Insights on fuelwood collection sources by land tenure in Mexico

Abstract

Fuelwood collection in Mexico is a fundamental activity for rural livelihoods because it used on a daily basis for cooking, heating and boiling water. Fuelwood use can generate health and environmental problems which have been addressed poorly by public policy. This study analyzes how different household and resource attributes relate with the selection of the land where this resource is collected, whether is extracted from their own private land, neighboring private land or federal/communal land. This study applies a multinomial probit model where the site of collection differentiated by land tenure is the outcome variable. Results show that education and wealth are correlated with extracting from private land reducing the pressure of communal/federal forests and that permits could help enforce property rights.