ECOPERSIA

ECOPERSIA

Contribution of Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFPs) to Rural Household Income in the Forests of Sardasht County, Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ayshe Esmaili 1
Seyed Rostam Mousavi 2
Ahmad Alijanpour 3
Marzieh Hajjarian 2
Sajad Ghanbari 4
1 Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
2 Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, Urmia University
3 Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, Urmia University, Urmia
4 Department of Forestry, Ahar Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tabriz, Ahar, Iran Research Center of Biosciences and Biotechnology (RCBB), University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
10.48311/ecopersia.2026.119767.82885
Abstract
Aims: The main objective of this study was to quantitatively estimate the amount of harvest, consumption, and share of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) in total household income in the forests of Sardasht County. The secondary objective was to examine the effect of altitude above sea level on household reliance on forest resources.
Materials & Methods: Morgan’s table was used to determine the sample size. The data collected through the questionnaire include estimates of harvest amounts, consumption patterns, income from NWFPs, income from other sources, and the share of NWFPs in total household income. The study used structured interviews and questionnaires to gather socioeconomic data and determine the share of income derived from NWFPs across different altitude classes. The Spearman-Brown formula was used to calculate the overall reliability coefficient of the test. The amount of income from the NWFP harvesting area was calculated from the total income from each harvested species. It was then added to other sources of household income.
Findings: NWFPs are crucial for livelihoods in these regions, with the highest dependency found in certain villages. The socioeconomic characteristics of the community reveal significant variations in household resources, with the mean age of the head of household being 52 years, household size averaging 4.5 people, and annual income ranging from 21.31 to 649 dollars (Each dollar is equivalent to 1,700,000 rials in 2026). Agricultural and animal husbandry are the most common occupations, with the prominence of each varying by altitude. The study also highlights the economic value of different NWFPs, such as turpentine, Gala, and White Mazoj, providing the highest mean economic value at 892.47 Dollars per household per year. The share of NWFPs in household income in the study area was 24.93%. The results also showed that the share of NWFPs in household income in the second altitude class was higher than in the first and third altitude classes.
Conclusion: NWFP income made a measurable contribution to total household income, with greater dependence observed among households in the lower altitudinal class. The significant difference between household income with and without NWFP revenues highlights the economic importance of forest products for rural livelihoods. Developing local processing facilities, strengthening rural cooperatives, improving market access, and establishing online marketing channels could increase the economic benefits derived from NWFPs.
Keywords
Livelihood
Non-wood forest products
poverty reduction
rural development
Zagros region
Subjects
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