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The Contribution of Village Land Forest Reserves in Livelihood Improvement: The Case of Songea and Liwale Districts in Tanzania

Received: 17 April 2023     Accepted: 8 May 2023     Published: 18 May 2023
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Abstract

Village land forest reserves (VLFRs) are recognized as an important base for rural community development. This study used timber and honey production activities to assess the actual contribution of three Village land forest reserves of Lupagalo VLFR from Songea District in Ruvuma Region, and Liboya and Luhangino VLFRs from Liwale District in Lindi Region on livelihood improvement rural communities living adjacent to these forests. This study assessed livelihood improvement based on financial, human, physical, and social assets. Data were collected using household structured interviews and focused group discussions. A total of 71 timber dealers (38 in Songea and 33 in Liwale District) and 37 honey dealers (23 in Songea and 14 in Liwale District) were interviewed in this study. Inferential statistics and Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage were used to report the results of this study. Results show that there is gain in livelihood assets due to timber and honey production. In addition, findings reveal that, physical capital indicators including better education, better health care, and food security had significant influence on livelihood of timber and honey dealer as the p-value (p<0.05). In financial capital, savings had a significant influence on the livelihood of honey and timber dealers. Also, training as an indicator of human capital had a significant contribution on the livelihood of honey and timber dealers. Further, based on social capital, membership status had a significant influence on livelihood contribution p<0.05. Since this study considered only two products, other forest products such as firewood, charcoal, and medicinal plants should be assessed.

Published in International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (Volume 8, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.15
Page(s) 70-77
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Livelihoods, Timber, Honey, Adjacent Communities, Village Land Forest Reserves, Tanzania

References
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  • APA Style

    Angela Atilio Mlawa, Jumanne Moshi Abdallah, Ezekiel Edward Mwakalukwa. (2023). The Contribution of Village Land Forest Reserves in Livelihood Improvement: The Case of Songea and Liwale Districts in Tanzania. International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 8(2), 70-77. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.15

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    ACS Style

    Angela Atilio Mlawa; Jumanne Moshi Abdallah; Ezekiel Edward Mwakalukwa. The Contribution of Village Land Forest Reserves in Livelihood Improvement: The Case of Songea and Liwale Districts in Tanzania. Int. J. Nat. Resour. Ecol. Manag. 2023, 8(2), 70-77. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.15

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    AMA Style

    Angela Atilio Mlawa, Jumanne Moshi Abdallah, Ezekiel Edward Mwakalukwa. The Contribution of Village Land Forest Reserves in Livelihood Improvement: The Case of Songea and Liwale Districts in Tanzania. Int J Nat Resour Ecol Manag. 2023;8(2):70-77. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.15,
      author = {Angela Atilio Mlawa and Jumanne Moshi Abdallah and Ezekiel Edward Mwakalukwa},
      title = {The Contribution of Village Land Forest Reserves in Livelihood Improvement: The Case of Songea and Liwale Districts in Tanzania},
      journal = {International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management},
      volume = {8},
      number = {2},
      pages = {70-77},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnrem.20230802.15},
      abstract = {Village land forest reserves (VLFRs) are recognized as an important base for rural community development. This study used timber and honey production activities to assess the actual contribution of three Village land forest reserves of Lupagalo VLFR from Songea District in Ruvuma Region, and Liboya and Luhangino VLFRs from Liwale District in Lindi Region on livelihood improvement rural communities living adjacent to these forests. This study assessed livelihood improvement based on financial, human, physical, and social assets. Data were collected using household structured interviews and focused group discussions. A total of 71 timber dealers (38 in Songea and 33 in Liwale District) and 37 honey dealers (23 in Songea and 14 in Liwale District) were interviewed in this study. Inferential statistics and Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage were used to report the results of this study. Results show that there is gain in livelihood assets due to timber and honey production. In addition, findings reveal that, physical capital indicators including better education, better health care, and food security had significant influence on livelihood of timber and honey dealer as the p-value (p<0.05). In financial capital, savings had a significant influence on the livelihood of honey and timber dealers. Also, training as an indicator of human capital had a significant contribution on the livelihood of honey and timber dealers. Further, based on social capital, membership status had a significant influence on livelihood contribution p<0.05. Since this study considered only two products, other forest products such as firewood, charcoal, and medicinal plants should be assessed.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Contribution of Village Land Forest Reserves in Livelihood Improvement: The Case of Songea and Liwale Districts in Tanzania
    AU  - Angela Atilio Mlawa
    AU  - Jumanne Moshi Abdallah
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    JO  - International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-3061
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.15
    AB  - Village land forest reserves (VLFRs) are recognized as an important base for rural community development. This study used timber and honey production activities to assess the actual contribution of three Village land forest reserves of Lupagalo VLFR from Songea District in Ruvuma Region, and Liboya and Luhangino VLFRs from Liwale District in Lindi Region on livelihood improvement rural communities living adjacent to these forests. This study assessed livelihood improvement based on financial, human, physical, and social assets. Data were collected using household structured interviews and focused group discussions. A total of 71 timber dealers (38 in Songea and 33 in Liwale District) and 37 honey dealers (23 in Songea and 14 in Liwale District) were interviewed in this study. Inferential statistics and Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage were used to report the results of this study. Results show that there is gain in livelihood assets due to timber and honey production. In addition, findings reveal that, physical capital indicators including better education, better health care, and food security had significant influence on livelihood of timber and honey dealer as the p-value (p<0.05). In financial capital, savings had a significant influence on the livelihood of honey and timber dealers. Also, training as an indicator of human capital had a significant contribution on the livelihood of honey and timber dealers. Further, based on social capital, membership status had a significant influence on livelihood contribution p<0.05. Since this study considered only two products, other forest products such as firewood, charcoal, and medicinal plants should be assessed.
    VL  - 8
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Author Information
  • Department of Forest and Environmental Economics, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania

  • Department of Forest and Environmental Economics, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania

  • Department of Ecosystems and Conservation, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania

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