Contribution of participatory forest management to livelihood improvement in Metema district, northwestern Ethiopia

Zemenu Woldie (), Asmamaw Alemu Abtew (), Adefires Worku () and Habitamu Tadesse ()
Additional contact information
Zemenu Woldie: University of Gondar
Asmamaw Alemu Abtew: University of Gondar
Adefires Worku: Ethiopian Forestry Development
Habitamu Tadesse: Hawassa University

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2025, vol. 27, issue 4, No 37, 9187-9209

Abstract: Abstract In recent decades, there is a major shift in forest resource governance and management. Participatory forest management (PFM) approach has been promoted widely. However, the link between rural communities’ livelihood dependence on forest resources and the likelihood of PFM success has been understudied. This study examines the contribution of PFM to improving rural livelihoods in Metema district, Ethiopia. A mixed quantitative and qualitative research design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 180 randomly selected participants in three PFM groups. The survey data were supplemented with group discussions and key informant interviews. Results revealed that age is significantly associated with PFM membership. Other household (HH) socioeconomic characteristics did not affect the decision to be a member of a PFM group. The PFM members collect different non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and Frankincense (Boswellia papyrifera) income constitutes 9–25% of the members’ annual HH income. The contribution of Frankincense income decreases from the lowest to higher quantiles. Statistically significant differences were also observed in Frankincense income between the PFM groups investigated (p = 0.05). Moreover, the findings revealed that PFM approach and hence the Frankincense production has played an essential role in poverty alleviation as demonstrated by providing regular income to PFM member HHs, reducing income inequality and serving as a safety net and income gap filling roles. Overall, the PFM approach in the study area contributes to the livelihood improvement of the members that could, in turn, create an incentive for better management of the dry land woodlands.

Keywords: Frankincense; Income inequality; Livelihood; Metema; PFM; Ethiopia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-023-04276-9 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:endesu:v:27:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s10668-023-04276-9

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/10668

DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-04276-9

Access Statistics for this article

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development is currently edited by Luc Hens

More articles in Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().