Nontimber Forest Products

Nontimber forest products (NTFPs) are a particularly important part of multiple-use strategies because they increase the range of income-generating options for forest-dependent villagers while avoiding some of the ecological costs of timber cutting. NTFPs include a range of products with both subsistence and market value, such as foods, fodder, gums and resins, oilseeds, medicinal plants, and building and crafts materials. In contrast to timber-only or timber-first harvesting regimes, many NTFP harvesting activities are less destructive of forests and involve products that are annually renewable. In addition, NTFP-based activities often are small in size, managed by households and by women (see box on page 28), involve a diversity of products, provide supplementary income during lean seasons, are labor intensive, use simple technologies, and are accessible to low-income and socially disadvantaged groups.