Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of community forest to livestock rearing and the income from livestock products for different wealth class households. ANOVA was used to compare the means of quantity of forest products collected from community forest (CF) among different wealth class households. The analysis of the quantity of forest products extracted from community forest for livestock rearing showed that large numbers of rural households acquire benefit from their community forests. Analysis of the forest products collected from various sources for livestock rearing among the different wealth class households shows that the poor households collected more forest products from community forest as compared to other sources. In addition, the study indicates that the quantity of forest products collected for livestock rearing depends on livestock holding among different wealth class households. The extracted forest products from community forest such as poles/timber are used for building animal sheds, ground grass and fodder are directly fed to livestocks, and leaf litter is used as bedding materials, fencing and thatching for livestock. Based on the finding of the study, it can be concluded that, poor households rely more on the community forest than other sources as compared to the rich households.

Key words: Forest products, livestock rearing, Nepal, rural households, wealth class.