Forest use and agriculture in Ucayali,Peru: Livelihood strategies,poverty and wealth in an Amazon frontier

The relevance of forests to rural well-being and poverty reduction remains a controversial issue. This paper examines patterns of association between household wealth, poverty, and livelihood dependency either on forest extraction or agricultural activities in Ucayali, Peru. The analysis is based on survey data of 578 households with geographical, ethnic and environmental heterogeneity. A typology of economic strategies was defined through relative income shares derived from agriculture, forest, wages and other income sources. Our results show that households have multifaceted livelihood systems. While forest/environmental products provide nearly 40% of total income, agriculture is critical to both indigenous communities and to farmers of non-Amazonian origin. We test the hypothesis that households relying on agriculture are wealthier than forest-dependent households. In addition, we examine the role played by ethnicity and location as interacting variables. The analysis suggests a strong role of specific ethnic and locational configurations in shaping income and asset patterns, with some weak evidence of statistically lower poverty levels being credited to dependency on forest products. Context-specific assessments of livelihood–environment interactions provide critical insights to development and environmental policies and programs, which need to recognize different forms through which households integrate forest use and agriculture.     

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.     

Dynamics of rural livelihoods and environmental reliance: Empirical evidence from Nepal

Using environmentally augmented panel dataset of 2009 and 2012 from four districts in Nepal, we assess environmental reliance of households in different livelihood strategies and dynamic transition groups. We employ a latent class cluster analysis to determine the optimal number of livelihood clusters and assign individual households to particular cluster; and regression models were used to examine the covariates of change in environmental income and reliance. The analysis identifies six distinct livelihood clusters in terms of asset investment in different livelihood activities. Results show that majority of households persist in the relatively lower remunerative livelihood strategies between 2009 and 2012. Environmental income is important to all livelihood strategies. However, households in the least remunerative strategy and downward transition group have higher environmental reliance. It is also found that households with upward transition are likely to have reduced environmental dependency. Hence, enhancement of poverty reduction strategies in supporting poorer household in asset accumulation and undertake alternative higher remunerative livelihood strategies will eventually reduce the pressure and dependency on environment. Furthermore, conservation policies and natural resource management are critical in the study areas to sustain the increased demands on environmental products and services.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Can Biodiversity Conservation Benefit Local People? Costs and Benefits at a Strict Protected Area in Uganda

This article examines the livelihoods and experiences of local people after two decades of living close to a strict protected area (PA). A total of 290 local PA neighbors and 60 key informants were interviewed. Findings reveal a limited access to assets and low incomes. An average PA neighbor earns US$0.5 per adult equivalent unit (AEU)/day. PA proximity is associated with lower incomes, mainly because of wildlife damages that cost an average household (HH) up to 10% of its annual income. Other recurrent PA costs include the “invisible” costs incurred to cope with crop raiding, and restricted access to PA resources, that jointly amount to 16% of an average HH’s annual income. PA benefits include the sharing of tourism revenues, integrated conservation and development projects, and park-related employment. In total, benefits constitute 3.5% of the total annual income of an average HH, a figure higher than the contribution of other PAs in Uganda. However, overall, an average HH accrues a net annual loss of 12.5% of its total income or a total loss of US$1.54 million for the 1,1875 HHs, yet the park sends up to US$7 million to the central treasury. This highlights the need for policy revisions of the political economy of PA management.     

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.     

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 significance of dry forest income for livelihood resilience: The case of the pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in the drylands of southeastern Ethiopia

There is a growing interest to take into account dry forests in planning sustainable development in arid and semi-arid sub-Saharan Africa. A mixed quantitative and qualitative research design involving various data collection tools was employed to examine the significance of dry forest income and associated conditioning factors in the context of pastoral and agro-pastoral production systems of southeastern Ethiopia. Income from livestock and dry forests were the first and second most important components of the total household income. Dry forest income accounts 34.8% and 35.2% of the total household income and 38% and 46% of the total household cash income in the Liben and Afdher Administrative Zones of Somali National Regional State, respectively. It was the largest income compared to all other incomes added together for 45% of the respondents. Most notably, for very poor households, dry forest income contributes up to 63% of their total income. Dry forest income levels varied significantly with occupation (P < 0.05), pastoralists generating more income than agro-pastoralists. Dry forest income enables 24% of households to remain above the poverty line, and it reduces income disparity by 13.7%. Moreover, dry forest income has become increasingly important for households' ex-ante risk and ex-post drought coping strategies. The number of youths per household (P < 0.001), access to extension services (P < 0.001), and being member of a cooperative (P < 0.05) significantly affected dry forest income levels in both Zones. Findings of this study could apply to similar dryland eco-regions in the Horn of Africa and contribute to enhance promotion of sustainable management of dry forests for integrated livelihood adaptation, biodiversity conservation and combating desertification. Further research is needed to quantify the contribution dry forests make to livelihoods through livestock production and to develop options that will guide policy making process to generate additional economic incentives for communities and countries to be engaged in sustainable management and use of dry forests.     

Economic dependence on forest resources: A case from Dendi District, Ethiopia

This paper examines variation in dependence on forest resources among rural households in Chilimo, Ethiopia, and the income-equalizing effects of such resources. Data were collected through a systematic questionnaire survey of 102 households, randomly selected from two peasant associations in the area. Forest income contributed 39% of the average household income, roughly equal to agriculture, which contributed 40%. Forest income was more important than all other income sources combined for the poorest 40% of households and contributed more to household income than agriculture for 65% of households. While forest income represents 59% of the total household income for the poorest quintile, the contribution drops to 34% for the wealthiest quintile. On the other hand, the rich households derive a larger absolute income from forest resources than the poor households. Forest resources have an important income-equalizing potential among the rural households. Reduced access to forest resources would greatly affect the welfare of the rural population and increase wealth differentiation among rural households in the study area.     

The role of non-timber forest products during agroecosystem shift in Xishuangbanna,southwestern China

There are few observations on the role of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in shifting from subsistence to commercial plantation-dominated systems with long-term monitoring, despite interests in NTFPs for sustainable development and livelihood dependence. During 1998–2004, we conducted an annual survey of households in the two villages, Baka and Daka, which represent different stages in the shift from a subsistence agroecosystem to a rubber plantation-dominated system in Xishuangbanna, southwestern China. Significant negative correlations were observed between gross income and dependence on NTFPs-generated income in both Baka and Daka villages (P = 0.029 in Baka and P = 0.028 in Daka), which is supporting evidence that poorer households derive greater benefits from NTFPs than do wealthy households. When the rubber price dropped during 1998–2001, the NTFPs income of Baka increased greatly from US$59.10 to US$145 per household, or from 6.4% to 26.6% of household gross income. In contrast, in Daka village, NTFPs income increased by insignificant amounts of US$1.6 per household in 1998 to US$23.8 in 2001, but this was compensated by an increase in income from off-farm work of US$11 to US$147 (an increase from 1.8% to 16.2% of gross income per household) from 1998 to 2001 in Daka. NTFPs retained important roles both in alleviating risk associated with monoculture price fluctuations and in generating income for relatively poor people.     

The contribution of agroforestry systems to reducing farmers' dependence on the resources of adjacent national parks: a case study from Sumatra, Indonesia

There is much debate about the way conservation and development are best integrated to reduce the encroachment pressures of poor rural communities on the biodiversity resources of protected areas in the tropics. One frequently recommended instrument is to intensify farming systems in the adjacent areas, so as to decrease the need to harvest resources from national parks. This study examined this issue by analyzing the effects of different household land uses in villages near a national park on their propensity to harvest resources from the park. In the northern part of the Kerinci Seblat National Park (Sumatra Island, Indonesia) the park buffer zone is comprised largely of community or village forests and human settlements. The village forests were formerly managed as production forests and provided significant cash income to the village. They were converted into farmland, particularly to mixed-tree gardens or agroforests. Natural forest coverage has now declined to 10% of the former area within village forest land. We analyzed the characteristics of the mixed gardens and village forests, and their practical contribution to reducing farmers' dependence on the adjacent national park resources. Households with farms that were more diversified were found to have much less dependency on the national park resources. Households that farmed only wetland rice fields registered the highest value of forest products obtained from inside the park. Households that farmed only mixed gardens had an intermediate level of park resource extraction, while those that had farms composed of both components (i.e. wetland rice fields and mixed gardens) had a dramatically lower level of economic dependency on park resources than households in either of the other two categories.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Rapid assessment of the value of forest income for people in Central Africa

Reliable data on the contribution of forests to the livelihoods of households in the Congo Basin are not always readily available to governments and decision-makers. This paper assesses the value of forest resources on livelihoods in Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Central Africa Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Data were collected using the Forest Poverty Linkages Toolkit, between 2012 and 2014 on stratified samples of 616 Bantu and indigenous people’s households in 15 villages. The study reveals that forest resources account for 48% to 63% of the total revenue of rural households. In Bantu households, estimates of the gross income from the forest per capita/day range from $US 0.18 to $US 1.3. This value is about double that received by indigenous people except in Congo. Non-cash income is about twice as high as cash income. On average, cash income reaches only about 23% of the World Bank $1.25 a day income level for chronic poverty. However, non-cash income - about twice as high as cash income – mitigates these profound poverty levels to some extent. The paper concludes by considering the importance of the findings for policy-making in Central Africa and the Congo Basin, and more widely. It is suggested that much more data of this kind is need to shape appropriate approaches to sustainable forest management, with a better understanding of the economic security and the livelihood resilience of the chronic poor increasingly kept in mind.