Socio-economic benefit of rattan: a case study in Nanchang village, Baoting county, Hainan province, P. R. China

摘要

Rattans are climbing spiny plants that are regarded as an important kind of commercial non-timber forest products. A case study of the socio-economic benefit on the role of rattan in life was carried out in Nanchang village, Baoting county, Hainan province, P. R. China, to generate basic information and to provide some references for the program of anti-poverty. The 40 households with a total population of 217 all depend on agriculture. Each household owns forestland, varying in area from 0.67 to 2.67 ha. Forestland provides monetary income from rattan canes and fruits. The yield of rattan products fluctuates between years and households. On average, the income from rattan sales contributed about 66% to the total income in the village and provided more than 50% income for nearly all households during the three years of the study. It is believed that the development of rattan planting and improvement on management technique, together with the conditional access to the collection of rattan canes willnot only increase the income of households but also help to alleviate the poverty in Nanchang village.