The key non-timber forest products of Central Africa: a state of the knowledge
Abstract
Independent researchers, together with institutions such as the Limbe Botanic Gardens in Cameroon or the Oxford Forestry Institute at Oxford University in Britain, have worked to produce state-of-knowledge reports on several taxa. These are all important, diverse NTFPs representing the range of conditions under which NTFPs are harvested and traded. Although not intended to be definitive monographs, these reports contain excellent social, economic and ecological information for these important non-timber forest products.
The reports included in this publication represent an important source of data for the future management of each of the species discussed, as well as other plant resources that are exploited in a similar way. Disturbingly, each report also concludes that questions of resource tenure, market demand and a lack of statutory or customary oversight addressing the sustainable management of the product in question pose serious concerns about the longevity of current uses of these species’ wild populations. It is also clear that the biological and ecological information required to develop strategies for sustainable harvesting is woefully incomplete for even the most commonly traded NTFPs.
Citation
Clark, L.E.; Sunderland, T.C.H. (eds). (2004). The key non-timber forest products of Central Africa: a state of the knowledge. Technical paper no. 122. 185pp. USAID. Washington DC, USA.
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The key non-timber forest products of Central Africa: a state of the knowledge