Leveraging the value chain-landscape governance nexus for non-wood forest products and tropical forest restoration

Abstract

The use and trade of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) may simultaneously bring about positive outcomes for conservation and rural development. This assumption underlies national strategies on NWFPs and Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) in São Tomé and Príncipe. However, there is a lack of understanding of how native tree products such as Adansonia digitata (baobab), Dacryodes edulis (African plum) and Treculia africana (African breadfruit) are harvested, traded, and used. Besides, there is little knowledge about how both the landscapes these products originate from and the activities from harvest to consumption are governed. Using a value chain-landscape nexus approach, a quantitative survey with chain actors, semi-structured expert interviews and participant observations at marketplaces on São Tomé Island, we explored the socio-economic relevance of NWFPs included in FLR initiatives and how governance arrangements impact these. Despite being seasonal and limited to the capital, the formal trade of these products was of significant economic importance to the country. Nevertheless, weak statutory governance and an absence of customary governance arrangements puts the sustainability of NWFP harvesting, and thereby the outcomes of FLR, in jeopardy. The value chain-landscape governance nexus approach helps to understand how the use of NWFPs as part of forest restoration endeavors needs to take into consideration not only socio-economic benefits but also how the chains are governed in order to ensure that trade is compatible with FLR goals. Future research could further test the robustness of this conceptualization both in São Tomé and beyond.