IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

South and Southeast Asia

In 1995, IUCN initiated a NTFP Network for South and Southeast Asia. There are currently some 70 people in the from 11 countries participating in this network. The Network has disseminated information, conducted or supported thematic learning workshops, facilitated exchanges of expertise, and has made an inventory and assessment of methods used to conduct research and, or plan NTFP initiatives. The Network has also contributed to the development and refinement of the Market Analysis and Development (MA&D) methodology for sustainable NTFP utilisation planning at community level. As most Network members are engaged in on-going field level activities, the outcomes of networking have direct impacts on these field activities.

Download a discussion paper on the NTFP Network for South & Southeast Asia - Regional Network on NTFPs: Past and Future.

IUCN itself is involved in addressing NTFP issues in Asia through its portfolio of field projects. IUCN has conducted, or is currently conducting NTFP related field projects in Lao PDR, Vietnam, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. IUCN also has a number of specialist networks and links with other organisations such as TRAFFIC, CITES, and RAMSAR, which from time to time generate information and guidelines relevant to various NTFP issues.

Latin America

In 1996, IUCN co-published a report, Non-timber Forest Products: Ecological and economic aspects of exploitation in Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia. This report is the result of a study of the value and the ecological impact of the exploitation of non-timber forests products in Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia. It is based on information derived from literature, statistics, interviews and a field survey in Bolivia. It looks at the value of non-timber forest products beyond economic terms, since these products are important in many aspects of the lives of people who live in or near the forest. It also looks at the potential value of related intellectual property rights and the valuation of extraction of NTFPs as compared to other land uses. Ecotourism is noted as a product of tropical forests and its value is discussed. Furthermore, commercial extraction is discussed in relation to over-exploitation and non-sustainable use.

Africa

Based on two successful workshops in South America, IUCN organized a workshop to analyse the situation and to explore the viability of extraction of NTFPs in Africa. In 1997, IUCN jointly published the results entitled, Non-timber Forest Products value, use and management issues in Africa, including examples from Latin America. Many issues were discussed in relation to NTFPs such as:
 

• Values of NTFPs
  • Direct and indirect benefits
• Surveys of the use and value of NTFPs
  • Questions, methods for measuring social and cultural values, and the impact of harvesting on biodiversity and ecological processes.
• Approaches to sustainable use and conservation of NTFPs
  • Building NTFP use into management plans
  • Recent developments
  • The role of governments and NGOs in community participation
• Policy, legal and institutional issues
  • Policy and legislation
  • Property rights and land tenure systems
  • Education and training

Also, check out Allanblackia: a public-private partnership for a West African example of NTFPs and poverty reduction.