Social wellbeing in forest-dependent communities: a focus on the importance of wild mushrooms in northern Zambia

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are relevant for forest communities around the world. Within this context, income and dietary outcomes have been widely analyzed as the primary outcome measures. However, the emphasis on material gains and income obscures the experiences, social relations, and the...

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Autores principales: Nnebe, N., Hickey, G.M., Cole, S.M., Orsat, V., Melgar-Quinonez, H.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Informa UK Limited 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174513
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author Nnebe, N.
Hickey, G.M.
Cole, S.M.
Orsat, V.
Melgar-Quinonez, H.
author_browse Cole, S.M.
Hickey, G.M.
Melgar-Quinonez, H.
Nnebe, N.
Orsat, V.
author_facet Nnebe, N.
Hickey, G.M.
Cole, S.M.
Orsat, V.
Melgar-Quinonez, H.
author_sort Nnebe, N.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are relevant for forest communities around the world. Within this context, income and dietary outcomes have been widely analyzed as the primary outcome measures. However, the emphasis on material gains and income obscures the experiences, social relations, and the motivations of common resource users. Situating wild food use and consumption within cultural traditions and social relations provides a more holistic understanding of the contributions these resources make to rural livelihoods. This emphasis is important given rapid land use changes and high rates of deforestation. The present study contributes to this research gap by examining the significance of wild mushroom value chains for people’s material and non-material social well-being in two rural communities in northern Zambia. Wild mushrooms make important contributions to the consumption and economic needs of rural households in Zambia, with evidence suggesting that poorer households and women are often more likely to depend on and derive greater benefits from their sale and use. A social wellbeing lens can help draw policy attention to the non-material benefits of NTFP value chains and add value to our understanding of the social and economic dynamics in forest-dependent communities.
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spelling CGSpace1745132025-10-26T12:50:34Z Social wellbeing in forest-dependent communities: a focus on the importance of wild mushrooms in northern Zambia Nnebe, N. Hickey, G.M. Cole, S.M. Orsat, V. Melgar-Quinonez, H. forests communities mushrooms sub-saharan africa zambia Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are relevant for forest communities around the world. Within this context, income and dietary outcomes have been widely analyzed as the primary outcome measures. However, the emphasis on material gains and income obscures the experiences, social relations, and the motivations of common resource users. Situating wild food use and consumption within cultural traditions and social relations provides a more holistic understanding of the contributions these resources make to rural livelihoods. This emphasis is important given rapid land use changes and high rates of deforestation. The present study contributes to this research gap by examining the significance of wild mushroom value chains for people’s material and non-material social well-being in two rural communities in northern Zambia. Wild mushrooms make important contributions to the consumption and economic needs of rural households in Zambia, with evidence suggesting that poorer households and women are often more likely to depend on and derive greater benefits from their sale and use. A social wellbeing lens can help draw policy attention to the non-material benefits of NTFP value chains and add value to our understanding of the social and economic dynamics in forest-dependent communities. 2025-10-02 2025-05-09T10:00:09Z 2025-05-09T10:00:09Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174513 en Limited Access Informa UK Limited Nnebe, N., Hickey, G.M., Cole, S.M., Orsat, V. & Melgar-Quinonez, H. (2025). Social wellbeing in forest-dependent communities: a focus on the importance of wild mushrooms in northern Zambia. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 1-17.
spellingShingle forests
communities
mushrooms
sub-saharan africa
zambia
Nnebe, N.
Hickey, G.M.
Cole, S.M.
Orsat, V.
Melgar-Quinonez, H.
Social wellbeing in forest-dependent communities: a focus on the importance of wild mushrooms in northern Zambia
title Social wellbeing in forest-dependent communities: a focus on the importance of wild mushrooms in northern Zambia
title_full Social wellbeing in forest-dependent communities: a focus on the importance of wild mushrooms in northern Zambia
title_fullStr Social wellbeing in forest-dependent communities: a focus on the importance of wild mushrooms in northern Zambia
title_full_unstemmed Social wellbeing in forest-dependent communities: a focus on the importance of wild mushrooms in northern Zambia
title_short Social wellbeing in forest-dependent communities: a focus on the importance of wild mushrooms in northern Zambia
title_sort social wellbeing in forest dependent communities a focus on the importance of wild mushrooms in northern zambia
topic forests
communities
mushrooms
sub-saharan africa
zambia
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174513
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