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Forest environmental income in Vietnam: household socioeconomicfactors influencing forest use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2008

PAMELA D. MCELWEE
PAMELA D. MCELWEE*
Affiliation:
School of Global Studies, Arizona State University, PO Box 875102, Tempe AZ 85287-5102, USA
*
*Correspondence: Dr Pamela McElwee Tel:+1 480 727 0736 Fax: +1 480 727 8292 e-mail:pamela.mcelwee@asu.edu
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Summary

Much research has focused on understanding the importance of forest environmentalincome in different communities and highlighting key socioeconomiccharacteristics of forest-dependent households. This paper examines the economicimportance of forests among rural agriculturalists in Vietnam. Data werecollected through a questionnaire survey of 104 households in five studyvillages in Ha Tinh province in north central Vietnam surrounding the Ke GoNature Reserve (KGNR). Variables such as migration status of the household, age,income class and landholdings were used to identify characteristics ofhouseholds with high forest income in both absolute and relative terms. Morethan half of households reported receiving forest environmental income in cash.Socioeconomic variables were compared between forest cash income (FCI)households and non-FCI households. Non-FCI households had more alternativeincome sources from wage labour and livestock, while FCI households weresignificantly younger, tended to live closer to the forest and had largerlandholdings. Contrary to other research on forest use, the households derivingthe most forest income in both absolute and relative terms were not the poorerhouseholds, but those in the middle class. These findings highlight the need forconservation and development projects to pay attention to the specific householdfactors that influence forest use, rather than relying on assumptions thatpoverty and forests are always linked.

Keywords

forest environmental incomehousehold livelihoodsnon-timber forest productspovertyVietnam

Information

Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , June 2008 , pp. 147 - 159
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2008

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