The relationship between poverty and the diversity of forest product utilization
was investigated quantitatively using a multidimensional composite index as an
indicator of relative poverty.
17 A correlation test between households’ relative
poverty and the number of products collected, indicated a negative and significant
correlation between wealth and the level of diversification of forest collection
activities (p < 0.05),
18 revealing that poorer households tended to diversify more
by collecting a greater number of different forest products.
This trend was also observed at the village level. Figure 5.2 shows the five most
important forest products collected by villagers in the study’s poorest and richest
village. The poorest village is located inside Doi Inthanon National Park (village
A), while the wealthiest village is located outside the National Park (village B). The
farming system in village B is dominated by longan orchards, which generate
higher levels of cash income than the subsistence-oriented rice production practiced
in village A. Figure 5.2 shows the greater diversity of forest products collected in
village A over village B. A greater level of dependency on the forest, given the
importance of forest products for people’s livelihoods (especially their diet) and the
attempts to spread risk, are presumably the main drivers for such diversification to
take place among the poor.
Moreover, the strategies driving forest collection activities were also found to
differ according to villagers’ wealth levels. Richer villages seemed to concentrate
their efforts on products that had a higher economic value, those they were able to
sell on the market or use for construction purposes, while poorer households
focused on more subsistence-oriented strategies (see Table 5.7). However, this
behavior may not only have been driven by villages’ poverty status, but also by
the level of access to forest resources, roads or markets.
We further tested for the relationship between households’ wealth levels and the
nature of products collected, using wealth terciles. A chi-square test, based on a
cross-tabulation as well as a bivariate Spearman correlation analysis, revealed a
relationship between the living standard of the people and the choice of product
collected, especially in the case of Higher Value Forest Products (HVFP),
19 such as
wood (Hares 2006; Fisher et al. 1997), bamboo shoots and mushrooms (positive
correlation p < 0.01), river products such as fish, shellfish and crabs (negative
correlation p < 0.01), and forest vegetables or wild fruits (negative correlation
p < 0.05). In the research villages, then depending on the protection status of the
surrounding forest, mushrooms and bamboo shoots were gathered and sold at the
roadside or in local markets, at prices of 30–150 baht/kg.
20 Since a logging ban
17 This index is a composite index of the following variables: (1) value of transportation assets/
adult, (2) education level of household head, (3) occupation of household head, (4) number of
rooms per adult, (5) the quality of wall material, (6) the type of toilet, (7) a subjective poverty
rating, (8) clothing expenditures per adult, and (9) farm size. It is computed with principal
component analysis similar to the poverty index for Vietnam.
18 The test used data collected from 39 households.
19 Fischer et al. 1997.
20 For 30 baht a complete lunch can be purchased at a local restaurant.
5 Linkages Between Agriculture, Poverty and Natural Resource Use. . .
199
was investigated quantitatively using a multidimensional composite index as an
indicator of relative poverty.
17 A correlation test between households’ relative
poverty and the number of products collected, indicated a negative and significant
correlation between wealth and the level of diversification of forest collection
activities (p < 0.05),
18 revealing that poorer households tended to diversify more
by collecting a greater number of different forest products.
This trend was also observed at the village level. Figure 5.2 shows the five most
important forest products collected by villagers in the study’s poorest and richest
village. The poorest village is located inside Doi Inthanon National Park (village
A), while the wealthiest village is located outside the National Park (village B). The
farming system in village B is dominated by longan orchards, which generate
higher levels of cash income than the subsistence-oriented rice production practiced
in village A. Figure 5.2 shows the greater diversity of forest products collected in
village A over village B. A greater level of dependency on the forest, given the
importance of forest products for people’s livelihoods (especially their diet) and the
attempts to spread risk, are presumably the main drivers for such diversification to
take place among the poor.
Moreover, the strategies driving forest collection activities were also found to
differ according to villagers’ wealth levels. Richer villages seemed to concentrate
their efforts on products that had a higher economic value, those they were able to
sell on the market or use for construction purposes, while poorer households
focused on more subsistence-oriented strategies (see Table 5.7). However, this
behavior may not only have been driven by villages’ poverty status, but also by
the level of access to forest resources, roads or markets.
We further tested for the relationship between households’ wealth levels and the
nature of products collected, using wealth terciles. A chi-square test, based on a
cross-tabulation as well as a bivariate Spearman correlation analysis, revealed a
relationship between the living standard of the people and the choice of product
collected, especially in the case of Higher Value Forest Products (HVFP),
19 such as
wood (Hares 2006; Fisher et al. 1997), bamboo shoots and mushrooms (positive
correlation p < 0.01), river products such as fish, shellfish and crabs (negative
correlation p < 0.01), and forest vegetables or wild fruits (negative correlation
p < 0.05). In the research villages, then depending on the protection status of the
surrounding forest, mushrooms and bamboo shoots were gathered and sold at the
roadside or in local markets, at prices of 30–150 baht/kg.
20 Since a logging ban
17 This index is a composite index of the following variables: (1) value of transportation assets/
adult, (2) education level of household head, (3) occupation of household head, (4) number of
rooms per adult, (5) the quality of wall material, (6) the type of toilet, (7) a subjective poverty
rating, (8) clothing expenditures per adult, and (9) farm size. It is computed with principal
component analysis similar to the poverty index for Vietnam.
18 The test used data collected from 39 households.
19 Fischer et al. 1997.
20 For 30 baht a complete lunch can be purchased at a local restaurant.
5 Linkages Between Agriculture, Poverty and Natural Resource Use. . .
199