Investigation on the forest role in livelihood of rural and nomadic households in Kouhdasht City

Forest income occupies a significant proportion of total household income for many dweller communities in Zagros forests. The aim of this study was to investigate the livelihood dependence on forest in the Homian-Zaron area of Kouhdasht city in central Zagros. The sample size according to Cochran's formula was estimated 215 households in 30 villages. The households in each village were selected through random sampling. The socio-economic data of household was collected through a questionnaire, oral interviews with people and direct observations in 2018. First, the impact of forest income on household economy was estimated and then the poverty line and poverty indices including headcount ratio, poverty gap, Foster- Greer-Thorbecke (FGT), Sen, Gini coefficient and level social welfare of households with and without forest income were calculated. Multiple regression was used to analyze the socio-economic factors influencing the economic dependence of households on forest. The result showed that households earn 34.91% of their total net income from forest. With the elimination of forest income, all poverty indices and Gini coefficient were increased and the level of household social welfare was decreased. The results of regression analysis indicated that household size and livestock value were positively and distance from forest, agricultural income and off-farm income were negatively significant and correlated with household economic dependence on forest. The research findings show that focusing on these factors can achieve a balance between improving livelihoods of poor rural and nomadic households and sustainable utilization of forest.