Contribution of income from forest products among selected rural communities in Peninsular Malaysia
This paper reports the findings of four studies which attempt to understand the income dependency of rural communities on forest products. Three of the studies surveyed Orang Asli communities, two in Pahang and one in Perak. The fourth study was done on Malay communities in Dungun, Terengganu. Al...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Jabatan Perhutanan Semenanjung Malaysia
2010
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/33817/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/33817/1/33817.pdf |
| Summary: | This paper reports the findings of four studies which attempt to understand the income
dependency of rural communities on forest products. Three of the studies surveyed Orang
Asli communities, two in Pahang and one in Perak. The fourth study was done on Malay
communities in Dungun, Terengganu. Altogether about 500 respondents in more than 20
villages were surveyed. In all the studies, data were gathered by interviewing the respondents
face-to-face using prepared structured questionnaires. Gathering and selling of forest
- products is still the main economic activity of a big proportion of the Orang Asli, however,
agriculture is the main source of income of the rural Malay communities. The findings reveal
that income from forest products, notably plants, contributes on the average about 40% to
65% of the household income of the Orang Asli. There is evidence which suggests that giving
the Orang Asli other income opportunities will make them less dependent on forest products.
Other results show that only one in five of rural Malay households are involved in collecting
and selling forest products. Furthermore, income from forests contributes only about 25% of
their household incomes. The implications of these findings on the sustainability of forest as
well the rural communities will be briefly discussed.
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