Rural livelihoods and environmental resource dependence in Cambodia

Abstract:It is well known that in many rural communities in the developing world, forests, particularly those under community management, are important for people's livelihoods. However, studies on the contribution of forests to the income of different households within a community are rare, including the poorest households and how non-members of the community forestry user group (CFUG) benefit from those resources. This paper compares livelihood strategies and the use of a mangrove CF by different community members in Myanmar. Utilizing a livelihoods approach, data were collected through a household survey (n = 110) and various participatory tools. The significance of CF for people's livelihoods was clearly demonstrated, with as many as 91% of households depending on CF products to varying degrees. Livelihood strategies are largely determined by financial assets and road access. Strategies include large levels of dependence on natural resources such as homegardens and CF. Substantial differences were found for CF's contribution to total income depending on CF membership (p = 0.004) and wealth (p = 0.022). Non-members benefit mostly through subsistence products. The poorest households were found to get the highest income shares (36%) from CF. This leads to the conclusion that with an inclusive process to membership, CF has the potential to reduce poverty.

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“…This result also agrees with different studies, which show that environmental resources can reduce income inequality [2,38].…”

Section: Impact Of Community Forestry On Poor Vs Wealthy Householdssupporting

confidence: 82%

Community Forestry for Livelihoods: Benefiting from Myanmar’s Mangroves

Feurer

Gritten

Than

2018

Forests

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“…Although using income is not the best approach for livelihood classification, household income could still be used as an indicator of welfare (household wealth) due to data accessibility [24,25]. There are some methods representing the dependence of humans on ecosystem services [26][27][28].…”

Section: Classification Of Relationships Between Household Income Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classification of the Relationship between Household Welfare and Ecosystem Reliance in the Miyun Reservoir Watershed, China

et al. 2017

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Abstract:Household welfare is inseparable from the environment because of its dependence on ecosystems and their services. However, linking household welfare and ecosystems in order to inform differentiated household livelihood development in spatially heterogeneous regions is still a great challenge. Based on a field survey of 1754 households, we grouped the relationships between household welfare (defined by total income) and ecosystem reliance (expressed by an index of dependence on ecosystem services) in the Watershed of Miyun Reservoir, the only source of surface water for domestic use in Beijing, China. The relationships can be grouped into four types: high welfare and high dependency; low welfare and low dependency; high welfare and low dependence; and low welfare and high dependency. Family structure, households' education and skill level, and the proximity to Beijing have significant impacts on household welfare, while the quantity of natural capital and eco-compensation fund significantly contribute to the ecosystem dependence. Maintaining suitable family size and age structure, improving education and skill levels, and strengthening payment for ecosystem services within low welfare households would be effective approaches to their welfare improvement. The above classification can help design tailored policy and management options to promote sustainable livelihoods based on different household subgroups.

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“…In fact, generalization is only possible if the findings from different site-specific studies are pooled in order to identify common observable patterns [35]. While much of the policy toward land tenure has been theory driven, a more site-specific approach to soil conservation policy is needed to understand the livelihood strategies of local people in developing countries in terms of rationale and constraints [36,37].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Land Tenure Security Promote Manure Use by Farm Households in Vietnam?

Nguyen

Bauer²,

Grote

2016

Sustainability

Self Cite

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Abstract:Facing widespread poverty and land degradation, Vietnam started a land reform in 1993 as part of its renovation policy package known as "Doi Moi". This paper examines the impacts of improved land tenure security, via this land reform, on manure use by farm households. As manure potentially improves soil fertility by adding organic matter and nutrients to the soil surface, it might contribute to improving soil productive capacity and reversing land degradation. Random effect regression models are applied to a panel dataset of 133 farm households in the Northern Uplands of Vietnam collected in 1993Vietnam collected in , 1998Vietnam collected in , and 2006. The results confirm that land tenure security has positive effects on manure use, but the levels of influence differ depending on whether the land has been privatized or whether the land title has already been issued. In addition, manure use is also influenced by the number of cattle and pigs, the education level and ethnicity of household heads, farm land size and non-farm income. The findings suggest that speeding up land privatization and titling, encouraging cattle and pig rearing, and improving education would promote manure use in farm production. However, careful interpretation of our research findings is required as land privatization, together with economic growth and population pressure, might lead to overuse of farm inputs.

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Rural livelihoods and environmental resource dependence in Cambodia

Cited by 124 publications

References 61 publications

Community Forestry for Livelihoods: Benefiting from Myanmar’s Mangroves

Community Forestry for Livelihoods: Benefiting from Myanmar’s Mangroves

Classification of the Relationship between Household Welfare and Ecosystem Reliance in the Miyun Reservoir Watershed, China

Does Land Tenure Security Promote Manure Use by Farm Households in Vietnam?

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