7 November 2016
FAO and Partners Launch Sourcebook on National Socioeconomic Forestry Surveys
UN Photo/Kibae Park
story highlights

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Forestry Department and its partners published 'National Socioeconomic Surveys in Forestry: Guidance and Survey Modules for Measuring the Multiple Roles of Forests in Household Welfare and Livelihoods'.

The Sourcebook aims to fill the data gap on the contributions that forests and wild products make to livelihoods and well-being.

The modules and guidance presented aim to build the capacity of national statistical offices to integrate forest values into national household surveys, in particular surveys based on the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS).

27 October 2016: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Forestry Department and its partners launched a Sourcebook providing methods, modules and guidance for measuring the socioeconomic benefits of forests. The Sourcebook aims to support national statistical offices, NGOs and research institutions in conducting systematic forestry research by providing technical guidance on data collection.

The publication, titled ‘National Socioeconomic Surveys in Forestry: Guidance and Survey Modules for Measuring the Multiple Roles of Forests in Household Welfare and Livelihoods,’ aims to provide data on the contribution of forest ecosystems and wild products to livelihoods and poverty alleviation at the household level as part of national accounts of the state of the forest. It aims to strengthen the capacities of national statistical offices and other actors involved in household economic surveys, including surveys aligned with the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Studies (LSMS) program, to generate more accurate measurements of how forests and other non-cultivated ecosystems contribute to the economy.

The first two sections of the Sourcebook provide introduction and background and: outline the state of play in conducting LSMS-type household surveys with regard to the socioeconomic contributions of forest ecosystems; provide an overview of ways to scale up household surveys to the national level; and give guidance on how to use forestry modules for LSMS-type surveys and for other uses.

The following sections: describe definitions and methods used to measure forest and wild product contributions to the household; introduce forestry modules covering 15 areas of forest contributions, including additional questions that can be used to expand and adapt existing household surveys; and provide guidance on operationalizing the modules.

The Sourcebook was developed in a three-year collaborative project by the FAO Forestry Department, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI), the World Bank LSMS and Program on Forests (PROFOR). CIFOR is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. [National Socioeconomic Surveys in Forestry: Guidance and Survey Modules for Measuring the Multiple Roles of Forests in Household Welfare and Livelihoods] [FAO Press Release] [FAO Launch Event] [Launch Event Webcast] [World Bank Blog Post] [PROFOR Blog Post]

related posts