Georgia – Forests, Livelihoods and Poverty Linkages in the Forest Communities of Georgia

Roughly 40 percent of Georgia’s land area is forested and 50 percent of the population is rural. Almost 100 percent of Georgia’s forests are state owned, and contain over 400 species of trees generally located in very steep and inaccessible terrain. The formal share of forestry of the GDP is small at about 0.4 percent percent, but the real share is higher due to the importance of non-market production linked to forest products such as fuelwood. While half of the country’s population is rural and a large percentage of its land area forested, data on how the rural population is dependent on forests for both income and subsistence, how forest areas are accessed, and how forest areas are used for pasture and fodder production is lacking.

The objectives of the study are to examine the relationship between forest, livelihoods and poverty, to identify pathways to prosperity for forest dependent rural population using the PRIME framework, and to assess the distributional impact of forest-smart public investment and policy reforms. The study explores the following questions:

• Are forest resources important to households’ income generation and could they provide a path out of poverty for forest-dependent households?
• Do forest incomes reduce income inequality and is forest use generally ‘pro-poor’?
• What is the level of commercialization in forest use or is forest use characterized by informality?

The methodology involved a household survey based on the latest statistical methods. The 2016 Georgia forest village survey is the first large scale collection of household level data (950 households in total) that was collected using a sample frame that covers all villages across different zones of natural hazards in rural communities. The selection of villages in the sample was conducted based on two indicators: i) forest cover and ii) frequency of natural hazards. The modules designed for household and community are identical to that for the 2016 forest village household survey in Turkey. Household level information focuses on income generating activities (especially forest-related income), access to forest resources, and access to social assistance programs (social insurance program, income from social assistance, and receiving fuelwood from firewood voucher programs).

Results of the study confirm a high level of poverty in forest villages (46 percent using a relative poverty line at 60 percent of median per capita income). Based on the household participation rate, collection of forest products is the most important income source with roughly 45 percent of households deriving income from forest products either by market sales or subsistence consumption. Rural households living near forested areas have very limited income diversification, with over 60 percent and 31 percent of households engaged in a single and two activities, respectively, for income generation. Comparing poor and non-poor households in terms of their dependence on forests, a larger proportion of poor households (76 percent) receive income from a single source, with the three dominant sources being forest related activities (37 percent), receiving income from social assistance (14 percent), and pension (7 percent). In contrast, about 45 percent of the non-poor receive income from a single but high return income source, mainly wage employment (14 percent) and pension (29 percent).

The study concludes that relying on forest resources (timber and NTFPs) is unlikely a viable option to lift forest dependent communities out of poverty. NTFP extraction serves primarily to make up shortfalls in income rather than provide a path to socioeconomic advancement, representing a poverty trap. On the other hand, timber extraction, logging and wood-energy activities at a commercial scale are often conducted by operators external to forest communities, because of their access to more advanced technologies, capacity to overcome high transportation costs, and access to supply chains. However, forest resources, when sustainably managed and regulated, can be an important source to support the livelihoods of rural population, boosting economic growth, social equity and environmental sustainability. They provide fuelwood which is still the primary energy source and account for a large share of household income among the poor, and opportunities for economic diversification through activities such as nature-based tourism.

For more information, the full report will be available soon.