Non-timber forest products

A proposta do Manejo de Produtos Florestais Não Madeireiros: um manual com sugestões para o manejo participativo em comunidades da Amazônia é contribuir em um processo contínuo de aprendizagem, no qual povos, comunidades, técnicos e pesquisadores estejam preferencialmente trabalhando juntos e construindo, de forma cada vez mais sólida, os saberes sobre o manejo de PFNMs.

Tropical forests are threatened world-wide. Therefore, there is a search for ways to use the forests in a sustainable way, as this could assist in the conservation of these special ecosystems. Non-timber products collected from trees in tropical forests are often mentioned as examples of sustainable exploitation. Their collection causes far less disturbance to forest structure and functioning than the felling of trees for timber.

In an increasingly crowded world reconciling environmental ‘conservation’ with the ‘sustainable use’ of natural resources is now our greatest challenge. Nature conservation has traditionally focused on protecting iconic and important areas of biodiversity from human exploitation through the establishment of National Parks and World Heritage Areas.

<p>Non-timber forest products (NTFP) include all the materials (excluding timber) collected from natural or man-made forests and riverine habitats, and used to support local livelihoods in Lao PDR: food, medicines, fibres, extracts and ornamentals. This handbook describes a hundred commonly used or sold NTFPs exclusively derived from plants. Each product (or species) is described as well as its conservation status.</p>

This book aims to introduce beach forest species and mangrove associates to researchers and the general public alike, and to describe their traditional and commercial uses based on recent research and older literature.

This publication provides rich information on Amazon fruits and communities, illustrating how local peoples have adopted and adapted to the plant kindgom around them to distil vital nutrients, medicines and other products fundamental to their survival; it also shows how scientific information can be presented in an innovative and more inclusive way, one that can be adapted accordingly by other actors worldwide.

Palms, belonging to the Arecaceae family, are among the most common plants in tropical countries and provide a vast assortment of products ranging from food to construction materials, fibre and fuel. Tropical palms, originall published in 1998, has been updated in 2010 to include the most recent information and developments regarding the conservation status and use of various tropical palm species.

Humla is a remote and mountainous district situated in the north-west corner of Nepal, bordering with China. People in Humla or Humlis belong to the Chhetri-Thakuri, and Dalits social groups of the Indo-Aryan language group and to the Lama social group of the Tibeto-Burman language group.The main objective of the research is to assess the contribution of NTFPs to the overall livelihood of upper Humla, and to explore ways of how this contribution could be further enhanced.