Livelihood Gains and Ecological Costs from Household Strategies for the Management of Non-Timber Forest Products: The Case of Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia

Abstract

Though non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been given a high priority in addressing rural poverty and ecosystem services, policy makers tend to neglect the role of NTFPs because they lack readily available evidence. Classifying NTFPs based on their role in household livelihood strategies enables and explains the opportunities and potential of NTFPs for livelihood development and conservation. Therefore, this study emphasizes understanding NTFPs in household livelihood strategies in the rural economy of Cambodia and the factors that influence livelihood strategy choices. This study was carried out in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary (PPWS), Cambodia in 2016. The data was collected using structured questionnaire interviews. Random sampling was used to select 310 respondents from six communities in PPWS. Four household livelihood strategies were found according to: the level of integration of NTFPs into cash income, the level of contribution of NTFPs to household income, and the level of management of NTFPs. The identified NTFP household livelihood strategies are subsistence strategy, supplementary strategy, diversified strategy, and specialized strategy. These strategies can be considered as part of the process of evolution to an improved level of livelihood, in which rural people first seek to survive and then to increase their income over time. The management of NTFPs ensures minimum transformation of the forest structure allowing for multiple uses of the forest and maintaining relatively high biodiversity. Geographic conditions, household capital, and household characteristics were found to be the most important factors determined the choice of household livelihood strategy.