TITLE:
Determinants of the Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) Availability and Degradation in the South-Central Sahelian Area of Niger
AUTHORS:
Daouda Garba Oumarou, Ousmane Laminou Manzo, Issoufou Oumarou Haladou
KEYWORDS:
NTFPs, Availability, Degradation, Determinant, Niger
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Forestry,
Vol.16 No.1,
December
15,
2025
ABSTRACT: Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) play a crucial role in food security, household income, and resilience in Sahelian systems. This study aimed to analyze the determinants of NTFP availability and degradation in two agroclimatic zones of the Niger Republic. Data were collected from 379 households using the KoboCollect method and have been analyzed with Stata 16 software through two models, including a linear regression for the availability and a logistic regression for the degradation. The linear regression is globally significant, and results show that the household size and the number of species collected are the main factors driving NTFPs availability. Species analysis reveals that Maerua crassifolia predominates in the northern area, while Diospyros mespiliformis is more important in the southern one. Other species such as Lannea microcarpa, Sclerocarya birrea, and Faidherbia albida are common across both areas, reflecting their central role in food, forage, and medicinal uses. The logistic model is also significant, with an estimated extinction probability of 71.6%. Households in the northern area are facing a lower species disappearance risk at about 13%, while each additional species harvested increases this risk by 2.4%. Further, education reduces the extinction risk by 11%, highlighting its role in raising awareness of sustainable practices. These findings indicate that both household dynamics and ecological conditions influence NTFPs’ sustainability highly, underscoring the need for management strategies such as Assisted Natural Regeneration to ensure biodiversity conservation and secure rural livelihoods.