Socio-economic predictors of domestic wood use in an Atlantic forest area (north-east Brazil): a tool for directing conservation efforts

Abstract

Given the excessive use pressure on forests, characterisation of the major users of forest resources can help guide conservation efforts. This study examines whether socio-economic variables explain domestic wood use in an area of Atlantic forest in the community of Três Ladeiras (Pernambuco, north-east Brazil). Socio-economic data were collected from 62 households, and geometric measurements of wood products in each household were taken to calculate the wood volume. An informant in each household indicated the average replacement time for each type of wood use. Data were analysed for static volume (wood volume found at the time of the visit) and dynamic volume (rate of wood consumption, calculated as the ratio between volume and replacement time). Multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the relationships between wood volume (static and dynamic) and the number of species used; independent variables including monthly family income, number of residents, average age of heads of the household, age of oldest household member, average residence time of heads of the household, average education level of heads of the household and education level of the most educated household member. Monthly income was inversely related to the static wood volume (adjusted R ² = 17.6%, p < 0.001), rate of wood consumption (adjusted R ² = 23.0%, p < 0.001) and number of species used (adjusted R ² = 22.3%, p < 0.001) and was the most important predictive variable for these three outcomes. Other factors such as average education level and average age of heads of the household were also explanatory variables of the total rate of wood consumption, as these two variables, together with monthly family income, explain 31.3% of the total dynamic volume. Given the high importance of income in our study, we suggest that future conservation strategies give special attention to the poorest members of the community.

Keywords:

• socio-economic factors
• wood products
• ethnobotany
• rain forests
• conservation

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the community of Três Ladeiras for their participation, Vanduís Valdino for fieldwork help and G.T. Soldati and N.L. Alencar for critically reading the text. We also thank the contribution of the project ‘Sustainability of remnants of the Atlantic rainforest in Pernambuco and its implications for conservation and local development’, a Brazilian–German scientific cooperation within the programme ‘Science and Technology for the Atlantic Rainforest’ funded by CNPq (590039/2006–7) and BMBF (01 LB 0203 A1).