id21 insights 77. Are NTFPs a way out of poverty?
This forestry issue looks at some examples of the successful exploitation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs)
Abstract
Harvesting, using and trading non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are some of the livelihood strategies adopted by people with access to forest resources. Over the past 20 years, governments, conservation and development agencies and non-government organisations have encouraged the marketing and sale of NTFPs as a way of boosting income for poor people in tropical areas and encouraging forest conservation. Is this a way forward for successful conservation and rural development?
This forestry issue of id21 insights looks at some examples of the successful exploitation of NTFPs, and the lessons learned from NTFP markets around the world. It includes articles that focus on:
- the benefits of harvesting wildlife products, such as bushmeat, in Equatorial Guinea
- the need for local processing, with a case study of rubber tappers in Brazil
- the challenges facing walnut farmers in rural Kyrgyzstan
- the potential for increased harvesting of sal seeds in India
- how the Frutíferas project is providing information for remote Amazonian communities
- the importance of governing market chains for NTFPs, with a case study of market chains for rubber in Indonesia
- analysis of the factors that contribute to the successful commercialisation of NTFPs
Citation
id21 insights 77, IDS, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, 8 pp.
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