Role of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in livelihood security of forest-fringe tribal communities in Purulia district of West Bengal

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

Chapter 18 - NTFPs for socioeconomic security of rural households along the forest ecotone of Paschim Medinipur forest division, India

The role of non-timber forest products during agroecosystem shift in Xishuangbanna, southwestern China

Contribution of non-timber forest products to the livelihoods of the forest-dependent communities around the Khadimnagar National Park in northeastern Bangladesh

During an ethnobotanical study undertaken in Ayodhya hills of Purulia district in West Bengal State of India the authors recorded through an intimate contact with the Paharia tribe the indigenous knowledge about non-timber use of 49 species associated with the ambient tropical dry deciduous forest. Paharia is one of the scheduled tribes representing about 0.05% of the total tribal population of the district with their 45 families settled in such villages of Ayodhya hills as Kalabera, Khakri and Ghatbera. The species thus recorded belong to 35 families of which 29 are dicotyledonous, four monocotyledonous and one pteridophyte. A precise account has been prepared of their habits, ethnic names, present status in the study site and use, an analysis of which shows 17 different use categories. The knowledge of the tribe traditionally concerns medicinal use of 37 species, which is noteworthy. It is interesting to find four species linked with their religious and cultural activities. A sustainable use of these plants for economic benevolence of the Paharia community is envisaged to ensure forest protection.

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) refer to all biological resources harvested from the forest for human use and are not having timber purposes. Two types of NTFPs such as tradable and non-tradable NTFPs are available. In international trade, tradable NTFPs are only significant. NTFPs are important components of food security and a vital source of income for the poor in many developing nations. NTFP collection accounts for almost 58 per cent of the total income earned by Kerala's tribal population. Most of the employment (54.04%) was generated by the wage sector followed by NTFP collection (33.77%). NTFPs were found to be collected and used by tribals for a variety of purposes, including food, medicine, raw materials for making implements, and as a source of income. NTFPs are marketed through various marketing channels, depending on various factors such as the product's nature, demand and proximity to the market. If co-operative societies and EDCs (Eco-Development Committees) could develop value additional units for NTFPs with the participation of indigenous groups, it ensures effective use of their spare time as well as a better livelihood through increased NTFP income.

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.

In the 21st-century internet, addiction has become a common phenomenon among students. Internet addiction is sometimes referred to as internet addiction disorder, pathological internet usage, internet reliance, problematic internet use, overuse and compulsive internet use. And cognitive failure is outlined as the probable consequence of a general failure of the cognitive and control system. The present study has aimed to determine the relationship between cognitive failure and internet addiction of higher secondary students of the Purulia district of West Bengal. For the present study, the researchers have used descriptive survey-type research. The data for the present study has been collected from seventy-eight (78) class XI students from randomly selected two schools in the Purulia district of West Bengal, India, using a simple random sampling technique. The researchers have used appropriate descriptive statistics like mean, standard deviation, correlation and inferential statistics like the Shapiro-Wilk test for normality test, ‘t-test and Mann-Whitney U test for data analysis. The result revealed a significant relationship between cognitive failure and internet addiction among higher secondary Purulia district of West Bengal students. However, no significant difference has been observed in cognitive failure and internet addiction regarding gender, location and stream.

Various local communities living in India have been dependent on forests for centuries. The contribution of non timber forest products (NTFPs) has been recognized globallyfor their role in preservation, income generation, livelihood enhancement and rural development. About 275 million poor rural people in various regions of India are dependent on non-timber forest produce. The present study was conducted duringthe month of January to November 2022 to assess the major NTFPs and their role in livelihood generation in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh. Through surveys and interviews conducted in 4 study area (Viz. Banda, Jhansi, Mahoba and Chitrakut) of Bundelkhand, among the people of local communities, it has been revealed that even today the people of study area show their dependency on forest based NTFPs. Through harvesting, collection and processing of non-timber forest produce, providing new employment opportunities in the Bundelkhand region of India. In this region local people provide an overview of the dependency of different rural communities on NTFP’s such as salai gum, kullu gum, flowers and fruit of Mahua, baskets from bamboo and Harsingar, bidi from tendu leaves, Chironji seeds, jhadu from Date palm leaves, Amla, Bahera, Satavar and Nagarmotha for sustain their livelihood. Despite their significance to employment, NTFP markets are mostly informal andscattered, with no proper records maintained, leading to an insufficient information flowon the contribution of NTFP trade at the local as well as national level. There is an urgent need to promote all these things today so that the income of local collectors can be improved.

Despite stiff forest conservationlaws in Nigeria which emanated from old colonial laws and forest ordinancesof the early 19 century, phenomenal numbers of forest species are gradually lost due mainly todemands of timber products. The emergence of Nigeria as party toseveral global biodiversity treatieswas thought to be effective in curtailing loss of species witnessed in all ecological zones of the country. However, reports of several studies indicate that from the tropical forest zone in south to the very northern Sahel extreme, vegetation of Nigeria is continuously degraded. It is such gloomy events that prompted this study which aim is to assess the role of NTFPs on livelihood of off-reserve community on the fringe of Runka Forest in Katsina, Nigeria. For the study, an estimated population of 4700 persons of Gimi Settlement was obtained and used as population frame. Out of the number a total of 235 individuals were selectedusing systematic sampling technique. Using the technique, each 20 order consecutive individual of the population was selected as a respondent. A purposive technique was to further select respondents that are 10 years old based on key informants’ revelation that only persons of this age (10+) are into full time NTFPs entrepreneurship in the area. Accordingly,180 respondents were eliminated and only 55 respondents were served with a semi-structured questionnaire. The study found out that because of increase in use of NTFPs to augment peoples’ diet, income as well as supply medicinal products in the area, forest species are maintained andless pressured. It is recommended that the knowledge of NTFPs management should be disseminated through schools and mass media to so as to sustain the forest reserve from further encroachment.

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs), also known as non-wood forest products (NWFPs) and secondary forest products are useful substances obtained from forests. The key feature of NTFP’s is the continuous flow of returns against timber returns that are available intermittently at an interval of rotation period. An estimated 80% of the population of the developing world uses NWFP to meet some of their health and nutritional needs. NTFPs provide greater opportunities to the people by providing employment in the lean agriculture season. Most of the activities pertaining to NTFPs like collection, processing, transportation, marketing etc. are labour intensive and provide employment. India holds monopoly in world trade over some of the natural resins and gums such as lac, gum karaya and guar gum. Tribals derive 20-40% of their annual income from minor forest produce on which they spend major portion of their time. It has been established that a number of tribal, rural and forest department communities derive a significant part of their needs, income food and nutrition. The edible NTFPs play an important role in food & nutritional security of rural people. However, due to number of factors like destruction of natural habitat, fluctuating prices, population growth is hindering the development of NTFPs.

In today’s world where the pace of life seems to be accelerating and the delicate balance of our planet is increasingly at risk, sustainable lifestyles are seen as a beacon of hope that leads us to live more conscious and responsible lives. Present work aims to find out the relationship among Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) andits associated factors of undergraduate students of Purulia district of west Bengal, India in regard to stream, locality and gender. It is a descriptive survey type research. “Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability Scale” by Choi and Feinberg (2021) has been used in this study to collect the data randomly from 151 undergraduate students of Purulia district of West Bengal. Descriptive statistics like mean, standard deviation and Pearson coefficient of correlation have been used in this study to analyse the data. The result revealed that there is a significant relationship among LOHAS andits associated factors of undergraduate students. However, no significant relationship has been found among LOHAS and its associated factors among of female students and urban students of Purulia district of West Bengal, India

A field experiment was conducted at KVK Kalyan instructional farm at Jahajpur of Purulia district of West Bengal during rabi season of 2018-19 to assess the effect of Biochar and Vermicompost as organic soil amendments on yield of brinjal under red and lateritic soils of Purulia, West Bengal. Biochar and vermicompost applied alone additionally in the farmers practice. The experiment design adopted was Randomised Block Design (RBD) having four replications with three treatments The treatments comprises of T1: Application of N:P:K 70:30:30 kg/ha (Farmers’ practice) + FYM @ 2 t/ha, T2: Farmers practice + Vermicompost @ 5 t/ha, T3: Farmers practice + Biochar @ 10 t/ha. The growth and yield attributing characters recorded was plant height at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAT, number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight, yield per plant and total yield. Application of biochar and vermicompost had a significant effect on the growth and yield of Brinjal. Highest growth yield attributes and highest fruit yield (22.36 t/ha) were obtained due to the application of farmers practice + vermicompost @ 5 t/ha (T2). Application of biochar along with farmers’ practice did not show any significant results in brinjal yield as compare to vermicompost application treatment. The potential for long-term benefits of biochar remain to be explored through continued research in the red laterite soils of Purulia district of West Bengal.

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are essential provisions for many households, yet mobility and socioeconomic development are changing forest connections for those who live in rural areas. Despite being far away, some villagers remain attached to their childhood residences, especially for food consumption, leading to an increased demand for NTFPs. This study examined rural livelihoods and use of NTFPs, including economic value, trade-offs, and responses to market demands. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 199 individuals at three villages in Udon Thani, northeast Thailand during 2017. In addition, 46 forest users from outside the villages participated in the study. Subjects reported eight groups of NTFPs harvested, accounting for nearly 10% of average household annual income. Although most local villagers harvested NTFPs for household consumption, 21% did so for income generation. Moreover, 55% of forest users transported NTFPs elsewhere, either by direct trading or to their children and/or relatives living in other cities. Increased market demand pressure villagers to change their selling tactics. Instead of gathering NTFPs directly from the forests, some individuals purchased and re-sold them to local traders for higher prices. Local economies are changing from subsistence to market-driven and cash-dependent livelihoods.

This paper clarifies its unique contribution by examining how household socio-economic and demographic factors interact with ecological conditions to shape livelihood strategies, highlighting the overlooked role of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in Dadeldhura district, Nepal. While NTFPs are often undervalued and insufficiently documented at the local level, this study demonstrates their significance as complements to subsistence agriculture and as coping mechanisms under ecological and demographic pressures. A cross-sectional quantitative research design was applied, surveying 222 households with structured questionnaires in multi-stage sampling to capture ecological and social diversity. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations were used to assess associations between NTFP use and household characteristics such as caste status and occupation, supplemented by secondary census and government data. Results indicate that eco-diversity, measured through climatic and soil variation, directly affects agricultural reliability, driving greater dependence on NTFPs in less productive areas. Demographic pressures (notably population growth and land fragmentation) further reinforce this reliance. Social hierarchy was also crucial: socially excluded groups (particularly Dalits) had stronger dependence on NTFPs, with women playing an active role in collection and processing. Overall, the study uniquely contributes by integrating ecological, demographic, and social dimensions to explain household livelihood strategies, offering insights into how marginalized groups sustain rural economies through NTFPs.