从非木质林产品与居民收入增加、非木质林产品与粮食安全、非木质林产品与乡村安全网、非木质林产品的市场化等方面,结合我国的研究和实际情况总结非木质林产品与减少贫困的研究概况,对已有的相关研究结论和研究方法进行评析,讨论现有研究特点和不足,并从我国的客观实际出发展望如何利用和开发非木质林产品来减少贫困,增加林区居民收入。     

The role of nontimber tree products in household food procurement strategies: profile of a Sri Lankan village

Reliance on nontimber forest products from homegardens and forests in a Sri Lankan village is presented. Land and tree tenure in this village adjacent to the Sinharaja Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Reserve have shifted dramatically because of changing priorities in forest management recently shifting from utilization toward complete forest protection. Local residents must adapt to a new set of social circumstances. Household demographics, access to land, and income from nontimber forest products (NTFPs) and external employment are examined as pertinent to household food acquisition. Linear correlations show significant associations between income generated from the sale of agricultural produce and nontimber forest products and the amount of money allocated to food purchases. Fifty-five edible plant species were found in homegardens. Four forest tree species provide food regularly. Case studies are essential in increasing the natural resource manager's awareness about the role of agroforestry in protected areas management and his or her understnading of promoting protection without compromising subsistence needs.     

Role of homestead forests in household economy and factors affecting forest production: a case study in southwest Bangladesh

Empirical information regarding the role of homestead forests in household economy is essential in understanding the importance of these resources. Identification of the factors that affect homestead forest production and understanding forest owners' attitudes toward key forest management issues have great significance in making appropriate policy responses to manage these resources on a sustainable basis. In Bangladesh, homestead forests are claimed to play an important economic role in rural livelihoods, but no reliable quantitative information exists. This study was undertaken to investigate the role of homestead forests in the household economy, examine if forest production and income vary across landholding size classes, to explore the relationships of homestead forest production with species richness, education level, and household size, and to assess the attitude of homestead forest owners toward key forest management issues. Results show that homestead forests contribute 15.9% of the household income and generate 51.4 man-days of employment per household per year. Production of homestead forests significantly varies across landholding size classes. It was observed that forest production depends significantly on species richness of homestead forests and the education level of forest owners. However, no such relationship was found between forest production and household size. The study revealed that farming families depend more on forest income than nonfarming families. Attitudes of forest owners toward key forest management issues differ significantly across landholding size classes. For example, although the majority of the forest owners prefer fruit species to timber species, the percentage of respondents decreased as the landholding size class increased, while the opposite trend was observed for timber species. The findings of this study suggest that diversification of forests and extension of education amongst forest owners would improve forest production. Furthermore, forest policy should address the concerns of the forest owners in different landholding classes and focus on their specific requirements to enhance sustainable forest management.     

Homestead forest resources and their role in household economy: A case study in the villages of Gazipur Sadar Upazila of central Bangladesh

This study examines the species composition, diversity and economic importance of homestead forests in the household economy of central Bangladesh. The study documents 57 homestead forest species and their main usage in 90 households across three villages of Gazipur Sadar Upazila. Homestead forests in Bangladesh comprise a mixture of fruit, timber and bamboo species. While superficially homestead forestry appears unimportant in rural livelihoods, in reality the contribution is huge, both as a source of food security and for other necessary household materials. A clear understanding of the physical characteristics and economic role of homestead forests in rural livelihoods is vital for ensuring sustainable resource management. Income and production of homestead forestry on a per hectare basis are found to vary widely between landholding size classes. Significant relationships are identified between forest performance (production and income) and species richness and education level. Homestead forestry appears to be a potential subsistence income generating land-use practice in the study area. The economic scope of homestead forestry can be further enhanced provided the appropriate species composition of the forest is achieved and the education of forest owners is ensured through targeted management and policy interventions.     

农林复合经营系统的一种重要形式——庭园林业

庭园林业是农林复合经营系统的一种高级形式,它在农村发展中具有战略意义。文中介绍了第三世界一些国家的发展情况,着重介绍了我国南方农村某些成功范例。作者还提出当前存在的主要问题和对策。     

The comparative value of wild and domestic plants in home gardens of a South African rural village

Rural inhabitants make considerable use of wild resources from communal areas around their settlements, as well as from arable and residential plots. These wild resources compete with the main crops planted in arable plots and home gardens, but play a significant economic and nutritional role in rural livelihoods. This paper reports upon a conservative financial evaluation of the wild plant resources harvested from home gardens and arable plots by inhabitants of rural village in the Bushbuckridge lowveld (South Africa), and examines their importance relative to other domesticated crops. On average, each household made use of four to five species of wild plants growing on their residential plot, whereas the mean number of crop plants was 3.4. The total value of all plants was R1694 (US$ 269) per household per year, or approximately R4200 (US$ 667) per hectare of home garden per year. Wild plants represented 31% of the value of all plants grown on residential plots, relative to the 69% for domesticated crops (including fruit trees). Approximately 72% of the total value of all plant products was consumed by the household, and the remaining 28% was sold.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

农户家庭收支视角的我国集体林权制度改革成效实证分析——基于2010-2015年7省林改监测面板数据

采用国家林业局集体林权制度改革监测2010-2015年连续6年7省的农户数据,利用非平衡面板数据模型分析集体林权制度改革成效及其影响因素。结果表明,集体林权制度改革中期以后农户家庭林业生产经营投资和涉林收入增长乏力;进一步分析其原因发现,农户家庭劳动力数量、林地规模和配套扶持政策会显著促进农户对集体林的经营和投资,而林权不稳定和不完整对农户林业投资有较大的负向影响。应积极稳妥推动流转,培育新型规模经营主体;稳定和加强有关扶持政策,引导农户持续经营投入;完善相关基本立法,强化农户林权的安全完整性。     

Technical efficiency in timber production and effects of other income sources

In Norway, as in many other European countries, income from forestry has become marginal to owners’ household economies and most employment of forest-owner households is now undertaken off the property. Also, many forest owners have focused increasingly on other revenue-earning activities on their properties, such as providing recreational services. It is a challenge in all kinds of production to find the optimal way of converting inputs into outputs, i.e., to be technically efficient. Extent of financial dependency on income from forestry differs between part-time and full-time forest owners. Since the two groups have different livelihood strategies, it is plausible that full-time forest owners have more professional forest management practices. Data for a cross-section of 3,249 active (i.e., harvesting) forest owners were extracted from the 2004 Sample Survey of Agriculture and Forestry representing the year 2003. A stochastic production frontier analysis was applied to evaluate forest management efficiency impacts of important factors including property and owner characteristics, outfield-related and agricultural activities, off-property income and geographical location in central or remote areas. It was found that many forest owners are technically inefficient, and there exist opportunities for improved performance. Off-property income was found to have an estimated negative impact on technical efficiency, the inefficiency arising (weakly) with increasing share of household incomes from outfield activities, and properties in urban centred areas are less efficient than those in remote areas. One policy implication of the study is that a potentially substantial efficiency increase might be achieved from allowing small inefficient woodlots to merge into larger units of forestry production. Also, providing support for forest management plans may improve efficiency.     

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.     

The relative importance of community forests,government forests,and private forests for household-level incomes in the Middle Hills of Nepal

To investigate the household-level economic importance of income from forests under different tenure arrangements, data were collected from 304 stratified randomly sampled households within 10 villages with community forest user groups in Tanahun District, Western Nepal. We observed that forest income contributed 5.8% to total household income, ranging from 3.8% in the top income quartile to 17.4% in the lowest quartile. Analyses of poverty indices and Gini decomposition showed that incorporating forest incomes in total household income reduces measured rural poverty and income inequality. Community forestry income constituted 49.7% of forest income, followed by 27.5% from government-managed forest, and 22.8% from private forests/trees. Community forestry income, however, contributed more than other sources of forest income to income inequality, indicating elite capture. We argue that a full realisation of community forestry's poverty reduction and income equalizing potential requires modifications of rules that govern forest extraction and pricing at community forest user group level.     

Non-Timber Forest Products Marketing Systems and Market Players in Southwest Virginia

Abstract

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are important in rural southwest Virginia as a source of household income. Marketing system of crafts, medicinal and herbal, and specialty wood products are studied using exploratory and qualitative research methods. Fifty market players at various levels in marketing chains are interviewed to get the information on elements of marketing system -products, product differentiation, value addition, pricing, promotion, distribution, and marketing chains. NTFP trade is a common phenomenon in southwest Virginia. The greatest opportunity exists for local level marketing of crafts and specialty wood products. In the case of medicinal and herbal products, very little local value addition takes place within the region, and as a result local market players have little control. Policy interventions are required to enhance the returns to local collectors, which will also contribute to sustainable management of forest resources.     

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.     

NTFP income contribution to household economy and related socio-economic factors: Lessons from Bangladesh

Exploring extent and pattern of non-timber forest product (NTFP) income contribution to livelihoods of forest-adjacent people and the income related socio-economic factors is crucial in designing any development and conservation initiative. This paper examines NTFPs' role in contributing to the household economy and how different socio-economic factors may influence this contribution. Field methods involved quantitative and qualitative data collection of forest-adjacent households of Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. Results show that the contribution of different types of NTFPs to household economy varies in terms of subsistence and cash income. However, overall NTFP income is much higher than income from timber or firewood which indicates a larger dependence of the households on NTFPs. Income data analysis also finds that the poor households are relatively more dependent on NTFPs for their subsistence and cash income than the better-off households. Moreover, the study reveals that there are many other socio-economic factors at the household level such as number of members in household and total value of household implements and furniture that are significantly correlated with the NTFP income. More site-specific applied research on NTFP income and influential factors is necessary to generalize the findings for other parts of the world with similar socio-economic and environmental settings.