Even where dependence is not as high, CPRs function as an irreplaceable safety net for the poor. When farm and financial assets are scarce, the commons can provide secondary income and sources of food and fuel for basic survival. Researchers in western Africa have found that common pool resources are of particular importance to the poor during seasonal food shortages and times of crisis. According to one study, the poorest households rely on “bush” sources to supply 20 percent of their food requirements during the lean time before harvest, when food supplies are low. Wealthier families relied on the bush for only two percent of their food during this period (Dei 1992:67).

The dependence of poor households on the commons is typically highest after crop production has finished and when other alternatives for wage labor are unavailable (Jodha 1986:1177). Indeed, CPRs can generate significant selfemployment opportunities, and often serve as an important and flexible source of secondary income for poor households. Jodha found that collection activities alone provided 36-64 days of work annually per worker in poor households in his study area (Jodha 1986:1175). In Haryana, India, collection of foods and other products, stone quarrying, and livestock grazing in common areas generate an annual average of 88 days of employment per household. Importantly, the numbers break down very differently by socio-economic class, with wage laborers working an average of 213 days per year in the commons, and higher-class households only 25 (Quereshi and Kumar 1998:350).

Gender also strongly influences reliance on the commons. Women head a disproportionate number of poor households, and their reliance on wild income is higher than men, who often have more schooling and greater wage-earning capacity. Studies show that women are often the primary gatherers and sellers of non-timber products such as fruits, medicinals, and handicraft materials (Shackleton et al. 2001:583; Shackleton et al. 2002:135; Shackleton 2005).