Dependence of rural livelihoods on forest resources in Naltar Valley, a dry temperate mountainous region, Pakistan

Abstract

Forests resources in Naltar Valley, Pakistan, are under continuous pressure because of limited access to off-farm opportunities and alternative source of energy. Therefore, this study underlines the essential demographic and socio-economic characteristics of rural livelihood on forest resource-dependent in the study area that explain the factors of forest dependency. To better estimate household forest dependency, we interviewed 248 randomly selected households using a semi-structured questionnaire. The binary logistic regression model was used to evaluate the potential determinants of forest resource dependency. The study revealed that age, education, household size, livestock income, agriculture income, and off-farm income were significantly influenced household dependency on forest resource, while other factors were not significant. Furthermore, the result shows that the income derived from the forests resources, agricultural products, livestock and off-farm activities contributes 39%, 33%, 16% and 12% respectively to the total household income. Forest income share from timber, firewood, honey, fodder, medicines, and fruits & vegetables are 46%, 52%, 1%, 1%, 0.41%and 0.47% respectively. Firewood has the most significant share in forest income and the primary source of energy mainly for cooking, and heating by the local community. To balance forest resource dependency and to conserve biodiversity, it is therefore essential to appreciate local communities by providing alternative income generation opportunities and provide them with alternative sources of domestic energy like hydroelectric power and biogas power. To this end, the proactive involvement of local communities in forest conservation is needed, as well as more plantation to meet the demand for fuelwood and thus reduce the pressure on forest resources.