IUCN has been supporting the sustainable use of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in many places around the world. The interest in working with NTFPs is due to the fact that over-exploitation can lead to local extinction and sustainable commercial and domestic use might increase incentives for forest conservation. IUCN currently manages NTFP field projects in Lao PDR and Vietnam and co-ordinates a NTFP Network for Asia. The lessons from these projects are being used to advocate policy reforms at various levels and NTFP data is being added to simple databases. IUCN's Regional Forest Programme for Asia is now developing a forest conservation programme in southwest China and has identified the sustainable use of NTFPs as a priority topic for the development of this programme, especially given the significance of the regional trade in NTFPs. This project forms part of a larger programme which aims to enhance the capacity of key stakeholders to manage forests on a sustainable basis and alleviate poverty through NTFP initiatives.

In the past, the rationale for forest conservation was simply to sustain the forests' productive role for the timber industry. However, in many countries over the past 15 years, another view has emerged that formally acknowledges the importance of local use of forests. With the rise of Extractive Reserves in Brazil, Community Forestry in Nepal, Joint Forest Management in India and similar initiatives in many other countries, local people are gaining access to significant benefits from NTFPs. NTFPs are often common property resources, like fuelwood, fodder, charcoal, fencing, poles, medicinal plants, and a variety or foodstuffs, such as game, fruit and nuts, mushrooms, fibre, and resins. According to Arnold (1995:1):

"It could be difficult to overstate the importance of non-timber forest products…[they] commonly contribute to meeting food and other basic needs, [provide] a source of input into the agricultural system, help households control exposure to risk of various kinds…A better understanding of the magnitude and nature of the role of non-timber forest products is therefore central to making decisions about forest management that adequately reflect society's demands upon the forest resource."

(Arnold, J.E.M. (1995) Foreward to Society and Non-timber Forest Products in Tropical Asia, ed. Fox, J., Occasional Paper No. 19, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA)

Compared to timber, NTFPs have historically been neglected by governments, and the capacity to promote sustainable NTFP use and facilitate increased financial benefits to local users as incentives for forest conservation is consequently low. There are many gaps in our understanding of the range of products used from forests, their taxonomic classification, socio-economic values, technical packages and policy contexts for their sustainable use. Existing expertise and knowledge is poorly documented or is inaccessible. This means many efforts are duplicated whilst many important issues remain neglected. There is a lack of appropriate methods and tools to promote sustainable use of NTFPs and successfully regulate trade, and the relevant lessons from the field are rarely extracted to inform policy development. The challenge is to make the most efficient use of existing knowledge and experience of facilitators, entrepreneurs and researchers in the region. This can be done by identifying, connecting and engaging such people in a range of networking activities that stimulate the flow of information and learning, and that yield products of immediate interest and utility to the concerned NTFP conservation initiatives.