Livelihood dependency on woodland resources in southern Zagros, Iran

Authors

1 Department of Forestry, Natural Resources Faculty, University of Guilan, P.O. Box 1144, Sowmehsara,

2 Dept. of Urban and Rural Development, SLU, P.O Box 7012, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden

3 Dept. of Forest Resource Management, SLU, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the relationships between people?s livelihoods and the woodland resources of the Ganaveh watershed in southern Zagros, Iran, as a basis for suggestions of strategies for sustainable management of the woodland resources and improvement of the livelihoods of people in the community. Household data were collected through interviews with heads of households and members of the village council with a focus on uses of the woodland products. Canonical correlation analysis and pairwise correlation analysis were used to detect significant relationships between the socioeconomic variables of the households and the variables of the collected or used woodland products by the households. Results show that animal husbandry is the most important activity for providing villagers? income. Fuel wood, seeds and ground fodder are collected woodland products in the area. Among the key socioeconomic characteristics of the households, increased educational status and cash incomes from sources other than the woodland are associated with less dependency on the woodland resources, and consumption of energy has a positive correlation with the collection of fuel wood.
 
REFERENCES
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Adhikari, B., Di Falco, S. and Lovett, J.C. (2004) Household characteristics and forest dependency: evidence from common property forest management in Nepal. Ecol. Econ. 48, 245-257.
Ali, T., Ahmad, M., Shahbaz, B.and Suleri, A. (2007). Impact of participatory forest management on financial assets of rural communities in Northwest Pakistan. Ecol. Econ. 63, 588-593.
Andersson, K., Ellatifi, M. and Kohli, R.K. (2004) Data collection through interviews for national forest assessments. In: Ellatifi, M. (Ed.), Knowledge reference for national forest assessments. FAO-IUFRO. Available in: http://www.fao.org/forestry/7736/en.
Arnold, J.E.M. and Perez, M.R. (2001) Can nontimber forest products match tropical forest conservation and development objectives? Ecol. Econ. 39, 437-447.
Bebbington, A. (1999) Capitals and capabilities: A framework for analyzing peasant viability, rural livelihoods and poverty. World Development 27, 2021-2044. C
arney, D. (1998) Sustainable rural livelihoods: What contribution can we make? Department for International Development, London. Chambers, R. (1981) Rapid rural appraisal: rationale and repertoire. Public Administration and Development 1, 95-106.
Chambers, R. (1991) In search of professionalism, bureaucracy and sustainable livelihoods for the 21st century. IDS Bulletin – Institute of Development Studies. 22, 5-11.
Colfer, C.J.P. (2005) The Equitable Forest: Diversity, Community, and Resource Management. Resources for the Future, Washington DC.
Dalal-Clayton, D.B., Dent, D. and Dubois, O. (2003) Rural planning in developing countries: supporting natural resource management and sustainable livelihoods. Earthscan, London.
Debnath, D. and Dasgupta, S. (2006) Livelihood generation and poverty reduction attempts in joint forest management activities in Madhya Pradesh. International Forestry Review 8, 241- 250.
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Fonjong, L.N. (2008) Gender Roles and Practices in Natural Resource Management in the North West Province of Cameroon. Local Environment. 13, 461-475.
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Ghazanfari H., Namiranian M., Sobhani H.and Mohajer M. (2004) Traditional forest management and its application to encourage participation for sustainable forest management in the northern mountains of Kurdistan Province, Iran. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. 19, 65-71.
Gunatilake, H.M., Senaratne, D.M.A.H.and Abeygunawardena, P. (1993) Role of nontimber forest products in the economy of peripheral communities of Knuckles National Wilderness Area of Sri Lanka: a farming systems approach. Econ Bot. 47, 275- 281.
Gupte, M. (2004) Participation in a Gendered Environment: The Case of Community Forestry in India. Human Ecology. 32, 365-382.
Hegde, R., Suryaprakash, S., Achoth, L.and Bawa, K.S. (1996) Extraction of non-timber forest products in the forests of Biligiri Rangan Hills, India. 1. Contribution to rural income. Econ Bot. 50, 243-251.
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Masozera, M.K.and Alavalapati, J.R.R. (2004) Forest dependency and its implications for protected areas management: A case study from the Nyungwe Forest Reserve, Rwanda. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. 19, 85- 92.
McSweeney, K. (2002) Who is “forestdependent”? Capturing local variation in forest-product sale, Eastern Honduras. Professional Geographer. 54, 158-174.
Mohammadi, A.(2003) Determination of ranch size by socioeconomic- ecologic factors in the northern watershed of the Kouhrang river, Iran. Master's thesis: Faculty of Natural Resource, Rangeland management Isfahan University of Tecnology Isfahan, Iran (in Persian).
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Pourhashemi, M., Mohajer, M.R.M., Zobeiri, M., Amiri, G.Z.and Panah, P. (2004) Identification of forest vegetation units in support of government management objectives in Zagros forests, Iran. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. 19, 72- 77.
Pourreza, M., Shaw, J.D., Zangeneh, H., (2008) Sustainability of Wild Pistachio (Pistacia Atlantica Desf.) in Zagros Forests, Iran. Forest Ecology and Management. 255, 3667-3671.
Quinn, G.P.and Keough, M.J. (2002) Experimental design and data analysis for biologists. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 40 p.
R Development Core Team (2005) A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Available in: http://www.R-project.org.
Reddy, S.R.C., Chakravarty, S.P. (1999) Forest dependence and income distribution in a subsistence economy: Evidence from India. World Development. 27, 1141-1149.
Sagheb-Talebi, K., Sajedi, T.and Yazdian, F. (2004) Forests of Iran [in Persian with English 194 Livelihood dependency on woodland resources summary]. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Iran. Salehi, A., Wilhelmsson, E., Soderberg, U. (2008) Land cover changes in a forested watershed, southern Zagros, Iran. Land Degradation & Development. 19, 542-553.
Shackleton, S.E., Shackleton, C.M., Netshiluvhi, T.R., Geach, B.S., Ballance, A., Fairbanks, D.H.K. (2002) Use patterns and value of savanna resources in three rural villages in South Africa. Econ. Bot. 56, 130–146.
Shandra, J.M., Shandra, C.L.and London, B. (2008) Women, Non-Governmental Organizations, and Deforestation: A CrossNational Study. Population and Environment. 30, 48-72.
 Sjaastad, E., Angelsen, A., Vedeld, P.and Bojo, J. (2005) What is environmental income? Ecol. Econ. 55, 37-46.
Sunderlin, W.D. Angelsen, A. Belcher, B. Burgers, P. Nasi, R. Santoso, L. and Wunder, S. (2005) Livelihoods, forests, and conservation in developing countries: An overview. World Development. 33,1383-1402.
Tempelman, M.D. (2000) Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis (Seaga) Training Tools in Support of Household Resources Management Sustainable development Department (SD), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Available in: http://www.fao.org/sd/wpdirect/wpre013 3c.htm.
 Valdivia, C. and Gilles, J (2001) Gender and resource management: Households and groups, strategies and transitions. Agriculture and Human Values. 18, 5-9.
Vedeld, P., Angelsen, A., Sjaastad, E.and Berg, G.K. (2004) Counting on the environment: Forest incomes and the rural poor. World Bank, Washington. Washington DC, Environment Department Working Paper No. 98.  114 p.
Wilde, V.L., Mattila, A.V. (1999) Gender Analysis and Forestry. In: Brindley, B. Case Studies. Food and Agriculture Organization; Forests, Trees and People Programme, 258 p.

Keywords


Abdallah, J.M. and Monela, G.G. (2007) Overview of Miombo woodlands in Tanzania. In: MITMIOMBO – Management of indigenous tree species for ecosystem restoration and wood production in semi-arid Miombo woodlands in Eastern Africa. Working Papers of the Finnish Forest Research Institute. 50,9-23.
 
Adhikari, B., Di Falco, S. and Lovett, J.C. (2004) Household characteristics and forest dependency: evidence from common property forest management in Nepal. Ecol. Econ. 48,245-257.
 
Ali, T., Ahmad, M., Shahbaz, B.and Suleri, A. (2007). Impact of participatory forest management on financial assets of rural communities in Northwest Pakistan. Ecol. Econ.63, 588-593.
 
Andersson, K., Ellatifi, M. and Kohli, R.K.(2004) Data collection through interviews for national forest assessments. In: Ellatifi, M. (Ed.), Knowledge reference for national forest assessments. FAO-IUFRO. Available in: http://www.fao.org/forestry/7736/en.
 
Arnold, J.E.M. and Perez, M.R. (2001) Can non-timber forest products match tropical forest conservation and development objectives? Ecol. Econ.39, 437-447.
 
Bebbington, A. (1999) Capitals and capabilities: A framework for analyzing peasant viability, rural livelihoods and poverty. World Development27, 2021-2044.
 
Carney, D. (1998) Sustainable rural livelihoods: What contribution can we make? Department for International Development, London. Chambers, R. (1981) Rapid rural appraisal: rationale and repertoire. Public Administration and Development1, 95-106.
 
Chambers, R. (1991) In search of professionalism, bureaucracy and sustainable livelihoods for the 21st century. IDS Bulletin – Institute of Development Studies. 22, 5-11.
 
Colfer, C.J.P. (2005) The Equitable Forest: Diversity, Community, and Resource Management. Resources for the Future, Washington DC.
 
Dalal-Clayton, D.B., Dent, D. and Dubois, O. (2003) Rural planning in developing countries: supporting natural resource management and sustainable livelihoods. Earthscan, London.
 
Debnath, D.and Dasgupta, S. (2006) Livelihood generation and poverty reduction attempts in joint forest management activities in Madhya Pradesh. International Forestry Review8, 241-250.
 
DFID (2001) Sustainable livelihoods guidance sheets, section 2 (online). The UK Department for International Development (DFID), London. Available in: http://www.livelihoods.org/info/guidance_sheets_pdfs/section2.pdf. DoE/GOIRI,
 
Department of Environment of Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2004) Conservation of Biodiversity in the Central Zagros Landscape Conservation Zone [online]. Zagros Project Office. Available in: Salehi et al., 193http://www.irandoe.org/zagros/Docs/Doc28.pdf.
 
Ellis, F. (2000a) Rural livelihoods and diversity in developing countries. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
 
Ellis, F. (2000b) The determinants of rural livelihood diversification in developing countries. Journal of Agricultural Economics. 51, 289-302.
 
Fonjong, L.N. (2008) Gender Roles and Practices in Natural Resource Management in the North West Province of Cameroon. Local Environment. 13, 461-475.
 
Garson, G.D. (2008) Statnotes: Topics in Multivariate Analysis, Canonical Correlation[online]. North Carolina State University. Available in: http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/pa765/canonic.htm.
 
Ghazanfari H., Namiranian M., Sobhani H.and Mohajer M. (2004) Traditional forest management and its application to encourage participation for sustainable forest management in the northern mountains of Kurdistan Province, Iran. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. 19, 65-71.
 
Gunatilake, H.M., Senaratne, D.M.A.H.and Abeygunawardena, P. (1993) Role of non-timber forest products in the economy of peripheral communities of Knuckles National Wilderness Area of Sri Lanka: a farming systems approach. Econ Bot. 47, 275-281.
 
Gupte, M. (2004) Participation in a Gendered Environment: The Case of Community Forestry in India. Human Ecology.32, 365-382.
 
Hegde, R., Suryaprakash, S., Achoth, L.and Bawa, K.S. (1996) Extraction of non-timber forest products in the forests of Biligiri Rangan Hills, India. 1. Contribution to rural income. Econ Bot. 50, 243-251.
 
Jazirehi, M.H.and Ebrahimi , M. (2003) Silviculture in Zagros. University of Tehran Press, Tehran (in Persian).Krzanowski, W.J. (2000) Principles of multivariate analysis: a user’s perspective. Clarendon, Oxford.
 
Manly, B.F.J. (1994) Multivariate statistical methods: a primer. Chapman & Hall, London.
 
Masozera, M.K.and Alavalapati, J.R.R. (2004) Forest dependency and its implications for protected areas management: A case study from the Nyungwe Forest Reserve, Rwanda. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research.19, 85-92.
 
 McSweeney, K. (2002) Who is “forest-dependent”? Capturing local variation in forest-product sale, Eastern Honduras. Professional Geographer. 54, 158-174.
 
Mohammadi, A.(2003) Determination of ranch size by socioeconomic- ecologic factors in the northern watershed of the Kouhrang river, Iran. Master's thesis: Faculty of Natural Resource, Rangeland management Isfahan University of Tecnology Isfahan, Iran (in Persian).
 
Pandit, B.H.and Thapa, G.B.(2004) Poverty and resource degradation under different common forest resource management systems in the mountains of Nepal. Society & Natural Resources. 17, 1-16.
 
Pemberton- Pigott, C. (2006) Energy in different fuels [online]. Available in: http://listserv.repp.org/pipermail/stoves_listserv.repp.org/2006-July/003605.html. PEN, 2007. The PEN (Poverty Environment Network) prototype questionnaire. Available in:http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/pen/_ref/tools/index.htm#proto.
 
Pourhashemi, M., Mohajer, M.R.M., Zobeiri, M., Amiri, G.Z.and Panah, P. (2004) Identification of forest vegetation units in support of government management objectives in Zagros forests, Iran. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. 19, 72-77.
 
Pourreza, M., Shaw, J.D., Zangeneh, H., (2008) Sustainability of Wild Pistachio (Pistacia Atlantica Desf.) in Zagros Forests, Iran. Forest Ecology and Management. 255, 3667-3671.
 
Quinn, G.P.and Keough, M.J. (2002) Experimental design and data analysis for biologists. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. pp. 40. R Development Core Team (2005) A language and environment for statistical computing.
 
R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Available in: http://www.R-project.org. Reddy, S.R.C., Chakravarty, S.P. (1999) Forest dependence and income distribution in a subsistence economy: Evidence from India. World Development. 27, 1141-1149.
 
Sagheb-Talebi, K., Sajedi, T.and Yazdian, F. (2004) Forests of Iran [in Persian with English Livelihood dependency on woodland resources194summary]. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Iran.
 
Salehi, A., Wilhelmsson, E., Soderberg, U. (2008) Land cover changes in a forested watershed, southern Zagros, Iran. Land Degradation & Development. 19, 542-553.
 
Shackleton, S.E., Shackleton, C.M., Netshiluvhi, T.R., Geach, B.S., Ballance, A., Fairbanks, D.H.K. (2002) Use patterns and value of savanna resources in three rural villages in South Africa. Econ. Bot. 56, 130–146.
 
Shandra, J.M., Shandra, C.L.and London, B. (2008) Women, Non-Governmental Organizations, and Deforestation: A Cross-National Study. Population and Environment. 30, 48-72.
 
Sjaastad, E., Angelsen, A., Vedeld, P.and Bojo, J. (2005) What is environmental income? Ecol. Econ.55, 37-46.
 
Sunderlin, W.D. Angelsen, A. Belcher, B. Burgers, P. Nasi, R. Santoso, L. and Wunder, S. (2005) Livelihoods, forests, and conservation in developing countries: An overview. World Development.33,1383-1402.
 
Tempelman, M.D. (2000) Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis (Seaga) Training Tools in Support of Household Resources Management Sustainable development Department (SD), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Available in: http://www.fao.org/sd/wpdirect/wpre0133c.htm
 
Valdivia, C. and Gilles, J(2001) Gender and resource management: Households and groups, strategies and transitions. Agriculture and Human Values. 18, 5-9.
 
Vedeld, P., Angelsen, A., Sjaastad, E.and Berg, G.K.(2004) Counting on the environment: Forest incomes and the rural poor. World Bank, Washington. Washington, D. C. Environment Department Working Paper No. 98. pp. 114
 
Wilde, V.L., Mattila, A.V. (1999) Gender Analysis and Forestry. In: Brindley, B. Case Studies. Food and Agriculture Organization; Forests, trees and People Programme. pp. 258.