Contribution of forest-based employment for community sustainable livelihood: cases of Kelawat and Tamparuli forest reserves, Sabah

• Main Authors: A.F. R. Sabri, Hardawati Yahya
• Format: Proceedings
• Language: English; English
• Published: Faculty of Science and Natural Resources 2020
• Subjects: Q Science (General); SD Forestry
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/21477/1/Contribution%20of%20forest-based%20employment%20for%20community%20sustainable%20livelihood.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/21477/2/Contribution%20of%20forest-based%20employment%20for%20community%20sustainable%20livelihood1.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/21477/; https://www.ums.edu.my/fssa/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/PROCEEDINGS-BOOK-ST-2020-e-ISSN.pdf
• Institution: Universiti Malaysia Sabah

Employment in forestry sector has been an important contributor to rural company for generating their income. This study discusses the contribution of forest-based employment to community’s sustainable livelihood and the perception on the importance of forest-based employment among community in Kelawat and Tamparuli Forest Reserves, Sabah. Quantitative method through questionnaire survey was randomly distributed to respondent in the both study area. This study found that 48 out of 106 respondents (45.3%) involved in forest-based employment. Tree planting activity was considered as most forest-based employment among 21 respondents (44%) earn at least an average annual income (RM343 per year). The results of the study also showed that 69 respondents (65%) have mention the importance of forest-based employment for providing job opportunity for them. The correlation analysis shows strong significant value was at rs = -0.958, p = 0.001 between the level of engagement of respondent who has been previously worked in forest-based employment and source of income. However, this study found that community perceptions on forest-based employment and the level of importance of forest-based employment in securing their financial capital have significant low correlation with the value of rs = 0.415, p = 0.001. As conclusion, forest- based employment able to contribute relatively to the community livelihood, however, the benefits are still limited. Therefore, employment in forest sector is still needed for the community to strengthen their livelihood.