Characteristics of and Challenges Faced by Logging Business Owners in Southern New England

Despite the importance of the forest products industry to New York's manufacturing sector, concerns about reductions in logging capacity, and attention given to logging communities in other states, there has been a lack of systematically gathered data about the state's logging community. A mailed survey, informed by focus groups, key informant interviews, and previous research, was used to solicit information from logging business owners on issues such as occupational choice and prestige, familial attachment, logger training, and barriers to maintaining their logging businesses. Most New York logging business owners cited positive aspects of their work as reasons for becoming loggers, but they sensed both a lack of occupational prestige associated with logging and a lack of understanding among the general public of the logging profession and its contributions to theeconomy. There were some significant differences between loggers who worked in the Adirondack region and those from the rest of the state, especially related to the effects of forest ownership changes on their businesses. As with similar studies of the logging communities in other states in the northeast, this study provides background information on loggers and logging businesses in New York that may be useful to the state's forest products industry, department of labor, logger training entities, and legislature. In addition, this research represents a reference point from which future studies of the state's logging workforce may be more clearly understood, providing an opportunity to track changes in this important forestry-sector workforce over time.

The challenges and changes that logging businesses face impact the whole wood supply chain, making it relevant to gather timely information about them. Logging business surveys have been taking place for several decades in various states across the United States of America and have played a vital role in documenting the status of the logging industry and the challenges facing business owners. Two waves of mail surveys were sent to individual logging businesses across North and South Carolina between March and May of 2022. These surveys collected information related to general timber harvesting (products harvested, silvicultural operations), business information (number of workers, types of equipment, capital investment), owner demographics, and the challenges faced by the logging businesses. Data were analyzed for each state and within the different physiographic regions (Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain). Compared to the 2017 South Carolina survey, 2022 results indicate that the state has more medium-sized logging businesses today, few younger loggers entering the logging industry, an increase in the educational level of loggers, a decrease in intergenerational transfers of logging businesses within families, and a rise in the input and operational costs. This study also provides insights into the current state of North Carolina logging businesses and will serve as a baseline for the future. Results from North Carolina indicate 31% of loggers are aged 60 or above, 52% represent small-sized businesses, 51% have completed high school, 27% anticipate exiting the industry by 2027, and high input and operational costs were reported as significant challenges.

Logging businesses play an important role in implementing forest management plans and delivering the raw material needed by forest products mills. Understanding the characteristics of the logging workforce can help forest managers make better decisions related to harvesting operations. We surveyed logging business owners across Virginia’s three physiographic regions (Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain). Overall, logging businesses reported an average production rate of 761.37 t/business/week, but this varied substantially by region, with the highest production rates in the Coastal Plain (1403.55 t/business/week), followed by the Piedmont (824.69 t/business/week) and the Mountains (245.42 t/business/week). Many operations in the Mountains rely primarily on manual felling (66.6% of respondents) and these operations often have lower production rates. Across all regions, 81.7% of reported production came from operations that primarily utilized rubber-tired feller-bunchers for felling. Logging businesses were sorted based on reported production capacity and then divided into three groups (high, medium, and low production) based on total reported production. Across all regions, the majority of reported production was produced by the high production logging businesses. This was highest in the Piedmont, where the high production businesses accounted for 74.8% of total reported production.

Examining the household’s dependence on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and analyzing their determinants has significance for policy decisions. Therefore, this study examines the contribution of NTFPs to rural livelihoods, its potential in poverty alleviation, and socioeconomic drivers of households’ collection of NTFPs. The study is based on primary data collected by using a structured questionnaire survey of 450 randomly selected households in Metema and Quara districts of Amhara region, Ethiopia along with key informant interviews, focus group discussion with residents, and from government offices. We adopted an income accounting model for apportioning components of total income for finding income from NTFPs and applied the Tobit regression model for our analysis and found that households are considerably dependent on NTFPs. Income from NTFPs accounts for 23.1% of the total household income. However, the level and pattern of reliance on these forest products vary across different socioeconomic groups. Income from NTFPs also helps 20% of the households to remain above the poverty line. Moreover, the study shows that age, household size, landholding, cooperative membership, per capita income, and access to extension service influence households’ dependence on NTFPs. Thus, we suggest that any policy intervention in dry forest areas should be planned without destructing the forest ecosystem.

The contribution of income from nontimber forest products (NTFPs) to rural livelihoods and household income has received global recognition. However, there are growing concerns of overexploitation of NTFPs driven by poverty and policy neglect that threaten the sustainability of the NTFP resource base in Kassena-Nankana West District (KNWD) of Ghana. The study investigated the contribution of income from NTFPs to household income and socioeconomic factors that influence the collection and marketing of NTFPs in KNWD. Using a multistage sampling technique, quantitative data were collected from 375 households through structured survey questionnaires. Qualitative data were gathered through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observations. Results showed that income from NTFPs forms a significant part of household income with a contribution of 32.69 percent to household income. Regression analysis revealed sex of respondent (P = 0.057), household size (P = 0.046), agricultural land size (P = 0.000), NTFP retailers (P = 0.000), NTFP wholesalers (P = 0.000), and value-added NTFPs (P = 0.000) as significantly and positively correlated with income from NTFPs. Results further indicated that poor households depend primarily on NTFPs in order to achieve their subsistence and income needs compared to high-income households. This research recommends that stakeholders and policymakers consider the needs of forest-dependent communities in policy analysis on NTFP conservation measures. Also, the role of households, especially the low income (poor), in the management of forest resources should be spelled out since they depend primarily on NTFPs to meet their subsistence and income needs.

This study was conducted in the savannah woodlands of Northern Ghana, an area characterized by a higher incidence of poverty relative to other parts of the country. The purpose of the study was to determine the contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to household food and income security and the extent to which NTFPs contribute to resilient rural livelihoods in the face of climate change. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative data-collection methods. Questionnaires were utilized to obtain data from randomly selected respondents in various communities across the northern, upper-west, and upper-east regions of Ghana. Additionally, key informant interviews, observations, and focus group discussions were employed to obtain further information on specific aspects of NTFPs. Market surveys were also conducted in selected markets to obtain information related to the marketing of NTFPs. The findings revealed that NTFPs contribute significantly to rural livelihoods by way of food, employment, and income, particularly for the poor and vulnerable. However, recent trends indicate that the resource base of NTFPs is dwindling, partly because of overexploitation and expansion of agricultural lands. Climate change has highlighted the need to explore options to ensure a more resilient food system in Northern Ghana by way of optimizing the benefits of the agriculture and forestry sectors in a mutual fashion. Consequently, this chapter concludes by proposing a framework and innovative pathways for achieving this goal.

Credence or believability are paramount values in trade. The role of products’ credence attributes has been well-analysed in the agricultural and food sector. This study examined the application of credence attributes to forest management and forest products marketing for the first time. We describe specific credence attributes of forest products and highlight their values, benefits, and importance in international trade. We used Delphi interviews of experts and surveyed forest and trade experts to assess the perceived merits of credence attributes in the forestry sector. We also compared certification schemes and sustainable forest management (SFM) indicators against credence values. We found that credence attributes play an important role in the forestry sector for both timber forest products and non-timber forest products (NTFP). While some credence attributes, such as the legality of forest products, already form the basis for trade and certification and are standard practice, other credence attributes are rising in awareness and could potentially create new markets. This study revealed the potential value of health aspects of forest products, particularly regarding NTFP and recreational services. Certification schemes and SFM provide credence at a collective level, and must encompass the rising importance of individual credence attributes of these newer important values. Last, we summarized the emerging environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment practices to assess how credence factors may help affect such investments. Awareness of credence attributes can inform ESG criteria, certification schemes, and sustainable forest management frameworks about present or potentially future market expectations. Sustaining and enhancing natural capital and the flow of ecosystem services they provide, as well as social and human capital, will play an increasingly important role for forestry companies in the next decade. A better understanding of forestry credence attributes can inform the management of ESG of forestry industries and markets more effectively.

The importance of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to rural livelihoods is widely acknowledged globally, as is the income generated from casual or fulltime trade in NTFPs on village and urban markets. However, there is less understanding of how the condition or status of the neighbouring landscapes and vegetation influence the use of and trade in NTFPs. Here we report on the use and trade in NTFPs in four villages situated along a gradient of decreasing forest cover in southwest Malawi using a mixed-methods approach. Data were sourced via a survey of 286 households, value chain analysis of the four most commonly traded NTFPs (thatch grass, edible orchids, mushrooms and wild fruits), key informant interviews with NTFP traders and direct observations. All households used at least one NTFP, with the most widely used ones being firewood (100% of households), bamboo (96%), thatch grass (94%), and timber for construction (92%). Overall, 15% of households sold at least one NTFP and the prevalence of selling within a village was correlated with forest cover, whereas buying of NTFPs was inversely correlated with forest cover. There was a wide range in mean annual income per product (US$20 – 456) from selling NTFPs based on the product, whether the trader sold on a casual or full-time basis and the market. Of those households selling NTFPs, approximately two-thirds sold more than one NTFP product, which is rarely recognised in income studies of individual single market chainsNTFP products. The returns to labour were variable between villages and products, but were generally double or more than the national minimum hourly wage. The NTFP value chains were short, dominated by traders and some intermediaries. Most of the products were sold in local markets with little value addition other than sorting and grading. Overall, NTFPs were an integral part of the household economy, with multiple participants and users, partly shaped by the forest cover of the surrounding landscapes.

In recent decades there has been growing interest in the contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for rural people livelihood improvement and poverty alleviation. However, as to the knowledge of the present researcher, limited studies have been done to analyze the role of non-timber forest products for rural livelihood diversification. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify main NTFPs used by local communities around Chilimo Forest. Furthermore, the study aimed to determine socioeconomic factors influencing collection of NTFPs in the study area. Multistage sampling techniques were used for the study. Data for the study was generated through household survey comprising of 313 respondents selected through simple random technique and substantiated by in-depth interviews of key informants, focus group discussion and field observation. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis were used to analyze and summarize data. The results revealed that, crop production, animal husbandry, non timber forest product and non-farm activities were the major livelihood strategies in the study area. On average, income from NTFPs accounted for 29.34% of total household income. The commonly collected NTFPs were firewood, charcoal, grasses, herbal medicine and honey. The study found that, households derived a significant portion of their income from the collection of NTFPs; however income derived from the collection of NTFPs significantly influenced with gender, family size and wealth status while age, education, marital status and distance from forest were found to have no significance association with income sourced from NTFPs. This study also revealed that, enrichment planting of the most utilized tree species, participatory forest management and setting of harvesting levels and cycles in Chilimo forest reduce impacts on plant species that are in high demand by local communities. The findings suggest that NTFPs play an important role in supporting livelihoods, and therefore provide an important safety net for households throughout the year particularly during periods of hardship. Therefore the current research would be useful in preparing an ecologically viable policy for the subsistence of forest dwellers and better management of the forest resources in Chilimo forest. Keywords: Chilimo forest, non timber forest product, rural community socio-economic factors DOI : 10.7176/JNSR/9-22-04 Publication date: November 30 th 2019

The national policy framework for forest and forest resources management in Cameroon has often been blamed for hindering the development of the non-timber forest products (NTFP) sector. Various actors, both international and national, have gathered to propose major changes to the forestry law in order to support NTFP development. This paper addresses the following questions: (1) What are the provisions of the current forestry policy for NTFPs? (2) What are the major changes proposed for NTFPs and the reality on the ground? (3) How do forest users view the legal forestry framework? (4) Aren't there better ways to improve NTFP management in Cameroon? Informal and formal interviews held with producers, traders, forest administrative agents and civil society actors show that the government tends to address the local communities' participation concerns through decentralisation in the forestry sector but without guaranteeing an efficient implementation. This situation appears to be a structural factor affecting other sectors of activity in the country, and resulting in little hope that the long awaited reforms in the forestry sector will have a determining impact, unless critical actions are taken against corruption and nepotism. The development of a well-structured civil society and the recourse to new technologies appear to be the best way to improve NTFP governance and efficiency in Cameroon.

Lamjung is highly rich in its vast and valuable Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) including different kinds of valuable medicinal and aromatic plants. Nepal is a mountainous country, where most of the people are depend on forest resources for their livelihood. Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFPs) plays a crucial role in the rural livelihood. NTFPs serve as a source for their primary health, nutrition, income generation, energy (fuel wood) and material for a social-cultural and religious ceremony. The research was carried out the specific objectives of identification availability NTFPs, Role of NTFP in local livelihood, prospects, and problems to develop NTFP in the study area. The study was carried out in Chiti, Jita and Taksar Village Development Committee (VDC) of Lamjung District. Primary data were collected through Focus Group Discussion, House Hold Survey, Key Informant Interview, use inventory sheet and direct field observation. Secondary data were collected from different DFO office, library, journals, published articles, reports, online reports etc. The quantitative data were analyzed by using appropriate statistical tools. The qualitative data were analyzed by descriptive measure and presented in forms of charts, figure and tables. There were 52 major NTFPs identified in the study area and all respondents have knowledge about NTFPs, but they are not involved to collect NTFP for commercial purpose. They use only household purposes such as firewood for energy, leaf litter for religious purpose, and wild food and fruits are used for domestic use. The main problems of the development of NTFPs people are gradually leaving use traditional knowledge about medicinal plants. Slowly they became dependent at modern product and most of the people are depending on remittance. NTFPs play a safety net role to assist communities in adverse situation such as crop failure under the current change in climate and variability. Most of the people have knowledge about value of NTFPs and traditional knowledge about medicinal herbs, but such a valuable knowledge regarding use value of NTFPs seems to be disappearing into the younger generations.

BackgroundNon-timber forest products (NTFPs) are an important part of forest biodiversity, and the subsistence and trade of local people, especially in less developed countries. Because of the high ecological and economic value, NTFPs have faced the problem of over-exploitation, and the key to solve this problem is to determine the feasible way of sustainable utilization of NTFPs. Harvest intensity is one of the most important and easily controlled utilization factors, which can greatly influence the plant individual survival, growth and reproductive performances, and even the population structure and dynamics. Therefore, we chose two common and important NTFPs species with different marketable parts (i.e., Acanthopanax senticosus with tender leaves and Aralia elata with tender buds) as our study objects. Aiming to determine the optimum harvest intensity for sustainably utilizing both NTFPs species, five levels of harvest intensity treatments (i.e., control, light, medium, high and severe) were designed to assess the effects of harvest intensity on their marketable organ yield, plant growth and reproductive performances.ResultsThe biomass growth rates of marketable organ and plant growth of A. senticosus under light harvest intensity treatment were significantly higher than those under other harvest intensities. The plant height growth and 1000-seed weight of A. elata under severe harvest intensity treatment were significantly lower than those under control treatment.ConclusionsThe light harvest intensity with 25% leaf removal and the high harvest intensity with all terminal buds harvested are the optimum harvest intensity to maintain the sustainable utilization of A. senticosus and A. elata, respectively. These findings could provide managers with basic but practical guidance for making decisions about the sustainable harvest management plan for the cultivated NTFPs species, and further provide a theoretical basis for managers to establish the harvest regulations for wild NTFPs species. Consequently, the local residents or communities can improve their income while ensure the sustainable development of wild NTFPs.

Sustainable collection of Nontimber Forest Products (NTFPs) for trade is an appropriate measure to increase people’s adaptive capacity against adverse effects of climate change. However, information on the economic value for NTFPs for subsistence use and trade under the changing climate is inadequate, particularly in households around Iyondo Forest Reserve (IFR), in Kilombero District, Tanzania. The study identified and quantified NTFPs used for subsistence and trade, estimated its economic value, and examined factors influencing supply of NTFPs at household level. Data were collected through Focus Group Discussions, key informant interviews, questionnaire survey of 208 sample households, and spot market analysis to randomly selected NTFPs collectors, sellers, and buyers. The study identified 12 NTFPs used for subsistence and trade, which was evaluated in terms of the mean annual value per household. The mean annual value of the identified NTFPs ranged from TZS 4700 to 886 600. The estimated economic value of the studied NTFPs was TZS 51.4 billion (USD 36 million). The supply of NTFPs at household level was influenced by distance to the forest, change in forest management regime, seasonality, and change in rainfall pattern. NTFPs around IFR have high economic value which portrays the potential of developing them to enhance households’ adaptive capacity against climate change adverse effects.

The forestry sector provides a vast array of goods and services to mankind. Goods and services like timber, medicine, fodder, tourism carbon sequestration, and soil and water conservation were used by people from early ages. But its contribution hasn’t been accounted for properly. The study is aimed at collecting data on the contribution of the forestry sector to the national economy and employment generation in Nepal. Data on the economy and employment contribution were collected from reviewing the literature, Nepal government's annual reports. At present agriculture and forestry sector contributes about 27% to the national GDP. Among different forest products timber is regarded as major production to earn royalty inside the country that Nepal government earned a royalty of NRs 279.9 million from annual production of 10.2 million cubic feet timber in the fiscal year 2019/2020. But non-timber forest product is regarded as the main forest product which is exported from the country that Nepal exported medicinal plants of US$6.48 million in 2016. Over 150,000 people are employed in timber-based manufacturing industries. The government institutions have provided around 143,000 employment in the forestry-related sector. Having high potentiality of contributing to job formation and income generation still forestry sector has not been regarded as a major sector of national income. Its contribution has not been accurately calculated which has underestimated the economic value of the forest. Hence, there is a need for the formation of proper valuation techniques and practice of keeping good market records of the utilization of natural resources and employment generation.

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are those that come from forests other than those that provide timber. In order to identify the NTFPs’ financial contribution and usage categories based on regional and temporal patterns in the Horn of Africa countries, we performed a systematic review of 60 papers published between 2010 and 2022. The review used the search terms Non-Timber Forest Product* OR Non- Wood Forest Product*(NWFPs) OR Minor Forest Product in combination with Livelihoods and also Horn of Africa countries to thoroughly search the articles on the Google Scholar, Research4life, Scopus, Science direct, ResearchGate portals, EMBASE, and PubMed databases. The records contained information about the paper’s title, abstract, keywords, authors, country, NTFP income amount, NTFP usage type, and publication year. The recorded data were analyzed using R Studio, IBM SPSS Statistics 26, and Excel 2019. The majority of the research article for this review was done in Ethiopia (45%), Sudan (22%) and Kenya (17%), respectively. According to the review’s findings, NTFPs have a significant impact on rural household income in six nations, the average NTFP overall revenue was 24.41%. There were more than 35 NTFP uses and the source of product in the Horn of African Countries however, Gum Arabic, Food, Firewood, Medicinal plant, and honey were the five NTFP usage types that were used by people and found in almost in all countries of the Horn of Africa. The fact that different countries utilize different types of NTFPs, the most commonly used types of NTFPs have statistically significances differ (p < 0.05). According to the systematic review, the Horn of Africa is rich in NTFPs, which enhance rural income.