Abstract:   Purpose: - This paper empirically examines households' forest biomass extraction behavior in three forests areas of Khyber PakhtunKhwa, Pakistan. It further identifies the determinant factors of three types of resources that have implications for forest cover. These include the extraction of fuel wood, cutting of timber and free grazing of goats in the forests. Methodology: - We use primary date collected from 180 households in three forest areas (Miandam, Lalkoo, and Bamburet in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The data was gathered in three Miandam, Lalkoo, and Bamburet using two stage sampling technique. Findings: - The results showed that as insecurity of forest ownerships, family size and age of the households increases, households are more likely to opt for fuel wood harvesting from the forests. On the contrary, as education of the household head, no of crops grown in a season distance to market, use of substitute fuel, and plantation on private land outside forest and livestock assets increases, households are less likely to harvest fuel wood from the natural forests. We also find that there cross regional variation in tendency to harvest fuel wood from the forests. The results also reveal that, households tendency to graze in the forest decreases as households' off-farm income share increases in total households annual income. Practical Implication: - The government forest policy and conservation efforts need to prioritize the provision of alternative fuel sources, community plantation. Policy strategies are needed to regulate free grazing of goats socially in the state owned natural forests in the province. The areas in the periphery of the natural forests should be supplied with sources of energy from substitute sources such as hydroelectric powers, launch community plantation programs vis-a-vis legislate to resolve the issue of dispute of forest ownership to realize the goal of sustainable utilization of forest and socioeconomic development of the mountains regions.

Keywords:   Forest, Insecurity, Harvest, Socioeconomic Development

Publisher:   ILMA UNIVERSITY

Published:   1 May 2017

Issue:   Issue 1 : Volume 13

E-ISSN:   2409-6520

P-ISSN:   2414-8393