Previous PageTable Of ContentsNext Page


Appendix 1 Variable descriptions and codes (alphabetically)

In this section the variables are listed in alphabetical order. They are not supposed to be used in this order. Neither are the variables listed according to tract, stand nor plot, nor to whether they are biophysical or socio-economic. In addition some comments are added below the variables and are meant to be useful for reflection when preparing for the interviews.

Stand.CanopyPattern

Explanation: The canopy pattern of forest cover in the stand

Options:

01 – Continuous canopy

02- Discontinuous canopy with small gaps

03 – Discontinuous canopy with large gaps and meadows

Stand.CrownCover

Explanation: The projected crown cover in the stand as percentage of the total area in the plot

Options:

01 - <10%

02- 10-40%

03 - 40-70%

04 - >70%

Stand.Disturbance

Explanation: The disturbance observed in the forest stand.

Options:

01- Not disturbed (protected areas, all resources conserved)

02- Slight disturbed (exploitation of products according to management plans)

03- Moderately disturbed (Many products collected without conforming to management plans, notion of sustainability not respected)

04- Heavily disturbed (Removal of products at rates higher than MAI, biodiversity degradation due to high pressure on selected species, encroachment of agriculture leading to high rate of deforestation)

Stand.ForestType

Explanation: Forest types will be classified according to national classes.

Options:

01- Closed forest

02- Open forest

03- Long fallow

04- Fragmented Forest

05- Shrubs

06- Short Fallow

07- Cover

08- Plantation

09- Trees Outside Forest

10- Other

Stand.LandUse

Land use of the stand. Saket redefine.

(THIS NEEDS ELABORATION PH 010129)-

Options:

01 – Forest

02- Shrubland

03 – Grassland

04 – Cropland

05- Orchard

06 – Roads

07 – Highways

08 – Resort Areas

09 – Infrastructure

10 – Water bodies

11 – Rivers

Stand.LandUseBefore

Explanation: Land use class 10 years ago for the stand.

Same land use classification as in Stand.LandUse applies.

Stand.Structure

Explanation: The canopy structure of the stand.

Options:

01 – Single layer

02- Two-layer vegetation

03 – Three-layer vegetation

04 – More than three layers

SubPlot.BurningArea

Explanation: Records of burning should be made from inside the field plots and extend to surrounding areas. Only burning encountered within the plots or in the sample site are recorded.

Area that has been affected by burning

Options:

01- < 1 ha

02- 1 – 10 ha

03- 10 – 25 ha

04- > 25 ha

SubPlot.BurningDate

Explanation: The approximate date of burning.

Options:

Explanation:

01- Nil

No sign of burning

02- Recent (same year)

Refers to bush fires occurred during the same year of the survey.

03- Years ago

More than one year ago

SubPlot.Regeneration

Explanation: Information on regeneration of the stand.

Options:

01 - n.appl. (established stand)

02 – Natural (seeds)

03 – Plantation

04 – Coppice

SubPlot.Silviculture

...

SubPlot.SoilMoisture

Explanation: The dominant soil moisture type for the subplot

Options:

Explanation:

01- Dry

 

02- Temporary Wet

Refers to land inundated by water during the wet season and part of the dry season

03- Permanently Wet

Land with water all year around, such as swamps and mangroves, etc.

SubPlot.SoilTexture

Explanation: The typical soil texture measured at starting point of the subplot

Options:

01- Coarse Sand:

02- Light Sand:

03- Light Clay:

04- Heavy Clay:

05- Silt:

06- Silt & Sand:

07- Pebbly Silt:

08- Alluvium:

09- other

SubPlot.SoilType

[Classifications from FAO/or national soil map]

SubPlot.StandOrigin

Explanation: The origin of the stand on the sub-plot.

Options:

01 – Natural seeding

02- Planting / artificial seeding

03 – Coppice

04 - Mix of 01and 02

05 - Mix of 01and 03

06 - Mix of 02and 03

07 - Mix of 01and 02 and 03

SubPlot.TimberExploit

Explanation: Establish type of (last) felling that has taken place in the stand. These are felling systems that depend on the management prescriptions set in accordance with the forest functions of production or conservation.

Options:

Options:

01- No felling

02- Clear felling

03- Selective felling

04- Group felling

05- Strip felling

06- Others

SubPlot.WildlifeDamage

Explanation: Damage includes total or partial loping of trees and other woody formations by wildlife species. This doesn’t include fruits loped and carried away by wildlife species. Percentage should be visual estimation by the team members.

Damage caused by the wildlife in the stand.

Options:

1- Nil

2- Low (<25% of trees affected)

3- Medium (25-50%)

4- Intense (50-75%)

5- Widespread (>75%)

Tract.Access

Explanation: This variable explores the distance of the sample site to a road and other infrastructure. It provides a sense of how remote or not the sample site is.

Fill out all:

km

Distance from all weather road (where motorized transport can always access)

 

Distance to closest settlement

 

Distance to closest market

 

Tract.AdminUnit

Fill out both:

Name of Administrative Unit (Municipality)

Name of Local Area

Tract.Designation

Explanation: The legal (formal) designation of forest might be different from ownership status.

Options:

Examples:

01- Conservation

Conservation which allows some uses, such as collecting NWFPs. Recreation?

02- Protection

Stricly protection, and no extraction allowed.

03- Community [communal] Forest, Village forest

These might include different types of formal agreements or management plans such as communal stewardship agreement etc.

04 Other

 

To be worked on during fieldwork.

Tract.EcolProblem

Explanation: The local population will identify the main ecological problems in the forest

Options:

01- Insufficient knowledge to ascertain

02- There is no ecological problem

02- Water level in rivers, and water sources

03- Drought

04- Flood

05- Water quality

06- Soil fertility /Erosion (i.e. less yield)

07- Fires

08- Pests

09- Other [describe]

Considerations: Care must be taken when addressing this question because ecological functions and problems might not be considered a local issue, and therefore, the respondent might fabricate an answer in order to satisfy the interviewer.

Tract.Livelihoodtrend

Explanantion: Description of the source of livelihood and occupation of the majority of persons in the area surrounding the sample site. The term source of livelihood refers to what people do in order to cover their basic needs for food and shelter, for example, if the are self-sufficient farmers or if the have a job in the city.

Options:

Explanation:

01- urban/periurban

Wage labour in a city or at an industry.

02 – rural agricultural

Farming activities.

03 – rural pastorialism

Main activity is pastoralism/herding animals.

04 – rural forestry

Subsistence or wage labour from forest.

05 – other

Might include subsidies, eco-tourism etc.

• Ongoing discussion whether this should be subdivided further, i.e., numbers of people in groups.

• Ecotourism, where would that fit in?

Considerations: Direct observation as well as information from key-informant and cross-checking will provide a good picture.

Tract.LandOwnership

Explanation: The legal ownership explains the type of legal status that the owner holds to the forestland in the sample area:

Options:

Explanations and examples:

 

01 –National government

Owned by national, state and regional governments or by government-owned corporations.

Public [state] ownership

02 –Regional government

   

03 –Local government

   

04 –Other public institutions

I.e., cities, municipalities, villages and communes. Tribal and indigenous*.

 

05 –Private, individuals/

families

Owned by individuals and families, including those who have formed themselves into companies, including companies that combine forestry and agriculture (farm forests). Includes cases where owners do not live on or near their forest holdings (absentee owners).Tribal and indigenous.

Private ownership

[group or individual]

06 –Owned by forest industries

Owned by private forestry or wood-processing industries.

 

07 –Owned by other private institutions

Owned by private corporations, co-operatives or institutions (religious, educational, pension or investment funds, nature conservation societies, etc.).

 

8 –Other

 

Other

* E.g. Certificate of ancestral domain claim by indigenous group due to historic use of the forest area.

Considerations: This should be investigated before going to the field (which often will be the case as research permits etc. must be obtained beforehand). The legal designation and ownership may differ. Some caution in investigating this question is wise as it may provoke or promote controversial ownership disputes. There might be several owners in the sample area. And sometimes, the key factors of “who owns, who manages and who uses” may be split up in different ways.

Tract.Latitude

Tract.Longitude

Tract.Population on site

Explanation: The number of people living in the sample site (tract).

Size (number) of the population living inside the sample site

Number:

People have lived on the site since:

Year:

Considerations: Use of visual aid, such as maps and photographs, should ensure that there is a mutual understanding of what area the sample site exactly is.

Tract.PopDynamics

Explanation: Population dynamics in this context investigates the stability of the local population in relation to the geographic area. Description of the population over the 10 last years

Options:

Explanations:

01 – stable;

The population (in terms of number) has remained more or less at is today the last 10 years

02 – out-migratory- [decreasing];

People are moving away from surrounding areas

03 – in-migratory- [increasing]

There is an influx of people moving into the area from other parts of the country

04 – immigration

There has been an influx of people from other country(ies) moving to the area

05 – seasonal migration

Migration takes part during certain seasons

• An interesting variable to be defined at national level would be “Why?” if the answers indicate change.

Considerations: A historic perspective is needed to answer this question. Be also aware that seasonal migrations might not be mentioned if it is not occuring at the time of the interview. Questions can be directed in the following way when cross-checking with focus group/individuals:

-“Before, when you were a child, were there more/less people living here?”

- “Do young people most often stay in the area when they establish families or do they go the city? Who leaves and who stays? Do some only migrate during certain periods of the year?”

Tract.PopInfluence

Explanation: Attempt to provide an overall indication of whether people’s use and harvest of products and services is an increasing or a decreasing trend, that is, the trend of people’s use and influence on the forest resources today compared to 10 years ago:

Options:

Explanations:

01 – no change

 

02 – there is an increasing demand for forest products and services

 

03 – there is a decreasing demand for forest products and services

 

04- insufficient knowledge to ascertain

 

Considerations: In addition to obtaining information from key informant, the interviewer should revise it when all data collection has been completed. Crosscheck during interviews.

Tract.Settlementhistory

Explanation: Main historic events that have affected local people and the land-use in the area. This is a descriptive variable, and there will be need to have a written explanation (to be explored).

Options:

Short description:

Year:

Wars/conflicts

   

Tenure-change

   

Agricultural expansions (booms)

   

Infrastructure, electricity

   

Other

   

Considerations: Discussing historic changes is a good starting points for interviews and group discussions. Questions on how long the person have lived in the area, where they come from and what important historic events they remember (for example, change of tenure, natural disasters, conflicts, when the road was built, arrival of electricity, etc.) are good ice-breakers.

Tract.TopographyEcol

Explanation: Description of the topography and the ecological zone of the sample site.

Description of topography:

Ecological zone:

Tree.Diameter

Tree.HealthCause

Explanation: The disease/damage to trees are mainly due to:

Options:

01- Insects

02- Fungus

03- Fire

04- Unidentified [add more windbreak]

Tree.Height

[Treesubplot.id]

Tree.Shape

Tree.Species

...

Utility.ChangeExtraction

Explanation: If there has been a change in the frequency of extraction, the reason for change is explored:

(might be several options..)

Options:

01: no change

Socio-economic aspects:

02- collapse of price/no market/new substitutes

03- overuse or competing use with others (outsiders)

04- change in land use (timber or farm-clearing)

Biophysical access:

05- land enclosed in conservation etc

06- overuse by local community

Considerations: The aim is to establish whether the trend today is different from the past. It is not the exact timing that is the most important, but rather what they are, and why it is happening?

Utility.DemandSupply

Explanation: The current demand and supply is explored of forest products and services.

Options:

01- n/a

02- there is an increasing demand for more

03- there is not an increasing demand

Follow up with “why?”

Considerations: The objective is to establish whether there is a balance between forestry products and services available and forestry products in demand. For example, one can ask: “Do you need more of this forest product, if so why? Need is a rather loaded term, try to make the focus groups elaborate why they need or do not need more as this will provide a broader understanding. Is it for domestic use or the market?

Utility.EndUser

Explanation: Whether the forest product is marketed at local, national or international level or only for home consumption is defined.

Options:

Explanation, examples:

01- Home consumption;

Product is not sold, neither bartered

02- Local

Local use/local market

03- National;

 

04- International;

 

05- Combination [of the above options]

 

* If the answer is 05, one could indicate the proportions.

Considerations: The person interviewing should be aware that many forest products are illegally marketed. However, it is not the role of the interviewer to reveal such information unless told voluntarily by informants. Questions should be asked with certain sensitivity.

Utility.FrequencyExtraction

Explanation: A comparison of the frequency of extracting/using the forest products and services today, and 10 years ago:

Options:

01- is the same

02- is less

03- is increased

04- not applicable

Utility.Rank

Explanation: This variable measures the importance given to the product as perceived locally through preference ranking. The three most important products will be ranked.

Product Ranked

Name of Product:

Number 1:

 

Number 2:

 

Number 3:

 

Considerations: This question should be cross-referenced in different focus groups, for example, divided by gender. By ranking the top three an insight will be provided as to whether a timber product is given more value than a non-wood forest product or a service.

The ranking exercise is explained in more detail in Part II.

Utility.SeasonExtraction

Explanation: The season and month that the product is collected:

Month:

Season:

Considerations: Both season and month of harvest must be noted in order to distinguish between the regional variations.

Utility.SpecieSubstitut

Explanation: The variable describes whether there are other substitutes available for this forest product and service.

Options:

01- n/a

02- yes

03- no

If yes, what product(s):

-

Utility.LastExtracted

Explanation: The variable explores the last time the product was extracted.

Options:

01- this week

02- this month

03- this year

04- many years ago

Considerations: During the interview one should bear in mind that outsiders, such as companies, might have extracted the forest product.

Utility.Technology

Explanation: The technology such as tools and methods used to extract the product when being harvested is explored.

Options:

Explanation, examples:

01- n/a

Not applicable

02- Mechanised

Tractors, machinery etc.

03- Manual chainsaw

Mechanical chainsaws

04- Manual

Manual saw etc.

05- Other

Includes animal traction

Considerations: This question will explore how the product is extracted. Many forest products, such as forest services, will fall under the “not applicable” category, because, for example, “safari” is not extracted.

Utility.TypeProduct

Explanation: Forest products and services that are extracted from the stand are identified.

Options:

Explanation and examples

Wood Products

 

01- Timber

Hardwoods, softwoods

02- Fuelwood

Wood and charcoal

Non-Wood Forest Products

 

Plants and plant products:

 

03- Food

Vegetables, fruits, nuts, mushrooms etc.

04- Fodder

Grasses, leaves

05- Medicines

Medicines from plants from forest

06- Essential oils

Oils, soap, cosmetics

07- Tannins

Tannins, dyes

08- Spices/herbs

Spices and herbs from the forest

09- Exudates

Gums, resin, latex etc.

10- Utensils, handicrafts,

Non timber-based utensils/ handicrafts

11- Construction materials

Non timber-based construction matr.

12- Ornamentals

Plants used as ornamentals

13- Seeds

Seeds

14- Biofertilizers, insecticides etc.

Natural fertilisers or insecticides made of organic matter

15- Others

 

Animals and animal Products:

 

16- Living animals

Including birds and insects

17- Bushmeat

Bigger mammals, rodents

18- Honey, beeswax

 

19- Other non-edible animal products

Hunting trophies etc.

Forest Services

 

20- [Paid] Employment

 

21- Hunting

Hunting

22- Grazing

Service to cows

23- Bio-prospecting-

Scientific Research performed

24- Conservation

 

(Environmental)

 

25- Agricultural functions

Wind breaks and shade

26- Water/soil conservation

 

27- Recreational

 

28- Religious/spiritual

 

Considerations: See detailed discussion in Part 2. Exercise: Identifying the Forest Products and Services.

UtilityUser.Conflicts

Explanation: Local opinion of whether disagreements (conflicts) are related to harvesting, use or accessing the forest product or services.

Options:

Explanation

01- not applicable

 

02- insufficient knowledge to ascertain

 

03- Yes, there are conflicts

 

04- No, there are not conflicts

 

Considerations: Conflicts are sensitive. However, some indications might already have been given during the discussion about the user rights to the product.

UtilityUser.Rights

Explanation: This variable studies the rights of the forest user in relation to harvesting the forest product.

Options:

Explanation:

01 – Exclusive rights to harvest the product

Person has right to exclude others from using/harvesting the product.

02 – Non exclusive rights to harvest product

Person cannot exclude other from using the forest product

03 - Not allowed to harvest product

Person cannot officially harvest the product

Considerations: When discussing the rights of the forest user to the forest product easy terms and questions must be formulated. Such as:

-“When you extract this fruit from your land, do others have rights to extract it, too?”

-“ Although it is a government forest, can you harvest the mushrooms?” etc.

UtilityUser.UserType

Explanation: The group (individuals) that harvests the forest product is selected.

Options:

Examples:

01 – Local women/children;

Women and children from the local area

02 – Local men;

Men from local area

03 – Both local women and men;

Women and men from local area

04 – Local organized group or company of persons

Groups such as hunters association, or local fruit company etc.

05 – External persons;

Persons from outside the local area/surrounding

06 – External national company;

 

07 – External international company;

For example, multi-nationals etc.

08 – Other

 

Considerations: During discussions when noting which products are harvested, and for what use, the interviewer should be aware of that different groups, such as women and men, might use the same product differently. Different specie variants might have different user group.


Previous PageTop Of PageNext Page