Patricia Shanley

Markets drive the specialization strategies of forest peoples

Engagement in the market changes the opportunities and strategies of forest-related peoples. Efforts to support rural development need to better understand the potential importance of markets and the way people respond to them. To this end, we compared 61 case studies of the commercial production and trade of nontimber forest products from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The results show that product use is shaped by local markets and institutions, resource abundance, and the relative level of development. Larger regional patterns are also important. High-value products tend to be managed intensively by specialized producers and yield substantially higher incomes than those generated by the less specialized producers of less managed, low-value products. We conclude that commercial trade drives a process of intensified production and household specialization among forest peoples.

Non-timber forest products in the global context

Part 1: Introduction - Non-Timber Forest Products in the Global Context.- Non-Timber Forest Products: Concept and Definitions.- Evolving Perspectives on Non-Timber Forest Products.- Part 2: Multiple Roles and Values of Non-Timber Forest Products.- From Subsistence, to Safety Nets and Cash Income: Exploring the Diverse Values of Non-Timber Forest Products for Livelihoods and Poverty Alleviation.- Non-Timber Products and Markets: Lessons for Export-Oriented Enterprise Development from Africa.- Cultural Importance of Non-Timber Forest Products: Opportunities they Pose for Bio-Cultural Diversity in Dynamic Societies.- From the Forest to the Stomach: Bushmeat Consumption from Rural to Urban Settings in Central Africa.- Part 3: Systems for Sustainable Management of Non-Timber Forest Products.- Harvesting Non-Timber Forest Products Sustainably: Opportunities and Challenges.- Timber and Non-Timber Forest Product Extraction and Management in the Tropics: Towards Compatibility?.- Pro-Poor Governance of Non-Timber Forest Products: The Need for Secure Tenure, the Rule of Law, Market Access and Partnerships.- Non-Timber Forest Products and Conservation: What Prospects?.- Part 4: Building on the Opportunities Offered by Non-Timber Forest Products.- Regulating Complexity: Policies for the Governance of Non-Timber Forest Products.- Building a Holistic Picture: An Integrative Analysis of Current and Future Prospects for Non-Timber Forest Products in a Changing World

Eroding knowledge: An ethnobotanical inventory in Eastern Amazonia’s logging frontier

Responding to the decline of game, fruit and fiber post-logging, communities along the Capim River in Pará, Brazil, requested that research be initiated into the value of non-timber forest products. As a first step, an ethnobotanical inventory of one hectare of mature terra firme forest was conducted. The percentage use-values described reflect that Capimenses are knowledgeable about the use of many species (60% of inventoried species); however, active use has declined. Compared to other South American inventories, Capimenses demonstrate a higher degree of trade in timber, a lack of trade in non-timber products, the decreasing use of plants for technological purposes, and the description of the use of many species in the past tense. During the longitudinal study, the 15 most highly valued fruit, nut, game attracting, and medicinal tree species became included in the suite of species extracted by the timber industry.ResumenEm resposta à redução de disponibilidade de caça, frutas e fibras, após o desmatamento, comunidades situadas ao longo do Rio Capim no Pará, Brasil, pediram que pesquisas fossem iniciadas para determinar o valor de produtos úteis extraídos da mata não são relacionados à industria madeireira. Como primeiro passo, um inventário etnobotânico de um hectare de floresta madura em terra firme foi realizado. A porcentagem de produtos úteis descritos, apontou que os Capimenses conhecem o uso das várias espécies (60% das espécies inventariadas), porem o uso ativo vem diminuindo. Comparado a outros inventários feitos na America do Sul, Capimenses mostraram: um índice mais alto de comércio era madeira; a falta de comércio de produtos não madeireiros; a diminuição da utilizaçã o de plantas para fins tecnológicos e a declaração de que várias espécies eram utilizadas no passado. Durante o estudo longitudinal, as 15 mais valorizadas espécies de frutas, nozes, medicinais e atrativas de caça, forain incluídas na listagem de espécies sendo retiradas pela indústria madeireira

Invisible but viable: recognising local markets for non- timber forest products

SUMMARY An emphasis on global markets for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) often overshadows attention to the local trade in many traditionally important products. Inattention to local markets can result in diminished appreciation of their role in supporting livelihoods and potentially lead to further marginalisation of the low-income groups involved. This paper draws on the literature and the research experience of the authors in three different regions of the world to demonstrate the significance of local markets for NTFPs and to build a case for recognising and strengthening support to them. Discussion includes: features of these markets and current trends favouring them; the benefits they bring to producers and traders; their comparative advantages and disadvantages in relation to their role in strengthening livelihoods; and the policy reforms and development support required to improve them. We conclude that a combination of both strong local and export markets permits diversification and choice, assisting poor local people to minimise livelihood risk due to dependence on any single market.

Equitable ecology: collaborative learning for local benefit in Amazonia

Abstract Rapid growth of timber, mining and ranching industries in forested areas worldwide often offer small holders opportunities to sell forest resources. Rural communities, however, often have little notion of the market value or economic and ecological consequences of forest transformation. Within such scenarios, the learning process needs to be consciously constructed so as to catalyse new ways of thinking about forest management effectively and quickly. This article describes an ecological research project that integrated data and process-oriented approaches to promote collaborative learning. Results indicate that user-centered approaches are needed to ensure that locally relevant information is generated by scientists, and that learning is catalysed not only among information saturated stakeholders such as policy makers and academics, but also among stakeholders who are directly dependent upon forest resources.

Evolving Perspectives on Non-timber Forest Products

Many individual non-timber forest products (NTFPs) were historically mainstream trade commodities, but their diminished importance in international trade after World War II meant that they become almost invisible in forest statistics, management, and policy. They were rediscovered as a category in the late 1980s, provoking high hopes by many, suspicion by some, and a new research agenda on their potential role in the sustainable development of tropical forest regions. This was followed by general disenchantment with NTFPs that dominated the literature and policy discussion at the turn of the century, which in turn gave way to today’s more nuanced understanding and policy recommendations, as described in many chapters of this book. We identify four themes in recent literature that serve as guideposts to a realistic and moderate assessment of NTFPs (1) centrality of culture and tradition, (2) local and regional markets, (3) value of diversity in and of itself, and (4) continuum of forest management.

Non-timber Forest Products: Concept and Definitions

Since the potential value and role of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) was first mooted in the 1980s, there has been a tremendous escalation in research, practice, and policy interest across numerous disciplines including conservation, livelihood studies, economics, forestry, and anthropology. Inevitably this has resulted in altered and evolving definitions of what is, or is not, an NFTP. This chapter discusses the various attributes of an NTFP and proposes a working definition that could be applicable across disciplines. The final section of the chapter provides a brief overview of the contributions to this book.

EXPERIENCE WITH NTFP CERTIFICATION IN BRAZIL

ABSTRACT Certification of forest management through the Forest Stewardship Council started in the 1990s, and focused on timber. Considerable work on the part of NGOs, communities, the private sector, researchers and governments has resulted in incipient certification of NTFPs, both by industries and communities. In the tropics, Brazil has had an important leadership role in this process, both in the development and adaptation of the Forest Stewardship Council system to this purpose and to increase the accessibility of FSC certification for small holders. In this paper we review the history of this process, present cases of certification in Brazil, and discuss their links with the private sector and public policies. Finally, we analyse the factors that have contributed to the successes and constraints of these efforts in the Brazilian context.

Non-timber forest products and certification: strange bedfellows

ABSTRACT Interest in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and forest certification burgeoned in the late 1980s in response, partly, to concern over destruction of tropical rainforests. Eventually the two concepts were merged and proposed as a marketing option for NTFP producers in both temperate and tropical countries. This paper examines the experiences of NTFP certification within the Forest Stewardship Council over the past eight years. We describe some of the impediments that NTFP producers have encountered in obtaining certification, as well as successes. We find that certification and NTFPs are often incompatible. For those cases where NTFP certification is warranted, we offer several suggestions for improving the likelihood of success. The triumph of neoliberalism in international trade and aid circles all but assures continued commercialization of NTFPs. Certification may help ensure the environmental sustainability of such initiatives but it must not become a tool to exclude gatherers and or threaten local livelihoods.

Traditional knowledge, forest management, and certification: a reality check

ABSTRACT Evaluations of initial attempts at NTFP certification reveal substantial ecological, socioeconomic and administrative obstacles for forest product collectors. However, the problem of lack of sufficient scientific understanding of the ecology of NTFP species can sometimes be addressed by recognition and documentation of traditional ecological knowledge (???). Increasing local input regarding NTFP resource inventories, production/yield, development of criteria and indicators, and monitoring sustainable management can offer valuable contributions to the certification process. Besides benefiting efforts at certification, such attention can foster needed appreciation and local documentation of traditional ecological knowledge. Cases from Namibia, the Philippines and Brazil are used to demonstrate how local initiatives in sustainable resource management strengthened communities understanding of their resource base. The process of sharing ecological knowledge locally can catalyze broader objectives of community empowerment and sustainable management—with or without a seal.