Abstract
Trade-in Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in the Congo Basin is a source of cash income for stakeholders in their value chains, from harvesters to traders. However, gender-disaggregated data on the benefits of such trade in Gabon remains poorly captured and used by policy-makers, despite a decree on women's empowerment enacted by the Republic of Gabon in 2017. This study assesses gender dynamics, reasons for entering the trade, economics, and perceived threats to Coula edulis, Dacryodes buettneri, and Irvingia gabonensis value chains originating in Makokou, Gabon. Data from field observations, key informants, and 79 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in three markets showed that activities in the value chains of these three NTFPs were highly gender-differentiated. Women dominate in all three chains, particularly in the two lower-value products. This was driven by women's vulnerability and men's preference for higher-value timber and NTFPs. Both men and women enter the trade mostly because they lack other ways to generate income and employment. The men involved in the chains tended to harvest slightly larger volumes and sell at higher prices. The NTFPs and their value chains were all perceived as threatened by climate change, deforestation, and unsustainable forest resources management, with both men and women aware of these threats. The importance of the NTFP trade for women suggested that policies and gender focus interventions, for example on domestication, cultivation, value-adding to improve and sustain their income, could contribute to more sustainable value chains and livelihoods.
Highlights
The Congo Basin is the second-largest tropical forest after the Amazon, with a rich biodiversity of over 7,000 plant species (Sosef et al 2006) and 1,200 floral species inventoried (Amalfi et al 2010, Yombiyeni et al 2011, Sonke et al 2012)
In Cameroon for example, Irvingia gabonensis, is a multipurpose fruit tree and represents a priority indigenous fruit tree in the central African region with its wood used for making utensils, and fruits are used for food, income generation and medicine (Ayuk et al 1999, Mateus-Reguengo et al 2019)
Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) consumed and income from their trade can affect food and nutritional security both positively and or negatively (Chiwona-Karltun et al 2017). Given this context regarding the gendered aspects of NTFP value chains, this paper aimed at clarifying the value chains of three popular NTFPs traded in Gabon, : (i) describing the characteristics and dynamics in the value chains (ii) identifying the gender’s reasons for entering into the NTFP value chains, (iii) determining income generated by men and women, (iv) evaluating men’s and women’s awareness of threats to NTFP species and value chains, and v) discussing opportunities to enhance gender equity and overcome the perceived threats
Summary
The Congo Basin is the second-largest tropical forest after the Amazon, with a rich biodiversity of over 7,000 plant species (Sosef et al 2006) and 1,200 floral species inventoried (Amalfi et al 2010, Yombiyeni et al 2011, Sonke et al 2012). In Cameroon for example, Irvingia gabonensis (bush mango or odika), is a multipurpose fruit tree and represents a priority indigenous fruit tree in the central African region with its wood used for making utensils, and fruits are used for food, income generation and medicine (Ayuk et al 1999, Mateus-Reguengo et al 2019). Atanga sauvage fruits are eaten raw or lightly boiled, as a snack or with meals, or processed for oil and the noisettes are cracked and eaten raw or roasted as a popular snack. Both are sources of timber (Ozigo wood is sold in domestic and international markets) and NTFP (sources of food, income generation, and medicine) (Vivien and Faure 1988, Todou et al 2014)
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