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.     

Understanding why farmers plant trees in the homestead agroforestry in Bangladesh

Because trees cover only 6.4% of the total land area of Bangladesh, while agricultural expansion continues to massively deplete the natural forests, a well-managed homestead forestry practice is vital for reversing the existing trend and promoting the ecological balance of the country. An understanding of the decision-making process of the farmers who practice homestead forestry is important in expanding and improving the practice. This paper seeks to characterize and analyze factors influencing farmers' decisions about tree planting. Logistic and multiple regression analyses were applied to determine the factors that influence the farmers' tree-planting decisions. The analyses demonstrate a number of important conclusions: (i) tree-planting increases with the amount of homestead land owned; (ii) farmers whose main source of income is non-agricultural are more likely to decide to plant trees in the homestead; (iii) purchasing cost of fuelwood has a positive influence on tree-planting decisions; (iv) number of male family member has a positive influence on farmers' tree-planting decisions; and (v) knowledge of the activities of the forestry extension programs has a positive influence on tree-planting decisions. The results of the study demonstrate that, in recent years, farmers' decisions of whether or not to plant trees have been based primarily on economic rather than ecological concerns. It is concluded that there is substantial potential for the improvement of homestead forestry, and that properly managed homestead forestry can alleviate the poverty of rural people by increasing overall household income. To this end, it is suggested that forestry extension workers work more closely with the local people in order to implement homestead forestry.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

Species Composition,Diversity and Productivity of Homesteads in Southeastern Bangladesh

A homestead is an integrated production system where trees, crops, livestock and poultry are found in and around the household residence in Bangladesh. It is a potential production unit that provides various product, service and ecological functions. Almost all people in Bangladesh including landless households have homesteads in which they grow trees and crops even in a small piece of land. This study characterizes the species composition, diversity and productivity of the homestead production system in the Teknaf peninsula, southeastern Bangladesh. Survey data collection was from a total of 180 homesteads covering five household categories: large, medium, small, marginal and landless. Vegetable, fruit, timber, and livestock and poultry were common components in the homestead production system. Various types of plants were mainly concentrated in back yards, front yards, boundaries and corners of homesteads. The mean number of tree species per homestead was about 15. In total, 189 tree and shrub species were recorded, and were distinctly high and low in the large (363.7) and landless (55.7) household categories. Species composition, diversity and productivity of homesteads were found to be related to household categories. Richness and diversity of tree and shrub species increased with household size. Betel nut was the dominant tree species followed by mango, jackfruit and coconut. Annual income from homesteads also varied among the household categories, with a mean contribution of the homestead to annual income of about 25 %. A large portion of homestead income came from betel nut trees. There is scope to increase species diversity and income by designing homesteads with the engagement of women and other family members.     

Household attributes promote diversity of tree holdings in rural areas,South Africa

Trees within the homestead area provide many functions to rural households. However, within the semi-arid regions of southern Africa, there has been only limited examination of the correlates between the socio-economic attributes of rural households and the density, species richness and types of trees they keep. This paper reports on a multivariate analysis of household attributes in relation to homestead tree holdings from six rural villages in South Africa. In terms of density of trees per household, gender of the household head was the only significant correlate, with female-headed households having significantly fewer trees than their male-headed counterparts. This was especially so for the density of indigenous trees. With respect to species richness, a number of interrelated correlates were identified through Principle Components Analysis, the most prominent ones being relative wealth, village location, homestead size and gender. Most species were common between both male- and female-headed households, although there were differences between them for six of the species held by at least five percent of households. However, the differences were not related to species uses or income generation potential. These results indicate that support programmes should be conscious of the differential needs and responses of households according to their different characteristics and circumstances.     

Forest policy and sustainable forest management in Bangladesh: an analysis from national and international perspectives

This paper includes a review of international sustainable forestry development followed by an analysis of forest policies in Bangladesh. There have been four different government forest policies in Bangladesh since 1894. The first two forest policies (1894 and 1955) were exploitative in nature. Most of the regulatory documents were developed during the first two policy periods. The third forest policy instituted in 1979 by the sovereign Bangladesh government had contradictory elements and mutually inconsistent policy statements. It addressed for the first time forestry extension through mass motivation campaign. Current forest policy formulated in 1994 has been considered to be the most elaborate policy in the history of the country. Under this policy, participatory social forestry has been institutionalized in Bangladesh. The analysis shows that, although it is possible to attain the stated policy targets, progress is slow and is blocked on several fronts. A number of identified technical, managerial and logistical problems are hindering policy and program implementation. In addition, corruption contributes to the observed problems. The real strength of Bangladesh forestry is locally based, participatory forestry, co-management of protected areas and highly motivated people who increasingly recognize the need for a healthy forest ecosystem that will provide future economic stability. Because it is the rich homestead forests of Bangladesh that generate the majority of commercial forestry products, it is important that education continues at the grass-roots level. In addition, educated forestry and environment professionals have been identified as the future driving forces towards better, and sustainable, forest management. Results of this study make it clear that Bangladesh and other developing countries are not presently in a position to accept and adopt internationally derived forest policies due to inadequate institutional support, political instability and poor governance. Therefore, along with development of criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management and forest certification, international policy scientists must consider institutional development, professional skill development, identification and adoption of indigenous technology and long-term financial support in developing countries. Without these, all international processes, policies and directives will be of little value and produce few substantive results.     

Homestead agroforestry in Bangladesh

The Homestead agroforestry system is very important in the economy of Bangladesh. The many woody species grown in the homesteads are a significant source of fuelwood; they also provide fodder, building materials and other forms of wood. In the context of the prevailing shortage of fuelwood and excessive deforestation in Bangladesh, this homestead agroforestry system needs to be strengthened. A field survey was undertaken to assess the prospects and feasibility of initiating a programme for the improvement of homestead agroforestry systems. It showed that the prospects for improving homestead agroforestry systems are good because most respondents own their homesteads and believe there is room for more trees on them. Although they know that raising trees is relatively difficult and requires special practices, they are familiar with the government nurseries and local agricultural extension officers, and are confident about the success of the programme. Results also indicate that multipurpose trees and specific modules for involving women in the farm operations are likely to enhance success of the programme.     

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.     

Relationship between farm size and reforestation activity: evidence from Queensland studies

This paper reviews the findings of nine studies carried out over about the last decade by a forestry socio-economic research group in Queensland, Australia. On the basis of survey evidence and landholder typology research, the questions of who plants trees and for what reasons are addressed, and inferences are drawn about the impact of land fragmentation on farm forestry. It is concluded that forestry is less popular on the larger and commercially viable farms than on smaller holdings of similar land type, and plantation establishment is often supported by off-farm income, so that farm fragmentation may actually lead to increased tree planting. However, whether this would lead to increased timber production is less clear, because of the strong interest of people on small holdings in environmental plantings and because of difficulties in marketing small quantities of the variable quality timber from mixed-species plantings. Also, the quality of silviculture appears to be positively correlated with area planted. Some implications are drawn for land-use policy.     

Practical Application of Multivariant Analysis Techniques to the Forest Management of Active Farmers in the Northwest of Spain

As managers almost exclusive in many worldwide forestry regions, non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners come to play a key role in balanced integrating the variety of forest uses and functions in policies for promoting and revitalising rural areas. In Galicia, a region in the Spanish Northwest, over 67.5% of forestland and 80% of woodland is managed by NIPF owners. Almost 40% of the Galician NIPF owners are agricultural or livestock farmers who manage a total of 169,755 agrarian holdings with woodlands. Although the number of agricultural holdings has dropped significantly over the last 60?years, farmers still constitute a representative section of the NIPF owner population in Galicia. Starting from an initial population of 31,285 active full-time professional farmers in the region, and based on data collected by a personal questionnaire from a sample comprising 4,383 of these professional farmers for the period 1993?C2003, Discriminant Analysis (DA) was used to identify which socioeconomic, territorial and public-political factors were useful in distinguishing, and to what extent, that a certain population of Galician active farmers should opt to own and manage forestland areas within their agrarian holdings. The results suggested that the forestry production capacity for the area in which the agricultural holding is located, the size and the number of plots in the land base, the number of years the farmer has been the owner and the economic yield from the holding over the total family income were key factors in distinguishing between farmers with forestry activity (forestland owners) and farmers with no forestry activity (farmland owners). These findings could be used as a guide for designing, planning, and implementing research and policy measures that could allow NIPF landowners with farming and livestock activity to develop sustainable forestry, as key agents in promoting rural development.     

贵州喀斯特生态环境与可持续发展探讨

对贵州喀斯特生态环境的一般特征、森林区喀斯特环境特征、无林区喀斯特环境特征进行了叙述,分析了喀斯特森林现状及现状的成因,提出了以建立自然保护区、封山育林、退耕还林等方式恢复喀斯特生态环境的必要性和可能性,以及建立立体农村经济、发展生态旅游、合理利用、采育并举、劳务输出等多种喀斯特山区经营方案。     

20世纪中国乡村林业变迁初探

论述了20世纪中国乡村林种与树种变迁及其发展热点,探讨了各时期发展乡村林业的异同措施和变迁机理。     

Ecological and economical significance of homestead forest to the household of the offshore island in Bangladesh

An explanatory survey was conducted to assess the contribution of plant diversity to the ecological and socio-economic condition of the rural household in the offshore island of Bangladesh.Assessment was done by means of multistage random sampling.The homestead sizes of the study area were classified into 3 groups viz,large (>0.25 ha),medium (0.05-0.25 ha) and small (<0.05 ha) based on the result obtained from a preliminary survey,and a total of 45 homesteads,15 from each group,were selected randomly for the study.The average annual income from homestead's plant diversity varied from Tk 5730.00 (US$95.5) to Tk 17500.00 (US$291.67).The rural people were mainly dependent on their homegarden for woodfuel and nutritional requirement as forest was unavailable in the island.The rural people here also cultivated the plant species as a safety measure from frequent cyclone.Constraints hindering the development of homestead plantation were identified and suggestions were given such as the adequate supply of seedlings of fast growing native species and conservation of endangered species to meet the demand of the household as well as to keep ecological balance.     

Can community forestry contribute to household income and sustainable forestry practices in rural area? A case study from Tshapey and Zariphensum in Bhutan

Community forestry is an emerging success model of state–community partnership for forest management and poverty reduction. Bhutan's initial experience of forest management by user group is promising, but merits further study on how community forests have experienced with harvesting and income generation consistent with national forest policy. This study quantifies whether community forestry contribute to household income with equitable products and income distribution and gender inclusive participation; and community forests are managed applying the principles of sustainable harvest without compromising regeneration and productivity. We applied a combination of social and ecological methods using household interview and forest sampling plots. Our findings revealed that community forestry contributes to household income through harvesting and marketing of large trees, and non-wood forest products where markets are accessible. Household income, however, vary widely between rich and poor households with former capitalizing on commercial and latter on subsistence products. Timber harvesting is consistent with the principles of sustainable harvest without altering species composition, regeneration and productivity. To narrow income inequality, pro-poor approach to community forestry needs to target poor households with income diversification activities and market accessibility. The promising results are context-driven and warrant consolidation from other community forests experiencing harvest in Bhutan.     

Status and ethno-medicinal usage of invasive plants in traditional health care practices: a case study from northeastern Bangladesh

Species diversity and ethno-medicinal usage of 39 species of invasive plants were explored in and around two protected areas, Khadimnagar National Park (KNP) and Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctu- ary (RKWS), of northeastern Bangladesh,. Status of invasive plants were investigated in 60 sample plots with 5 different habitat types, including forest, roadside, homestead, fallow land and others (ponds, canals, water logged areas, agricultural land, etc.). Data about the usage of invasive plants in traditional health care were collected through interviewing 110 households. Among the five habitat types, fallow land (28 species) pos- sessed the highest number of species, followed by roadside (25 species), forest (23 species), homestead (22 species) and others (13 species). Based on the survey, invasive plants of study areas were also categorized into five degrees of invasiveness e.g., naturalized, introduced, possibly invasive, moderately invasive and highly invasive. Additionally, there is the linear trend between degrees of invasiveness and use percentage of invasive plants. Total 39 species of invasive plants belonging to 29 fami- lies were recorded, which are generally used to treat 37 diseases, ranging from simple headache to highly complicated eye and heart diseases. The majority of the species used by the local inhabitants were herbs (16 spe- cies), followed by some shrubs (11 species), climbers (5 species), trees (5 species) and grasses (2 species). The use percentage of aboveground plant parts were higher (70.58%) than that of underground plant parts (16.18%).     

Apiculture and forestry (bees and trees)

Honey bees are found associated with forests globally. Flowers of forest trees provide subsistence for honey bees and the trees physically provide shelter for a swarm or bee hive. Forest management and beekeeping have each had a long history both in the United States and globally, but have seldom been integrated or studied in a systematic fashion. Purposeful plantings of trees, as in agroforestry systems, could be designed to favor bee forage or hive protection.Tree growing and beekeeping can easily be combined for several reasons. Both are sustainable on land that is hilly or otherwise less desirable for other agricultural purposes. Both require labor intermittently, and can be sustained while the grower/beekeeper is busy with other farming occupations. Bee hives require very little space, while the bees themselves can forage in a radius of 4 to 5 km. Hives may be located within or near a tree plantation, and utilize both the trees and surrounding other flowering plants for forage. Combining forestry and beekeeping provides annual honey bee products (e.g. honey, beeswax) to supplement income from a landowner's long term forest managements. In areas like Kentucky, where more than half of the forest landowners own 4 ha or less of commercially valuable woodland, it is important to produce economic benefit from those lands without harvesting all the trees. Combining bees and trees is one way of accomplishing this goal. This paper addresses several important known bee-tree interactions which need more systematic study.     

The role of NGOs in improving social forestry practice: Do they promote livelihood, sustainability and optimal land use in Bangladesh?

The encroachment rate in forests in Bangladesh is high and increasing — accelerated by rural poverty and the demand for dwelling space and forest products — causing environmental degradation as well as loss of forest cover and productivity. The forests are managed by the Forest Department, although a substantial area of marginal land belongs to other semi-public agencies including Roads and Highways and the Water Development Board. This marginal land has been left unused or underutilized. In contrast, nongovernmental organizations have an appropriate accessibility and technology disseminating ability to utilize this land in reducing poverty and enhancing rural livelihood, and have been highly active and successful in rehabilitating encroached forests. NGOs have added a new dimension to forest management, which has ensured community participation and protection of the forests, both planted and natural. This study evaluates the social forestry activities of four large NGOs, namely BRAC, Proshika, Caritas and CARE-Bangladesh, as well as national social forestry activities. By adopting a common partnership between public and private authority, property right conflicts have been resolved and rural livelihoods enhanced, and scope has been created for utilizing marginal land. The NGO partnership has been effective in reducing poverty and improving livelihoods. As an outcome of this common partnership, 33,472 km of roadside planting and 53,430 ha of reforestation activities have been carried out during the last two decades.     

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.     

Conservation policy–people conflicts: a case study from Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (a World Heritage Site), India

Perceptions of local people towards conservation policy and related management interventions, nature and magnitude of policy–people conflicts and, possible options for conflict resolution were analysed in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site in Indian Himalaya. People's perceptions were discerned through participatory discussions covering 419 households distributed in 10 villages in the buffer zone. Traditional uncodified rights of local people were substantially reduced through policy interventions set in since 1860s. Local people as well as tourists were excluded from the core zone covering an area of 625 km² since 1982. Deterioration of rural economy due to damage to crop and livestock by wildlife and, termination of opportunities of income from wild medicinal plant resources and tourism in the core zone were the key negative impacts of conservation policy felt by more than 90% of respondents. Mean annual economic loss per household was estimated as Rs 1285, Rs 1195 and Rs 156 due to damage caused by wildlife to food crops, fruit trees and beehives, respectively, Rs 1587 due to ban on collection of wild medicinal plants for marketing and Rs 7904 due to ban on tourism in the core zone. Reserve authority granted compensation of livestock killed by wildlife but it was hardly 5% of the market value of killed livestock as assessed by the people. People did not appreciate much the present benefits from the reserve management in the form of wages for carrying out afforestation work, partial compensation of livestock depredation and availability of solar power devices, wool, and spinning devices. Approximately 95% respondents identified empowerment of local people in respect of realising income from timber from dead/diseased trees in community forests, income from medicinal plants in buffer zone and opening of core zone for tourism as potential development options. Improvement in rural economy, the prime concern of local people, has not received as much attention as legal enforcement of protection by the reserve management. There is a need for developing policies and management actions that serve the economic interests of local people together with enhancement of environmental conservation goal.     

苍溪林业碳汇能力及价值研究

CO2是工业和化石燃烧的排放气体,不断加剧温室效应,森林大量吸收固定大气中CO2,成为巨大的碳汇.为减缓不断加剧的全球气候变化,林业正在经历发展方向的调整与转变,固碳林业悄然兴起,包含碳汇造林、保护森林碳库、发展低碳经济和碳替代措施等4个方面.在唱响“生态家园”,发展绿色GDP的目标下,摸清当地碳汇能力,开展碳价值测算,为低碳经济发展和保护碳库起着十分重要的作用.本文以四川省苍溪县为例,开展林业碳储量、固碳能力、固碳潜力及固碳价值的测算和研究,为今后绿色GDP计量、发展低碳经济、碳汇融资提供科学依据.