Heliyon (Jul 2024)
Socio-economic contributions and determinants of locals engagement with Boswellia papyrifera in lowland woodlands in Burie Zuria district, Ethiopia
Abstract
Ethiopia's lowland woodlands are comprised of the major gum and resin-producing genera Acacia, Boswellia, and Commiphora. Boswellia papyrifera is primarily found in the degraded drylands, Burie Zuria district is the existence of the species; however, limited information is available on the woodland socio-economic contribution and determinants of locals' use of woodlands for their livelihoods, particularly Boswellia papyrifera. So to fill this gap, the study was conducted to examine the locals' socio-economic benefits from the woodland and to identify the determinants of locals' engagement in the collection of the benefits for better wise use and conservation policy implementation. The data was collected from household interviews, focus group discussions, and key informants. Species' socio-economic benefits were analyzed through descriptive statistics, whereas determinants of local's willingness to use woodlands were analyzed through an econometric model. The dependent variable used was annual income gained from the woodland and explanatory variables taken were gender, marital status, livestock number, family size, land holding size, age of the respondent, education level, wealth status, perception of local communities towards forest cover change, and distance from woodlands to the household's residence. Based on the results, the total annual income derived from the woodland by the sampled households' was a mean of 1759.45 USD. The result shows the woodland species shares 14.37 % of the total annual income, but because of legal investors Boswellia papyrifera had no contribution to this share. However, the local communities use woodlands for their livelihoods due to explanatory variables, and the usage percentage shows significant differences. The multiple linear regression results showed that the model was significant at a 5 % probability level, and 95.9 % of the variation was due to the explanatory variables. Age of respondent, family size, total land holding size, and education level showed positive and statistically significant relations to annual income derived from the woodland while other remaining variables showed non-significant. The result concludes that the species contributes significantly to local communities' livelihoods and engagement in gathering timber and non-timber products. The study recommended that awareness about the use of non-timber products in addition to forest products be created among the locals, and policies related to woodland sustainability and conservation should also be implemented.
