Non-timber forest product

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Tendu Patta (Leaf) Collection

A non-timber forest product (NTFP) is any commodity obtained from the forest that does not necessitate harvesting trees. It includes game animals, fur-bearers, nuts, seeds, berries, mushrooms, oils, foliage, medicinal plants, peat, fuelwood, forage, etc.

Definitions

A few examples of the many different kinds of NTFPs include mushrooms, huckleberries, ferns, transplants, seed cones, piñon seed, tree nuts, moss, maple syrup, cork, cinnamon, rubber, tree oils and resins, and ginseng. Some definitions also include small animals and insects. Products are commonly grouped into categories such as floral greens, decoratives, medicinal plants, foods, flavors and fragrances, fibers, and saps and resins. Other terms synonymous with non-timber forest products include special forest products, non-wood forest products, minor forest products, alternative forest products and secondary forest products. These terms are useful because they help highlight forest products that are of value to local people and communities, but have often been overlooked in the wake of forest management priorities such as timber production and animal forage. In recent decades interest has grown in using NTFP as an alternative or supplement to forest management practices such as clear-cut logging. In some forest types, and under the right political and social conditions, forests could be managed to increase NTFP diversity, and consequently increase biodiversity and potentially economic diversity.

Uses

Since pre-history, humans around the world have relied on products derived from forest species for their survival and well-being. NTFP harvesting remains widespread throughout the world. People from diverse income levels, age groups, and cultural backgrounds harvest NTFPs for household subsistence, maintaining cultural and family traditions, obtaining spiritual fulfillment, maintaining physical and emotional well-being, scientific learning, and earning income. Other terms synonymous with harvesting include wild crafting, gathering, collecting and foraging. NTFPs serve as raw materials for industries ranging from large-scale floral greens suppliers and pharmaceutical companies to micro-enterprises centered on basket making, woodcarving, medicinal plant harvesting and processing, and a variety of other activities.

Economic importance

Estimating the contribution of NTFPs to national or regional economies is difficult due to the lack of broad-based systems for tracking the combined value of the hundreds of products that make up the various NTFP industries. One exception to this is the maple syrup industry, which in 2002 in the United States alone yielded 1.4 million US gallons (5,300 m³) worth $38.3 million USD. In temperate forests such as those in United States wild edible mushrooms such as matsutake, medicinal plants such as ginseng, and floral greens such as salal and sword fern are multimillion dollar industries. While these high-value species may grab the most attention, a diversity of NTFPs can be found in most forests of the world. In tropical forests, NTFPs can be an important source of income that can supplement farming or other activities. A value-analysis of Amazonian rainforest in Peru found that exploitation of NTFPs could yield higher net revenue per hectare than would timber harvest of the same area, while still conserving vital ecological services. Their economic, cultural and ecological value, when considered in aggregate, makes managing for NTFPs an important component of sustainable forest management and the conservation of biological and cultural diversity.

Research

Research on NTFPs have focused on three perspectives: NTFPs as a commodity with a focus on rural incomes and markets; as a expression of traditional knowledge or as a livelihood option for rural household needs; and finally as a key component of a sustainable forest management and conservation strategies. These perspectives promote forest products as valuable commodities and important tools that can promote the conservation of forests. In some contexts, NTFPs can be a mechanism for poverty alleviation and local development through their gathering and use .

See also

Main article: Outline of forestry

• Biomass
• Biomass (ecology)
• Bioproducts
• Forest produce
• Indigenous (ecology)
• Natural dye
• Permaforestry
• Wildcrafting
• Wildness
• Wilderness
• Wildlife

References

Bibliography

• Delang, Claudio O. 2006. The Role of Wild Food Plants in Poverty Alleviation and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Countries. Progress in Development Studies 6(4): 275-286
• Emery, Marla and Rebecca J. McLain; (editors). 2001. Non-Timber Forest Products: Medicinal Herbs, Fungi, Edible Fruits and Nuts, and Other Natural Products from the Forest. Food Products Press: Binghamton, New York.
• Guillen, Abraham; Laird, Sarah A.; Shanley, Patricia; Pierce, Alan R. (editors). 2002. Tapping the Green Market: Certification and Management of Non-Timber Forest Products. Earthscan
• Jones, Eric T. Rebecca J. McLain, and James Weigand. eds. 2002. Non Timber Forest Products in the United States. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press.
• Mohammed, Gina H. 2011. The Canadian NTFP Business Companion: Ideas, Techniques and Resources for Small Businesses in Non-Timber Forest Products & Services. Candlenut Books: Sault Ste Marie, Ontario

External links

• Center of Minor Forest Products
• Center for Livelihoods and Ecology
• FAO Nonwood Forest Products Website
• Non Timber Forest Product United States
• Midwest Special Forest Products
• Nontimber Forest Products in Alaska
• Northern Forest Diversification Centre
• NTFP.org
• Virginia Tech Non-Timber Forest Products
• Alaska mushroom guide : for harvesting morels / compiled and written by Jay Moore. Hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
• Nepal NTFP Network (NNN)
• Lao NTFP Wiki
• P&M Technologies - NTFP Page