Non-timber Forest Products Trade Research Articles

Commercialisation of non-timber forest products: first steps in analysing the factors influencing success

SUMMARY Although trade in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been widely promoted as an approach to rural development, recent research has indicated that NTFP commercialisation is often not successful. Analysis of the factors influencing success of NTFP commercialisation has been hindered by the lack of an appropriate analytical approach for comparison of case studies. We tested and further developed a methodology recently developed by CIFOR, by examining 16 NTFP case studies in two workshops held in Mexico and Bolivia involving a variety of stakeholders involved in NTFP commercialisation. Workshop participants identified a wide range of measures by which the success of NTFP commercialisation can be defined, which included improvements in social justice, community organisation and local culture, as well as economic status. Participants then considered the factors influencing the processes involved in NTFP commercialisation: production, collection, processing, storage, transport, marketing and sale. In total 45 factors were identified that significantly limit one of the commercialisation processes. Generally product marketing and sale were found to be those processes most constraining overall success. These results illustrate how participatory methods can be of value in analysing the success of NTFP commercialisation, and how a process-based approach can provide an analytical framework for comparison of NTFP case studies.

The faint promise of a distant market: a survey of Belem’s trade in non-timber forest products

Increased trade in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been promoted as one possible means to slow tropical deforestation by increasing the economic value of intact forest. A market survey of NTFPs occurring in the Capim River basin in eastern Amazonia, Brazil demonstrated that the reality for many smallholder communities in frontier and remote regions includes chronic transportation difficulties, high variability in fruit production, perishable products and lack of market expertise. In some communities, declining abundance of NTFPs due to logging and fire has resulted in a lack of forest products to even meet subsistence needs. In areas close to cities where transportation is assured and where forest clearing has eroded the natural occurrence of some valuable native NTFPs, smallholders who manage and successfully market native fruit and medicinal species are overcoming these obstacles. In frontier regions undergoing rapid transformation, however, decline in locally used and regionally marketed NTFPs currently pose detrimental consequences for communities. Findings suggest that an overemphasis on NTFP marketing has diverted attention from local livelihood, resource access and subsistence issues.

International Non-Timber Forest Product Issues

Summary Perceived as socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable, non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have held special charm as alternatives to forest management focussed exclusively on timber. This paper examines themes central to development of NTFPs as management and conservation strategies in the developing world. Following brief descriptions of seven product types, the paper reviews research on the promise of sustainable prosperity through NTFPs. Critiques of economic valuation and commercialization suggest that NTFP development strategies are not without social, economic, and ecological problems. The paper concludes with a list of eight major issues relating to the extraction and trade of non-timber forest products.

The non-timber forest policy process in Nepal: actors, objectives and power

The importance of commercial non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to the livelihood strategies of rural collectors in Nepal is increasingly recognised. This paper provides suggestions for improving rural collectors’ possibilities for income generation. The formation and implementation of NTFP policies in Nepal is examined by investigating the area of interactions between policy formation, choice and implementation of forest policy tools within the ‘new political economy’ approach, and suggestions are subsequently evaluated within the found practical political context. The study is based on approximately 400 interviews carried out with some 1000 stakeholders in the period 1992–1998. Following a qualitative research strategy hypotheses are formulated on the basis of patterns emerging from the data collected. The main stakeholders in NTFP collection and trade are identified to be: rural collectors and traders; local level politicians; lower level government staff; high level politicians; conservation-oriented institutions; and development oriented institutions. The objectives and influence of these stakeholders on the non-timber sector are identified and proposals for change are discussed in the light of distribution of objectives and power. It is hypothesised that NTFP policy formation, implementation and the field reality are weakly connected: implemented policy tools do not correspond to the aims of formulated policies, and field reality is not regulated in the envisioned direction by policy tools. This situation is explained by the fact that stakeholders at different levels of the policy hierarchy can influence their own level only. It is further hypothesised that a number of changes in forest legislation and regulations can have immediate and powerful effects on rural livelihoods of collectors. Taking into account the present political situation such changes may not be introduced from within the decision making process and, therefore, the view is put forward that pressure from outside the forestry sector is needed to bring about significant changes in favour of rural collectors.

Non-Timber Forest Products Marketing Systems and Market Players in Southwest Virginia

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are important in rural southwest Virginia as a source of household income. Marketing system of crafts, medicinal and herbal, and specialty wood products are studied using exploratory and qualitative research methods. Fifty market players at various levels in marketing chains are interviewed to get the information on elements of marketing system -products, product differentiation, value addition, pricing, promotion, distribution, and marketing chains. NTFP trade is a common phenomenon in southwest Virginia. The greatest opportunity exists for local level marketing of crafts and specialty wood products. In the case of medicinal and herbal products, very little local value addition takes place within the region, and as a result local market players have little control. Policy interventions are required to enhance the returns to local collectors, which will also contribute to sustainable management of forest resources.

BETWEEN EXTRACTIVISM AND PEASANT AGRICULTURE: DIFFERENTIATION OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN THE BOLIVIAN AMAZON

ABSTRACT The economy of the northern Bolivian Amazon has historically been based on rubber and other non-timber forest products (NTFPs). In the late 19th century, the upcoming rubber boom lead to the establishment of rubber estates. Following World War I, a first rubber crisis forced some estate owners to abandon their land, favouring the emergence of independent communities. A second rubber crisis after World War II, along with the Agrarian Reform in 1953, accelerated the disintegration of rubber estates and the foundation of independent communities. In the early 1990s, the conclusive halt of Bolivian rubber production fuelled rural-urban migration and the differentiation of rural settlements. This paper examines the evolution from pure rubber estates to a wide array of settlement types. A settlement typology distinguishes four types of estates and six types of independent communities with varying trade-offs between extractivism and peasant agriculture. The findings have important implications for NTFP-based development. First, extraction-based livelihoods are socially acceptable only when access to basic services, like schooling, health care, and transportation is ensured. Second, in the region's remote areas the supply of such services needs to rely on a forest concession system within which the private sector bears the investments needed. Finally, indigenous communities participating in NTFP trade need to demarcate their sphere in between the remote forest concessions and the non-tribal peasantry in the vicinity of town.

The Trade in Non-Timber Forest Products from Nepal

Every year between 10,000 and 15,000 tonnes of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are harvested in Nepal and traded to Indian and overseas markets. The total value of the trade to Nepal's national economy is estimated to be equivalent to US $8.6 million. This paper describes NTFP harvest and trade, the roles of producers, traders, and processors, and the relationships between them. Five potential improvements are discussed from the perspective of harvesters in Nepal: increased production; direct marketing to bypass intermediaries; improved access to market information; improvements to raw material quality; and small-scale processing at the local level. Developments are more likely to benefit harvesters if they act collectively. Collective institutions that focus solely on the production of NTFPs may need to be developed. There are doubts that a single institution would be capable of carrying out several functions, i.e., production, marketing, and processing of NTFPs. The considerable regional variations in the nature of the NTFP trade indicate that suitable institutions, and interventions, would need to be highly location-specific. As a generalization, development efforts may be more suited to the remote western half of Nepal.

Livelihood Option from Minor Forest Produce: Context of Non Timber Forest Product and Poverty Reduction in Mid Hills of Nepal

The paper recognizes Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) as contributing factor for improving livelihoods of the rural people. Existing trend of NTFPs in Rolpa district reveals high level of its potential where a single Malagiri tree in the one of the VDC of the district has yielded profit of 15, 000 NRs. in gross. The study supports idea that the quality of life can be secured through the promotion of NTFP as an additional crop for safety net. Major outlet clusters for NTFP trade and marketing of the Rolpa district are Sulichaur and Holeri regions where mostly NTFP species were found to be traded. Malagiri, Timur, Ritha and Allo are major local species that have a high level of demand in the market. As a result, people have started cultivating a few species in their farmland too. Lack of knowledge and skill in the production of standard commodity has compelled district people towards traditional NTFP farming approach where they are not reaping optimum benefit. Realizing the potential of NTFPs in the district, it is important to consider modernizing the processing of raw material, development of transportation network and undertake facility for the producers. Such intervention could be a major breakthrough in the poverty reduction of the district and securing quality of life. Key words: NTFP, Livelihood, Community, MarketingDOI: 10.3126/jowe.v2i1.1858 Journal of Wetlands Ecology, (2009) vol. 2, pp 57-66