Physical and Economic Valuation for Nontimber Forest Products (NTFPs) of Surra Government Plantation in the Upper Hare-Baso Rivers Catchment, Southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

The study aimed to estimate the physical and monetary values for nontimber forest products (NTFP) of the Surra government plantation in the upper Hare-Baso rivers catchment of Gamo highlands, southwestern Ethiopia. The Surra government plantation was established in the mid-1980s and consisted of C. lusitanica, E. globulus, and P. radiata tree species, which were planted side by side. Because of food insecurity, forest proximity communities/inhabitants relied on extracting NTFP such as litter and fodder for income and livestock feed despite none of them being physically and monetarily accounted for. The plot method and stock change approach were applied to determine sample plots and collect litter data, respectively, while the active market price was used to account for monetary correspondences. Fodder data were acquired via integration of animal unit month (AUM), livestock carrying capacity, animal unit equivalent (AUE/TLU), quality of pasture (poor), and proper use factor (30%). Its monetary price data were collected from the local market. The gross total production of litter and grass/fodder was 158,614.90 kg and 284,076 kg per/year, respectively, while the corresponding monetary values were ETB 206,169.40 and ETB 255,669, respectively. However, the “proper use factor”-based physical value of fodder/grass was 85,224 kg per/year, and its corresponding monetary value was ETB 76,701. The average physical value (volume) of grass production/year during the wet and dry seasons was 56.67 kg and 96.67 kg, and its mean monetary price/kg was ETB 1.4 and 1.2, respectively. It was concluded that the fodder/grass data collected via the integrated approach reduced the accounting errors, and the data were more precise. Accounting for the economic values of litter and fodder embedded in the market price upscaled the accounting quality and was more indicative of ground facts. Therefore, this study contributed a fresh accounting approach to the field of NTFP accounting.