NTFP income contribution to household economy and related socio-economic factors: Lessons from Bangladesh

Exploring extent and pattern of non‐timber forest product (NTFP) income contribution to livelihoods of forest‐adjacent people and the income related socio‐economic factors is crucial in designing any development and conservation initiative. This paper examines NTFPs' role in contributing to the household economy and how different socio‐economic factors may influence this contribution. Field methods involved quantitative and qualitative data collection of forest‐adjacent households of Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. Results show that the contribution of different types of NTFPs to household economy varies in terms of subsistence and cash income. However, overall NTFP income is much higher than income from timber or firewood which indicates a larger dependence of the households on NTFPs. Income data analysis also finds that the poor households are relatively more dependent on NTFPs for their subsistence and cash income than the better‐off households. Moreover, the study reveals that there are many other socio‐economic factors at the household level such as number of members in household and total value of household implements and furniture that are significantly correlated with the NTFP income. More site‐specific applied research on NTFP income and influential factors is necessary to generalize the findings for other parts of the world with similar socio‐economic and environmental settings.