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Forests in poverty reduction strategies - An assessment of PRSP processes in Sub-Saharan Africa
... The African continent has made notable improvements in democratic governance; with countries now holding successful elections as has been the case in 2015 in Nigeria, Tanzania, Botswana and Zambia among others. There is a strong linkage between good governance and economic development, which the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa have been promoting (Booth, 2006;Tsoka, 2008;Power, 2010). The main objective of this paper is to review the various journeys that were taken to develop governance frameworks and systems against the evolution of their respective political and economic environments. ...
... Furthermore, this enhanced sustainability of infrastructure that existed at the time. According to UNDP (2016), approximately 700 000 people suddenly found themselves homeless, and another 2.4 million people were adversely affected (Tsoka, 2008). ...
... f money from the National Housing Fund by his senior officials, which they used to purchase ritzy real estate for themselves, and no one was prosecuted upon discovery (Sachikonye, 2003;Rusvingo, 2014). The money, which amounted to almost $12 million and was supposed to help house the poor, was stolen by means of disguising the withdrawals as loans (Tsoka. 2008). ...
The period between the 1990s to 2000s was distinctive and contested to both Malawi and Zimbabwe for mainly two reasons: (1) the unparalleled development and economic growth in Malawi and (2) arguably the period whereby Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s first president, had totally lost control of the country’s economic and development policies necessitated by rampant corruption and poor governance which led to economic surge. A qualitative approach is applied. Through a comparative literature review of economic history sources and document analysis, the paper opines that the conditions created a plausible intent for a deeper critical analysis of the economic and development policies that were being pursued. Even though it can be concluded that good governance and sustainable economic growth are a product of mainly external socio-economic/political factors as has been the case in both Malawi and Zimbabwe. The paper concurs that Zimbabwe has been in a serious political and socio-economic crisis since the 1990s. Arguably, the major cause of crisis is attributed to Western induced sanctions following the fast track land reform programme in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The focus of the paper is premised on the comparative of the successes and failures of governance systems in Malawi and Zimbabwe. Furthermore, it explores how far both governments have made strides in improving good governance in a way to alleviate the crisis. The paper looks into how the ideologies of inclusiveness, economic blueprints, shared government, shared responsibility and shared prosperity intertwine with good governance and sustainable development.
... It is estimated that more than 15 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa earn their cash income from forest-related enterprises such as fuelwood and charcoal sales, small-scale saw-milling, commercial hunting and handicraft. In addition, between 200,000 and 300,000 people are directly employed in the commercial timber industry (Oksanen and Mersmann, 2003). For some countries, the forestry sector is an important foreign exchange earner. ...
... According to the official figures for Zambia, the forestry sector as a whole contributed 5.2% to total GDP in 2005 (Table 10). This is close to the estimated contribution of 6 percent for Africa (Oksanen and Mersmann, 2003). Similar to agriculture, the contribution of forestry to GDP is low compared to mining and manufacturing. ...
... In particular, rural households depend on forest and woodland resources to meet their energy needs, for construction and roofing materials, fodder for livestock, wild foods that support a healthy diet, and medicine. Moreover, forest product trade can be an important source of income (Oksanen and Mersmann, 2003). The situation in Zambia is no different, where forest income accounts for between 20 and 60 percent of the total household income (subsistence and cash) in the different study sites. ...
"This paper analyses the extent to which dry forests contribute to rural livelihoods and the national economy in Zambia. We used case studies drawn from the literature, data collected from a household survey conducted in eight sites in three of the nine provinces, and secondary data from the Central Statistical Office and the Forestry Department. From the analysis, forest products contribute on average 20.6 percent of total household income (subsistence and cash) in the eight sites, and are the second or first ranked source of income in five of the eight sites. There are large differences among poor and not so poor in total household income and in forest income share. Several products contribute significantly to rural livelihoods and the national economy. Most notably, charcoal and firewood provide 70 percent of the country's energy needs. A wide range of wild foods are common in rural diets, providing essential vitamins and minerals; more than ten leafy vegetable species, twenty-five mushroom types and thirty-five edible species of caterpillars. At the national level, forests provide revenue for the government from taxes, fees, royalties and other charges levied on forest-based activities although the relative importance is small given that the majority of forest users extract low-value products mainly for subsistence uses and only a small part of the trade is recorded. From our analysis, we find that forests are recognized to have an important poverty mitigation function but are not a means alone to move most people out of poverty."
... In addition, we point to strategic implications for forest research organisations. Finally, we also discuss some of the ongoing political processes in this field, such as the World Banks new Forest Strategy paper (World Bank 2001) and FAOs policy brief on how forests can be made more pro-poor (FAO 2001) 1 and we look at the role of forests in Poverty Reduction Strategies (Oksanen and Mersmann 2002). The first two documents signal significant shifts in the positions assumed by two major actors in the international forest development arena, although the latter shows there is still some way to go in terms of implementing the changes in national policies. ...
... It largely argues that economic and structural reforms must continue and that these will eventually benefit the poor. See also Oksanen and Mersmann (2002) ...
... The recognition of forests as a development asset has so far been limited in many poverty reduction strategies. Of the 11 PRSPs and 25 I-PRSPs in sub-Saharan Africa, 74% touched on forestry issues but almost none were convincing about forests-poverty links and forests' future potential (Oksanen and Mersmann 2002). ...
... Many NWFPs do not have scope for commercial development but are extremely important in millions of households. This has not been recognized adequately; for example, the contribution of forests to livelihoods has been chronically overlooked in poverty reduction strategy papers (Oksanen and Mersmann 2002). These values alone may be enough to justify forest conservation and enhancement. ...
This chapter assesses the impact on ecosystem health and human
well-being of actions taken to influence the production and use
of wood, fuelwood, and non-wood forest products (also known
as non-timber forest products). These actions are responses to the
ecosystem and human well-being conditions and trends associated
with forest products that are assessed in MA Current State and
.................11430 CH8 10-21-05 14:10:57 PS
Wood, Fuelwood, and Non-wood Forest Products 261
Trends (Chapters 9 and 21). The effectiveness of these responses is
also assessed in relation to the possible scenarios in MA Scenarios.
The chapter discusses (1) driving forces of change in ecosystems that produce wood, fuelwood, and non-wood forest
products, and the problems and opportunities they create; (2) interventions and actions to tackle the problems; (3) an assessment
of selected responses; and (4) lessons learned. Other chapters in
this and other MA volumes assess ecosystems and services closely
linked to the provision of wood, fuelwood and non-wood forest
products. Gaining a full picture of the state of forests and woodlands, the provisioning services of wood and NWFPs, and the
human actions taken to address problems linked to wood and
NWFPs requires looking at them as well. (See Chapters 5, 7, 15,
16, in this volume; MA Current State and Trends, Chapters 10, 13,
14, 17, and 24; and MA Scenarios, Chapter 10.)
... The interaction between forest and forest-dwelling communities received increasing attention from social scientists and policy makers due to its significance both from the view point of community livelihood improvement and sustainable forest management (Adhikari et al., 2004;Oksanen and Mersmann, 2003;Mamo et al., 2007). This is particularly true for the benefits from non-timber forest products. ...
... However, it has been observed that the contribution of forest resources, specifically NTFPs, to the welfare of the rural households is overlooked in the poverty estimation surveys given their income equalizing impact by reducing inequalities among rural households (Fisher, 2004;Mamo et al., 2007). Forest resources are not adequately considered in the poverty reduction strategies of most developing countries (Oksanen and Mersmann, 2003), mainly because poverty analysis, based on income or material consumption, discounts the role of forests and, therefore, neglects the impact of the degradation and disappearance of forests and natural resources on the livelihoods of the poor (ibid). Although NTFPs are an important source of subsistence and cash income, there is still growing concern regarding the fact that overharvesting driven by an increasing population and market demand is accelerating stock depletion (Fisher, 2004;Dash and Behera, 2013). ...
Using primary data collected randomly from 244 households across 11 villages located in and around the Similipal Tiger Reserve in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, this study examines the extent and pattern of household collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and identifies and analyzes the factors that influence a household's participation in NTFP activities vis-à-vis alternative livelihood activities. Descriptive statistics and econometric techniques such as probit, tobit, and Heckman two-step selection models were used to analyze the data. The study finds that households derive a significant portion of their income from the collection of NTFPs; however, the extent and pattern of household dependence on NTFPs for income differ widely across different socioeconomic and demographic profiles. Level of education, age, landholding and household size, number of children, and gender influence the intensity of household collection of NTFPs. Households located inside the core zone of the reserve tend to depend more on NTFP collection compared to households residing in the buffer zone. Provision of non-farm employment and adequate farm land will go a long way in reducing household dependence on NTFPs and thereby improve forest conservation outcomes.
... The income-equalizing effect of forest income among rural households has also been evidenced by other studies (Cavendish and Campbell, in press, Fisher 2004, LóPez-Feldman et al. 2007, Mamo et al. 2007, Reddy and Chakravarty 1999. In spite of these arguments, forest resources are not adequately considered in the poverty reduction strategies of most developing countries (Oksanen and mersmann 2003) including Sub Saharan African countries (McConnell 2008). This is mainly because poverty analysis based on income or material consumption discounts the role of forests, and hence disregards the impact of the degradation and disappearance of forests and natural resources on the livelihoods of the poor (Oksanen and Mersmann 2003). ...
... In spite of these arguments, forest resources are not adequately considered in the poverty reduction strategies of most developing countries (Oksanen and mersmann 2003) including Sub Saharan African countries (McConnell 2008). This is mainly because poverty analysis based on income or material consumption discounts the role of forests, and hence disregards the impact of the degradation and disappearance of forests and natural resources on the livelihoods of the poor (Oksanen and Mersmann 2003). ...
... The recognition of forests as a development asset has so far been limited in many poverty reduction strategies. Of the 11 PRSPs and 25 I-PRSPs in sub-Saharan Africa, 74% touched on forestry issues but almost none were convincing about forests-poverty links and forests' future potential (Oksanen and Mersmann 2002). ...
... Many NWFPs do not have scope for commercial development but are extremely important in millions of households. This has not been recognized adequately; for example, the contribution of forests to livelihoods has been chronically overlooked in poverty reduction strategy papers (Oksanen and Mersmann 2002). These values alone may be enough to justify forest conservation and enhancement. ...
... The income-equalizing effect of forest income among rural households has also been evidenced by other studies (Cavendish and Campbell, in press, Fisher 2004, LóPez-Feldman et al. 2007, Mamo et al. 2007, Reddy and Chakravarty 1999. In spite of these arguments, forest resources are not adequately considered in the poverty reduction strategies of most developing countries (Oksanen and mersmann 2003) including Sub Saharan African countries (McConnell 2008). This is mainly because poverty analysis based on income or material consumption discounts the role of forests, and hence disregards the impact of the degradation and disappearance of forests and natural resources on the livelihoods of the poor (Oksanen and Mersmann 2003). ...
... In spite of these arguments, forest resources are not adequately considered in the poverty reduction strategies of most developing countries (Oksanen and mersmann 2003) including Sub Saharan African countries (McConnell 2008). This is mainly because poverty analysis based on income or material consumption discounts the role of forests, and hence disregards the impact of the degradation and disappearance of forests and natural resources on the livelihoods of the poor (Oksanen and Mersmann 2003). ...
There is an increasing interest in understanding the role forest products and forest resource management in rural livelihoods and poverty reduction strategies. This study investigates the contribution of forest resources to the livelihoods of rural households under a participatory management arrangement in southern Ethiopia. Data were collected through key informant interviews, group discussion, and household surveys from a total of 350 households. Income data were collected in four separate seasons at intervals of three months. The result indicates that forest products are the most important sources of income contributing to 34% and 53% of household per capita income and per capita cash income, respectively. Forest income also helps 20% of the population to remain above the poverty line. Forest income reduces inequal-ity (Gini coefficient) by 15.5%. In general, the result confirms the importance of forest income in poverty alleviation and as safety nets in times of income crisis.
... However, the contributions of the Majang forest ecosystem to the indigenous communities' livelihoods have not yet been known, and there is a gap in research, knowledge, and documentation on the Majang forest ecosystems' contribution to the livelihoods of local communities in Southwest Ethiopia. Understanding rural people's livelihoods, the extent and causes of poverty and inequality, the welfare effects of the degradation of natural resources, and developing effective development and conservation strategies all depend on measuring the relative and absolute contribution of environmental income to total income portfolios [9,[16][17][18]. ...
Ecosystems contribute to sustainable development by integrating economic and social development through sustainable natural resource conservation. This paper examines the contribution of the Majang forest ecosystem to livelihoods, the main products derived from the Majang forest ecosystem, and the factors affecting the dependence on ecosystem goods and services. Our present paper's main objective was to investigate how local livelihoods are impacted by Majang forest ecosystems and how those ecosystems contribute to local livelihoods. Before the main survey, we carried out reconnaissance and a pretest survey. The research was conducted using a mixed-method approach that combined quantitative and qualitative methods. Semi-structured survey questionnaires were used to gather the data. Our research showed that the products of the forest ecosystem are very important for the subsistence of the local populations and 32 how dependent they are on them. Our research showed that the essential components of the Majang forest ecosystem products are beekeeping, fish, bushmeat, mushrooms, firewood, and building materials. According to our research, beekeeping accounts for 42.7% of household income, followed by firewood at 26.5 percent. Our findings indicate that income from the Majang forest ecosystems contributes 64.53% of total household income, compared to 35.47% from other alternative income sources. Additionally, the findings demonstrate that household characteristics had a significant impact on the reliance level of the forest ecosystem. Our research has shown how heavily local communities rely on the goods of Majang forest ecosystems. Our findings show the enormous socioeconomic importance of Majang forest ecosystem services to local communities. Our research's conclusions have significant implications for managers and decision-makers. Our results suggest that the conservation and sustainable use of forest ecosystems requires the intervention of decision-makers.
... As a result, developing-country governments have taken several necessary steps to alleviate poverty and improve forest cover, the two most widely adopted strategies being poverty alleviation programmes and strategies such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRPSs) and the implementation of pro-people forest management models (Sunderlin et al. 2005). However, forest and forestry are utterly absent from the majority of poverty alleviation strategies (Oksanen and Mersmann 2003). Similarly, people-friendly conservation approaches failed to meet expectations since they excluded weaker stakeholders, such as women and lowincome people, driving them into a more impoverished lifestyle (Agarwal 2001). ...
Gandhamardan Hill is located in the Western part of Odisha near the Bargarh and Balangir districts which cover a large forest area. The forest cover enables several medicinal plants, facilitating income for local habitats; Local people collect and sell in the local market and set up ayurvedic shops in the foothills. The tribals depend on the forest for the collection of minor forest products as their main source of livelihood. The life and livelihood of the local tribals are based on the Gandhamardan hill resources such as air, water for life and forest products for income and consumption. The livelihood strategies of local people have yet to drive them to economic prosperity. This article explains the facts of how minor forest product (MFP) “low value addition” was unable to create employment opportunities for tribal people in the Gandhamardan hill region ecosystems. MFPs and its impact on “value addition” have been identified as an economic problem in the Gandhamardan hill area up till now. For instance, items created following “value addition” to an MFP, like Kendu leaves, are heavily taxing the state. The state’s forest residents’ economic situation can change if the same is done to other MFPs such as lac and karanji, mahua, hard, bahada, and amla. The paper is based on primary data through a random sampling method and data collected from 604 households. The survey is conducted in Bargarh and Balangir districts on two sides of Gandhamardan Hill because the nearest villages are forest dependent. Descriptive statistics analyses the data to show the economic valuation and income of forest products. According to the study, poverty and product valuation are significantly correlated in the Gandhamardan Hill area. Forest products are lower than the local Government’s set price. The state government should work to promote a well-organised market so that consumers may obtain better terms than those offered by village lenders. It was only possible to increase the value of raw form once a food processing facility would be created. To raise the value of forest goods, in other words, and so assist in lessening the economic problems of those who depend on the forest, sustainable factories may be established.
... Keeping in view importance of NTFPs as the potential means to conserve biodiversity and enhancing rural livelihoods in many regions of the world [19,20,21] besides, considered as the important source of cash income especially for marginalized people and communities living around problem areas paved the way for present study to focus on determining the livelihood strategies of the local communities using NTFPs in flood proximate communities of the Indus basin around Dera Ismail Khan, KPK, Pakistan. The Indus basin is often covered with diverse vegetation which the local and poor communities used for their daily household use but also sell them to sustain their livelihood. ...
Flood-proximate communities are the most affected from the destructions caused by floods occurring almost every year in Pakistan. The people in these areas, due to frequent natural calamities, usually have poor economic conditions. These communities mainly rely on conventional income-generating strategies i.e. agriculture, fishing, daily wages etc. But due to natural disasters, these methods end up yielding the least profit, thus different means of income-inducing strategies are needed to explore for the community’s sustainable growth. The current study focuses on the potential of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in the region of D I Khan in supporting the livelihoods of the inhabitants. The research utilized a mixed method approach (blend of quantitative and qualitative) through a semi-structured questionnaire aiming to assess the livelihood sustenance of flood proximate communities through NTFPs. A total of 150 respondents were randomly selected from 05 administration units, tehsils. The results revealed that communities in non-flooded areas (NF) used collecting NTFPs mostly for construction material whereas those in flooded areas (F) used it for construction as well as utensil making (F:41 %; NF: 39%; P<0.05; c2: 0.812). Both groups were involved in harvesting and using shrubs such as S. munja, T. latifolia, N. ritchiana, S. sesban and T. dioca and trees such as E. camadulensis, V. nilotica, and D. sissoo for firewood and cottage industry. Both groups were significantly different in meeting their livelihood needs such as their income source and meeting household expenses efficiently (F: 48%; NF: 100 %; P<0.01; c2: 12.03). The present study concludes that the NTFPs sector in flood-proximate areas has been neglected as a profitable income strategy for sustainable livelihood of the poor in this region.
... Mangroves also help to improve energy efficiency (e.g. by providing low-cost firewood), agricultural productivity (e.g. nutrients and fodder for livestock and crops) and rural development (Abdullah et al., 2016;Ameen and Al-Homaidan, 2020;Aye et al., 2019;Oksanen and Mersmann, 2003). These ecosystems therefore play an important role in the reduction of community vulnerability to natural disasters (Soanes et al., 2021) and economic crises (Begum et al., 2021). ...
The impacts of women's participation in forest resource management on forest conservation and women's livelihoods are poorly understood. This study investigated women's role in Sundarban mangrove forest co-management in order to identify these impacts. Qualitative data was collected through focus group discussions (FGDs, n = 16) and key informant interviews (KIIs, n = 29) in four villages, at different tiers of co-management institutions, and with multiple stakeholders. Thematic content analysis, a well-established method for analysing qualitative data, was used to investigate the views of stakeholders on women's role in forest co-management and its impact on forest conservation and livelihood outcomes. Women participate in all tiers of forest co-management institutions, including the village conservation forum, people's forum, community patrol group, and co-management committee. This participation has increased their awareness and understanding of government rules and regulations in forest conservation, extended women's social networks, and created opportunities for involvement in alternative income-generating activities. Thus, women have benefited from the provision of greater financial input into their families, which has ultimately elevated women's status in the family. Local women's knowledge of sustainable forest resource harvesting methods and compliance with Bangladesh Forest Department directives can foster forest resources conservation and wildlife protection. Although women contribute to forest conservation through their participation, their representation is lower than that of men in the co-management of the Sundarban mangrove forest. Policy interventions for community members are needed to influence men's attitudes towards women working outside the home. This may equalise gender participation in forest co-management and increase women's livelihood support through greater recognition of their roles and elevating the value and impact of their participation.
... This may be due to the fact that poverty has been estimated on the basis of income and material consumption by any people. Therefore this type of estimation ignores the role of forest and forest products like NTFPs, which makes the forest resources vulnerable for degradation (Oksanen & Mersmann, 2003). Although NTFPs are considered as the supplement of subsistence living, its overexploitation may not be ruled out because of ever growing population and market demand (Dash & Behera, 2013). ...
Abstract
The contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to secure the livelihood of rural households in India is highly significant. This study analyzed the socioeconomic characteristics of rural households and the role of NTFPs in securing their livelihood in Paschim Medinipur forest division of West Bengal, India. Proportionate stratified random sampling was used to select 293 households of forest dwellers in the Chandra and Dherua Gram Panchayet area. A structured questionnaire was used to get the data from the household heads in 18 villages. Results pointed out that NTFPs contributed 23% of total household income and cannot be ignored. Nearly 60% of the villagers in the study area are directly dependent on NTFPs collected from local forest, while the rest indirectly use those, that is, many household bye forest products such as fuelwood and mushroom when required. Among different NTFPs available in the forest, the main NTFPs collected by the villagers are dry firewoods, sal leaf, mushroom, mehul flower, housing materials, sal gum, kurkut, sal seed, and kendu leaves. Among these collected NTFPs, dry firewood is the most important one which is collected frequently. Male, female, and children all are contributing for collecting the NTFPs, but the contribution from female members of the family is the highest. The contribution from female members varied from 22% to 86%, male members varied from 14% to 78%, and children varied from 0% to 18%. The forest fringe villagers are facing many problems during the NTFPs collection time such as elephant attack, snake bite, and interference of government authority. Majority (more that 80%) of local people have reported that the main problem is the elephant attack during NTFPs collection. They suggested that boundary walls need to be constructed at the strategic places around the forest area for protection against elephant migration. However, the findings suggest that NTFPs play an important role in supporting livelihoods in rural household community.
... This may be due to the fact that poverty has been estimated on the basis of income and material consumption by any people. Therefore this type of estimation ignores the role of forest and forest products like NTFPs, which makes the forest resources vulnerable for degradation (Oksanen & Mersmann, 2003). Although NTFPs are considered as the supplement of subsistence living, its overexploitation may not be ruled out because of ever growing population and market demand (Dash & Behera, 2013). ...
The accuracy in estimating forest ecosystem above-ground biomass (AGB) has drawn extensive attention from researchers in the field of global climate change. Determination of suitable interpolation methods for the transformation of discrete samples into continuous maps is a disputable issue in environmental researches. On other hand, ignored spatial correlation leads to uncertainty in estimation. In this paper, we compared conventional and Bayesian approaches as prediction methods of AGB in coppice forests situated in south-west Iran, using remotely sensed imagery. In total, 184 squared sample plots were inventoried. Three spatial interpolation techniques ordinary kriging (OK), Bayesian kriging (BK), and regression kriging (RK) were utilized for estimating the AGB. We compared AGB spatial predictions derived from interpolation methods. RK was carried out using remotely sensed data as auxiliary variables. Validation was done by determining the root mean squared error (RMSE%), R-square, mean absolute error (MAE%), and Bias (%) values. According to these criteria, BK is the most precise with an RMSE% of 29.0, R-square of 0.51, MAE% of 23.0, and Bias% of −0.3, whilst multiple OK performed worst (RMSE% of 39.0, R-square of 0.12, MAE% of 23.0, and Bias% of −0.5).
... A literature has grown rapidly in recent years focused on examining the potential for forest-based poverty alleviation. Among the key titles are those by: Byron and Arnold (1999);Schmidt et al. (1999); Arnold (2001); FAO and DFID (2001); Gutman (2001);Wunder (2001); Scherr et al. (2002); and Smith and Scherr (2002); Oksanen and Mersmann (2002); Angelsen and Wunder (2003); FAO (2003b); and Oksanen et al. (2003). ...
... In fact, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has recently recommended that the World Bank consider landscape approaches in reviews of forest policy (Laestadius et al. 2015). Despite the integral importance of forests to diets, forest resources are not well integrated into poverty alleviation or into nutrition strategies (Oksanen andMersmann 2003, Powell et al. 2015), but the opportunity exists for their improved integration. Therefore, a landscape perspective on nutrition is both timely and commensurate with emerging priorities for forest restoration. ...
Malnutrition linked to poor quality diets affects at least 2 billion people. Forests, as well as agricultural systems linked to trees, are key sources of dietary diversity in rural settings. In the present article, we develop conceptual links between diet diversity and forested landscape mosaics within the rural tropics. First, we summarize the state of knowledge regarding diets obtained from forests, trees, and agroforests. We then hypothesize how disturbed secondary forests, edge habitats, forest access, and landscape diversity can function in bolstering dietary diversity. Taken together, these ideas help us build a framework illuminating four pathways (direct, agroecological, energy, and market pathways) connecting forested landscapes to diet diversity. Finally, we offer recommendations to fill remaining knowledge gaps related to diet and forest cover monitoring. We argue that better evaluation of the role of land cover complexity will help avoid overly simplistic views of food security and, instead, uncover nutritional synergies with forest conservation and restoration.
... It is estimated that more than 15 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa earn their cash income from forest-related enterprises such as fuel wood and charcoal sales, small-scale saw-milling, commercial hunting and handicraft. In addition, between 200,000 and 300,000 people are directly employed in the commercial timber industry (Oksanen and Mersmann, 2003). For some countries, the forestry sector is an important A study by NTFP project of south-west Ethiopia center revealed that, the local communities in the south-west highlands of Ethiopia are highly dependent on the forest resources for their livelihoods. ...
... The study's findings challenge common thinking, as households in the highest income quintile had the highest environmental and forest incomes, indicating that wealthier people create higher pressure on natural resources, and not necessarily the poorest. Environmental income is however widely neglected by policymakers in poverty reduction strategies (Oksanen and Mersmann, 2003). ...
... Rural households throughout the developing world use food, fuel, fodder, construction materials, medicine, and other products from forests and other natural, non-cultivated environments to meet subsistence needs and generate cash income (Byron & Arnold, 1999;FAO, 2008;Kaimowitz, 2003;Sunderlin et al., 2005;World Bank, 2004). Quantifying the relative and absolute contribution of environmental income to total income portfolios is important for understanding the livelihoods of rural people, the extent and determinants of poverty and inequality, the welfare implications of the degradation of natural resources, and for designing effective development and conservation strategies (Angelsen & Wunder, 2003;Jagger, Luckert, Banana, & Bahati, 2012;Oksanen & Mersmann, 2003;Vedeld, Angelsen, Sjaastad, & Berg, 2004). Overcoming current knowledge gaps in these areas requires moving beyond the current primarily case study-based state of knowledge on the importance of natural resources to overall livelihoods strategies. ...
... The importance of forest resources in rural communities is particularly significant during food shortage periods (Fisher et al. 2010; Pramova et al. 2012b; Vinceti et al. 2008). Despite this evidence, forest resources are not adequately considered in the poverty alleviation policies of most developing countries (Oksanen and Mersmann 2003), including those in sub-Saharan Africa (McConnell 2008) and are rarely included in adaptation plans and projects (Pramova et al. 2012a). The poor are the most affected by food insecurity due to climate variability, particularly in the Sudano-Sahelian area. ...
The importance of forest resources for rural communities’ livelihoods has increasingly been recognized over the last three decades. Forests provide food, generate incomes, provide supporting (nutrient cycling, pollination), and regulating (climate, diseases, water regulation and purification) services for agriculture, in addition to their aesthetic, cultural and spiritual role. However, most of the studies on forest resource use do not focus on the role of landscape organization in addressing the impact of climate variability and the risk of food insecurity. This study aims to examine the contribution of woodlands and trees towards decreasing the risk of food insecurity and the importance of landscape structure and composition in coping with food shortages. It took place in two villages in Burkina Faso, on both ends of the woodlands and tree-cover spectrum. We demonstrate that in both landscapes, ecosystem goods, such as shea nuts and fuelwood, represent a safety net for households during food shortage periods. We demonstrate that households shape their adaptive strategies differently depending on the resources available and the structure of the landscape. People living in a landscape with a savannah matrix (Sorobouly) rely on fuelwood trade to purchase cereals, while those living in a landscape with a parkland matrix (Kalembouly) rely on shea nuts. Agricultural, environmental and climate change policies that reinforce the rights of the most vulnerable to access key resources provided by these landscapes and development programs which assure their sustainable use will simultaneously enhance food security and increase their adaptive capacity in the face of climate change and variability.
... Fieldwork using state-of-the-art methods and, in particular, well-designed household questionnaires, thus becomes an imperative to adequately capture environmental income dimensions of rural welfare. In fact, current poverty alleviation strategies in most developing countries draw to as ignificant extent on results from household surveys; environmentali ncome estimates are, however, often not included in the standardized living standards measurement surveys (Oksanen and Mersmann, 2003). Studies based on such surveys are thus inadequate for understanding the diversity of rural income generation in developing countries. ...
... This approach has been widely used to examine how gender (Zuckerman 2002, ECOSOC 2003, sustainability (Dfid 2000, Boio and Reddy 2002, DtidlEC/UNDPAVorld Bank 2002, and HIV/AIDS (World Bank 2001) are represented in development plans. Our approach adopts the framework refined by Oksanen and Mersmann (2002) in their appraisal of forestry's status in Sub-saharan African PRSPs, and has also been used to analyse fisheries in Africa, small island developing states, and the developing world's largest fish producers (Thorpe, Reid, van Anrooy and Brugere 2004, 2005a, 2005b. We analysed development plans for sixteen economies, ten of which published interim or full PRSPs: sources and the detailed analysis are presented in Appendix 2. We examined four aspects of the documents. ...
... The type and amount of forest income (subsistence vs cash) and harvested forest products change differentially with changes in total household income and other socioeconomic characteristics such as sex, age and household composition (Adhikari et al., 2004, Cavendish, 2000, Fisher, 2004, Illukpitiya and Yanagida, 2008, McElwee, 2008, McSweeney, 2002. Despite the increasing awareness of the importance of forest income particularly to poor rural households Wunder, 2003, Sunderlin et al., 2005) their contribution has remained invisible and is ignored in poverty reduction strategies of many countries (Oksanen and Mersmann, 2003). ...
... Rural households throughout the developing world use food, fuel, fodder, construction materials, medicine, and other products from forests and other natural, non-cultivated environments to meet subsistence needs and generate cash income (Byron & Arnold, 1999;FAO, 2008;Kaimowitz, 2003;Sunderlin et al., 2005;World Bank, 2004). Quantifying the relative and absolute contribution of environmental income to total income portfolios is important for understanding the livelihoods of rural people, the extent and determinants of poverty and inequality, the welfare implications of the degradation of natural resources, and for designing effective development and conservation strategies (Angelsen & Wunder, 2003;Jagger, Luckert, Banana, & Bahati, 2012;Oksanen & Mersmann, 2003;Vedeld, Angelsen, Sjaastad, & Berg, 2004). Overcoming current knowledge gaps in these areas requires moving beyond the current primarily case study-based state of knowledge on the importance of natural resources to overall livelihoods strategies. ...
This paper presents results from a comparative analysis of environmental income from approximately 8000 households in 24 developing countries collected by research partners in CIFOR’s Poverty Environment Network (PEN). Environmental income accounts for 28% of total household income, 77% of which comes from natural forests. Environmental income shares are higher for low-income households, but differences across income quintiles are less pronounced than previously thought. The poor rely more heavily on subsistence products such as wood fuels and wild foods, and on products harvested from natural areas other than forests. In absolute terms environmental income is approximately five times higher in the highest income quintile, compared to the two lowest quintiles.
... So far, this "discovery of the wild" has not really occurred. Environmental income remains widely overlooked by policymakers in their poverty reduction strategies (Oksanen & Mersmann, 2003). National accounting systems in many countries lump forestry under agriculture in their national income calculations (FAO, 2008), while other-perhaps mostenvironmental income may not be counted at all. ...
More than 10,000 years after the Agricultural Revolution started, millions of rural smallholders across the developing world may still derive as much income from foraging forests and wildlands as from cultivating crops. These steady environmental income flows come often from public forests, and are extracted by men and women alike. However, inflexible supplies from nature, the physical hardship of harvesting, and commonly low returns limit their role as safety nets and pathways out of poverty. While their harvesting does not preclude the ongoing conversion of wildlands to agriculture, privileged access to high-quality environmental resources can become a strong local conservation motive.
... Tschakert et al. 2007). Lastly, the perceived challenges in collecting such data means that forest income estimates are not included in standardised living standards measurement surveys (Oksanen and Mersmann 2003); studies based on such data sets are therefore not directly useful in connection to understanding the role of forest income in rural households. The few available studies from south and central America indicate a share of forest income in household subsistence income of 15-53% and a share of 7-57% of forest products in household cash income (Godoy et al. 2000(Godoy et al. , 2002McSweeney 2002); reported levels of relative forest income are about 18-27% (Coomes et al. 2004;Matos 2005;McSweeney 2002). ...
Forests contribute to livelihoods of rural people throughout the tropics. This paper adds to the emerging body of quantitative
knowledge on absolute and relative economic importance, through both cash and subsistence income, of moist forests to households.
Qualitative contextual information was collected in six villages in lowland Bolivia, followed by a structured survey of randomly
selected households (n = 118) that included four quarterly income surveys. We employed a novel data collection approach that allows detailed estimation
of total household accounts, including sources of forest income. We estimated the average forest income share of total annual
household income (forest dependency) at 20%, ranging from 18 to 24%. Adding environmental income increased the average to
26%, being fairly constant across income quartiles at 24–28%. Absolute levels of forest income increased with total household
income, while forest dependency was the highest in the best-off income quartile—the primary harvesters of forest products
are better-off households. The pattern of high forest dependency among better-off households has also been reported from other
countries, indicating that this pattern may be more common than advocated by conventional wisdom. Using ordinary least squares
(OLS) regressions, we found significant determinants of absolute forest income to be household size, sex of household head
and area of cultivated land; the significant determinants for forest dependency were level of education, whether household
head was born in village and whether household was food self-sufficient. Better-off households were able to realise cash income
from forests, while poorer households—in particular if headed by women—were more reliant on subsistence forest income. We
argue that the differential patterns of forest income across income quartiles should be considered in future development interventions
and that findings indicate a potential for forests to contribute to moving households out of poverty.
... This indicates that previously published studies on income and livelihoods in the region that ignore forest income (e.g., Bohle and Adhikari, 1998;Blaikie et al., 2002;Rijal, 2006) should be read with caution. The same is true for studies using the Nepal Living Standard Surveys (e.g., Maltsoglou and Taniguchi, 2004) that do not include forest and environmental income, a point more generally argued by Oksanen and Mersmann (2003). Other studies from Nepal have reported lower average forest income shares of 5-8% (Adhikari, 2005), 4-23% (Chhetri, 2005) and 6-22% (Aryal and Angelsen, 2007). ...
Forests are important to the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people in developing countries. This study contributes to the emerging body of quantitative knowledge on the economic importance of forests to rural households through a study in the Nepal Himalaya. Qualitative contextual information was collected in six villages, followed by a structured household (n=180) survey that included four quarterly income surveys. The average forest income share of total annual household income was 22%, ranging from 12 to 31%. For all income groups, the level of forest income exceeded (except for livestock income for the most well-off income quartile) income from each of agricultural products and livestock products. In absolute terms, the level of forest income increased with total income. Forest income mainly supports current consumption. Determinants of household absolute and relative forest income were available labour, education, and location. The number of livestock units and degree of debt had positive effects on absolute forest income, while the size of remittances and savings had negative effects on forest dependency. Income diversification was the norm for all income groups. There is also clear evidence of differential income diversification both across and within income sources. The consequences for policy-makers are briefly discussed.
... In this study, we adopt a more elementary filter of criteria built on the lines of previous work, such as that of Ekbom and Bojo (1997), Shyamsundar and Kishore (2005) and Bojo and Reddy (2002), who evaluated the extent to which the institutional environment had been incorporated into World Bank Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) documents. Oksanen and Mersmann (2002) adopted the methodology and used it to evaluate the extent to which the forestry sector had been included in Sub-Saharan Africa Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). By attaching scores to different criteria, the study managed to make comparisons of the extent to which individual countries addressed natural resources in their PRSPs. ...
The potential of keeping livestock as a poverty reduction strategy cannot be fully exploited in rural Africa because of the low levels of market participation that characterize mixed and grassland-based farming systems dominating much of Africa. In a set of three former British colonies (Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya), an analysis was conducted to assess differences in institutional development, policy incentives and levels of livestock market participation. Livestock market participation has historically been higher in Kenya and Tanzania than in Uganda. National documents and official reports were subjected to qualitative content analysis. The findings suggest that Kenya has developed an institutional environment that is more conducive to the market participation of traditional cattle keepers than Tanzania and Uganda. The insights obtained from this study are important in redirecting governments, donors and multilateral development agencies from predominantly input-driven livestock development interventions to increased emphasis on institutional and policy support.
... A literature has grown rapidly in recent years focused on examining the potential for forest-based poverty alleviation. Among the key titles are those by: Byron and Arnold (1999); Schmidt et al. (1999); Arnold (2001); FAO and DFID (2001); Gutman (2001); Wunder (2001); Scherr et al. (2002); and Smith and Scherr (2002); Oksanen and Mersmann (2002); Angelsen and Wunder (2003); FAO (2003b); and Oksanen et al. (2003). A recurrent theme in this new literature is the need for additional research as there are many questions that remain to be answered (e.g., Angelsen and Wunder 2003:41). ...
... Opponents of decentralized forest policy however, argue that decentralizing forest management will lead to greater levels of deforestation because individual local governments, especially in the developing countries, often lack the human, physical, and financial resources to be effective governors of natural resources by themselves (Andersson, 2003; Fiszbein, 1997; Gregersen et al., 2005; Larson, 2002). Often, local governments tend to under invest in environment protection (e.g., monitoring and sanctioning of rules) since they cannot capture all the benefits of the public goods the environment creates (Bahl, 1999; Francis and James, 2003; Olowu and Wunsch, 2004; Oksanen and Mersmann, 2003). Other factors that often act as disincentives for local governments to invest in a decentralized forest sector include limited decision-making powers, inadequate property rights , and the poor quality and quantity of the resource to be managed (Agrawal and Ostrom, 2001; Andersson, 2003; Andersson et al., 2005; Meinzen-Dick and Knox, 1999; Ostrom, 1999; Ribot, 1999; Ribot et al., 2006; Sasu, 2005). ...
"The outcomes of decentralization policies on the delivery of forestry sector services and ecological health remain ambiguous. Several scholars warn that there is insufficient empirical data to support the assumption that decentralization of forest resources results in better or worse forest governance. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of local institutions crafted during the implementation of decentralization reforms of the mid-1990s in Mpigi District of Uganda to moderate forest degradation. We observed cases of both institutional success and failure in forestry management within the district following the decentralization reforms suggesting that decentralization of authority over forests to local user groups, traditional leaders, or officials of local governments may not always produce incentives to prevent a decline in forest extent or condition in the entire landscape. The outcomes of decentralization reforms in the forest sector may be more a function of factors such as 1) the nature of the forests, location, patchiness, and production of external environmental goods and services; 2) the level and strength of market signals for both forest products and crops grown on forest soils; and 3) the diversity of stakeholders and their values and dependence on specific extents and condition of the forest patch."
... We then discuss the policy implications of the findings, giving attention to the way the findings can be implemented in national poverty reduction strategies. These are important objectives because forest resources are often given little, if any, attention in national strategies for poverty reduction (e.g., Oksanen and Mersmann 2003). ...
"Forests have been declared important for the well-being of the poor because of the kinds of goods and services that they provide. We asked whether forests are important for the poor not only because of the kinds of goods and services they provide, but also because they tend to be located where the poor are. We conducted a spatial analysis to ascertain the degree of spatial association between poverty and forests in seven countries: Brazil, Honduras, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Indonesia, and Vietnam. For most of these countries, there was a significant positive correlation between high natural forest cover and high poverty rate (the percentage of the population that is poor) and between high forest cover and low poverty density (the number of poor per unit area). We explain the findings and discuss policy implications and topics for future research."
... In addition, we point to strategic implications for forest research organisations. Finally, we also discuss some of the ongoing political processes in this field, such as the World Banks new Forest Strategy paper (World Bank 2001) and FAOs policy brief on how forests can be made more pro-poor (FAO 2001) 1 and we look at the role of forests in Poverty Reduction Strategies (Oksanen and Mersmann 2002). The first two documents signal significant shifts in the positions assumed by two major actors in the international forest development arena, although the latter shows there is still some way to go in terms of implementing the changes in national policies. ...
"This paper provides a global review of the link from forests to poverty alleviation. Definitions are clarified and the key concepts and indicators related to livelihoods and poverty reduction and prevention are explored - distinguishing between the analysis (using broader welfare elements) and the measurement of poverty (using more tangible, traditional indicators). Reviewing the macro-level literature on the relationship between economic growth, inequality and poverty, we find that economic growth usually does trickle down to the poor and that poverty reduction without growth is in practice very difficult to achieve."
... ural resources and the environment. Due to limited human and financial resources, local governments as is the case with the national government focuses on the provision of traditional social services such as health, education and roads instead of the productive sectors such as the forest sector and the natural resources sector in general. Similarly Oksanen et. al (2003) reported that the role of the forest sector in the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) papers in many developing countries is not articulated. In general the sector is incorporated in a rather modest and unsystematic manner. Consequently most local governments' Development Plans in Uganda give low priority to the forest sector. Given the f ...
From the Introduction: "In this paper, we hypothesize that there is inadequate investment in monitoring and enforcement of forest harvesting regulations by the local governments leading to the degradation of forest resources in the country. Since local councils are the actors charged with implementing decentralization policies, in this paper we also seek to understand the incentives and constraints local politicians face in implementing the Local Government Act of 1997. We use a longitudinal strategy of collecting social, institutional, and ecological data collected from nine forests in Mpigi district in1994/95 and in 1999/2000. This period represents the first five years of implementation of the decentralization policy of 1994. "The data collected was used to assess the changes in rights and responsibilities, funding and staffing levels, incentives to manage, monitor, and enforce forest rules and regulations and the change in forest conditions following the implementation of the above policies. In the paper, we first present the background to the decentralization reforms in Uganda's forest sector. We then describe the forest estate in Mpigi district, one of the pilot districts where the decentralization policy was first implemented. We then report on sharing of roles and responsibilities between local governments and the central government and the subsequent decline in monitoring and rule enforcement due to limited financial and human capital by the local governments. Finally, using data collected from nine forests located in Mpigi district we report on forest conditions and how they are affected by the absence of effective forest rule enforcement by the decentralized district."
... Products derived from forests and trees are important sources of cash income and employment for the rural poor. An estimated 15 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa earn cash income from forest related activities, which are important especially for the most vulnerable groups including women and children (Oksanen & Mersmann, 2003). Numerous are those that use or sell wood as main source of energy. ...
Conversion of tropical forests into cropland and pasture has risen incessantly during the last few decades. With the aim of providing evidence for informed-decision on sustainable forest management, this thesis examined the dynamics of land use change in southern Burkina Faso, whether tree diversity and natural regeneration are favored in protected forests under varying human population pressures and local perception of forest decline. Spatial analysis revealed a rapid land use change both at local and regional scales over the past 16 years, characterized by a high conversion rate of forest to agricultural land, driven by rural immigration, changes in farming systems and fuelwood extraction. The protected forest harbored relatively less species (45) than the unprotected forests (58). Irrespective of the forest conservation status, stem density and basal area were higher in a site with higher human population density than otherwise. Shannon’s measure of evenness and Fisher’s diversity index were significantly high in the less populated site and unprotected forests, respectively. Seedling density did not vary significantly between protected and unprotected forests and sites with varying human pressures, and the majority of the species was characterized by very low seedling density, with a clumped population distribution. A survey on uses of forests and perception on their decline revealed 82 plant species that are being used for various purposes (food, medicine, energy, animal feed and construction), suggesting the key role the forest resources play in poverty reduction and sustaining seasonal shocks (like food scarcity or income generation). The thesis draws the following major conclusions: 1) the size of cropland increases at the expense of declining forest cover both at local and regional levels; 2) the designation of protected areas by itself appears ineffective in ensuring conservation of tree diversity and natural regeneration in the Sudanian dry forest reserves; and 3) the local people depend on the forests to meet their subsistence, energy, income and medicinal needs, with distinct variability between gender, residence status, and ethnic group. The decline of the dry forest in the region has been perceived by the various stake-holders. To effectively protect the remaining dry forests, the forest management strategy should promote the idea of “conservation by utilization” where ownership and management right should be devolved to the local people and equitable benefit-sharing mechanisms established.
Forest resources have played prominent roles in the livelihoods of rural dwellers, most especially, the rural poor. Most of the rural farm families in most of agrarian sub-Saharan Africa collect forest resources and utilise them in diverse ways, either for direct consumption or for economic survival. However, it is generally observed that while they engage in these activities, little or no attention is paid to the consequential environmental degradation. Modelling e-extension, that is, the application of ICT in agricultural extension management is explored as a great potential in effectively tackling the challenges associated with forest resources management and utilisation activities. It is against this backdrop that this chapter, using a desk research approach, explores an e-extension model for sustainable forest management conceived within a framework of challenges confronting forest management such as low-improved forest management information technologies, forest governance, legal and policy issues, forest resources users’ low income and poverty status, wildfire, climate change, urbanisation, and forest fragmentation, among others. This is to develop a Forest Management Information System (FMIS) encompassing forest management data generation, forest management data distribution, and forest management data utilisation. Subsequently, positively impacting on rural dwellers’ livelihoods through increased income, increased productivity and production, poverty alleviation, and enhanced standard of living.
The process of land degradation needs to be understood at various spatial and temporal scales in order to protect ecosystem services and communities directly dependent on it. This is especially true for regions in sub-Saharan Africa, where socio economic and political factors exacerbate ecological degradation. This study identifies spatially explicit land change dynamics in the Copperbelt province of Zambia in a local context using satellite vegetation index time series derived from the MODIS sensor. Three sets of parameters, namely, monthly series, annual peaking magnitude, and annual mean growing season were developed for the period 2000 to 2019. Trend was estimated by applying harmonic regression on monthly series and linear least square regression on annually aggregated series. Estimated spatial trends were further used as a basis to map endemic land change processes. Our observations were as follows: (a) 15% of the study area dominant in the east showed positive trends, (b) 3% of the study area dominant in the west showed negative trends, (c) natural regeneration in mosaic landscapes (post shifting cultivation) and land management in forest reserves were chiefly responsible for positive trends, and (d) degradation over intact miombo woodland and cultivation areas contributed to negative trends. Additionally, lower productivity over areas with semi-permanent agriculture and shift of new encroachment into woodlands from east to west of Copperbelt was observed. Pivot agriculture was not a main driver in land change. Although overall greening trends prevailed across the study site, the risk of intact woodlands being exposed to various disturbances remains high. The outcome of this study can provide insights about natural and assisted landscape restoration specifically addressing the miombo ecoregion.
Wild edible fruits are very important worldwide, utilization of wild edible plant in different country depend upon ethnographic use. Edible wild fruits have high nutritional value, high level of carbohydrate, wild leaves consist of several minerals as well as essential amino acid, seeds of wild fruit contains calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. Seeds also have a little quantity of essential amino acids. Edible wild fruit and leave they provide important source of food for people with either low or middle income other side they are also considered a source of income to improve the standard living conditions for rural communities. This study focused on nutritional value of different wild edible fruit, diversity and conservation, physiochemical properties, nutrition value, and economic value. Edible wild plant play important role in contribution in nutrition and economy value. The important of study creating awareness of the public and policy to promote and market.
The first of the 17 Global Goals that make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is to end poverty in all its forms everywhere. Although the numbers of poor people in the world has declined over the last few decades, it is still alarmingly high, being approximately 770 million in 2013 (Fig. 1) (World Bank in Understanding Poverty 2017). Currently the majority of the world’s poor live in rural areas, and their livelihoods are dominated by land-based activities including gathering of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs). There were rela tively few studies offering more socially orientated perspectives and insights on the links between NTFP use, dependency and poverty. The ordinary people using NTFPs, their reasons for doing so and their experiences are given in this book.
The products obtained from forests or other natural environments play a crucial role to sustain livelihoods of the poor people in developing countries by fulfilling their livelihoods needs, generating household incomes, creating employment opportunities, and providing a safety net. Although a significant number of studies aimed at measuring the dependence of local people’s livelihood on environmental products, quantifying the linkage between poverty and biodiversity, and assessing the impacts of the resource depletion on the household economy, most of the studies are geographically focused in the tropics. This study conducted in a mountainous village of Jumla, Nepal quantifies the economic contribution of Yarsagumba to the local households. Yarsagumba income contributes up to 65% of the total household cash income in average and contribution is the highest to the poorest households. Yarsagumba income contributed in reducing income inequality by 38% and was utilized to purchase food and clothes, celebrate festivals, medical treatment, and children’s education and for savings. There was an average annual decline of 25 pieces in per capita harvest of Yarsagumba in the last five years. However, the decline had no adverse impact on the household income as the earning was compensated by the increased price.
This book explores the links between bushmeat and livelihoods in Africa, with a focus on the human dimension of the debate. Assembles biological, social and economic perspectives that illuminate the bushmeat debate. Features a series of case studies that explore what species survive different intensities of bushmeat hunting and trapping. Examines the shape and size of household bushmeat consumption and market trading. Reviews governance and institutional impacts on wildlife management; lessons learned from agriculture, forest plant product, and development sectors; and perspectives from Asia and Latin America. Provides an excellent resource for students and policy makers in wildlife management, conservation, and development
Gender, the socially constructed roles and characteristics assigned to women and men in a specific culture, plays a key role in people's access to, use of and control over biodiversity. This is especially relevant in the case of medicinal plants, as in numerous societies, it is mainly women who are wild plant gatherers and managers, home gardeners and plant domesticators, herbalists and healers, as well as seed custodians. Yet, in many countries women's knowledge and practices are neglected as insignificant and gendered realities are not acknowledged in many development and plant conservation initiatives. This results in serious inequities in the distribution of the benefits of biodiversity and affects its sustainable management. We will show, through the analysis of an innovative study case, represented by the women-lead cooperative GMCL in India the link between gender and medicinal plants biodiversity uses, sustainable management and access. We will explore in detail the link between women-based businesses in herbal products and sustainable rural development in a challenging environment counting on limited resources. Finally, our paper shall give an understanding of the key role that women entrepreneurship centred upon the herbal sector can play in reinforcing local health care and promoting empowerment poor rural indigenous and tribal women.
This study was carried out in Wards 3 and 4 of Shaktikhor Village Development Committee (VDC), which forms a bottleneck in the Barandavar forest that connects the Chitwan National Park with the Mahabharat Range (mid-hills) in the north. The intent was to analyse the Chepang indigenous community, their dependency and pressure on the forest, their traditional management methods, the potential for community-based forest management and other related issues. The study method included open-ended interviews with four District Forest Office (DFO) staff, 15 key informants, a socio-economic survey of 250 households, data collection on household consumption of forest products and an analysis of land cover changes from the years 1970 and 2000. Chepangs were found highly dependent on a forest whose area has decreased by 12%, resulting in a reduction in species used by the Chepang for their livelihoods. Economic development based on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has potential to decrease forest dependency and help conservation but the oligopoly (a limited number of suppliers and sellers) nature of the market, policyrelated problems and limited DFO technical staff has prevented people from enjoying NTFP-based economic benefits. The Chepang traditional management practice was found to be environmentally friendly but at times of increased population pressure on the forest these traditions broke down. Lack of trust between Chepangs and non-Chepangs, and the absence of mediation from the DFO obstructed the formation of community organizations to manage the forest.
The paper offers an assessment of the mainstreaming of fisheries in Latin American national development plans and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, World Bank Country Assistance Strategies and EU Country Strategy papers. Although fisheries are not one of the region's most important industries, it does make a major contribution to world fisheries production and includes a number of internationally significant producers. More importantly, those directly involved in the sector are predominantly small-scale artisanal producers, a group traditionally regarded as vulnerable to poverty. Therefore, mainstreaming - the integration of a sector into every stage of policy processes to address cross-sectoral issues such as poverty reduction - may have important welfare implications for those drawing livelihoods from the industry. The extent of mainstreaming, examined by a content analysis of development plans, is compared to the economic and social significance of fishing. The paper concludes that fisheries are under-represented in development planning in a significant number of countries, and also in comparison with African, Asian, and Small Island Developing States.
This paper offers an assessment of the mainstreaming of fisheries in national development plans and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers within the Asia-Pacific region. Fisheries and aquaculture in the region make a significant contribution to world fisheries production. Importantly, those directly involved in the sector are predominantly small-scale artisanal producers, a group traditionally regarded as extremely vulnerable in poverty terms. Therefore, mainstreaming – integrating a sector into every stage of the national policy process – may have important welfare implications for those drawing livelihoods from the industry. This paper examines the significance of fisheries and aquaculture to developing Asia-Pacific economies, and evaluates the extent to which the sector has been mainstreamed in national development and poverty reduction strategies using a content analysis framework. We conclude that the representation of fisheries issues, the recognition of sectoral poverty, policy responses, and stakeholder representation, is typically greater than in other fish producing regions, and there are many examples of best practice.
Development assistance is changing quickly. More than half of all aid to some countries now takes the form of direct contributions to the national budget. There has been a distinct move away from sectoral programmes and projects and a decline in related funding from the peaks reached during the early 1990s. This decline has been more marked in productive sectors, including rural development, than in social sectors such as health and education. These changes reflect a poverty focused development agenda. This agenda links the Millennium Development Goals with mechanisms and instruments for delivering aid that includes poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) and general budget support. This paper explores what these changes mean for international forestry assistance.
The formulation of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) is one of the main conditions for concessional lending by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to developing countries. Nevertheless, while evidence indicates that the fisheries sector can contribute (often markedly at the local level) to improved livelihoods and the achievement of food security in Africa, the sector is often neglected in PRSPs. This article focuses on the 29 African states that have currently produced a PRSP, highlighting those nations for whom the fisheries sector has been a significant motor of economic growth or likely poverty refuge. It then analyses the extent to which the fisheries sector is incorporated into national PRSPs. Results of a mapping exercise demonstrate that while the sector is significant (in either growth or poverty terms) in 12 states, the sector was effectively mainstreamed in only three national PRSPs (Ghana, Guinea and Senegal). © African Development Bank 2004. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
The development and effective introduction of strategies designed to ensure the ecologically and economically sustainable utilization of coastal and marine resources is perhaps the major challenge for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In response, the 1994 Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) called upon the SIDS to implement appropriate coastal and marine strategies and, crucially, ensure that such strategies were integrated into sustainable national development plans (NDPs). This article examines the extent to which contemporary NDPs and donor support programmes have incorporated the fisheries sector — arguably the most important coastal/marine resource for many SIDS — into such documents. Applying an assessment methodology, originally developed to identify levels of environmental mainstreaming within World Bank country assistance strategies to NDPs and donor support programmes, we are able to identify those SIDS who have most effectively integrated the fisheries sector into such documents. Comparison with data indicating the importance of the sector to the national economy (in terms of generating foreign exchange, employment generation and/or supporting domestic protein consumption levels) enables us to pinpoint those countries with substantial fisheries sectors, but a correspondingly lower than expected degree of sectoral mainstreaming. We suggest that the January 2005 review of the BPoA offers an opportune moment for such countries to redress these omissions.
Asia is the world’s foremost capture fishery and aquaculture producer. It is also home to the majority of the world’s fishers and marine fleet (decked and undecked). Consequently, there is every reason to expect that this importance is reflected in national development discourses. This article identifies the socio-economic importance of fisheries in the region in terms of its contribution to primary exports, domestic protein consumption, employment and poverty alleviation. We then analyse national development and poverty reduction strategy documents using a content analysis methodology previously applied to measure the extent to which environmental or forestry issues had been mainstreamed into national policy documents. This enables us to identify those countries that have currently integrated fisheries into the national development discourse – and those that have not. We conclude by proposing two strategies to enable the more effective integration of fisheries into the development agenda.
This paper assesses the extent to which the importance of a country's fisheries sector is reflected in its national development plan/poverty reduction strategy paper. We hypothesize that those countries in which the sector plays an integral role in enhancing trade and food security are most likely to effectively incorporate fisheries in their development plans. This is examined through the systematic assessment of the contents of such plans. We find that while five countries offer a compelling case regarding mainstreaming, only two have significantly done so. Reasons are suggested and areas for future research highlighted.
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