Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
MSc., Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, Urmia University, Urmia, I. R. Iran
2
Assistant Prof., Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, Urmia University, Urmia, I. R. Iran
Abstract
Forest marginal villagers often use natural resources. The type and amount of these utilities varies according to the environmental conditions, facilities and culture of the people. Regarding the importance of natural assets to the livelihoods of the villagers in the Zagros forests, it was necessary to study and compare the types of assets of the villagers living in these forest areas. To do so, a multi-stage research using a library (documentary) and field study (questionnaire) was conducted in the city of Chardavol, Ilam province. In order to determine and prioritize the indicators and sub-indicators determining the livelihoods, the model of the network analysis process was developed and analyzed according to experts. In the next step, in order to weight the villages under study, questionnaires were prepared according to the super matrix of the pair model, the weight of each village was determined by the villagers based on the results. The financial (0.310), physical (0.280), human (0.167), natural (0.122), institutional (0.090) and social (0.031) assets were the most important livelihood assets. A questionnaire was also designed to determine the levels of livelihood assets of residents of forest-fringe villages and their dependence on forest. With the help of the weight determined by the experts, the level of livelihoods in the studied villages was determined. The results indicated the Tahmasb village was in the first place in terms of livelihoods, followed by the Kolkol Olya and Miule Olya villages. The research has shown that financial assets are the most important assets that contribute to livelihoods and welfare of rural marginal villagers. The analysis of the normal weight of livelihood assets and natural assets showed that the weight of livelihood assets increased with the weight loss of livelihoods. In fact, these results show that in villages with less livelihoods, natural assets play a more important role in their livelihoods.
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