Non-Timber Forest Products Collection Affects Education of Children in Forest Proximate Communities in Northeastern Pakistan

Muhammad Zubair,Martin Lukac,Syed Amir Manzoor,Akash Jamil

doi:10.3390/f10090813

Muhammad Zubair, Martin Lukac + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/f10090813

Copy DOI

Journal: Forests	Publication Date: Sep 18, 2019
Citations: 6	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Bahauddin Zakariya University, University of Reading

Abstract

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are crucial in driving the economy of communities living inside or around forests. The scarcity of business and employment opportunities often push the forest proximate communities to tap a range of NTFPs for earning their livelihoods. In many forest-based communities around the world, children are actively involved in NTFPs collection, which is likely to affect the socioeconomic paradigms of these children. We aim to investigate how the NTFP collection venture affects the education of the children involved in the forest proximate communities of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan. A stratified sampling followed by a series of focus group discussions and one-to-one interviews were carried out to collect information on collection behaviour, patterns, income generation, and other socioeconomic variables. We used a binary logistic regression model to explain children’s state of attending schools using a range of socioeconomic variables. The empirical evidence showed that 42% of the NTFP-collecting children were not going to school, and nearly two-thirds were working in unfavourable working environments. The regression model showed that the role and behaviour of contractors, along with factors like household conditions, were important factors in employing children for long working hours. The study has implications for reforming policies regarding the nexus of income generation and education in the forest-based communities.

Highlights

Communities living inside or in the vicinity of forests are often dependent upon a range of natural products and services that forests have to offer [1,2]
In the context of the land use, recent catastrophic events, and economic vulnerabilities of the region, this the region, this study aims to contribute to the current literature with a detailed analysis of how the study aims to contribute to the current literature with a detailed analysis of how the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) collection
The results suggest that the children living in and around the forests in the districts of Neelum and Bagh are actively involved in the collection of NTFPs

Summary

Introduction

Communities living inside or in the vicinity of forests are often dependent upon a range of natural products and services that forests have to offer [1,2]. Forest proximate communities (FPCs) often feature groups of indigenous people—mostly smallholder farmers—that are engaged in various forest-based enterprises [3]. Such FPCs utilise forest resources, including timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for their household needs such as food, refuge, medicinal requirements, welfare, building materials, and cultural practices [4,5]. More than half of the respondents (58.3%) were male; female respondents were found to be less actively involved in the NTFPs collection When asked whether their monthly income was satisfactory or unsatisfactory (i.e., whether or not their monthly income was enough to meet their household needs), most of the respondents (81.7%) described their household economic condition as “unsatisfactory” (Table 1). The majority of the children worked alongside their families (83.3%)

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion