Impacts of the Hara Biosphere Reserve on Livelihood and Welfare in Persian Gulf

[en] Despite the importance of biosphere reserves in Iran's livelihood and welfare, the economic significance of Hara Biosphere Reserve has never been comprehensively studied. This study examines the current importance of Hara Biosphere Reserve (HBR) in local livelihood and welfare. Using a household survey, data were collected through a questionnaire, key informant interviews and direct observations. Two hundred and forty-four households were randomly selected from 10 villages through proportional sampling. Results showed that non-environmental income was the first driver of the total income, poverty alleviation and narrowing income inequality gap. Park income was the second. The results also showed that excluding park income from total income would significantly increase headcount poverty, widen the poverty gap, and raise the Gini coefficient. Wealthier households had the greatest absolute income from the environment, including forest, fishing and fodder. However, the poorest group had smallest absolute income from these sources. Thus, the study demonstrated that wealthier households are responsible for the overharvesting of environmental resources. Interestingly, the study showed that wealthier households are more dependent on profitable environmental incomes sources while the poorest are more dependent on non-profitable ones.

Disciplines :

Environmental sciences & ecology

Author, co-author :

Dehghani Pour, Milad

Motiee, Naser

Akbar Barati, Ali

Taheri, Fatemeh

Azadi, Hossein

Gebrehiwot, Kindeya

Lebailly, Philippe ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Modélisation et développement

Van Passel, Steven

Witlox, Frank

Language :

English

Title :

Impacts of the Hara Biosphere Reserve on Livelihood and Welfare in Persian Gulf

Publication date :

2017

Journal title :

Ecological Economics

ISSN :

0921-8009

eISSN :

1873-6106

Publisher :

Elsevier Science

Volume :

141

Issue :

November 2017

Pages :

76–86

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800916307303

Available on ORBi :

since 06 June 2017

Statistics

Number of views

37 (4 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

0 (0 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenCitations

Bibliography

Açıksöz, S., Cetinkaya, G.C., Uzun, O., Erduran Nemutlu, F., Ilke, E.F., Linkages among ecotourism, landscape and natural resource management, and livelihood diversification in the region of Suğla Lake, Turkey. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Econ. 23 (2015), 15–27.
Abebaw, D., Kassa, H., Kassie, G.T., Lemenih, M., Campbell, B., Teka, W., Dry forest-based livelihoods in resettlement areas of northwestern Ethiopia. Forest Policy Econ. 20 (2012), 72–77.
Adhikari, B., Poverty, property rights and collective action: understanding the distributive aspects of common property resource management. Environ. Dev. Econ. 10 (2005), 7–31, 10.1017/S1355770X04001755.
Adhikari, B., Di Falco, S., Lovett, J.C., Household characteristics and forest dependency: evidence from common property forest management in Nepal. Ecol. Econ. 48 (2004), 245–257, 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2003.08.008.
Angelsen, A., et al. Environmental income and rural livelihoods: a global-comparative analysis. World Dev. 64 (2014), S12–S28.
Anthony, B., The dual nature of parks: attitudes of neighbouring communities towards Kruger National Park, South Africa. Environ. Conserv. 34 (2007), 236–245.
Babulo, B., Muys, B., Nega, F., Tollens, E., Nyssen, J., Deckers, J., Mathijs, E., The economic contribution of forest resource use to rural livelihoods in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Forest Policy Econ. 11 (2009), 109–117.
Bonheur, N., Lane, B.D., Natural resources management for human security in Cambodia's Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve. Environ. Sci. Pol. 5 (2002), 33–41, 10.1016/S1462-9011(02)00024-2.
Campbell, B.M., Luckert, M.K., (eds.) Uncovering the Hidden Harvest: Valuation Methods for Woodland and Forest Resources, 2002, Earthscan Publications, London.
Cavendish, W., Empirical regularities in the poverty-environment relationship of rural households: evidence from Zimbabwe. World Dev. 28 (2000), 1979–2003.
Cavendish, W., Quantitative methods for estimating the economic value of resource use to rural households Uncovering the hidden harvest: valuation methods for woodland and forest resources. 2002, 17–65.
Croitoru, L., Sarraf, M., The Cost of Environmental Degradation: Case Studies From the Middle East and North Africa. 2010, World Bank Publications, City.
Danehkar, A., Marine sensitive areas of Iran. Environ. Sci. Q. J. 24 (1998), 28–38.
Dehghani, M., Farshchi, P., Danekar, A., Karami, M., Aleshikh, A.A., Recreation Value of Hara Biosphere Reserve using Willingness-to-pay method. Int. J. Environ. Res. 4:2 (2010), 271–280.
de Groot, R., Brander, L., Van Der Ploeg, S., Costanza, R., Bernard, F., Braat, L., Christie, M., Crossman, N., Ghermandi, A., Hein, L., Global estimates of the value of ecosystems and their services in monetary units. Ecosyst. Serv. 1 (2012), 50–61.
Ellis, F., Rural Livelihoods and Diversification in Developing Countries. 2000, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Ellis, F., Rural Livelihoods and Diversity in Developing Countries. 2000, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Erisman, B., Mascareñas-Osorio, I., López-Sagástegui, C., Moreno-Báez, M., Jiménez-Esquivel, V., Aburto-Oropeza, O., A comparison of fishing activities between two coastal communities within a biosphere reserve in the Upper Gulf of California. Fish. Res. 164 (2015), 254–265, 10.1016/j.fishres.2014.12.011.
Fishe, M., Household welfare and forest dependence in Southern Malawi. Environ. Dev. Econ. 9 (2004), 135–154.
Gatiso, T.T., Wossen, T., Forest dependence and income inequality in rural Ethiopia: evidence from Chilimo-Gaji community forest users. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 22 (2015), 14–24, 10.1080/13504509.2014.946543.
Ghasemi, S., Zakaria, M., Abdul-Hamid, H., Yusof, E., Danehkar, A., Rajpar, M.N., A review of mangrove value and conservation strategy by local communities in Hormozgan province. Iran J. Am. Sci. 6 (2010), 329–338.
Ghasemi, S., Mola-Hoveizeh, N., Zakaria, M., Ismail, A., Tayefeh, F.H., Relative abundance and diversity of waterbirds in a Persian Gulf mangrove forest. Iran Trop. Zool. 25 (2012), 39–53.
Ghorbani, A., Langenberger, G., Liu, J.-X., Wehner, S., Sauerborn, J., Diversity of medicinal and food plants as non-timber forest products in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve (China): implications for livelihood improvement and biodiversity conservation. Econ. Bot. 66 (2012), 178–191.
Hamilton, A., Cunningham, A., Byarugaba, D., Kayanja, F., Conservation in a region of political instability: Bwindi impenetrable forest, Uganda. Conserv. Biol. 14 (2000), 1722–1725.
Illukpitiya, P., Yanagida, J.F., Role of income diversification in protecting natural forests: evidence from rural households in forest margins of Sri Lanka. Agrofor. Syst. 74 (2008), 51–62.
Jansen, H.G.P., Pender, J., Damon, A., Wielemaker, W., Schipper, R., Policies for sustainable development in the hillside areas of Honduras: a quantitative livelihoods approach. Agric. Econ. 34 (2006), 141–153, 10.1111/j.1574-0864.2006.00114.x.
Jiang, Y., Evaluating eco-sustainability and its spatial variability in tourism areas: a case study in Lijiang County, China. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 16 (2009), 117–126, 10.1080/13504500902808628.
Jodha, N.S., Common property resources and rural poor in dry regions of India. Econ. Polit. Wkly. 21 (1986), 1169–1181, 10.2307/4375858.
Kamanga, P., Vedeld, P., Sjaastad, E., Forest incomes and rural livelihoods in Chiradzulu District, Malawi. Ecol. Econ. 68 (2009), 613–624.
KC, A., Rijal, K., Sapkota, R.P., Role of ecotourism in environmental conservation and socioeconomic development in Annapurna conservation area, Nepal. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 22 (2015), 251–258.
Khalyani, J.H., Namiranianm, M., Vaezin, S.H., Feghhi, J., Development and evaluation of local communities incentive programs for improving the traditional forest management: a case study of Northern Zagros forests. Iran J. For. Res. 25 (2014), 205–210.
Makhdoum, M.F., Management of protected areas and conservation of biodiversity in Iran. Int. J. Environ. Stud. 65 (2008), 563–585, 10.1080/00207230802245898.
Mcelwee, P.D., Forest environmental income in Vietnam: household socioeconomic factors influencing forest use. Environ. Conserv. 35 (2008), 147–159.
Melaku, E., Ewnetu, Z., Teketay, D., Non-timber forest products and household incomes in Bonga forest area, southwestern Ethiopia. J. For. Res. 25 (2014), 215–223.
Misbahuzzaman, K., Smith-Hall, C., Role of Forest Income in Rural Household Livelihoods: The Case of Village Common Forest Communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. Small Scale For. 14 (2015), 315–330.
Mamo, G., Sjaastad, E., Vedeld, P., Economic dependence on forest resources: a case from Dendi District, Ethiopia. Forest Policy Econ. 9 (2007), 916–927.
Nations, J.D, Biosphere reserves. NJSB, Baltes, (eds.) International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001, Pergamon, Oxford, 1231–1235, 10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/04166-8.
Nguyen, T.T., Do, T.L., Bühler, D., Hartje, R., Grote, U., Rural livelihoods and environmental resource dependence in Cambodia. Ecol. Econ. 120 (2015), 282–295, 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.11.001.
OECD, What are Equivalence Scales?. 2005.
Pattanayak, S.K., Sills, E.O., Kramer, R.A., Seeing the forest for the fuel. Environ. Dev. Econ. 9 (2004), 155–179.
PEN P, Technical Guidelines Version 4. 2007, Poverty Environment Network.
Peter, H., Conservation of Biodiversity in the Central Zagros Landscape Conservation Zone GEF. 2004, UNDP and Government of Iran.
Prado Córdova, J., Wunder, S., Smith-Hall, C., Börner, J., Rural income and forest reliance in highland Guatemala. Environ. Manag. 51 (2013), 1034–1043, 10.1007/s00267-013-0028-6.
Rakodi, C., A capital assets framework for analysing household livelihood strategies: implications for policy. Development Policy Review, 17, 1999, 315–342.
Ravnborg, H.M., Poverty and environmental degradation in the Nicaraguan hillsides. World Dev. 31 (2003), 1933–1946.
Rayamajhi, S., Smith-Hall, C., Helles, F., Empirical evidence of the economic importance of Central Himalayan forests to rural households. For. Policy Econ. 20 (2012), 25–35, 10.1016/j.forpol.2012.02.007.
Research and Training Institute for Management and Planning. Economics, 2015 http://en.imps.ac.ir.
Salehi, A., Karltun, L.C., Söderberg, U., Eriksson, L., Livelihood dependency on woodland resources in southern Zagros, Iran. Caspian J. Environ. Sci. 8 (2010), 181–194.
Serrat, O., The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach. 2008.
Shackleton, S., Campbell, B., Lotz-Sisitka, H., Shackleton, C., Links between the local trade in natural products, livelihoods and poverty alleviation in a semi-arid region of South Africa. World Dev. 36 (2008), 505–526.
Shorrocks, A.F., Inequality decomposition by factor components. Econometrica, 1982, 193–211.
Singh, K., Dey, M.M., Sources of family income and their effects on family income inequality: a study of fish farmers in Tripura, India. Food Sec. 2 (2010), 359–365.
Singh, H.B., Sundriyal, R., Sharma, E., Livestock grazing in the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve of Sikkim Himalaya, India: implications for management. Indian Forester 129 (2003), 611–623.
Soltani, A., Angelsen, A., Eid, T., Naieni, M.S.N., Shamekhi, T., Poverty, sustainability, and household livelihood strategies in Zagros, Iran. Ecol. Econ. 79 (2012), 60–70.
Soltani, A., Angelsen, A., Eid, T., Poverty, forest dependence and forest degradation links: evidence from Zagros, Iran. Environ. Dev. Econ. 19 (2014), 607–630.
Surendran, A., Sekar, C., A comparative analysis on the socio-economic welfare of dependents of the Anamalai Tiger reserve (ATR) in India. Margin J. Appl. Econ. Res. 5 (2011), 361–379.
Thondhlana, G., Muchapondwa, E., Dependence on environmental resources and implications for household welfare: evidence from the Kalahari drylands, South Africa. Ecol. Econ. 108 (2014), 59–67.
Thondhlana, G., Vedeld, P., Shackleton, S., Natural resource use, income and dependence among San and Mier communities bordering Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, southern Kalahari, South Africa. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 19 (2012), 460–470, 10.1080/13504509.2012.708908.
Thondhlana, G., Muchapondwa, E., Dependence on environmental resources and implications for household welfare: evidence from the Kalahari drylands, South Africa. Ecol. Econ. 108 (2014), 59–67, 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.10.003.
Uberhuaga, P., Smith-Hall, C., Helles, F., Forest income and dependency in lowland Bolivia. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 14 (2012), 3–23 (title should be written out).
Vedeld, P., Angelsen, A., Bojö, J., Sjaastad, E., Berg, G.K., Forest environmental incomes and the rural poor. Forest Policy Econ. 9 (2007), 869–879.
Watts, S., Faasen, H., Community-based conflict resolution strategies for sustainable management of the Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa. S. Afr. Geogr. J. 91 (2009), 25–37, 10.1080/03736245.2009.9725327.
Xu, J., Lü, Y., Chen, L., Liu, Y., Contribution of tourism development to protected area management: local stakeholder perspectives. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 16 (2009), 30–36, 10.1080/13504500902757189.
Yemiru, T., Roos, A., Campbell, B., Bohlin, F., Forest incomes and poverty alleviation under participatory forest management in the Bale Highlands, Southern Ethiopia. Int. For. Rev. 12 (2010), 66–77.
Zarei, I., Pourkhabbaz, A., Khuzestani, R.B., An assessment of metal contamination risk in sediments of Hara Biosphere Reserve, southern Iran with a focus on application of pollution indicators. Environ. Monit. Assess. 186:10 (2014), 6047–6060.
Zahed, M.A., Rouhani, F., Mohajeri, S., Bateni, F., Mohajeri, L., An overview of Iranian mangrove ecosystems, northern part of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. Acta Ecol. Sin. 30 (2010), 240–244, 10.1016/j.chnaes.2010.03.013.
Zenteno, M., Zuidema, P.A., de Jong, W., Boot, R.G., Livelihood strategies and forest dependence: new insights from Bolivian forest communities. Forest Policy Econ. 26 (2013), 12–21.