Household Dependence on Forest Resources in the Luki Biosphere Reserve, Democratic Republic of CONGO.

ABSTRACT

This study was aimed at examining the contribution of forest products to rural livelihoods and the socio-economic factors that influence household forest dependence in the Luki Biosphere Reserve. A structured questionnaire poll of 193 households randomly chosen from two enclaves in the Luki Biosphere Reserve, and focus group discussions were used to gather the data. For data analysis, a binary logistic regression model was used. The study revealed a substantial contribution of forest products to household livelihood based on household wealth strata and the gender of the household head. The contribution of forest income has been found to be higher for poor households than to other wealth categories, although their mean income from forest was low. However, the present research further revealed that household forest dependence was significantly determined by socioeconomic factors such as length of residency, age, sex, education, employment and household size. Compared to their elderly counterparts, the youth were probably more dependent on forest products. Therefore, there should be increased capacity-building efforts among the young people to enable them enlighten the local communities about the need for sustainable forest management. Meanwhile, highly educated people were observed to be less dependent on forests. The findings of this research provides empirical evidence from the Mayombe tropical forest, thus contributing to the growth of knowledge on the impact of socioeconomic factors on the household dependence on forest resources, especially in the tropical forest of the Democratic Republic of Congo where the complexity of the relationship between local communities and their environment is still being studied.