Economic valuation of selected non-timber forest products in Chiwale general land forest: a case study of Masasi district, Mtwara region-Tanzania

The study was conducted to assess the economic valuation of selected Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) around Chiwale General Land Forest (CGLF) in Masasi District-Mtwara. The value of NTFPs is not well known in other forest including CGLF as case study, since few studies have been done mainly on the economic value of firewood, food security, medicinal plants and poles in the Eastern Arc Mountains forest (Udzungwa), North Ruvu Forest Reserve, Zaraninge forest in Bagamoyo. This study intended to identify main NTFPs extracted from the study area, estimating the quantity of NTFPs extracted from the forest, assessing the monetary value of NTFPs and analyze the factors influencing its extraction. The study was conducted through Households questionnaire, Focus group discussion, Key informant interviews and Market Survey in three villages surrounding CGLF. Data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) where both quantitative and qualitative information’s were captured. The study identified different valuable NTFPs like firewood, bamboo, thatch grass, poles, fruits and charcoal. It was observed that socio economic factors like sex of respondent, education level and household size was statistically significant at p