Landholding and education levels of households are considered
important as introduced in the model of Adhikari et al. (2004). In our
case study, we hypothesize that households with large fields may
not have enough time to access the forest and may not require
earnings or benefits from the forest, while those with fewer land
holdings may have an incentive to utilize the forest for the fulfillment
of their needs. Thus, the coefficient on extensive land holding
by the household (land) is expected to be negative. Finally, we
expect that the education level of the household's head (edu) would
positively or negatively affect community participation. For
instance, Adhikari et al. (2004) show positive association of education
with participatory activities, whereas Khan and Begum (1997)
argue that educated and technical professionals in the local area
are more involved in practical management decision. Highly
educated people with broader knowledge about the importance of
forest management for community life would have strong motivations
to engage in the program. However, high level of education
allowpeople opportunities for jobs with higher earnings than those
engaged in farm- or forest-related tasks; consequently, high education
may be a factor that reduce their dependency on the forest.