European Tropical Forest Research Network

Final proceedings
Executive summary

Research areas proposed
General conclusions
Post workshop activities

Recognising the need for adequate NTFP inventory methods, the FRP decided to identify research requirements in this area. A consultant, Dr Jenny Wong, was commissioned to carry out a review of NTFP inventories and assess their biometric rigour (Wong, 2000) and to identify researchable constraints. Six general topic areas were proposed for research (Annex 3). A special workshop was convened by the European Tropical Forest Research Network (ETFRN) so that a wider group of specialists and interest groups could consider these topics. The workshop was held at the headquarters of FAO, Rome on 4-5th May 2000 (see Annex 1 for the agenda).

The workshop was chaired by Jane Thornback and opened by Dr El Hadji Sene of FAO (see Annex 4). For the purposes of this workshop the term NTFP was used rather than the FAO accepted term, ‘NWFP’ (non wood forest product). NTFP was defined as ‘all products derived from biological resources found on forest land but not including timber, fuelwood, lac or medicinal plants harvested as whole plants’ (Wong, 2000). Jenny Wong presented the findings of the methodological review which covered close to 400 references, 97 of which described quantitative studies. It was concluded that 38% of the quantitative studies reviewed used methodology that could not be considered to be biometrically rigorous (Annex 5 and section 5.4 below). The review concluded that the principal difficulties with NTFP quantification are:

• The variety of life forms and distributions represented by NTFPs mean that traditional forest inventory techniques cannot be adapted easily for NTFPs.
• There is a lack of properly researched NTFP-specific sampling designs.
• There is little guidance available on development of appropriate NTFP measurement (mensuration) techniques.
• There has been no application to NTFPs of sampling designs tailored to monitoring needs.
• Lack of theoretical models means that it is difficult to determine the sustainability of NTFP harvesting.
• There has been little application of novel sampling strategies to NTFPs
• There has been little cross-disciplinary exchange of ideas and methods suitable for use with NTFPs.
• There is no service that provides effective communication of advice to field workers and communities.

The workshop largely accepted Dr Wong’s findings and moved on to examine the variety of information requirements that might need to be met through NTFP inventory. Four presentations were made illustrating needs in different contexts and at a range of scales (see Annexes 6-9 and section 5.5 below):

• Participatory non-timber forest product inventory in rural development forestry - Kathrin Schreckenberg, Overseas Development Institute, London, UK.
• Natural Resource Monitoring Concepts and Tools of Veld Products Research & Development -Mpho Mosate, Veld Products Research and Development, Gabane, Botswana.
• Data needs for national strategic planning and policy development - Paul Vantomme, FAO, Rome, Italy.
• Information for international NTFP monitoring – with special reference to reporting on global forest resources (FRA) - Peter Holmgren, FAO, Rome, Italy.

Plenary discussions were held and covered the following topics (see section 5.6 below):

• Information needs
• Discussion of methodological approaches to NTFP Inventory including:
  • Multi-disciplinary approaches
  • Product specific approaches
  • The need for biometric rigour
  • Approaches at different scales
  • The FRA2000 approach
  • The use of indigenous knowledge
  • Participatory approaches

The workshop substituted the research topic headings proposed by Dr Wong with the following (see Annex 3 for details):

The workshop concluded that these topic distinctions apply only at the species and product level. Research requirements at the macro and community level are more focused on the identification of information needs, the integration of methods (and studies) to meet these needs and the development of appropriate indicators.

Participants broke into three groups to discuss research needs in three different contexts/levels, the species/product level, the community level and the national/international or macro level. The research needs identified and the issues raised in groups can be summarised as follows (see section 5.7 for a full account of group findings):

Group 1: Species/product level research needs. It was agreed that greatest need in the field is the determination of harvest levels. Therefore the research priority is to develop inventory methods to assess the distribution and abundance of NTFPs including the determination of growth and yield. Development of methods should draw from existing methods in a variety of disciplines and from local knowledge.

Group 2: Community level NTFP assessment research needs. The Group decided that the priority is to devise methods to bridge the gap between community inventory methods and top-down (i.e. government, trade etc.) information demands. The biggest problem is arriving at designs that both build on local knowledge, are intuitive to local people and fulfill the information needs of strategic decision-makers.

Group 3: Macro level research needs. The Group identified that it was perhaps logistically desirable to undertake research on inventory and monitoring designs for particular multi-species product groups. The biggest problem is developing the means to amalgamate and verify data from many sources to give a macro-level overview of NTFP utilisation.

Certain follow up activities to the workshop were suggested (see section 7.2):

• Practical training workshop. It was proposed that a workshop should be held in the field involving some training in biometrically rigorous methods followed by an examination of the practical problems of applying these.
• Biometrics hotline. It was agreed that a biometrics hotline is needed or some service that could provide field workers with practical and appropriate advice.
• Discussion group. It was agreed that the existing email discussion group should be operational over the next 2-3 months so that discussion can take forward the ideas developed in this workshop.
• Improvement of methods reporting. A plea was made for adequate reporting of methods in published papers. It was suggested that notices should be sent to journal editors requesting them to ensure that methods are either reported adequately in the journal or that the source of methods used are included in the references.

General conclusions

• There is a need to increase the awareness of the desirability of sound assessment of NTFP populations and dynamics when considering utilisation of these resources.
• There is a need to increase awareness of the importance of including biometric analyses in the planning phase of any data collection exercise.
• Prior to identifying gaps in methods it is important to identify information needs at different levels. Discussion and agreement on needs at different levels is required to ensure that research priorities identified in this workshop are correct.
• There is a clear expressed need from field workers for NTFP inventory methods that are simple and easy to use but at the same time are adequate for the determination of harvest levels.
• Further work by inventory specialists on the development of inventory methods and protocols for NTFPs is required, drawing on methods that currently exist in a variety of disciplines.
• There is an urgent need to provide advice on existing NTFP inventory and analysis methods to field workers.

Additional outputs of plenary sessions

• When undertaking an inventory the issue of whom one is empowering with the resultant information must be considered.
• There was no clear conclusion drawn on whether it is better to take a product approach to NTFP inventory methods development or to use the more generic approach suggested in the review. Both have positive and negative aspects.
• Biometric rigour is not needed in all cases and methods that are more ‘rough and ready’ should also be developed.
• Utilisation of indigenous knowledge as well as scientific knowledge is important. The linkages between these are not straightforward and require further examination.
• Although full participation of local communities in inventory is not always realistic this is important because of the potential benefits that can be gained. Further work needs to be undertaken on development of methods that can be used by communities.
• It was acknowledged that in certain cases it is difficult to prioritise NTFPs for inclusion in inventories and that there are no generic methods for doing this.

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