Zones of Influence: Forest Resource Use, Proximity, and Livelihoods in the Kijabe Forest

Abstract

The factors influencing forest dependence have been examined extensively using both spatial and social variables. While these studies have created valuable insights about forest dependence, a more complex picture that considers the physical distribution of both the resources being depended on and the households depending on them, as well as the social characteristics of those households is needed. This allows us to treat the forest as an agent that is capable of exerting influence over households that changes based on spatial and social factors. This study examined the zones of influence of a 5,500 hectare Afromontane highland forest in central Kenya. It examined the zones of influence of charcoal, firewood, and all the used forest products combined, on the households in the communities around the forest. Furthermore, it examined if that influence changed as a function of distance, household economic characteristics, and household demographic characteristics. The results show that when spatial and social variables are considered together, the zones of influence of each of the forest resources changed, both in which social variables were significant, as well as the magnitude of their significance. Households living close to the forest were not inherently more likely to use any of the forest resources examined, but rather the predicted probabilities changed based on a household’s distance from certain forest types, as well as a household’s unique economic and demographic characteristics. This highlights the importance of recognizing that forests exist as agents in complex social-ecological systems, and that understanding the relational dynamics between them and the coommunities living around them is the only way we can hope to manage forest resources to meet the difficult goals of conserving biodiversity, restoring degraded landscapes, and meeting the livelihood needs of people.