TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Global study challenges myths on forests, livelihoods
Researchers have challenged conventional wisdom about the importance of environmental income, the roles of men and women in forest-product use and the function of forests as safety nets in a comprehensive study on the links between the environment and livelihoods
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
R
esearchers have challenged conventional wisdom about the importance of environmental income, the roles of men and women in forest-product use and the function of forests as safety nets in a comprehensive study on the links between the environment and livelihoods.
The study, which is the product of the Poverty and Environment Network (PEN), a collaborative effort led by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), reveals that income from forests and other natural environments significantly contribute to the livelihoods of millions of people in developing countries.
It is said development action related to forests and livelihoods have been developed based on incomplete or fragmented data. In many cases, forestry has been combined with agriculture in national income statistics or not counted at all.
The study has five theme-papers, comprising income generation and rural livelihoods; safety nets during shortfalls; gender and forest use; forest clearing and livelihoods; and tenure and forest income.
The five papers ' from which preliminary findings have been released in 2011 ' will appear in the upcoming special issue of World Development.
Among the study findings is that income from natural forests and other natural areas account for 28 percent of total household income, nearly as much as crops.
It also reveals that state forests generate more income than private or community forests. Men generate at least as much income from forests as women do, contradicting long-held assumptions, it further says.
According to the study, forests were less important than previously believed as "safety nets" in response to shocks and as gap fillers between seasonal harvests. While the most destitute of poor farmers are often blamed for deforestation, they have played only a modest role in forest clearing.
'Our results indicate that, even some 10,000 years after the start of the Agricultural Revolution, rural people in developing countries still depend strongly on foraging from nature for their livelihoods,' Sven Wunder, lead editor of the publication, said in a release made available to The Jakarta Post on Saturday. (ebf)
