Chapter 18 - NTFPs for socioeconomic security of rural households along the forest ecotone of Paschim Medinipur forest division, India

Abstract

The contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to secure the livelihood of rural households in India is highly significant. This study analyzed the socioeconomic characteristics of rural households and the role of NTFPs in securing their livelihood in Paschim Medinipur forest division of West Bengal, India. Proportionate stratified random sampling was used to select 293 households of forest dwellers in the Chandra and Dherua Gram Panchayet area. A structured questionnaire was used to get the data from the household heads in 18 villages. Results pointed out that NTFPs contributed 23% of total household income and cannot be ignored. Nearly 60% of the villagers in the study area are directly dependent on NTFPs collected from local forest, while the rest indirectly use those, that is, many household bye forest products such as fuelwood and mushroom when required. Among different NTFPs available in the forest, the main NTFPs collected by the villagers are dry firewoods, sal leaf, mushroom, mehul flower, housing materials, sal gum, kurkut, sal seed, and kendu leaves. Among these collected NTFPs, dry firewood is the most important one which is collected frequently. Male, female, and children all are contributing for collecting the NTFPs, but the contribution from female members of the family is the highest. The contribution from female members varied from 22% to 86%, male members varied from 14% to 78%, and children varied from 0% to 18%. The forest fringe villagers are facing many problems during the NTFPs collection time such as elephant attack, snake bite, and interference of government authority. Majority (more that 80%) of local people have reported that the main problem is the elephant attack during NTFPs collection. They suggested that boundary walls need to be constructed at the strategic places around the forest area for protection against elephant migration. However, the findings suggest that NTFPs play an important role in supporting livelihoods in rural household community.