Poverty, Forests and Livelihoods : A Study of Three Villages in Odisha, India

This study examines the interrelationship between poverty and forest dependency in one of the poorest regions of India, on the basis of household-level data generated through a primary survey. The findings suggest significant heterogeneity in the extent and nature of forest dependency across households and a strong linkage between forest dependency and poverty. In the absence of access to forest products, the levels of poverty would have been much higher in this already poor region. However, contrary to many other studies on forest dependency, the study reports that the households with relatively larger size-class of holdings not only derive high absolute income from forests but also a high share of their income comes from forests