The Bioeconomy And Non Timber Forest Products

This book provides the first in-depth investigation of how non-timber forest products are an integral part of local, national, and global bioeconomies. While the plants and fungi that produce non-timber forest products are essential to the sustainability of forest ecosystems, peoples' food and livelihood security and sovereignty, and thus the bioeconomy, are often absent from bioeconomic strategies. Presenting a selection of empirical cases from around the world that engage with the bioeconomy and non-timber forest products, this volume reveals how essential these products are to creating a greener and more sustainable future, how to to better integrate them into efforts to transition to and expand the bioeconomy, and how such efforts can be supported and developed. Chapters analyse how and to what degree non-timber forest products promote sustainable resource use, generate employment, and contribute to food and livelihood security and poverty alleviation. The volume develops approaches and identifies interventions and policies to support the integration of non-timber forest products into bioeconomy strategies, including in national reporting schemes to provide recommendations for future research and practical implementation. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of forest and natural resource management, bioeconomics, circular economy and ecological economics more widely. It will also be of interest to professionals working in sustainable development and the forestry sector.

There is a rapidly growing interest in, and demand for, non-timber forest products (NTFPs). They provide critical resources across the globe fulfilling nutritional, medicinal, financial and cultural needs. However, they have been largely overlooked in mainstream conservation and forestry politics. This volume explains the use and importance of certification and eco-labelling for guaranteeing best management practices of non-timber forest products in the field. Using extensive case studies and global profiles of non-timber forest products, this work not only seeks to further our comprehension of certification processes but also broaden understanding of non-timber forest product management, harvesting and marketing. It should be useful to forest managers, policy-makers and conservation organizations as well as for academics in these areas.

Products from the wild, also known as non-timber forest products (NTFPs), are used as medicines, foods, spices, and a multitude of other purposes. They contribute substantially to rural livelihoods, generate revenue for companies and governments, and have a range of impacts on biodiversity conservation. However, there is little information available for those seeking to develop effective policy frameworks and regulation. This book addresses that shortage with information and recommendations on the drafting, content and implementation of NTFP policies, and the broader issues of governance associated with these products. It reviews the diverse elements that combine to create laws and policies that promote sustainable and equitable management, trade and use of species. Drawing on a wealth of unique case studies from around the world, this volume examines experiences with NTFP regulation, including its sometimes unintended consequences. It looks at economic factors, the interface between traditional and western knowledge and legal systems, and relationships between NTFP regulation, land tenure and resource rights, as well as power and equity imbalances. The volume includes a review of available literature and resources, plus an annotated bibliography linked to the People and Plants International website (www.peopleandplants.org). Published with People and Plants International

For the first time, this opportune book provides a comprehensive treatment of the many innovative, non-timber bioproducts that may be derived from Canada’s vast forests, including their potential economic, social and environmental impacts. It also offers a balanced discussion of the technological, policy and regulatory issues surrounding the emerging global bioeconomy. This book will not only be of interest to Canadian forestry professionals and entrepreneurs, but also to those interested in the contribution of forestry to the bioeconomy worldwide.

This study is one in a series of activities undertaken by CIFOR to reach a better understanding of the impact of commercialisation on forest resources and what factors influence the market demand for forest products. For example, two international workshops were organized by CIFOR in 1995 and another the following year to analyse key research issues in the field of NTFP development. These workshops recognised that the process of NTFP commercialisation interacts with people’s welfare, forest management, tenure and control of resources, and forest structure and function (through ecological processes). Earlier review and analysis had generated a number of hypotheses, theories and conclusions related to the effects of commercialisation. Forest and resource tenure are likely to both affect the way a resource is managed and utilised, and be affected by changes in value due to commercialisation. Many authors have suggested that NTFP harvesting will be less damaging to biodiversity and other environmental values than management for timber. Others suggest that market pressures are likely to lead to the decline and eventual disappearance of valuable products and to severe impacts on the ecosystem. While there is a growing understanding (and acceptance) of the economic importance of forest products, especially for the poor, the potential impact of NTFP commercialisation needs to be better understood. A recommendation from the workshops was to undertake a thorough overview of the available literature to synthesise the key lessons about these areas of interaction. Such a review would critically examine the available information and analyses and identify key research areas needing further attention.

There is growing knowledge about and appreciation of the importance of Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs) to rural livelihoods in developing countries, and to a lesser extent, developed countries. However, there is also an assumption on the part of policy-makers that any harvesting of wild animal or plant products from the forests and other natural and modified ecosystems must be detrimental to the long-term viability of target populations and species. This book challenges this idea and shows that while examples of such negative impacts certainly exist, there are also many examples of sustainable harvesting systems for NTFPs. The chapters review and present coherent and scientifically sound information and case studies on the ecologically sustainable use of NTFPs. They also outline a general interdisciplinary approach for assessing the sustainability of NTFP harvesting systems at different scales. A wide range of case studies is included from Africa, Asia and South America, using plant and animal products for food, crafts, textiles, medicines and cosmetics.

This book provides a comprehensive, global synthesis of current knowledge on the potential and challenges associated with the multiple roles, use, management and marketing of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). There has been considerable research and policy effort surrounding NTFPs over the last two and half decades. The book explores the evolution of sentiments regarding the potential of NTFPs in promoting options for sustainable multi-purpose forest management, income generation and poverty alleviation. Based on a critical analysis of the debates and discourses it employs a systematic approach to present a balanced and realistic perspective on the benefits and challenges associated with NTFP use and management within local livelihoods and landscapes, supported with case examples from both the southern and northern hemispheres. This book covers the social, economic and ecological dimensions of NTFPs and closes with an examination of future prospects and research directions.

This book addresses current global and regional issues concerning the world's forests, societies and the environment from an independent and non-governmental point of view. A main message is that cooperation on a global scale is not only commendable, but essential if solutions to the problems facing the world's forests are to be found. To achieve this, modern science needs to find a clearer picture of relationships between forests, human activity and the environment and of the consequences of environmental change for the ability of societies to survive. Part I, Editorial Perspectives, is analyzing the ongoing globalization processes of forests, societies and the environment. Part II, Society and Environment, reviews worldwide trends with significance for the future of forests and forestry. While the trends are influenced by forest sector issues, that sector is influenced to a much larger extent by external factors - such as demography, urbanization, or technological development. Part III, Importance of Forests, looks at the value of the goods and services of forests; tangible and intangible; market and non-market; and concludes that failure to recognize their full value is one of the crucial impediments to sustainable development. In Part IV, Global Forum, scientists take up global forestry themes - deforestation, trade and the environment, climate change, biodiversity - with the aim of stimulating wider discussion. Part V, Regional Forum, looks at major themes of particular relevance to Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, North America and Europe, such as farm and agroforestry, corruption and concessions, urban forestry and environmental conflicts. Part VI introduces the special theme - forest sectors in transition economies. Teams of scientists from Russia and China focus on the implications of the transition from plan to market economy, illuminating both the very different nature of the forest sector in the two countries and the different transition paths that they have adopted. In the past millennium the entire world has been discovered. In the past half century the contribution of forests to the economy worldwide has been perceived, while only recently have their societal and environmental benefits been globally recognized. Globalization is a demanding process requiring knowledge and information. This book offers knowledge, facts and information – but also values from diverse human and cultural perspectives – about world forests, society and environment to help us towards equity in our use of the global forest, to create a clearer vision on a unasylva.