Determinants of community participation in selected non-timber forest products market in Niassa Special Reserve, Niassa province, Mozambique

Abstract

The major purpose of this study was to determine the determinants of Community Participation in the Selected Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) Market in Niassa Special Reserve (NSR), Niassa Province, Mozambique. Specifically, this study aimed to (i) evaluate community participation in the value chain as collectors, producers, and sellers of NTFPs; (ii) determine the diversity, and Importance Value Index (IVI) of Tree species with NTFPs attachment; (iii) determine the economic value of selected NTFPs towards household food security and income; and (iv) examine the key factors that influence the decision of the household’s participation in the selected NTFPs market in Mecula-Lugenda Corridor in NSR. Community-based analytical cross-section and longitudinal studies were done employing quantitative and qualitative approaches. Focus group discussions were held with members of the communities whereas key informant interviews were conducted with Wildlife Conservation Society officials (the management authority), traditional healers, and local leaders to help in identifying the different places where these species are being harvested. Twelve transects were established to identify tree species with NTFP attachment. Tree Species Diversity was determined using the Shannon diversity Index. Using households from selected villages along with local leaders, traditional healers, and officials managing NSR, a multistage sampling procedure was preferred whereby simple random sampling was used in choosing such households and villages. Data was collected using the household survey methods and market survey. The economic value of each NTFP was obtained based on the Shackleton and Shackleton model. Community participation in the value chain and key factors affecting the household decisions to participate in the selected NTFP market were investigated using the same sampling framework and process indicated above. Quantitatively, data was analyzed using STATA version 20 to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. A bivariate logistic regression model was used to determine the factors that primarily characterize dependence on NTFPs. Qualitatively, both thematic and content analysis were used. The study found that communities largely participated in the collection of NTFPs whereby 100% were collecting firewood, medicinal plants, fish, spices, grass, and ropes. The communities rarely participated in the collection of oil and bush meat. 80% of the community members preferred firewood, poles, ropes, wild fruits and nuts, grass, bamboo shoots, wild tubes, medicinal plants, and fish because they were associated with the value, they play about food security, health, economic security, and overall survival and economic growth of the area. It was also established that there is a total of 56 different tree species in 25 botanical families that were attached to NTFPs extraction. Fabaceae had the highest number of species (20). Julbernadia globiflora was the most dominant with a relative dominance of 19.37%, and Diplorhynchus condylocarpon (48.6048) had the highest IVI. The diversity of tree species was unevenly distributed in the study area however Ntimbo 2 had the highest diversity index. Different tree species with different families were distributed heterogeneously with diverse heights and sizes forming different layers. The different tree species were harvested from the roots, bark, trunk/branches, leaves, flowers, and seeds for the different NTFPs and were mostly harvested all year through. It was also established that 21 NTFPs ranging between food products, firewood, and construction materials were collected, produced, and traded by households living adjacent to the Mecula-Lugenda Corridor zones. The mean annual value of the identified NTFPs ranged from 600.00MZN/$9.68 to 6000.00MZN/$96.77. Fish and poles had the highest mean annual value followed by poles, oils, sisal, firewood, and ropes. The most dominant NTFPs in terms of mean annual value per household were firewood, mushroom, medicinal plants, and honey. The study xivfindings thus established that the collection of NTFPs generally contributes 38.6% to food security in NSR. Lastly, the study revealed that about 90% of the households participate in collecting, producing, and selling non-timber forest products. The binary logistic regression revealed sex, age, education, family size, and time spent in the area as significantly associated with dependence on NTFPs. Additionally, forest fires, strong cultural attachment to forests, seasonal engagement in the collection, , distance to the nearby forest, construction needs, forest being a major source of medicine, education, household food security, ready income, tourist attraction, and affordability of a distance to markets were found to have a significant influence on the community’s dependence on NTFPs. It was recommended that there is a need to promote off-farm income-generating activities. Secondly, it was recommended that for effective conservation of NTFPs, strategies should take into consideration groups that were found to have more stake, such as the men and youth in planning and implementing sustainable utilization and management of forest resources. In addition, interventions aimed at conserving the forest should consider both in-situ and ex-situ conservation of the most utilized plants and trees. For instance, trees and plants that provide NTFPs in the form of spices, firewood, and medicines need to be preserved to avoid extinction or relieve pressure on the wild stock. The provision of energy-saving stoves and the promotion of biogas technologies as an alternative to fuelwood is recommended to reduce household overreliance on the forest wood plant. The NTFP value chain in the Mecula-Lugenda Corridor needs some focus action such as providing equipment to the collectors necessary for collection, processing, and conservation, building the capacities of collectors on drying, conservation, and processing techniques, creating, and empowering collectors’ organization and their networking with buyers, developing of market information system and an enabling environment that facilitates market access to local collectors. In addition, the promotion of tourism would broaden the market for the NTFPs since most of the tourists would be interested in buying these products as souvenirs. Furthermore, improving NTFP quality can improve NTFP prices in rural, national, and international markets and then reduce the pressure on forest resources and biodiversity in general. Lastly, it is recommended that the domestication of indigenous tree species should be encouraged for the reduction of poverty and for balance to be maintained in the ecosystem. Therefore, the government should encourage the cultivation of edible and medicinal tree species around homes (home gardens) incorporated with honey production. This will reduce encroachment into the forest for tree species exploitation for economic and medicinal reasons