Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on sustainable livelihoods, forests, and conservation in Africa

The Covid-19 pandemic is global but its impacts differ between regions and income groups. The pandemic is affecting the livelihoods of the poor in Africa.

These families are in many cases more dependent on forest- and natural resource incomes than high income households are.

This study aims to investigate how low-income households in Africa use forests and forest-based products to meet income losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic - in both urban and rural contexts. The project also studies how the forest use affects the forest resource.

Quantitative household surveys and focus group discussions will be conducted in urban and rural areas in Niger and Kenya. The study will collect responses from different age groups and genders.

The findings can improve society´s ability to predict how people with low and middle incomes in Africa use and influence forest-based natural resources in an unexpected crisis. Our research will shed light on the role of forests for different genders and age groups.

Stakeholders can use the results to promote the role of forests for crisis preparedness in low-income countries, and to promote the sustainable use of the resource.