THE SOCIAL – ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTIONS OF COMMUNITY FORESTS TO RURAL HOUSEHOLD’S INCOME – A CASE OF ULZA ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT

Over the years, Albanian governments supported also by various international organizations have taken courageous steps toward forest decentralization from central to local government. The process started in 1996 and was intensified in 2016 where 79.5% of forests were transferred to 61 Local Government Units. The philosophy behind this process is the transfer of forest management responsibilities to people who live near them. In Albania, historically the forests close to villages are used by rural families to meet their needs. Although these reforms have been implemented in our country for about 20 years, there is a lack of studies on the socio-economic consequences of forest decentralization as well as on the contribution of forests to household's incomes. This case study examines the income distribution of household in Ulëz administrative unit as well as assesses quantitatively the direct economic contribution of community forests to rural households. Primary data were collected through 37 semi-structured interviews with households randomly selected. Preliminary results show that forests contribute approximately 10% in the gross incomes of interviewed families. The biggest contribution in the household income comes from off-farm activities. While for describing the effects of forests income in the distribution of incomes and inequality between the two classes Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve were used.