Socio-economic factors influencing household dependency on forests: an empirical evidence from Turkey

Abstract

Background: Although forest villages in Turkey do not differ from other villages in the country in terms of administrative divisions, the job possibilities of their residents are limited due to the location of the villages in areas with rugged terrain. Forest villages have the poorest economic status of all types of communities in the country in terms of per capita national income and socio-economic structure; limited agricultural land; inadequate transportation and infrastructure; and, most importantly, weak educational, health, and cultural services. Results: This study explains forest dependency and its relation to certain characteristics of householders by a case study. Data were collected from 150 households and were analyzed using the logistic regression model. Conclusion: The results showed that a householder’s age, duration of residence, and employment variables had a significant effect on the forest whereas other variables, gender, educational level, and household size, did not have a statistically significant effect on forest dependence.