Assessing The Effects Of Community Forestry On Rural Livelihood

The study examine the effects of community forestry on r ural livelihood and examine the various ways in which locals in the community generate income through community forestry.The data was generated through interview with the household heads and the key informants and 392 questionnaires were administered and distributed to the respondents within the 6 districts out of the 9 districts in the region.The data collected was analyze using descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Square(OLS)multiple linear regression.The result of the study revealed that household size has a negative non-significance effect on household income while size of farm has a significant positive effect on household income.On the other hand,the result shows that forest area has a negative non-significant effect on household income.The study found that there is no significant difference between forest policy and no forest policy on income from forest.The result further found that other source of income played a non-significant positive effect on income from forest.On the one hand,non-timber forest products shows that it has a positive statistically significant effect on income from forest according to the results obtained from OLS model.This study also found that the households as forest users,who own land near the forest are engaged in agriculture as a major livelihood strategy.Based on the findings,the study suggested that the community forestry in the West Coast Region properly managed and maintained because of it significant role in rural livelihood and there is also a need to enlighten and educate people on the importance of the community forestry to rural livelihood.