Extraction Of Non-timber Forest Products Research Articles

Poverty and spatial dimensions of non-timber forest extraction

ABSTRACTConservationists promote non-timber forest products (NTFP) to simultaneously alleviate poverty and conserve ecosystems. Unfortunately, little is known about how such products actually contribute to poverty alleviation, or how various complementary policies such as green marketing campaigns or cooperative management might impact resource health and users' welfare. This paper develops a simple NTFP extraction model that focuses on spatial and labor market dimensions of use in both managed and unmanaged settings. The model contrasts patterns of spatial use, resource health, and income generation under open access and community-managed institutions. We then test the conceptual model by investigating the case of xate production in the rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico, using survey work conducted over two separate periods. The empirical investigation reveals spatial patterns and labor market outcomes predicted by the model. We find NTFP use is mainly conducted by households with low opportunity costs of time and fewer income generation opportunities.

Role of income diversification in protecting natural forests: evidence from rural households in forest margins of Sri Lanka

Income diversification among households living in forest margins helps to maintain a sustainable livelihood. Reducing forest dependency helps in-situ conservation of biodiversity thereby conserving forest resources. This paper presents evidence of income diversification and its effects on forest resource extraction by rural communities living in forest margins. Diversified income sources of typical households include crop farming, off-farm employment, animal husbandry, home gardening and extraction of non-timber forest products and fuelwood. The calculated mean indexes of diversification for the households in forest margins under investigation were 2.53, 2.57, 2.19 and 2.25. Results of the analysis show that the income diversification index had a negative and significant effect on dependency of rural households on forest resource extraction for three forest reserves. A positive relation between the index of income diversification and total income indicates an increase in household income due to increasing diversification income sources. However, given the complex nature of protecting natural forests, income diversification should be part of a broader integrated policy goal to protect natural forests.

The compatibility of timber and non-timber forest product extraction and management

We discuss the extent of compatibility of timber and non-timber forest product (NTFP) extraction in two neotropical localities from biophysical, social, and institutional perspectives: the community concession forests of the Petén, Guatemala, and extractivist communities in northern Bolivia. In both localities, timber is harvested via reduced-impact logging (RIL) practices. In Guatemala, the main NTFP extracted is foliage from the understory xate palm ( Chamaedorea spp.); in northern Bolivia, the fruits of the Brazil nut tree ( Bertholletia excelsa). The Guatemalan case suggests a relatively high degree of compatibility due to low timber harvesting intensities, coupled with temporal, spatial, and social segregation of xate extraction in a well-defined land tenure system. In northern Bolivia, forest management regulations pay little attention to NTFPs and land tenure issues and related conflict complicate efforts to limit timber harvesting impacts on Brazil nut trees. The introduction of timber management plans overlain on customary property rights systems in which the extraction of Brazil nut is organized could undercut its management system. The two case studies suggest that specific legislative, education, and project interventions may help to promote the compatibility of timber and NTFP extraction and management. These include formal training of foresters on NTFP ecology and management while taking into account the perspectives of multiple stakeholders in the design of management plans. Tropical forest users, research managers, and policy makers will also better understand the need for integrated management of timber and NTFPs, if the trade-offs and potential economic benefits from NTFP extraction are clarified.

Impacts of bark and foliage harvest on Khaya senegalensis (Meliaceae) reproductive performance in Benin

Summary Increasing concern over the sustainability of harvesting non‐timber forest products (NTFP) has led to a growing literature on the ecological impacts of NTFP extraction. A large proportion of NTFP are harvested for multiple plant parts, but few studies have assessed the impacts of harvesting multi‐use species. In addition, few studies have assessed how harvest effects may vary across space. This information is necessary for designing effective conservation plans for the many NTFP species that are harvested from variable ecological contexts. This study assessed the impacts of combined bark and foliage harvest on Khaya senegalensis (Meliaceae) reproductive performance in Benin. K. senegalensis bark is an important medicine for malaria, the leaves are pruned by indigenous Fulani herders as a critical source of fodder for their livestock, and the timber is highly prized. Data on reproductive characteristics were collected from 12 populations spread across two ecological regions (Sudanian and Sudano–Guinean). Half the populations had a history of high harvest intensity and half were subject to low/no harvest. Trees produced more fruit and began fruiting at a significantly smaller size in the drier Sudanian region than in the wetter Sudano–Guinean region. However, pruning decreased fruit production significantly in the Sudanian region but not in the Sudano–Guinean region. Pruning had a significantly greater impact on fruit production in larger trees than in smaller trees. High harvest populations in the Sudano–Guinean region had significantly higher rates of seed production than low harvest populations, although the seeds were significantly lighter. There were no significant effects of debarking or combined debarking and pruning on reproductive performance. Synthesis and applications. This study illustrates that heavy rates of foliage harvest can decrease rates and patterns of reproduction in K. senegalensis, and that the impacts may vary across environmental contexts. Lowered rates of reproduction may lead to decreases in K. senegalensis population size over the long term. Effective ex situ conservation strategies for K. senegalensis include increasing the availability of its fodder and bark by promoting K. senegalensis plantations programmes involving Fulani harvesters.

Cows versus rubber: Changing livelihoods among Amazonian extractivists

The livelihood strategies of former rubber tappers in the Amazon region are rapidly shifting from extraction of non-timber forest products to mixed systems based on agriculture and small scale cattle ranching. Using a combination of participatory methods and Geographical Information Systems, a case study in western Acre, Brazil explores how rubber tapper livelihood strategies may be changing, and the implications of these changes for land use and forest cover. Field (cattle pasture and agriculture) expansion and the decline of forest extractivism present challenges to many regional conservation and development projects such as sustainable settlement projects and extractive reserves seeking to develop forest-based livelihood alternatives to limit deforestation. Sustainability goals require researchers and policy makers to address the still experimental status of these forest-based organizational units, the heterogeneity and dynamism of extractivist livelihoods, and the necessary importance of small-scale cattle ranching for insurance and income generation among many former and current extractivists.

Implications of Livelihood Dependence on Non-Timber Products in Peruvian Amazonia

The present and future well-being of the world's forest dwelling populations depends on their ability to gain livelihood resources from their immediate environment. Sustainable extraction of non-timber forest products has been promoted by conservationists and development agencies as a feasible strategy for forest dwellers that does not compromise the resource base. Yet surveys of actual resource use suggest that for poorer resource-dependent communities without access to markets, non-timber forest products can only ever represent a safety-net activity and a supplementary income source. Others argue that resource availability, in terms of the diversity and productivity of the forest, is the key parameter in realizing a contribution of forest products to well-being. This paper examines the scope and heterogeneity of forest product use to reveal whether resource availability necessarily provides the context for significant contributions to well-being of forest dwellers. We present data from an area of tropical rainforest, close to Iquitos in Peru, which was previously shown to have high potential value. We find, through a census survey of households within a forest reserve area, that non-timber forest products provide only a relatively small portion of income and that only a small proportion of available products are actually commercialized, despite apparent market availability. We show that the low rates of commercialization can be explained by unequal access capital assets used for extraction, to natural resources themselves, and to product markets. They are also explained by the concentration of capital-poor households on subsistence gathering activities. The value of destructive uses of forests, both logging and agriculture, remain higher than returns from non-timber products. This research demonstrates that although non-timber forest products are an important livelihood source, market integration and commercialization is not everywhere an appropriate or realistic strategy.

Ecological, socio-cultural, economic and political factors influencing the contribution of non-timber forest products to local livelihoods: Case studies from honduras and the Philippines

Discussion of the role of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in efforts to reconcile the objectives of forest conservation and rural development has often been hampered by limited understanding of the complexity of the factors that affect the contribution of NTFPs to local livelihoods. By drawing upon two case studies where NTFPs play an important role - the municipality of Lepaterique in Honduras and Palawan Island in the Philippines - this study emphasizes that an ideal extractive system should be based on a mix of products to enable sustainable harvesting throughout the year. The study also demonstrates that considerable attention needs to be paid to the socio-cultural heterogeneity of resource users, and to the value chain structure, access and control over resources and political transparency that affect the opportunities for local people to benefit from NTFP extraction.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge of a Riverine Forest in Turkana, Kenya: Implications for Research and Management

The present study explores traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of Turkana pastoralists and cultivators in the context of a riverine forest in northern Kenya. The Turkwel River and its floodplain sustain a thick forest, which is used for grazing and extraction of non-timber forest products. However, sedentarisation and agricultural expansion have resulted in localised clear-felling of trees, while river damming has altered the natural flow regime. A series of structured, semi-structured, and group interviews were combined with a botanical inventory in order to assess the relevance of TEK to ecological research and forest conservation. Turkana informants gave 102 vernacular names for the 113 woody species. Of these, 85% had a domestic or pastoral use among the 105 specific uses that were described. Ethnobotanical knowledge was relatively homogenous and not related to age, gender, or source of livelihood. The informants had in-depth knowledge of some key ecological processes. The conceived threats to forest survival were primarily cultivation and permanent settlements, while the effects of river damming and livestock grazing were disputed. A claimed decline in rainfall was confirmed by official data. There is strong evidence that TEK could be used to generate hypotheses for research and to design sustainable conservation strategies. A revised version of the indigenous system of tree management should be incorporated into the official forestry policy in order to resolve future conflicts between pastoralists and cultivators.

Estimating the demand for non-timber forest products among rural communities: a case study from the Sinharaja Rain Forest region, Sri Lanka

Lack of adequate knowledge on forest-people interaction is an important reason for the failure of many conservation policies. This study focuses on the behavior of peripheral communities towards non-timber forest product (NTFP) harvesting by estimating the demand functions for NTFP. The paper develops a theoretical model for deriving the shadow price for NTFP using time allocation among different economic activities. Then it tests the competitive time allocation hypothesis between NTFP extraction and tea plantations, the predominant agricultural sector in the vicinity of Sinharaja rain forest. Results provide statistical evidence for the existence of competitive time allocation between tea plantations and NTFP extraction. Own-price elasticities are consistently inelastic, except for one product. As indicated by the inelastic responses, pricing policies may not be very useful in manipulating subsistence NTFP extraction. Repeating similar studies for commercial NTFPs is encouraged.

Making the Best of Two Worlds: Rural and Peri-Urban Livelihood Options Sustained by Nontimber Forest Products from the Bolivian Amazon

Summary Strategies to foster development based on nontimber forest products (NTFPs) implicitly target rural producers. In the northern Bolivian Amazon, however, NTFP-based benefits also accrue to peri-urban populations. A household survey (n = 120) at the periphery of Riberalta, the region’s economic center, reveals that peri-urban livelihoods depend significantly on both the extraction of Brazil nut and palm heart and their urban-based processing. Migrant and educational background are key determinants for the degree of dependence. Valuation of NTFP-based development contributions needs to allow for the rural–urban continuum underlying NTFP extraction and processing, and the role migration plays in related livelihood strategies.

The Economic Value of Non-Timber Forest Products—A Case Study from Malaysia

Knowledge of the value of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and their use patterns may provide input to the management of tropical forests to the benefit of local people. This study presents findings on the value of NTFP extraction by indigenous people, the Jah Hut, in Krau Wildlife Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia, including an analysis of factors influencing extraction levels. Data was collected in four villages using rapid rural appraisal and structured interviews of 127 households. The average value of extracted NTFPs was estimated using the indirect opportunity cost method. The average value of extraction is estimated at PPP US$ 2,455 hh_1 yr_1 and PPP US$ 40.7 ha-1 yr_1. There is evidence that poorer villages and households depend most on NTFP extraction. However, traditional Jah Hut activities, including NTFP extraction, are replaced by wage labour when available. It is argued that NTFP dependence is presently high, and thus NTFPs may contribute to improve rural livelihoods, but likely to be reduced as the Jah Hut are increasingly integrated into the Malaysian society. The advantages and disadvantages of using the indirect opportunity cost method to estimate the value of NTFPs are discussed.

Options for Non-Timber Forest Product Management in the Condor Bioreserve, Ecuador

This paper describes and evaluates the current role that non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and their users play on the conservation of the four protected areas-Reserva Ecológica Cayambe-Coca, Reserva Ecológica Antisana, Parque Nacional Cotopaxi, and Parque Nacional Sumaco-Napo Galeras-that comprise the Condor Bioreserve. The category non-timber forest product (also referred to as non-wood forest product) encompasses a myriad of resources that reside in forests and can be useful to people. Plants from which NTFPs are derived play essential roles in tropical forest ecosystem processes such as regeneration and nutrient cycling. In the Condor Bioreserve, certain species of such plants are commercially valuable while others are endangered. People are extracting these NTFPs from the Bioreserve, yet the magnitude and frequency of such extraction is unknown. This paper examines how the three groups of land users that have been identified by The Nature Conservancy-colonists, indigenous peoples, and hacienda owners-may utilize NTFPs. Understanding the role that these plants play in the lives of its collectors is imperative for designing effective strategies to alleviate pressure that extraction may place on the Condor Bioreserve ecosystems. Data on who harvests NTFPs, which plant parts they use, what quantities they harvest, and harvest frequency must be complemented by insight into how each group benefits from these activities. Moreover, an unbiased approach must examine how NTFP extraction may enhance certain ecosystems in addition to ways in which it may hurt Bioreserve resource ecosystems.

The institutional drivers of sustainable landscapes: a case study of the ‘Mayan Zone’ in Quintana Roo, Mexico

Research on the dynamics of tropical forest land use and cover change (LUCC) has focused on the three scenarios: (1) deforestation/degradation; (2) settled, degraded areas in recovery, and (3) sparsely settled, expansive, intact forest. Through examination of a central Quintana Roo, Mexico case study we propose a fourth scenario of a ‘sustainable landscape’: an inhabited, productively used, forested landscape that nonetheless shows little change or net gains in forest cover over the last 25 years. We use Landsat images to demonstrate a low incidence of net deforestation, 0.01% for the 1984–2000 period, the lowest recorded deforestation rate for southeastern Mexico. Institutional innovations such as an agrarian reform process that established large common property forests for non-timber forest product extraction, and later innovations such as sustainable forest management institutions have driven the outcome of low net deforestation, added to multiple organizational processes that promote sustainable land use.

Non-timber Forest Products in Nam Dong District, Central Vietnam: Ecological and Economic Prospects

This article analyses the ecological and economic prospects of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and examines the importance of NTFPs for the livelihoods of local forest dwellers. It gives a brief review of NTFPs and the expectations and limitations associated with their use and extraction from natural forests. It argues that when looking at wild NTFPs only, they offer only limited opportunities for the development of local rural livelihoods. The empirical part of the article draws on a case study of NTFP extraction in Nam Dong district, central Vietnam. It provides insights into local NTFP use patterns and the importance of NTFPs for local households. Finally, it assesses the ecological and economic prospects of NTFPs in Nam Dong district. The article concludes that the supply of primary NTFPs in the natural forest is usually insufficient to meet market demands and ecological and economic requirements. If the primary aim is to develop rural households, it is necessary to enrich NTFPs in the natural forest or to cultivate them in manmade systems.

Measuring the Productivity from Indigenous Soil and Water Conservation Technologies with Household Fixed Effects: A Case Study of Hilly Mountainous Areas of Benin

Previous articleNext article No AccessMeasuring the Productivity from Indigenous Soil and Water Conservation Technologies with Household Fixed Effects: A Case Study of Hilly Mountainous Areas of Benin*Anselme Adégbidi, Esaïe Gandonou, and Remco OostendorpAnselme AdégbidiUniversité Nationale du Bénin Search for more articles by this author , Esaïe GandonouUniversité Nationale du Bénin Search for more articles by this author , and Remco OostendorpFree University, Amsterdam and Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford Search for more articles by this author Université Nationale du BéninFree University, Amsterdam and Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of OxfordPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Economic Development and Cultural Change Volume 52, Number 2January 2004 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/381018 Views: 73Total views on this site Citations: 5Citations are reported from Crossref © 2004 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Sèyi Fridaïus Ulrich Vanvanhossou, Ivan Bossima Koura, Luc Hippolyte Dossa The implications of herd entrustment practice for the sustainable use of cattle genetic resources in the (agro)-pastoral systems of West Africa: A case study from Benin, Pastoralism 11, no.11 (May 2021).https://doi.org/10.1186/s13570-020-00189-8Markus Giger, Hanspeter Liniger, Caspar Sauter, Gudrun Schwilch Economic Benefits and Costs of Sustainable Land Management Technologies: An Analysis of WOCAT's Global Data, Land Degradation & Development 29, no.44 (Oct 2015): 962–974.https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2429Prabodh Illukpitiya, John F. Yanagida Farming vs forests: Trade-off between agriculture and the extraction of non-timber forest products, Ecological Economics 69, no.1010 (Aug 2010): 1952–1963.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2010.05.007Jan Nyssen, Wim Clymans, Katrien Descheemaeker, Jean Poesen, Ine Vandecasteele, Matthias Vanmaercke, Amanuel Zenebe, Marc Van Camp, Mitiku Haile, Nigussie Haregeweyn, Jan Moeyersons, Kristine Martens, Tesfamichael Gebreyohannes, Jozef Deckers, Kristine Walraevens Impact of soil and water conservation measures on catchment hydrological response-a case in north Ethiopia, Hydrological Processes 24, no.1313 (Mar 2010): 1880–1895.https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7628David K. Smith A bibliography of applications of operational research in West Africa, International Transactions in Operational Research 15, no.22 (Mar 2008): 121–150.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-3995.2008.00625.x

Effects of logging on non-timber forest product extraction in the Brazilian Amazon: community perceptions of change

Effects of logging on non-timber forest product extraction in the Brazilian Amazon: community perceptions of change

Extent of Nontimber Resource Extraction in Tropical Forests: Accessibility to Game Vertebrates by Hunters in the Amazon Basin

Abstract:Extractive activities targeting a wide range of nontimber forest products ( NTFPs ) are ubiquitous in tropical forests, yet the extent of structurally intact forests in a given region affected by this form of cryptic disturbance is poorly documented. We conducted a basin‐wide geographic information system analysis of the nonmotorized accessibility of Amazonian NTFP extraction and estimated the proportion of the Amazon drainage basin within Brazil ( 3.74 million km 2 ) that can be accessed on foot from the nearest navigable river or functional road. We use a long‐term series of standardized line‐transect vertebrate censuses conducted throughout the region to illustrate the effects of physical accessibility on wildlife densities in terms of hunting pressure as a function of distance from the nearest point of access. Population abundance in large‐bodied, prime‐target species preferred by game hunters tended to increase at greater distances from the access matrix, whereas small‐bodied species ignored by hunters usually showed the reverse trend. In addition, we estimated the proportion of presumably inviolate core areas within nature, extractive, and indigenous reserves of Brazilian Amazonia that are prohibitively remote and unlikely to be overhunted; for instance, only 1.16% of the basin‐wide area is strictly protected on paper and is reasonably safe from extractive activities targeted to game vertebrates and other valuable NTFPs. Finally, we discuss the concept of truly undisturbed wildlands in the last major tropical forest regions by distinguishing potentially overharvested areas from those that remain largely or entirely pristine and that maintain viable populations of a full complement of harvest‐sensitive species.

Floristic composition and diversity of three swamp forests in northwest Guyana

This paper reviews the floristic composition, vegetation structure, and diversity of three types of swamp forest that cover a considerable part of Guyana's North-West District. Trees, shrubs, lianas, herbs, and hemi-epiphytes were inventoried in three hectare plots: one in Mora forest, one in quackal swamp, and one in manicole swamp. The Mora forest, flooded annually by white water, was dominated by relatively few, large individuals of Mora excelsa. The very dense, thin-stemmed quackal forest, almost permanently flooded by black water, was characterized by Tabebuia insignis and Symphonia globulifera and contained few palms. The somewhat less dense manicole swamp, flooded regularly by brackish water, was distinguished by large numbers of Euterpe oleracea. Although the three swamps showed little overlap in floristic composition and densities of dominant species, they represent some of the lowest diversity forest in the Neotropics, with an α-diversity of 7.4 for the Mora forest, 8.2 for the quackal forest and 5.7 for the manicole swamp. When compared with similar vegetation types in the Guiana Shield, the swamp forests in this study show some interesting differences in species composition and density. The wetlands of the North-West District form the last stretch of natural coastline in Guyana and play an important role in the protection of riverine ecosystems. Furthermore, there is commercial potential for the extraction of non-timber forest products from these low-diversity forests. Nevertheless, in prolonged dry periods, large tracts of quackal forest are being burnt to give way to almost treeless, flooded savannas. For these reasons, adequate management and conservation strategies must be developed for the area.

Forest products and traditional peoples: Economic, biological, and cultural considerations

Conservationists and environmental economists have promoted the extraction of non–timber forest products (NTFP) as an alternative to forest conversion and as a means to benefit forest peoples. This article discusses the development of NTFP economic analyses and some economic, biological and socio–cultural constraints on the use of forest resources and methodological limitations of NTFP investigations. Several case studies document the importance of the forest in both North and South America. While studies differ in their conclusions regarding the sustainability of NTFP extraction, most researchers agree that sustainable harvesting is rare. The article argues for additional considerations that transcend the biological and economic concerns. While forests provide the basis of material culture for peoples that inhabit them, they are also linked intrinsically to the religion, mythology, and psyche of native peoples. Conservationists have an ethical obligation to consider the needs and desires of these people in conjunction with conservation and management plans.

Species survival and carbon retention in commercially exploited tropical rainforest.

Since deforestation is one of the sources of carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere, any measures that prevent or reduce the amount of forest removal are beneficial to the environment and to conservation of biodiversity. In recent years, there has been considerable research on the value of standing forests and many researchers have promoted the management of tropical forests as the best type of land use. On the other hand, the enormous diversity is a serious obstacle to management and use of tropical rainforest. A single hectare of forest can have up to 306 species of trees of 10 cm diameter or more. Here we present a brief review of some of the research and programmes that have tried to promote the use and conservation of tropical forest without clear felling. The sustainable use of the standing forest has usually been promoted as a means of species conservation; however, it is also a way to maintain the carbon fixed in the ecosystem. Here we review some of the pros and cons of extraction of non-timber forest products.