The spiritual and economical importance of forest resources during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had global impacts, including about 4.2 million deaths and 90,630 deaths in the world and Iran, respectively. There is a growing concern about the economic impacts on rural households involved in small-scale activities in the Global South. Forest products, such as medicinal plants and fodder are a major source of income in many rural communities. In this paper, we investigate forest product related responses to the COVID-19 outbreak. Using semi-structured household interviews (n=384) in 26 villages in northwestern Iran. Household economies were particularly reliant on animal husbandry (26.2% of total annual household income) and farming (25.7%). Environmental income contribute an average of 18% of total household income. Almost half of the households (45%) experienced lower livestock prices (45%), a lack of buyers (49%), and a lockdown of animal markets (38%). Fodder (collected by 45% of households), medicinal plants (42%), and wild fruits (29%) were the most important environmental products harvested during the COVID-19 crisis. Our research suggests that increasing the range of environmental product income options, in particular from rangelands, would help offset the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural households.

The spiritual and economical importance of forest resources during COVID-19 Keywords:

Diseases , livelihoods , rural communities , forest , Iran