Dependency of rural communities on non-timber forest products in the dry lands of southern Africa: A case of Mukwe Constituency, Kavango East Region, Namibia

Jonathan Mutau Kamwi,Nguza Siyambango,Junias Endjala

doi:10.1016/j.tfp.2020.100022

Jonathan Mutau Kamwi, Nguza Siyambango + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2020.100022

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Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between socio-economic and demographic factors and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) dependency among the rural communities of the Mukwe Constituency, Kavango East Region, Namibia. The study employed interviews of households using semi-structured questionnaires and personal observations during July 2019 covering 102 respondents. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-Square (X2) to test the association between socio-economic and demographic factors with NTFPs dependency. Results showed that wild-fruits, mushroom, honey-bees, mopane worms, insects, medicinal plants, wild meat, ropes, reeds, thatching grasses and devil's claw were the NTFPs prevalent in the study area. The results further showed that 71 % of the respondents were reliant on NTFPs for their diverse livelihoods. The Chi-square revealed no significant association between age, gender, marital status, number of people in the households and NTFPs dependency (P>0.05). However, a significant association was found between NTFPs reliance and occupation, number of years in the village, number of people employed in the household, highest qualification and employment status (P<0.05). The intra-community differentiation in the reliance on NTFPs, as revealed in this study, enables more effective targeting of forest management interventions and informs efforts to reconcile the goals of poverty reduction and sustainable forest management in Namibia and other countries with similar socio-economic and environmental conditions.

Highlights

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play a significant and crucial role in improving the livelihoods of many rural people around the globe (Shackleton and Shackleton, 2004, Balama et al, 2016)
Rural people are motivated to diversify their sources of food including NTFPs, which eventually assists in maintaining the biodiversity and ecosystem services
The study analysed the association between NTFPs dependency with age, gender, marital status, number of people in the household, number of people employed in the household, occupation, employment status and education level of the head of the household

Summary

Introduction

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play a significant and crucial role in improving the livelihoods of many rural people around the globe (Shackleton and Shackleton, 2004, Balama et al, 2016). The NTFPs refers to any resources or products that are collected from the forest ecosystem to be used at the household level or marketed, and some of them are deemed important for social, religious and cultural purposes (Pandey et al, 2016). Rural people are motivated to diversify their sources of food including NTFPs, which eventually assists in maintaining the biodiversity and ecosystem services. This reduces the dependency of rural people on timber resources only. The interest in NTFPs is focussed on new products, and as such, the development of improved markets for NTFPs should be discovered so that dryland forests can be protected and conserved.

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