article · Ecological Processes
Understanding household reliance on forests is critical for long-term conservation and sustainable resource management. A study of 183 randomly selected households across three communities bordering the Chobe Forest Reserve in Botswana evaluated how socio-economic factors influence dependency on forest products. Using binary logistic regression analysis, the findings revealed that age and education level significantly affected dependency, whereas other socio-economic factors did not. Reliance on forest resources decreased with higher age and greater educational attainment. Consequently, younger community members were more reliant on forest products than older individuals, while higher education lessened extraction levels. Balancing local forest dependency and biodiversity conservation requires creating alternative economic opportunities and improving access to higher education, allowing young people to diversify their livelihoods and easing pressure on protected forest reserves.
Balancing human livelihoods with forest conservation requires targeted interventions based on specific community demographics. Identifying that youth and individuals with lower educational attainment rely most heavily on forest products allows conservationists and policymakers to direct educational initiatives and alternative livelihood programmes where they are most effective, aiding sustainable environmental management.
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Human dependence on forests is a multifaceted phenomenon. The degree of reliance on forests varies geographically, overtime and across communities. These dynamics underpin the importance of understanding the determinants of household reliance on forests for the long-term sustainable forest management and conservation. This paper presents an analysis of socio-economic determinants on the level of household forest dependency in Chobe enclave, Botswana. The study hypothesised that the level of household forest dependency will significantly differ across a range of socio-economic factors. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire survey of 183 households, randomly selected from three communities bordering Chobe Forest Reserve. Binary logistic regression model was used for analysing data. Results showed that age and education significantly influenced household reliance on forests, while other socio-economic factors were not significant. Forest dependency was observed to be decreasing with an increase on both respondent age and educational level. Therefore, the youth were likely to be more reliant on forest products compared to their elderly counterpart while higher educational attainment lessened reliance on forest products. In order to foster a balance between forest dependency and biodiversity conservation, alternative opportunities and provision and access to higher education aimed at diversifying young people’s livelihood activities are vital in reducing forest dependency, hence protecting forests for posterity.
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DOI: 10.1186/s13717-017-0107-3
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