Forest Products as Safety Net, Deforestation and the Tragedy of the Commons

Non-timber forest products (NTFP) are commonly used by poor agricultural households of developing countries to smooth their consumption and to cope with agricultural risk. This paper explores the potential implications of this safety-net use on the land-use choice and labor allocation. We consider that land-use choice is a long-run choice variable, while labor allocation is a short-term choice variable. In this context, it appears that risk reduction may have two opposite implications. In the short run, risk reduction tends to reduce the pressure on common resource extraction, while in the long run, risk reduction may tend to increase deforestation