The Livelihood of the Forest Dependent Populations: A Case Study of the Women Fuelwood Carriers in Woreda 1 of the Gulele Subcity in Northern Addis Ababa
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Date
2011-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The present study is aimed at assessing the living conditions and the socioeconomic situation of
Women Fuelwood Carriers and their interaction with the forest resources, and the effect on the
forest as well, due to filelwood harvesting, as a result of the great demand for energy supply. The
cumulative effect of the illegal activity carried out by the WFCs on the reserved fo rest, as the
major or sole means of their livelihood, has filrther repercussions. It contributes to increase
depletion of the plantations, destroys the sustainable supply of filelwood and ultimately puts at
stake, not only the very survival of WFCs themselves, but also the household energy needs of
end-users at large. Without education or training, or other way of supporting themselves and
their families, these women subsist on filelwood carrying and trading, as their primary source of
income, at a considerable cost both to their own health and personal safety, and to the sound
management of the forest resources. The general objective of the research is to assess the
livelihood conditions of the women filelwood carriers in northern Addis Ababa as well as their
activities within the forest, in order to determine ways and means to make it sustainable and
environmentally friendly. To do so, the researcher had to employ both quantitative and
qualitative research methods to gather the necessmy data for conducting the study. Th ese
included descriptive surveys using structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and
FGDs with informants by employing interview guidelines and/or checklists, observations and
documentary analyses to generate pertinent primmy and secondary data from primary and
secondary sources, with a view to ensuring the quality of data. To this end, a total of 92 sample
respondents were selected out of 2000 target population, using systematic sampling techniques.
This study found out that the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of the surveyed
population depict exactly the state of poverty these WFCs are living in. They are essentially
young adults and married migrants from different parts of the country and they are illiterate;
having no significant assets to make a positive impact in their lives, although some of them claim
to have assets of some sort back home. Their perception about the forests and its importance is,
therefore, limited. Living in groups in tiny housing units and filthy environment, without any
meaningfiil alternative income-generating activities, these Orthodox people, by religion, take all
risks to gain a loft of bread out of the forests. The existing forests protection enforcement
mechanisms and policies are inefficient to keep then at bay and inadequate to ensure good forest
conservation practices in the study area. This is very often due to inadequate number of
personnel to patrol the forest, lack of smooth communication, lack of clear guidelines and of coordination
among the Government local authorities responsible for making it happen.
Consequently, awareness creation is needed at all levels on the importance of a sound forest
conservation system; and provision should be made of an adequate number of forest security
guards in the study area with encouraging incentives in order to guaranty an effective forest
protection. Local authorities and relevant stakeholders should commit themselves not only to
provide WFCs with access to schools to acquire new life skills and alternative generating
income, but also with decent housing units to allow them fit in the society in dignifying manner.
Given the fact that effective management of forests is of paramount importance, there is a need
for all parties concerned to pursue collective participatolY forest management initiatives in such
a way as to safeguard the interest of all, the environment and, particularly of the poor, who are
the most reliant on the continued access to resources for filelwood supplies.
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Keywords
Livelihood of the Forest, Dependent Populations