Social wellbeing in forest-dependent communities: a focus on the importance of wild mushrooms in northern Zambia

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are relevant for forest communities around the world. Within this context, income and dietary outcomes have been widely analyzed as the primary outcome measures. However, the emphasis on material gains and income obscures the experiences, social relations, and the motivations of common resource users. Situating wild food use and consumption within cultural traditions and social relations provides a more holistic understanding of the contributions these resources make to rural livelihoods. This emphasis is important given rapid land use changes and high rates of deforestation. The present study contributes to this research gap by examining the significance of wild mushroom value chains for people's material and non-material social well-being in two rural communities in northern Zambia. Wild mushrooms make important contributions to the consumption and economic needs of rural households in Zambia, with evidence suggesting that poorer households and women are often more likely to depend on and derive greater benefits from their sale and use. A social wellbeing lens can help draw policy attention to the non-material benefits of NTFP value chains and add value to our understanding of the social and economic dynamics in forest-dependent communities.