Economic contribution of participatory agroforestry program to poverty alleviation: a case from Sal forests, Bangladesh

Abstract

In the Forest Department of Bangladesh, a Participatory Agroforestry Program (PAP) was initiated at a denuded Sal forests area to protect the forest resources and to alleviate poverty amongst the local poor population. We explored whether the PAP reduced poverty and what factors might be responsible for poverty alleviation. We used three poverty measurement methods: the Head Count Index, the Poverty Gap Index and the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke index to determine the extent poverty reduction. We used a linear regression model to determine the possible differences among factors in poverty reduction. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires and face to face interviews within the study area. PAP proved effective at poverty alleviation, considerably improving the local situation. The linear regression model showed that PAP output explained the income differences in poverty reduction. Participants identified bureaucracy and illegal money demands by forest department officials, an uncontrolled market system, and underdeveloped road infrastructure as the main obstacles to reduction of poverty. Overall, PAP is quite successful in alleviating poverty. So this program might be of interest at other degraded forest areas as a tool to alleviate poverty.

Keywords

Poverty / agroforestry model / Sal forests / linear regression / constraints

References

[1] Ahamed F.U.. Respondents to environmental degradation: Some implications of a social forestry project in Bangladesh. 1993, Cambridge: Cambridge University

[2] Ahmed F. 2004. Practices of Poverty Measurement and Poverty Profile of Bangladesh. ERD Working Paper No. 54, Asian Development Bank.

[3] Ahmed MU. 2008. Underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation in Bangladesh. Dhaka: A report submitted to Global Forest Coalition (GFC), the Netherlands.

[4] Alam M., Furukawa Y., Sarker S.K., Ahmed R.. Sustainability of Sal (Shorea robusta) forest in Bangladesh: past, present and future actions. International Forestry Review, 2008, 10(1): 29-37.

[5] Ali M., Kabir M.A., Hoque A.T.M.R.. People, policy and perpetuity: Sustainability indicators of Bangladesh forestry. Electronic Green Journal, 2006, 1(24): 1-22.

[6] Awono A., Ndoye O., Schreckenberg K., Tabuna H., Isseri F., Temple L.. Production and marketing of Safou (Dacryodes edulis) in Cameroon and internationally: Market Development Issues. Forest, Trees and Livelihoods, 2002, 12: 125-147.

[7] Barany M., Hammett A.L., Leakey R.R.B., Moore K.M.. Income generating opportunities for smallholders affected by HIV/AIDS: Linking agro-ecological changes and non-timber forest products markets. Journal of Management Studies, 2003, 39: 26-39.

[8] BBS. 2006. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Available at: http://www.bbs.gov.bd [accessed on 12 August 2009].

[9] Bruce J.W., Migot-Adholla S.E.. Searching for land tenure security in Africa. 1994, Dubuque, Iowa USA: Kendall/Hunt publication

[10] Catanese A.V.. Rural poverty and environmental degradation in Haiti. Indiana Centre on Global and World Peace Occasional Paper 5, Series on Environmental and Development. 1991, Bloomington, Indianan: Indianan Centre on Global and World Peace Centre, 1 40

[11] Cavendish W. 1999. Poverty, inequality and environmental resources: quantitative analysis of rural households. Working Paper Series 99-9, Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE).

[12] Cavendish W.. Empirical regularities in the poverty-environment relationship of rural household: evidence from Zimbabwe. World Development, 2000, 28(11): 1979-2003.

[13] Dasgupta P.. Human well-being and the Natural Environment. 2001, Oxford: Oxford University Press

[14] FAO. 2005. Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA). Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome. Available at: http://www.fao.org/forestry/fra/fra2005/en/ [last accessed on 12 May 2010].

[15] Fisher GM. 1997. The Development and History of the USA Poverty Line Thresholds - A Brief Overview. Newsletter of the Government Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association, Winter: pp. 6–7. In: Don Sillers (ed.), National and International Poverty Lines: An Overview. U.S. Agency for International Development.

[16] Fisher M.. Household welfare and forest dependence in Southern Malawi. Environ Dev Econ, 2004, 9(2): 135-154.

[17] FMP (Forestry Master Plan). 1992. Bangladesh participatory forestry, Forest Master Plan, Asian Development Bank, (TA 1355-BAN UNDP/FAO BGD/088/025), Dhaka, Bangladesh: pp. 1–80.

[18] Foster Greer Thorbecke. 2005. Measures of poverty, Poverty Manual, JH Revision. Available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/PGLP/Resources/povertymanual [last accessed 10 May 2010].

[19] Gain P. 2002. The last forest of Bangladesh. Society for Environmental and Human Development (SEHD), Dhaka, Bangladesh.

[20] GOB (Government of Bangladesh). 2011. Bangladesh Forest Department official website. Land and Forest area in Bangladesh. Available at: http://www.bforest.gov.bd/land.php [last accessed on 5 May 2011].

[21] Gockowski J, Baker D, Tonye J. 1997. Characterization and diagnosis of agricultural systems in the alternatives to slash and burn forest margins benchmark of southern Cameroon. Ibadan, Nigeria: Report to ASB Program, IITA.

[22] Godoy R., O’neill K., Groff S., Kostishack P., Cubas A., Demmer J., Mcsweeney K., Overman J., Wilkie D., Brokaw N., Martinez M.. Household determinants of deforestation by Amerindians in Honduras. World Development, 1997, 25(6): 977-987.

[23] Hagenaars A., de Vos K.. The definition and measurement of poverty. The Journal of Human Resources, 1988, 23(2): 211-221.

[24] Hunt SM, Jackson WJ, Sheresthra KB. 1996. Income generation through community forestry in Nepal. In: Proceedings of an International Seminar held in Bangkok, Thailand 18–20 October, 1995: 63–80.

[25] Hussain M., Hussain Z., Ashfaq M.. Impact of Small Scale Irrigation Schemes on Poverty Alleviation in Marginal Areas of Punjab. Pakistan International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, 2006, 6: 193-200.

[26] Islam MS. 2010. Bangladesh’s high population density: opportunity amidst anxiety. Institute of South Asian Studies. Available at: http://blog.nus.edu.sg/southasiansoundings/2010/11/19/bangladesh%E2%80%99s-high-population-density-opportunity-amidst-anxiety/ [accessed on 27 April 2011].

[27] Jackson WJ, Ingles AW. 1995. Developing rural communities and conservation the biodiversity of Nepal’s forest through community forestry. In: proceedings of community development and conservation of biodiversity through community forestry.

[28] Jain S.K., Singh P.. Economics analysis of industrial agroforestry: Poplar (Populus deltoids) in Uttar Pradesh (India). Agroforestry System, 2000, 49(3): 255-273.

[29] Krishna BKC. 2005. Assessing rural livelihood development strategies combining socioeconomic and spatial. Available at: http://www.maceevents.org/greenweek2009/5828MACE/version/default/part/AttachmentData/data/KC [accessed on 11 November 2009].

[30] Latifee H.I.. Micro-credit and poverty reduction. 2003, Istanbul, Turkey: International Conference on ‘Poverty Reduction through Micro-credit’, 4 5

[31] Li S, Knight J. 2004. Three Urban Poverty Categories in China. In: World Institute for Development Economics Research, Research papers no. 2006/43. Available at: http://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/ [accessed on 22 November 2009].

[32] Makine C., Karsidag C., Kadioglu P., Ilkova H., Karsidag K., Skcvlund S.E., Snoek F.J., Pouwer F.. Psychological issue and education symptoms of depression and diabetes-specific emotional distress are associated with a negative appraisal of insulin therapy in insulin-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetic Medicine, 2009, 26: 28-33.

[33] Mamo G., Sjaastad E., Vedeld P.. Economic dependence on forest resources: a case from Dendi district, Ethiopia. Forest Policy and Economics, 2007, 9(8): 916-927.

[34] Muhammed N., Koike M., Sajjaduzzaman M.. A study on land tenure complexities of Sal (Shorea robusta) forests in Bangladesh. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 2005, 78(2): 318-320.

[35] Poverty Manual, All, JH Revision. 2005. Measures of Poverty, Chapter 4: pp. 69–218.

[36] Rahman M. 2010. Boner adibashider shonge nia bon rakha (in Bengali). A report on national daily news paper, ‘Protom Alo’. Available at: http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2010-08-11/news/85515 [accessed on 11 August 2010]

[37] Rahim, M.A. et al. 2007. Significance of multilayered agroforestry system, shared basis of social forestry and sustainable forest policy and management reducing significantly the poverty level in Bangladesh. In: International Conference on Poverty Reduction and Forest, RCOFTC, Bangkok, Thailand.

[38] Ravnborg H.M.. Poverty and environmental degradation in the Nicaraguan hillsides. World Development, 2003, 31(11): 1933-1946.

[39] Reardon T., Vosti A.S.. Links between poverty and the environment in developing countries: asset categories and investment poverty. World Development, 1995, 23(9): 1495-1506.

[40] Reddy S.R.C., Chakravarty S.P.. Forest dependence and income distribution in subsistence economy: evidence from India. World Development, 1999, 27(7): 1141-1149.

[41] Roemer M, Gupta MK. 1997. Does economic growth reduce poverty? Technical Paper. Harvard Institute for International Development, Technical paper supported by USDA.

[42] Roger R.B.L., Tchoundjeu Z., Schreckenberg K., Shackleton S.E., Shackleton C.M.. Agroforestry tree products (AFTPs): Targeting poverty reduction and enhanced livelihood. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2005, 3(1): 1-23.

[43] Safa M.S.. The effect of participatory forest management on the livelihood of the participants in a rehabilitation program of degraded forest in Bangladesh. Small-scale Forestry, 2004, 3(2): 223-238.

[44] Salam M.A., Noguchi T.. Factors influencing the loss of forest cover in Bangladesh: An analysis from socioeconomic and demographic perspectives. Journal of Forest Research, 1998, 3(3): 145-150.

[45] Salam M.A., Noguchi T.. On sustainable development of social forestry in Bangladesh: Experience from Sal (Shorea robusta) forests. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2005, 7(2): 209-227.

[46] Serageldin I., Steer A.. Capitals and Capabilities: A framework for analyzing peasant viability, rural livelihood and poverty. World Development, 1999, 27(12): 2021-2044.

[47] Sharma BP. 2006. Poverty alleviation through forest resource management: an analysis of leasehold forestry practice in Nepal. A Proposal Submitted to SANDEE for Fall 2006 Research Competition.

[48] Sills E.O., Lele S., Holmes T.P., Pattanayak S.K.. Non Timber Forest Products in the Rural Household Economy. Forests in a market economy. 2003, Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 259 281

[49] Tyler S.D.. Community based natural resource management: a research approach to rural poverty and environmental degradation. Communities, Livelihoods, and Natural Resources Chapter 2. International Development Research Centre (Canada). 2006, Warwickshire UK: Intermediate Technology Publications Ltd

[50] UN. 2007. United Nation report on human poverty index in Bangladesh. Available at: http://bdoza.wordpress.com/2007/12/19/human-poverty-in-bangladesh-in-un-report-2007-08/ [accessed on 2 May 2009].

[51] UNDP. 2006. Tracking the MDGs: Targets and Indicators. United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Available at: http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/ [accessed on 26 may 2009].

[52] Vedeld P, Angelsen A, Sjaastad E, Gertrude KB. 2004. Counting on the environment: forest incomes and the rural poor. The World Bank Environmental Department. Environ Economics Series paper; no. 98.

[53] World Bank. 2002. Sustaining Forests. A revised forest strategy for the World Bank Group. The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.

[54] World Bank. 2006. Understanding poverty and measuring poverty. Available at: http://www.worldbank.org/ [accessed on 2 November 2009].

[55] Zashimuddin M. 2007. Community forestry for poverty reduction in Bangladesh. In: Proceedings of the regional workshop on forest for poverty reduction.