Livelihood Capital and Poverty Status of Forest Dependent Households in the Highland Area: A Case Study in Bac Kan Province, Vietnam

Abstract

Bac Kan is the mountainous province with the largest forest cover in Vietnam and forest dependence by rural households is of great significance. The objective of this study was to assess the situation of livelihood capitals, as well as their impacts on the poverty status of forest-dependent households in highland areas of Bac Kan province. Data were collected through direct interviews of 218 households living near forests in the districts of Ba Be and Na Ri. Descriptive statistics, comparison, logit model, student t-test, and chi-square test were used in this study. The results revealed that forest-dependence was high for poor households; the households’ livelihood capital was weak; and households with stronger livelihood capitals were primarily non-poor. The effect of livelihood capitals on household's poverty status was significant, and human and financial capitals had the strongest impact. The estimated logit model had high accuracy with 87.16% of observations correctly predicted. In poverty reduction programs, the state should improve the livelihood capitals, especially human and financial capitals, for the households in order to improve their welfare.