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Forest Dependency: Status, Assessment Tools, and Influencing Factors

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Life on Land

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

Definitions

Forest dependency loosely refers to the relationship between people and forest resources; it also indicates the reliance of people on forest resources for both livelihood and non-livelihood activities. Byron and Arnold (1997) argue that it is more appropriate to use the terminology of different types of forest users than “forest dependency.”

Forest-dependent people may be described as people who derive benefits from forest either directly or indirectly (Masozera and Alavalapati 2004); it generally embraces:

  • Traditional and indigenous communities living within the forest and almost wholly dependent on forest for their livelihood, for example, hunting, fishing, shifting cultivation, medicines, collecting various non-timber forest products, etc. (Chao 2012; Rahman and Ahmed 2016).

  • Farmers and other rural communities who are living near and around the forest and dependent on it to some extent for their livelihood, for example, as supplemental income (e.g., fuelwood) and other...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh

    Mohammed A. S. Arfin-Khan & Md. Shamim Reza Saimun

Authors
  1. Mohammed A. S. Arfin-Khan
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  2. Md. Shamim Reza Saimun
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammed A. S. Arfin-Khan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Center for Neuroscience & Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  4. Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökcin Özuyar

  5. International Centre for Thriving, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. Tropical Forests and People Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Australia

    Sharif Ahmed Mukul

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Arfin-Khan, M.A.S., Saimun, M.S.R. (2020). Forest Dependency: Status, Assessment Tools, and Influencing Factors. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P., Wall, T. (eds) Life on Land. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71065-5_24-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71065-5_24-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71065-5

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