Household-level agricultural inputs-outputs, off-farm income and wild-harvested products survey in eastern Madagascar

This data collection consists of primary dataset with accompanying documents for ''Agricultural inputs-outputs and off-farm income' and 'Wild-harvested products' segments of the data for work packages 6 and 3 (WP6 and WP3) of the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA)-funded P4ges project (Can Paying for Global Ecosystem Services reduce poverty?). These parts of the work packages are concerned with the socio-economic aspects of the research undertaken within the P4ges project. The survey was conducted with a sub-sample of the households selected after the first round of the surveys, data for which is previously archived (see Related Resources). This phase of the surveys were designed to look more in-depth at the agricultural practices, plot-level productivity, off-farm income, and collection and use of wild harvested products. The data was collected between August 2014 and November 2015 and comprises of 171 households (169 for wild-harvested products survey).<p>Zafy lives in a village on edge of the forest in Madagascar. He wants the best for his family and so uses the resources and options he has open to him and clears a patch of forest to grow hill rice. His hard labour pays off and he is able to sell a small surplus. Rakoto farms rice on the valley floor. In good years, when there is plenty of water, he produces more than his family can eat. However as the forest on the slopes continues to be cut, water in the dry season is reduced, and there are fewer and fewer good years.

That tropical deforestation threatens species' survival is well known to the general public. There is also increasing awareness that it contributes to climate change (through the release of carbon stored in trees and soils). Zafy's story demonstrates that although cutting down forest is often presented as wanton destruction, it may well be a perfectly sensible choice for the people directly involved. It also shows that some negative impacts of deforestation may be felt locally as well as globally.

In recent years a new approach to conserving tropical forests has evolved. The central idea is that those who benefit from the existence of forest should pay those who would otherwise cut it down. This concept is known as payment for ecosystem services and has come to dominate discussions about rainforest conservation. People who support this approach argue that it will benefit poor people like Zafy, who will be compensated for not clearing forest, through cash payments or development activities in their area. In addition, the land-use changes which will be encouraged under the payment schemes (protecting forest or planting new forest) may benefit other poor people in the area; for example Rakoto may benefit from increased forest cover through improved flow of water to his rice fields.

Unfortunately nothing is ever as simple as it seems. While these payments for ecosystem services schemes are attracting millions of dollars, and there is a commitment by many involved to ensure they are beneficial for poor people, questions remain both about the impact current schemes are having on the poor and about how these schemes could be designed to realise any potential for alleviating poverty while avoiding harm.

These vitally important questions need a research approach which brings together specialists with a range of expertise. Our team involves sociologists, economists, ecologists, hydrologists, remote sensing experts and modellers who will explore the complex ways in which international ecosystem service payments affect the lives of poor people. Specific questions we will address include quantifying the benefits which lowland rice farmers may expect from increasing forest cover, exploring the costs (and who bears them) of reduced access for wild-product harvesting, and investigating how politics and social structures influence how any benefits from payments are distributed. We focus on a single area (the eastern rainforests), in a single country (Madagascar). Such a narrow focus is necessary to get the complete picture which takes account of all the interactions between ecological and social systems.

Although we focus field work within Madagascar, and our results will directly influence payment schemes in the country, our project's findings will also have a much wider impact. We are working closely with those involved in developing the policies which underpin payment schemes, and in implementing them on the ground both in Madagascar and worldwide. Our project will result in scientific papers which push the boundaries of interdisciplinary research, and interesting coverage in the media and on our project website. However through this wider engagement our project will also result in concrete changes to the design of payment schemes which should improve the lives of people like Rakoto, Zafy and their families, wherever they live in the world.</p>

本数据集包含由生态系统服务减贫（Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation, ESPA）资助的P4ges项目（课题主题：全球生态系统服务付费能否减缓贫困？）中工作包6与工作包3（work packages 6 and 3, WP6和WP3）的「农业投入产出与非农收入（agricultural inputs-outputs and off-farm income）」及「野生采集产品（wild-harvested products）」数据模块的原始数据集及配套文档。上述工作包模块聚焦P4ges项目所开展研究的社会经济学维度。本次调研的受访家庭样本为首轮调研后筛选出的子样本，首轮调研数据已提前归档（详见相关资源）。本阶段调研旨在更深入地探究农业生产实践、地块级生产力、非农收入（off-farm income）以及野生采集产品的收集与利用情况。本次数据采集于2014年8月至2015年11月间完成，共涵盖171户受访家庭（野生采集产品调研仅覆盖其中169户）。

扎菲（Zafy）居住在马达加斯加一处毗邻森林的村落中。他一心为家人谋求更好的生活，因此凭借手中可及的资源与可行选择，砍伐了一片森林来种植山地稻。他的辛劳终有回报，能够售出部分盈余稻米。拉科托（Rakoto）在河谷地带种植水稻，在水源充足的丰年，其产量足以覆盖全家口粮尚有剩余。然而随着坡地森林持续遭到砍伐，旱季的水源逐渐减少，风调雨顺的年份也愈发稀少。

大众早已熟知热带森林砍伐会威胁物种存续，且其通过释放树木与土壤中储存的碳加剧气候变化的认知也日益普及。扎菲的案例表明，尽管森林砍伐常被视作肆意破坏，但对直接涉事的民众而言，这或许是完全合理的选择。同时该案例也揭示，森林砍伐的部分负面影响可能同时在本地与全球范围内显现。

近年来，热带森林保护领域涌现出一种全新路径。其核心理念为：从森林存续中获益的群体，应当向原本会砍伐森林的群体支付费用。这一概念被称为生态系统服务付费（payment for ecosystem services），目前已主导雨林保护相关讨论。支持该路径的人士认为，该模式将惠及扎菲这类贫困群体——通过现金补偿或当地发展项目，为其放弃砍伐森林的行为提供补偿。此外，该付费计划所鼓励的土地利用转变（保护森林或营造新林）或可惠及当地其他贫困人口：例如拉科托便可因森林覆盖率提升带来的灌溉水源改善而获益。

但遗憾的是，万事远非表面那般简单。尽管这类生态系统服务付费计划已吸引数千万美元资金，且诸多参与方承诺确保其惠及贫困人口，但现有计划对贫困人口的实际影响，以及如何设计此类方案以在规避负面影响的同时实现减贫潜力，仍存在诸多疑问。

这些至关重要的问题，需要整合多领域专业人才的研究路径来解答。本项目团队涵盖社会学家、经济学家、生态学家、水文学家、遥感专家与建模师，将深入探究全球生态系统服务付费如何通过复杂机制影响贫困人口的生活。我们将解决的具体问题包括：量化低地稻农可从森林覆盖率提升中获得的收益；探究野生采集资源获取受限所带来的成本（及成本承担主体）；以及剖析政治与社会结构如何影响付费收益的分配。本研究聚焦单一国家（马达加斯加）内的单一区域（东部雨林），这种聚焦式研究是完整呈现生态与社会系统间所有互动关系的必要前提。

尽管本项目的实地调研聚焦马达加斯加，且研究成果将直接影响该国的付费计划设计，但本项目的发现仍将产生广泛的国际影响。我们正与参与制定生态系统服务付费政策框架的各方密切合作，并将在马达加斯加乃至全球范围内推动该类计划的落地实施。本项目将产出推动跨学科研究边界的学术论文，同时也将获得媒体与项目官网的相关报道。而通过上述广泛的参与合作，本项目还将推动付费计划设计的实质性改进，最终惠及拉科托、扎菲及其家人这类群体——无论他们居住在世界的哪个角落。