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THE SCOPE FOR IMPROVING LIVELIHOODS ON THE BASIS OF COMMERCIAL NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTION

By Mirjam A.F. Ros-Tonen and K. Freerk Wiersum

Since the early 1990s, the role of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) as a catalyst for sustainable forest use and poverty alleviation of forest-dependent people has received increased attention. NTFPs were expected to offer a model of forest use which could serve as an economically competitive and sustainable alternative to logging. Once results became available from research initiated to test this assumption, it was found that major modifications to the original proposition had to be made. It is now acknowledged that NTFPs are very diverse and that the scope for NTFP exploitation is both product and location-specific. NTFP research should pay more attention to the overall livelihood strategies of people and the contextual factors affecting them.

New propositions
Based on a review of theoretical and empirical studies, we assessed the potential for improved forest-based livelihoods and the conditions under which this potential can be realised. This review demonstrates how NTFP studies gradually evolved from a resource focus to a landscape and livelihood (or 'resource-in-context') focus. The first studies focused mainly on the potential of natural forests for NTFP extraction. In later studies, the focus extended to include the total landscape used by local communities. As a result it is now clear that there are more sources of NTFPs than natural forests and that each vegetation type has its own potential for contributing to sustainable rural livelihoods.

The second major shift in the focus of NTFP studies concerns an increased livelihood-oriented approach to forest use and NTFP production, including the socio-economic and spatial contexts in which livelihoods are embedded.. This led to the recognition that the notion of 'forest-dependent' people needs further refinement. Various categories of forest users exist which differ in their relation to, and interference in, the forest. Forest resources play different roles in the livelihood strategies of various user types, ranging from being a substantial source of food, materials, medicines and equipment in relatively undisturbed forest conditions, to sources of supplementary products in mixed landscapes or situations where alternative livelihood options are available.

In short, two new propositions emerged in addition to the original one concerning NTFP extraction from natural forests contributing to both forest conservation and improved livelihoods:

• The contribution of NTFPs to improved livelihoods can best be assured through a process of gradual domestication of NTFPs in human-modified (agro)forest types; and
• The way NTFPs contribute to peoples' livelihoods can best be understood by taking livelihoods rather than NTFPs as the central focus of study.

Prospects for improvement
Forest-based as well as other rural livelihoods are undergoing rapid changes. There is a growing tendency among forest-adjacent communities to seek a livelihood strategy which combines forest-based production with farming and off-farm activities. The opportunities available are related to access to urban and external markets and available infrastructure. These locational factors should be taken into account when assessing the scope for NTFP production. Moreover, attention should be given to areas where forests perform an important environmental function and where NTFP production can be part of a participatory, multifunctional forest management strategy.

Although NTFPs may play an important role in meeting subsistence needs and in acting as one of the scarce sources of cash income or as a safety net in emergency situations, the scope for improving people's livelihoods on the basis of NTFPs seems to be feasible only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

• Producers have secure tenure rights (e.g. extractivist reserves in Brazil);
• Producers can combine NTFP production with other rewarding economic activities (farming, logging and/or off-farm employment) to overcome seasonality and price fluctuations;
• Products can be harvested efficiently from areas where the abundance of NTFP-producing species increased as a result of tending, enrichment planting and domestication;
• Products have established markets (e.g. Brazil nuts, palm heart and bamboo) or the potential to reach promising niche markets (e.g. eco-tourism and fair trade markets, 'eco-friendly' and certified products);
• Producers live in areas relatively close to urban markets;
• Producers have the capacity to add value to the product (e.g. handicrafts, furniture making, or processing of food products);
• Producers are organised and maintain effective alliances with outsiders (research and development agencies, trading organisations, research institutions and NGOs) that may help identify new markets and potential donors.

To improve the prospect of NTFP production, further attention needs to be given to:

• Identifying areas where people depend to a large extent on forest resources, so that access to these areas can be secured in land-use planning;
• Clarifying forest laws and regulations that hinder or facilitate the commercialisation of NTFPs;
• Designing participatory forest management plans for the exploitation of forest products (including small-scale timber products) from natural forests;
• Developing optimised production systems in human-modified and man-made vegetation types;
• Developing processing techniques which add value to NTFPs;
• Searching for optimal marketing channels and opportunities;
• Investigating options for more equitable commercialisation patterns.

Conclusion
The increasing incorporation of rural areas into external commercial networks means there is some scope for improving livelihoods on the basis of NTFP production through the gradual domestication of NTFP species in anthropogenic forest types as well as through the creation of NTFP-related jobs (e.g. specialised manufacturing and trade). Such options seem to be promising, in particular in areas where forests perform essential environmental functions and farmers can develop multifunctional production systems and in areas near urban markets where more specialised forest-related activities are feasible. There is, however, a need for location-specific research into the potential of NTFP production and the conditions under which this potential can be realised. Such research should consider the role of NTFP production in both rural livelihoods and rural landscapes and take account of the impact of contextual factors which influence access to NTFP production factors and markets.

Further information:
Dr Mirjam A.F. Ros-Tonen (m.ros@frw.uva.nl), AGIDS
University of Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Dr Freerk Wiersum (freerk.wiersum@wur.nl), Dept. of Environmental Sciences
Wageningen University
The Netherlands

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