Forests and Livelihood: A Study in Jungal Mahal

Abstract

Household livelihood choices are determined by coping with economic and environmental shocks and are conducive to household well-being in the present and future. In this paper, we find the determinants that influence the choice of livelihood of the households toward sustainable livelihoods in the Jungal Mahal region in West Bengal, India. We have used primary data randomly collected from 244 households from 9 blocks in Jungal Mahal region and analyzed data using descriptive and inferential statistics along with a multinomial logistic model. It is found that the average shares of income earnings by the households from the forest, agriculture, wage earner, and non-firm livelihood activities are respectively 35%, 31.1%, 24.8%, and 9.1%. Also, the poorer income group is found to depend more on forest activities compared to the richer income group. Multinomial analysis revealed that the householder's age, land area, working eligible family members, educational status, size of livestock holding (TLU), distance to the nearest forest, poverty status, and forest type were the main determinants of household livelihood preferences.