Increased emphasis on poverty alleviation in national and international development agendas has revitalised interest in how non-timber forest products (NTFPs) can be commercialised to increase welfare in an environmentally sound way.

Yet, despite more than a decade of research and targeted development projects, systematic understanding of the role and potential of NTFPs in conservation and development remains weak. To help fill this gap, a large group of researchers combined efforts and used a common methodological approach to examine and compare more than 60 case studies of commercial NTFP production, processing and trade from Asia, Africa and Latin America. To share the wealth of information generated by this project, CIFOR will produce a set of publications aimed at different target audiences.

"Forest Products, Livelihoods and Conservation"–targeting a specialist audience

In 2004 CIFOR will publish three volumes containing full descriptions of the case studies. Each chapter in the volumes describes all aspects of a particular case, from production through to consumption, and ends with a section on conservation and development lessons. The authors provide a richly detailed analysis of the issues, idiosyncrasies and opportunities found in each case study. Collectively they offer an invaluable resource for researchers, development practitioners and conservation workers. Volumes one and two will cover Asia and Africa respectively, and will be written in English. Volume three will contain the Latin American studies and be produced in Spanish and Portuguese. The African volume will be translated into French at a later date.

Riches from the Forest–targeting a larger audience

Researchers involved in the project also wanted to reach an audience beyond the scientific and development communities. To achieve this, three supplementary volumes covering Africa, Asia and Latin America have been written in "user-friendly" English and targeted at civil society and NTFP consumers. The use of simple language combined with informative illustrations will help improve public awareness of the commercial and cultural benefits obtained from forests. They will also alert consumers to the origins of forest-products available in markets. These publications will soon be available in French, Spanish, Portuguese and Indonesian.

For further information, contact Titin Suhartini ( t.suhartini@cgiar.org).

 

 

 

 

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