Poverty, forest dependence and forest degradation links: evidence from Zagros, Iran

Arezoo Soltani, Arild Angelsen (arild.angelsen@nmbu.no) and Tron Eid

Environment and Development Economics, 2014, vol. 19, issue 5, 607-630

Abstract: The article analyzes the links between poverty, forest use and dependence, and forest degradation by combining household and forest resource data from two sites in the Zagros Mountains, Iran: Ghamishale and Tange Tamoradi. At both sites, traditional forms of forest management are practised; in Ghamishale management is mainly family based, whereas in Tange Tamoradi it is village based. The poverty–forest dependence link is strongly influenced by population density, carrying capacity and institutions for forest management. In addition, the study revealed the tradeoff between equity and sustainable resource use as outputs of different institutional arrangements. We do not find any evidence that poor households or households with high forest dependence contribute more to forest degradation than others. The results therefore raise concerns about the potential consequences of policies globally that address forest degradation only through poverty alleviation and forest-dependence reduction.

Date: 2014
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