Compiled by S.A. Dembner
Stephen A. Dembner is the Editor of Unasylva.
Consideration of the dependence of local people on tree and forest resources and their sensitivity to change in access to and availability of these resources, based on case-studies in the United Republic of Tanzania, Thailand and Viet Nam, and a workshop of all the dependence study researchers, held in Hanoi in December 1994.
The FAO Forests, Trees and People Programme (FTPP) has long been concerned with the potential of either positive or negative impacts that forestry activities can have on farmers. Previous FTPP activities have produced a great deal of information about the link between forestry and food security. However, gaps have been identified in understanding how to identify and give more effective support to people who are most dependent on forest and tree products. There was a need to understand better who the dependent people were, the extent of their dependence, how this dependence was affected by the changing access to forests and how such information could be made more useful to those involved in forestry sector planning.
To respond to this need, over the past three years FAO, in collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, has supported a series of case-studies, developed and implemented by national multidisciplinary teams in Bolivia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Thailand and Viet Nam. This article considers the knowledge generated by three of the four case-studies (the work in Bolivia had not been completed at the time of writing).
Forest products used for medicinal purposes in Viet Nam
OBJECTIVES
The overall objectives of all studies were the same: to provide information on the links between forest products and household food security, the extent and manner of local people's dependence on the forests for food and their vulnerability to changes in access and availability to these resources; and to develop methods for generating information for forestry professionals for policy-making and implementation.
One of the aims of the studies was to explore more qualitative, rapid and participatory methods in learning about dependence issues in local communities. Important aspects discussed in the planning seminar included the use of some screening mechanism to allow rapid identification of the major concerns, of the most important products and of key households. Included in the methodology was also an emphasis on the need to foster better collaboration between sectors on this multifaceted issue.
Each team also developed specific objectives for its study. These included: a description of the dependence, direct and indirect, physical and social; a description of changes in availability and access; a description of strategies to cope with the changes; identification of the most vulnerable groups and an analysis of the factors influencing vulnerability; identification of priority issues of importance to vulnerable households; and the testing of some rapid and qualitative methods and approaches.
A variety of techniques have been used. Each team decided what would be most appropriate and relevant for its needs. All teams made use of rapid rural appraisal (RRA) or participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques in the initial exploratory investigations. The instruments used later in the study or for specific subtopics varied, partly because of perceived relevance and the professional background of team members and partly because of each team's familiarity and previous involvement in the study area. There were some differences between the participating countries in terms of the institutional responsibilities for the studies (for instance, whether the institutions were at the national, regional or local level and on what disciplines they focused).
SUMMARY OF CASE-STUDY FINDINGS
Tanzania: Dependence on forests and tree foods for food security in two villages in Mtwara rural district
The main collaborating institution was the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC) in collaboration with the Community Forestry section of the Ministry of Tourism, Natural Resources and the Environment. The Tanzanian group (participation from the national, regional and district levels) carried out their study in two villages, Mbambakofi and Nanguruwe, in one district in Mtwara region in southeastern Tanzania. The criterion used for the selection was that one village should be close to the proposed forest reserve of Mnivata/Mtiniko and the other further away from a forest but still using forest products.
The case-study, based on PRA/RRA involving both men and women, revealed a number of issues concerning forests, food security and the future. In both villages there are many interlinkages between forest and agriculture and also substantial use of forest and tree products for household food security.
The inhabitants of both villages are Makonde people, mostly farmers using a local form of bush-fallow system, intercropping cassava, cashew and many annual crops. Given the agricultural production system, people depend on forests both for their main production and for a number of non-timber products which contribute to food security.
The declining productivity and deterioration of forests and forest lands is a central concern in both study areas. The forest-fallow system of shifting agriculture is under increasing stress for reasons of population pressure and the desire to expand cassava cash cropping. Over time farmers have had to clear land for new fields further away from the village. Many now complain of time-consuming and long, tiring walks to the fields. Farmers in both study areas try to increase farm production through expansion of the cultivated area. In some cases they try to meet their increased needs through longer use of the fields before fallowing or by shortening the fallow periods.
The ability of forests to sustain agricultural production and also to serve as a supplementary source of food or non-agricultural income is increasingly constrained. More forest products are collected for cash income now, but the overall availability of forest foods is declining. In this regard there is a clear difference between Mbambakofi, where forest foods are still available in abundance, and Nanguruwe, where people already have to walk long distances to find these products. For example, women from Nanguruwe regularly walk 8 to 16 km to forests to gather ming'oko (Dioscorea sp.), a wild yam that is important in local diets.
A majority of households have seasonal food shortages and some households are severely food insecure. There is still an intensive use of forest products for food, particularly ming'oko. The use is more pronounced during periods of food shortages. Forest foods are also used to diversify diet and sometimes as a source of income.
The supply of fuelwood is not considered a problem, but the choice of the wood preferred could be in the future, since the most suitable wood species have been depleted and are now only found deeper in the forests.
An important objective in the field study was to identify the priority concerns of the community and to try and incorporate them in future planning. From the beginning of the field study the team realized how crucial this was. In Mbambakofi, concern about water was so serious (water collected from storage tanks or hand-dug holes and wells in the dry river valley only lasts for nine to ten months; after that women have to walk several kilometres to fetch water) that it was impossible to discuss any other matters until some agreement was made on how to find solutions to this issue. Also important to the success of the Tanzanian case was the linkage to an ongoing rural development programme that also worked through a participatory process; and the interdisciplinary approach and involvement of participating institutions at multiple levels, as this provided an incentive and channel for follow-up.
Thailand: Dependence on forests and trees for food security in two villages in Phu Wiang district, Khon Kaen province
The study was conducted in collaboration with the faculties of Associated Medical Sciences, Public Health and Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University. The study compared the dependence on forests and trees for food security of two villages, Ban Nong Khong and Ban Moh, before and after the enforcement of a major policy change which included the closing of the forest.
Ban Nong Khong is situated near the Phu Wiang forest; the study team had already carried out case-studies there in 1989 on the use of forest food products through food recording in seven households during a one-year period. This provided detailed information on the relative importance of forest products in the local diet.
Ban Moh is located further away from forested areas but near a sawmill where many of the villagers were employed and the closing of the forest thus caused a major change in an important source of income.
Use of forests in Thailand has been severely restricted
Economic impacts
In Ban Nong Khong, before the forest was closed, villagers' income came from upland crops on forest land; crops on privately owned land; wage labour; logging; and selling foods and other products from the forest. Some households also sold charcoal. After the forest was closed, the income of the villagers in Ban Nong Khong decreased as they lost the income from upland crop cultivation in the forest, from logging and from selling forest products and charcoal, and employment opportunities in the local area decreased. Some households had their own land and could continue to gain income from upland crops, but members of landless households and households with small farms were often forced to migrate to work as wage labourers in other provinces. During the rainy season, apart from rice cultivation, some villagers could get general employment locally; some engaged in illegal logging for income. Moreover, many poor households collected mushrooms for sale in order to buy foods or for other household expenditures. For firewood and charcoal, the villagers could collect only for household use.
In Ban Moh, the closing of the forest resulted in the termination of upland cassava cultivation in the reserved forest area. Although the households that had controlled the cassava cash cropping were among the wealthier in the village and had both their own rice fields and upland crop areas in the mountains, they had to adapt. They did so by changing to mulberry plantations and silkworm raising. Some households planted vegetables for sale after the main harvesting period.
In the past, villagers grazed their animals on the mountainside because they also worked in their upland crop area. The closing of the forest thus also meant lack of grazing areas during the rainy season.
Before the forest was closed, labourers employed in the production of cassava were from rather poor households. After the termination of cassava production, these labourers had to find other ways of earning money. This meant going to work outside the village. Quantitative data showed that, in 1991, the percentage of households in Ban Moh employed outside Phu Wiang district was 40 percent, of which 26 percent were employed in the sugar-cane field and 50 percent were employed in Phu Wiang district. This outmigration eventually caused a "boomerang effect" of a labour shortage in the village and agricultural wages increased. At this point, wealthier households began to engage in day labour.
After the forest was closed, off-farm activities became increasingly important. The sawmill had previously employed up to 10 percent of the local population, but these jobs were lost and the sawmill then switched to making furniture from non-forbidden woods. Seven members of the village were working as furniture-makers in the mill at the time of the survey. Moreover, some wealthier households found new occupations by opening village shops after the termination of cassava cultivation in the forest area.
Food systems
Villagers in Ban Nong Khong have been using forest foods for generations. Before the forest was closed, most of the household foods came from the forest, especially animal products such as wild pork, birds, big lizard (lan), fish and rats. When the forest was closed the villagers were forced to find other sources of protein, primarily store-bought foods. For the poorest villagers, for whom purchased foods represented a severe economic burden, this created a risk of protein-poor diets. Even for the better-off villagers, the store-bought foods introduced new and unfamiliar diets.
In Ban Moh, household foods came from a combination of sources near the village, including rice fields and ponds, from home production (rice and garden vegetables), from shops and, to a large extent, the forest, notwithstanding the greater distance. After the forest was closed, the kinds and the amount of foods from the forest decreased, and the villagers had to depend more on foods from shops.
The study showed that before the forest was closed, poor households could collect natural foods even if they had to go out for employment. After the closing they continued to collect some natural foods (often integrating the gathering of these products with walking to employment outside the village, thereby reducing additional time commitments) but significant portions were set aside for sale or exchange, even if this meant having to buy food items of inferior quality.
Viet Nam: Dependence on forests and trees for household food security among the Dao people in Yen Houng commune, Ham Yen district
Collaboration was with the Forest Research Centre (FRC), Vinh Phu. The study team consisted of several foresters (both national and local staff), two medical doctors or nutritionists, one sociologist and one lawyer. The study took place at a time when major and rapid policy changes were being implemented. Trade was being liberalized, a major land reform was beginning and there was pressure to provide support to minority groups in mountain areas. FRC was directly involved in land allocation to farmers in the study area. Against this background, the FRC group studied dependence on forests and trees for food security among one minority group of people, the Dao, in two forest communes in Yen Houng that have migrated to the area during two different periods. The people are mostly shifting cultivators; overall their living conditions are difficult and food production does not meet minimum requirements for much of the population.
Interviews with local people regarding forest food consumption habits in Viet Nam
The team collected information from eight villages (brigades) at different altitudes in the two cooperatives. They visited at three different times of the year and looked at general, seasonal and intermittent use of forest products. The study team used secondary information and RRA techniques initially and later continued with case-studies, using questionnaire forms. Food-secure and food-insecure households were interviewed in each village following the socio-economic criteria suggested by village leaders.
The research highlighted the important role of forest and tree products for household food security, in particular in meal quality and during periods of food shortage, especially for the poorest sectors of the population. The study evidenced the different challenges facing the two cooperatives, given their different backgrounds. The inhabitants of Nac Con had settled in the area before 1945 and the area was designated a cooperative in 1968. The people had relatively long experience in traditional forest farming systems and viewed the area as a permanent settlement. Significant areas of forest had been cleared but there was a sense of balance. On the other hand, Yen Lap was not permanently inhabited until the end of the 1970s when former tea cultivators from near the Chinese border were relocated there. These people had no upland experience, either with rice or cassava, and a short history of forest use. Moreover, they did not initially view their resettlement as permanent. As a result, the forest cover of the area, which had been at least 60 percent, was rapidly reduced to 15 percent.
Information from the case-study has been used as a basis for FRC to establish a research programme that aims at "holistic" development of rural communities in upland areas through land-use planning and transfer of land-use rights to households and communities. This participatory approach encourages the people to apply appropriate methods of land use and supports them in the development of the household economy. Through the broader farm forestry programme in the area, FRC was able to involve institutions outside the forestry sector, for example, livestock/agriculture to help with pig raising, and governmental and non-governmental organizations for the provision of small-scale credit.
Women pounding upland rice in Viet Nam
ISSUES ARISING FROM THE CASE-STUDIES
The case-studies have generated a considerable amount of information on how crucial forest land, forests and tree products are to household food security and rural livelihoods. Dependence comes through multiple use of local natural resources - forest land for main crop production and many non-wood products (plant and animal) as foods - for food production, processing or preparation, or for income. Many aspects of dependence and use have been illustrated, including not only regular use but also what happens when normal food flows are disrupted, coping strategies used by chronically food-insecure households, change of strategies and impact on food security as access or availability changes. This has increased the understanding of the nature of dependence and of the factors which determine how a household can cope with these changes.
Regarding methodology and techniques used in generating the data, major gains were achieved in capacity building, i.e. in enabling the team members to practice new survey techniques and strengthen their analytical capacity, to work in multidisciplinary teams and directly with communities.
An important question is what will be the implications of this type of work in a wider context. If the food security needs of resource-poor people are to be given a higher priority, and their strategies to attain these are to be respected, many questions arise. For instance, how can the various institutions best provide relevant service and what support do they require to do this? This includes strategies that need to be found in order to facilitate appropriate support to the communities, to include relevant aspects in training and future research and to ensure that dependence issues are given greater attention in larger programmes
One can also question the type of information needed. The dependence studies have generated a lot of information. What type of information has been most useful to the forestry sector? Is there a minimum level of information that can be recommended for forestry planning or for other sectors working with nutrition in forest-dependent communities? At what level can decisions be made most effectively? Issues of food security are not traditionally the responsibility of the forestry sector and the dependence studies have been carried out by multisectoral teams to cover the subject more effectively. Follow-up activities will also need to reflect the diverse problems faced by the households in achieving and retaining food security.
The pilot studies also raise other questions relating to the institutions involved. Who is best suited to carry out such studies and to have the main responsibility for planning to assure follow up action? What are the other alternatives for information flow? How can one improve the bottom-up link between local communities and formal institutions, between institutions from different sectors and between researchers and planners so that the priority food security issues that emerge in forest-dependent communities are given due attention in planning? The answers to these questions are crucial, as the choice of institutions will influence the possibilities, interest and mandate for follow-up activities.
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES AND USE OF CASE-STUDY INFORMATION
An important question connected to the dependence studies has been how the information can be generated in such a way that it becomes useful and relevant to forestry planning and is used in decisions and actions to improve the situation of the food-insecure households. Even though such activities were not built into the original study design, the teams themselves have taken action in different ways to initiate support to participating communities.
At another level, the collaborating institutions were asked to arrange seminars in each country to present and discuss the pilot studies. The purpose of these seminars was to share the findings and lessons learnt, to discuss the approaches adopted as well as uses of this type of information and to propose strategies for continued work.
Three of the teams have already organized such seminars. The Vietnamese group held a two-day seminar in Hanoi in August 1993; the Thai team a one-day meeting in December 1993; and the Tanzanian group a three-day seminar in October 1994. The Bolivian team has submitted their plan but not yet fixed a time. Questions raised at these seminars will contribute to the discussion.
An international follow-up workshop
In December 1994, the case-study writers from Tanzania, Thailand and Viet Nam came together to consider the results of the studies and their national workshops. They shared the approaches and tools they had used for learning about forest and tree-dependent livelihoods in their own countries. They discussed the ways they had tried to use and disseminate the information gained and to introduce the issue into forestry planning and project implementation. They confirmed again the crucial role that forests and trees play in rural livelihoods, especially of poorer groups, of people who live close to the forests and of women. They also concluded that more attempts needed to be made in the research process to include rural people as research team members and to keep decision-makers properly informed.
At the end of the meeting the participants identified gaps in the individual reports, which were easier to see when compared. An attempt was made to identify a minimal data set of information which would be needed to understand the interaction between the populations and forests and trees for policy and planning purposes. Participants then made a grid to show promising tools which were or could be used for gaining such information. The conclusion stressed the importance of forging new links between institutions from different sectors and of assuring that policy-makers and project planners and implementors are betterinformed about this important issue.
Possible follow-up activities were discussed to address national needs in the countries where research was being carried out, including: filling gaps in knowledge about the interrelationship between forests and food security; testing and adapting tools for obtaining information in a timely manner; and disseminating information more effectively to national institutions. Most of the researchers had already started field activities and planned to strengthen their work directly with forest-dependent communities.
Forestry projects usually change access and availability of tree and forest products, for better or worse, with regard to forest-dependent people - small- holders, pastoralists, fisherfolk and, especially, the landless. The FAO Forests, Trees and People Programme has worked extensively on the issues of forestry and basic food security and nutrition. It has also studied the dynamics of small-scale forest-based enterprises. It will continue to work with the institutions involved in this effort to fine-tune tools so that foresters may more quickly identify those people for whom forest and tree outputs are critical and work with them to assure improved livelihoods.
The case-study reports, as well as the report of the workshop held in Hanoi in December 1994, may be obtained by writing to:
Ms Britta Ogle,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences,
International Rural Development Centre,
Box 7005, S-750 07 Uppsala,
Sweden.
