One of the highlights at the September 2003 World Forestry Congress was a full day seminar on Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP)*, hosted by the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO), NWFP Research Group, FAO's Forest Products and Economics Division, and CIFOR.

The seminar was attended by some 50 NWFP experts from around the world and marked the culmination of an eight month global e-dialogue on the conservation, development and management of NWFPs.

The seminar provided an invaluable opportunity to take stock of the state of scientific and traditional knowledge on NTWPs, identify key opportunities and constraints in NTWP research, and strengthen collaboration among international and national organizations to advance the knowledge and sustainable utilization on NTFPs.

Discussion was organized around three key themes: “NTFP Commercialization - A Reality Check”, “Linking NWFP Management with Livelihood Development” and “Institutional and Policy Development for Non-Timber Forest Products”. Research by CIFOR and partners highlighted key issues relating to the role of NTFPs in forest management and poverty reduction.

The main output of the seminar was the “Quebec Declaration on Strengthening Global Partnerships to Advance Sustainable Development of Non-Wood Forest Products”. The Declaration prioritizes emerging issues in the NWFP sector while also drawing the attention of the WFC and forest resources decision makers to key policy and research recommendations. The full declaration is included below.

Quebec Declaration on Strengthening Global Partnerships to Advance Sustainable Development of Non-Wood Forest Products Rationale.

• NWFP's are of growing importance in both the North and the South. There is increasing evidence of this importance in the North.
• NWFPs are harvested from wild to intensively managed systems.
• NWFP uses, users and production approaches change over time, and are significant at all levels of society, from local to global.
• There are important opportunities to manage forests for multiple purposes and products that will increase forest values.

Issue 1: There is a profound lack of information necessary to realize the full benefits of NWFPs for individual, community and national well-being; decision-makers, forest managers and resource users alike lack information about economic, ecological and social characteristics of NWFPs and their uses.

Recommendation 1a: The participants recommend that government efforts be strengthened to conduct research and generate, compile and disseminate information and statistics to key stakeholders on NWFP resources and their socioeconomic and ecological values.

Recommendation 1b: The participants recommend that governments and development agencies support education and public awareness programs for NWFP conservation and sustainable use.

Issue 2: Lack of protected rights to access and benefit from NWFP resources can adversely affect their conservation and sustainable use and discourage investment in the resource.

Recommendation 2a: The participants recommend that governments, with assistance from concerned agencies and organizations, develop and implement policies and legislation to provide secure access and benefits to the people whose livelihoods are dependent on or supplemented by non-wood forest products.

Recommendation 2b: The participants recommend that governments, with assistance from concerned agencies and organizations, ensure that stakeholders, particularly collectors, growers and traders are provided incentives to sustainably manage NWFP resources.
Issue 3: Individuals, communities and institutions generally lack the technical, financial, political and social capacity to influence policies and generate information necessary to manage and monitor NWFP resources effectively.

Recommendation 3a: The participants recommend that governments, with assistance from concerned agencies and organizations, support programs and projects to build individual, institutional, and community-based capacity to manage NWFPs through multi-stakeholder participation.

Recommendation 3b: The participants recommend that governments and research agencies give priority to research and the development and dissemination of management practices to be integrated into multi-purpose forest and agroforest resource management.

The Quebec Declaration is supported by documents and summaries produced by contributors and participants of the e-consultation and WFC seminar. Full details: www.sfp.forprod.vt.edu

*NWFPs are also often called Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and refer to any product or service from the forest other than the large scale use of timber.