Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Socio-Environmental Contexts of Human Foraging Strategies in Forested Regions

This doctoral dissertation project studies the collection of non-timber forest products (NTFP) by refugee populations and their local hosts. Tree cover loss is a significant concern across refugee-hosting regions, and yet NTFPs are important sources of livelihood, cooking fuel, nutrition, and healthcare for both refugee and host communities. Models of optimal foraging theory predict that collectors of NTFPs aim to select high-value items located close to the home site while conserving as much energy as possible.

This study advances current theories of human foraging by examining whether forced displacement impacts the ability of refugees to collect NTFPs according to these theoretical expectations when compared to nearby hosts amid factors such as land access, social relationships, and knowledge of local flora. Research on NTFP collection and use patterns in refugee contexts is critical for the development of culturally appropriate humanitarian policies and programs that support refugee and host communities in meeting their needs in a sustainable manner.

Such policies and programs can reduce tensions over natural resources, contributing to regional and global security.

The collection of non-timber forest products is a vital coping strategy for refugees and hosts to fill subsistence and livelihood gaps that are unmet by humanitarian organizations, especially in geographical settings which host the majority of global refugees. A novel contribution of this study is to quantify and compare NTFP collection patterns across groups of refugees and hosts.

It also extends optimal foraging theory, a widely applied framework that is rooted in ecological principles, to a refugee context. Furthermore, this project is based on a participatory and community-engaged approach to collecting field-based data on the locations of NTFPs by refugees and local hosts, which NTFPs they collect, and how their patterns of NTFP collection compare to theoretical predictions.

The results contribute to refined understandings of natural resource use in refugee settings, with critical social and environmental importance as refugee displacement intensifies worldwide. The project also contributes to the training and education of an early-career social scientists.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.