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Poverty, forest dependence and forest degradation links: evidence from Zagros, Iran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2014

Arezoo Soltani ,
Arild Angelsen  and
Tron Eid
Arezoo Soltani
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway. Fax: +47 64965801. E-mail: arezoo.soltani@umb.no
Arild Angelsen
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway. E-mail: arild.angelsen@umb.no
Tron Eid
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway. E-mail: tron.eid@umb.no
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Abstract

The article analyzes the links between poverty, forest use and dependence, and forest degradation by combining household and forest resource data from two sites in the Zagros Mountains, Iran: Ghamishale and Tange Tamoradi. At both sites, traditional forms of forest management are practised; in Ghamishale management is mainly family based, whereas in Tange Tamoradi it is village based. The poverty–forest dependence link is strongly influenced by population density, carrying capacity and institutions for forest management. In addition, the study revealed the tradeoff between equity and sustainable resource use as outputs of different institutional arrangements. We do not find any evidence that poor households or households with high forest dependence contribute more to forest degradation than others. The results therefore raise concerns about the potential consequences of policies globally that address forest degradation only through poverty alleviation and forest-dependence reduction.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 19 , Issue 5 , October 2014 , pp. 607 - 630
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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