Investigating the Type and Rate of Forest Use and Its Impact on the Livelihoods of Jaji Aryoub Forest Inhabitants (Paktia Province-Afghanistan)

Document Type : Complete scientific research article

Authors

1 MSc. Student / Department of Forestry. Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

2 Faculty Member / Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

3 Faculty Member / Department of Agricultural Extention, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

4 MMSc. / Golestan Natural Resources Office

Abstract

Extended abstract

Background and purpose: Rural communities in developing countries are facing challenges for their livelihood due to various reasons such as resources limitations, low income and job opportunities. In forested areas, wood and non-wood forest products have created an opportunity for self-consumption and have become a source of income for local residents. In this regard, the present study seeks to identify the type and rate of forest product utilization and its impact on livelihoods of local communities in the Jaji Aryub forests of Paktia province, Afghanistan.
Materials and Methods: This study was an applied study that was conducted as a survey in Jaji Aryub forests of Paktia province in Afghanistan. The statistical population of the study consisted of 1404 household heads in 14 villages, of which 303 were selected based on Krejcie Morgan table. The main research instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 20 items related to the type of forest products use in five sections: 4 items fuel consumptions, 3 items construction consumptions, 7 items food and nutrition uses, 2 medication uses, 4 items outdoor recreational services. Livelihood level of the local communities were studied in three dimensions of employment and income with 12 items, nutrition and health with 5 items, and support and housing with 6 items. Expert opinion was used to determine the content validity of the questionnaire and calculated Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to estimate its reliability. After data collection, analysis was performed using SPSS 21 software in two parts: descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: According to the respondents' viewpoints, in average, fuel consumption with 3.94 and outdoor recreation with 2.57 (from 5 point), had the highest and the lowest using rates by local communities, respectively. Livelihood of rural families was correlated to usage of wood and non-wood forest products with medium rate (approximately 3 from 5) in three dimensions of nutrition and health, support and housing, and employment and income. The results indicated that, there is a significant positive correlation between the using rate of forest products by local communities and their total livelihood (99% confidence level). The results also showed that there was a positive significant relationship (99% confidence level) between respondents' use of forest products and their age and number of household members with correlation coefficients of 0.163 and 0.148, respectively. While a negative significant correlation with their education level were distinguished.
Conclusion: livelihoods of local communities in the Jaji Aryub forests of Paktia province, Afghanistan are, highly, depended to the forest resources due to various reasons such as environmental limitations, individual characteristics, lack of welfare, and limited income and job opportunities. Providing new energies (solar radiation, wind and oil), new job opportunities, creating local and regional markets and supplying processed products, as well as conducting training workshops based on participatory and social forestry were recommended.

Keywords

References

 1.Abedi Sarvestani, A., and Shahraki, M.R. 2016. Determinant factors of adoption of exiting animals from forest and reintegration forest dwellers: a case of Nekachub area of Mazandaran province. Iranian J. of Forest. 8: 1. 91-103.
(In Persian)
2.Adam, Y.O., Mirghani, A., and Tayeb, E.L. 2014. Forest dependency and its effect on conservation in Sudan: a case of srf-saaid reserved forest in gadarif state. Agriculture & Forestry. 60: 107-121.
3.Barrow, E., Kamugisha-Ruhombe, J., Nhantumbo, I., Oyono, R., and Savadogo, M. 2016. Who owns Africa’s forests? Exploring the impacts of forest tenure reform on forest ecosystems and livelihoods. Forests, trees and livelihoods. 25: 
4.Belcher, B., Ruíz-Perez, M., and Achdiawan, R. 2006. Global patterns and trends in the use and management of commercial NTFPs: Implications for livelihoods and conservation. World Development. 33: 1435-1452.
5.Bjärstig, T., and Sténs, A. 2018. Social values of forests and production of new goods and services: the views
of Swedish family forest owners. Small-scale Forestry. 17: 1. 125-146.‏
6.Brack, D. 2018. Sustainable consumption and production of forest products. United Nations Forum on Forests& Global forest goals, consumption and production of forest products. www.un.org/esa/forests/ wp... /UNFF13_BkgdStudy_ForestsSCP. pdf.
7.Chanthirath, Kh. 2000. Forest utilization by local people in vangving district. Forest Conservation and Afforestation Project (FORCAP), Vientiane Province Agricultural and Forestry Office, Vientiane Province, Lao P.D.R.
8.Chou, P. 2018. The role of non-timber forest products in creating incentives for forest conservation: a case study of Phnom Prichwildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia. Resources. 7: 41-47.
9.Ferdaous, Z. 2018. A seminar paper on, social forestry: a tool for improving livelihood of rural people. Department of Agriculture & Environment. Babgabandhu Sheikh Mujiburhman Agriculture University. 2018.
10.Feurer, M., Gritten, D., and Then, M. 2018. Community forestry for livelihoods: Benefiting from Myanmar’s mangroves. Forests. 9: 3. 150-157. ‏
11.Garekae, H., Thakadu, O.T., and Lepetu, J. 2017. Attitudes of local communities towards forest conservation in Botswana: a case study of Chobe forest reserve. International Forestry Review. 18: 2. 180-191.
12.Ghanbari, S., Heshmatol Vaezin, S.M., and Shamekhi, T. 2017. Identification and economic prioritization of
non-wood forest products of Arasbaran forests based on traditional harvest statistics (Case study: Ilganachay Watershed). Iranian J. of Forest.9: 3. 411-425. (In Persian)
13.Gideon, A.A. 2018. Non-timber forest products governance for improved rural livelihood in Nigeria. American J. of Agriculture and Forestry. 6: 1. 12-‏17.
14.Gross-Camp, N. 2017. Tanzania’s community forests: their impact on human well-being and persistence in spite of the lack of benefit. Ecology and Society. 22: 1. 37-62.
15.Hlaing, Z.C., Kamiyama, C., and Saito, O. 2017. Interaction between rural people’s basic needs and forest products: a case study of the Katha district of Myanmar. International J. of Forestry Research. 12: 1-12.
16.Langat, D.K., Maranga, E.K., Aboud, A.A., and Cheboiwo, J.K. 2016. Role of forest resources to local livelihoods: the case of East Mau forest ecosystem, Kenya. International J. of Forestry Research. 5: 1-11.
17.Mekonen, S., Chinasho, A., Berhanu, K., and Tesfaye, S. 2017. Conservation opportunities and local community attitudes towards wildlife in Harenna forest, South East Ethiopia. J. of Biodiversity & Endangered Species.5: 4. 1-6.
18.Moayeri, M.H., Barani, H., Shahraki, M.R., and Behmanesh, B. 2013. Investigating the type and amount of utilization of forest resources by rural people in marginal villages (case study: Hezarjerib region- Mazindaran province). Iranian J. of Forest. 5: 2. 151-160.(In Persian)
19.Mulenga, B.P., Richardson, R.B., Tembo, G., and Mapemba, L. 2016. Rural household participation in markets for non-timber forest products in Zambia. Environment and Development Economics. 19: 4. 487-504.
20.Ngang, F.D., Azinwie, A.G., Tellen, A.V., and Nchang, C.L. 2018. Community forest use and dependence for livelihoods in fako division, South West region of Cameroon. Greener J.of Agronomy, Forestry and Horticulture. 5: 1. 1-11.
21.Ranhangdale, C.P., Bisen, N., Upadhyaya, S.D., and Parte, D. 2018. Role of forest upliftment of rural livelihood in India. Research Gate.59: 4. 628-642.
22.Shahraki, M.R., Moayeri, M.H., Barani, H., and Behmanesh, B. 2013. Factors affecting on utilization amount of forest (case study: Galougah forest- Hezarjerib area). J. of Conservation and Utilization of Natural Resources. 1: 4. 31-47.
(In Persian)
23.Roberts, H.P., King, D.I., and Milam, J. 2017. Factors affecting bee communities in forest openings and adjacent mature forest. Forest Ecology and Management. 394: 111-122.
24.Sills, E., Shanley, P., Paumgarten, F.,De Beer, J., and Pierce, A. 2011. Evolving perspectives on non-timber forest products. P 23-51, In: S. Shackleton, C. Shackleton and P. Shanley (eds), Non-timber forest products in the global context, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.‏
25.Soe, K.T., and Yeo-Chang, Y. 2019. Livelihood dependency on non-timber forest products: implications for REDD+. Forests. 10: 5. 427-435‏-451.
26.Solomon, N., Hishe, H., Annang, T., Pabi, O., Asante, I.K., and Birhane, E. 2018. Forest cover change, key drivers and community perception in Wujig Mahgo Waren forest of Northern Ethiopia. Land. 7: 1. 32.
27.Soltani, A., Shamekhi, T., Noori Naieni, M.S., and Arabmazar, A. 2011. Effects of forest resources on income distribution and poverty (case study: watershed of Tang Tamoradi). J. of Forest and Wood Products (JFWP), Iranian J. of Natural Resources. 63: 4. 369-385. (In Persian)
28.Takasaki, Y., Barham, B.L., and Coomes, O.T. 2001. Amazonian peasants, rain forest use, and income generation: the role of wealth and geographical factors. Society and Natural Resources. 14: 291-308.
29.Tilahun, M., Olschewski, R., Kleinn, C., and Gebrehiwot, K. 2007. Economic analysis of closing degraded Boswellia papyrifera dry forest from human interventions,a study from Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Forest policy and Economics. 9: 8. 996-1005.‏
30.Vedeld, P., Angelsen, A., Bojö, J., Sjaastad, E., and Kobugabe Berg, G. 2007. Forest environmental incomes and the rural poor. Forest Policy and Economics. 9: 869-879.
31.Watanwal, A. 2017. The Afghanistan general geography. Published by Hekmat Book store, Jalal abad. 570p.
32.Xayabouth, Kh., and Lao, P.D.R. 1999. Forest utilization by local people in Sang Thong district. Forestry Department, National University of Laos, Vientiane.
33.Zaman, S., and Ahmad, S. 2012.Woody supply and demand analysis in Pakistan. Managing Natural Resources for sustaining future Agriculture.4: 22. 1-12.
34.Zazai, T. 2010. Introduction of Jaji Aryob district. Aryob magazine, Jaji Aryob youth independent, social & cultural organization. 1: 3. 4-10.
35.Zenteno, M., Zuidema, P.A., De Jong, W., and Boot, R.G. 2013. Livelihood strategies and forest dependence:
New insights from Bolivian forest communities. Forest Policy and Economics. 26: 12-21.‏
36.Zurmoti, N.H. 2017. Usage of GIS, remote sensing and GPS technologies for study of forest area destruction and support of the forestry in Afganistan. Scientific J. 1: 63. 1-8.
Journal of Wood and Forest Science and Technology
Volume 27, Issue 2
September 2020
Pages 15-31

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics