Contribution of timber and honey on livelihood of communities adjacent to Village Land Forest Reserves in Songea and Liwale Districts, Tanzania

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Date

2024-05

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Journal ISSN

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Publisher

Sokoine University of Agriculture

Abstract

Village Land Forest Reserves are recognized as important base for rural community development. Forest products obtained from these forests are essential for improving livelihoods of communities residing close to these forests. This study assessed timber and honey products from two village land forest reserves located in Liwale and Songea Districts to understand at what extent does these products contribute to the improvement of livelihood assets of people living adjacent to these forests and how these products contribute towards improvement of the condition of these forests. The study was guided by the assumption that harvesting of these products from these forests is guided by the presence of robust management plan which indicate the allowable quantity of wood to be harvested, where to be harvested, who should be involved and how the revenue accrued from selling of these products should be ploughed back to reinforce the management of these forests. With regards to honey production it is assumed that local communities have been trained to properly use the forests for beekeeping activities and have been supplied with important facilities to enable them properly harvest and process their honey to meet the market standards of this product. It was important to assess the contribution of forest products on livelihood assets in order to understand the interaction between the livelihood assets to bring the livelihood improvement. Data were collected using household structured questionnaires and focused group discussion. A total of 71 timber dealers’ households (38 in Songea and 33 in Liwale District) and 37 honey dealers’ households (23 in Songea and 14 in Liwale District) were interviewed in this study. Inferential statistical using the binary logistic model and descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage and also inferential statistics were used to report the results of this study. Results show that there is gain in livelihood assets which have contributed to the livelihood improvement. It was revealed that, physical capital indicators including better education, better health care and food security had significant influence on livelihood of timber and honey dealer as the p-value (p<0.05). Also, savings as an indicator of financial capital had significant influence on the livelihood of honey and timber dealers similarly, training as an indicator in human capital had significant contribution on livelihood of honey and timber dealers, membership status had significant influence on livelihood contribution p<0.05. Factors that contributed to this trend include poor transportation facilities in the forest, lack of market and insufficient modern harvesting and processing tools. Therefore, VLFRs through timber and honey products, have contributed to livelihood improvement of the communities adjacent to forests but more support to the communities adjacent the Village Land Forest Reserves on timber and honey production should be provided so as to build their strong foundation for their livelihood improvement. Policymakers and stakeholders can use these findings to develop interventions for sustainable livelihoods and community development.

Description

MSc Dissertation

Keywords

Livelihoods, timber, honey, adjacent communities, Village Land Forest Reserves, Tanzania

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