In this article we will discuss about:- 1. Introduction to Non-Wood Forest Products 2. Definition of Non-Wood Forest Products 3. Benefits 4. Challenges 5. Management 6. Marketing and Trade 7. Non-Wood Forest Products in India.
Introduction to Non-Wood Forest Products:
‘Non-wood forest products’ is a relatively new term used generally to mean forest products other than wood. NWFP may be gathered from the wild, or produced in forest plantations, agroforestry schemes and from trees outside forests. The other synonymous terms used for NWFPs are byproducts of forests, minor forest products, non-timber forest products, non-wood goods and benefits, non-wood goods and services, other forest products, secondary forest products, special forest products, etc., by different groups and countries.
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NWFP include products used as food and food additives (edible nuts, mushrooms, fruits, herbs, spices and condiments, aromatic plants, game), fibres (used in construction, furniture, clothing or utensils), resins, gums, and plant and animal products used for medicinal, cosmetic or cultural purposes.
The use of NWFPs is as old as human existence. Several million households worldwide depend heavily on NWFP for subsistence and/or income. Some 80 per cent of the population of the developing world use NWFP for health and nutritional needs. At a local level, NWFP also provide raw materials for small and cottage scale industrial processing. Some NWFP are also important export commodities.
At present, at least 150 NWFPs are significant in terms of international trade, including honey, gum arabic, rattan, bamboo, cork, nuts, mushrooms, resins, essential oils and plant and animal parts for pharmaceutical products. NWFP have also attracted considerable global interest in recent years due to the increasing recognition of their contribution to environmental objectives, including the conservation of biological diversity.
Work on NWFP assessment is an important activity in the FAO Forestry Department, involving expertise from various technical units, in particular the Forest Resources Division (and its flagship programme for the Global Forest Resources Assessment – FRA) and the Forest Products Division (through its Non-Wood Forest Products Programme).
FAO’s Forestry Department established NWFP Programme in 1991 for the promotion and development of non-wood forest products with a mission to improve the sustainable utilization of NWFP in order to contribute to the wise management of the world’s forests, to conserve their biodiversity and to improve income generation and food security.
Over the past two decades an increasing number of governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and institutions, as well as the private sector, have become involved with the promotion and utilization of non-wood forest products (NWFPs). A lot of new information has been collected on the socio-economic importance and potential of NWFP utilization and its effects on the environment.
Definition of Non-Wood Forest Products:
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In 1995, FAO made a first step towards a harmonized definition of NWFPs by organizing the International Expert Consultation on Non-Wood Forest Products in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, as- “NWFPs consist of goods of biological origin other than wood, as well as services, derived from forests and allied land uses.”
In 1999, a new FAO working definition of NWFPs has been adopted- “Non-wood forest products consist of goods of biological origin other than wood, derived from forests, other wooded land and trees outside forests.”
According to this definition, the three components of the term “non-wood forest products” are interpreted as follows:
i. Non-Wood:
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The term NWFP excludes all woody raw materials. Consequently, timber, chips, charcoal and fuel-wood as well as small woods such as tools, household equipment and carvings are excluded. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs), in contrast, generally include fuel-wood and small woods and this is the main difference between NWFPs and NTFPs.
ii. Forest:
NWFPs should be derived from forests and similar land uses (plantations). The final definition of “trees outside forests” includes trees growing outside the forest and not belonging to the category of forests, forest lands, or other wooded land.
iii. Products:
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In the proposed definition, the term “product” corresponds to goods that are tangible and physical objects of biological origin such as plants, animals and their products. Forest services (e.g., ecotourism, grazing, bio-prospecting) and forest benefits (e.g., soil conservation, soil fertility, watershed protection) are excluded.
Socio-Economic Benefits of Non-Wood Forest Products:
A better understanding of NWFPs’ overall socio-economic contributions to the subsistence and income of local communities and to national economies facilitates better programme response. NWFPs play an important role in food security, nutrition and community health.
Their benefits are relatively more important for poorer households, women and disadvantaged groups and this has important consequences for planning NWFP activities. Interventions need to involve people’s participation in the development process and the equitable distribution of benefits to different groups.
Challenges for Non-Wood Forest Products Development:
Most NWFPs are often associated with traditional uses that are not widely known. Transactions related to NWFPs largely take place in households and small-scale units, mostly outside the established marketing systems/channels, thus forming part of unorganized, informal sector. NWFPs are often seasonal and for these reasons, they are often overlooked by planners and their local uses go unrecorded.
Timber-orientation of forestry profession, and the bias of planners in favour of large-scale enterprises, often leaves NWFPs at a disadvantage. Sustainable management of NWFPs, especially of those occurring among the biological richness and ecological diversity of natural forests is extremely complex. This has resulted in its being left out from management prescriptions and preference being given to comparatively easier timber management.
There is also overlapping of uses and sources. Same product can be produced from different non-wood raw materials; and same non-wood raw materials can provide different products. This adds to the complexity of managing and utilizing the resource. Lack of knowledge about the potential of NWFPs to support sustainable and remunerative enterprises is a major constraint.
Management of Non-Wood Forest Products:
Management of NWFP resources is critical to the future of remaining natural forests. A first step is better assessment of the resource and what represents a sustainable harvest level of different forest produces. NWFPs can play a role in more sustainable forestry through multiple use management for wood and non-wood products. Sustainable NWFP harvesting can also take place in forest reserves and buffer areas.
Resource management needs to include mechanisms for resolving conflicts in land-use objectives. Domestication of species (e.g., through agroforestry) is one alternative for minimizing the impact of increasing NWFP demand. Research is needed to assess and learn from local knowledge and to improve management systems and to improve harvesting and post-harvest technologies.
Marketing and Trade of Non-Wood Forest Products:
Information on NWFP resources, harvests, processing and trade is scarce and dispersed. It is generally maintained that NWFPs are important locally, nationally and internationally. Many of the products contribute significantly to the creation of economic benefits and cash income at the community level (e.g., forest foods marketed at village markets). Some of the products contribute to the national economy (e.g., tendu leaves in India) while many enter international trade and are vital elements in many industries worldwide (e.g., essential oils sold to the fragrance and flavour industries).
Most failures of NWFP programmes result from inattention to markets. With increasing pressure on forest resources, well-informed NWFP marketing strategies could be crucial for maintaining the resource. Producers need better information on the nature and volume of existing NWFP trade, markets and product standards. With the increase in green consumerism, knowledge of international market concerns and quality standards of products is needed.
More rational and transparent market transactions throughout the production/market chain are needed for producers to receive a more equitable share of the product value. A greater appreciation of marketing and market information is needed by producers, NWFP-programme planners and NGOs.
Non-Wood Forest Products in India:
India is a country of vast diversity lying at the juncture of the big-geographic provinces of Afro-Eurasia and the Orient. Because of the country’s diversified climatic and physiographic factors, India is blessed with all types of vegetation – tropical, subtropical, temperate and alpine. Due to its wide-ranging environmental regimes and diverse biological communities, the country is one of the world’s top 12 “mega diversity” nations.
Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are derived from over 3,000 species. These products are classified as leaves, bamboos, gums, resins and oleoresins, oil seeds, essential oils, fibres and flosses, grasses and fodder trees, tans and dyes, medicinal plants (drugs) and spices, animal products, edible products etc.
It is estimated that 60 percent of all NWFPs are consumed locally and are not accounted in the calculation of revenues. There also are many products which are not extracted fully or which go to waste because of insufficient knowledge of their use or because they occur in inaccessible locations.
The basic objectives of the National Forest Policy of 1988 include conserving the national flora and fauna, meeting the needs of rural and tribal populations and encouraging efficient utilization of all forest produce. The policy states that NWFPs which provide sustenance to local communities should be protected and improved. It provides for research into the conservation and management of forest resources and for increasing productivity through the application of modern scientific and technological methods.
The survey of forest resources is to be given high priority. The Indian Forest Policy of 1988 and the subsequent government resolution on participatory forest management (MoEF 1990) emphasize the need for people’s participation in natural forest management. The policy document asserts that local communities should be motivated to identify themselves with the development and protection of the forests from which they derive benefits.
Thus, the policy envisages a process of joint management of forests by the state governments (which have nominal responsibility) and the local people, which would share both the responsibility for managing the resource and the benefits that accrue from this management.
Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) have a key role in JFM efforts. With the increasing awareness of their economic potential and growing concerns for the sustainability of the resources and the distribution of the benefits derived from them, various state governments have taken over control of a number of NWFPs.
Traditionally, the collection of NWFPs have been of low intensity and generally sustainable. However, as the economic potential of NWFPs has become apparent, the intensity of collection has increased and more significant infrastructures for trade and processing have developed. This has raised concerns for the sustainability of the resources and the distribution of the benefits derived from them. In reaction to these concerns, a number of state governments have taken over the control of a number of NWFPs.
The state regulations bringing certain NWFPs under monopoly trade with the objective of preventing unscrupulous intermediaries and their agents from exploiting NWFP collectors, to ensure fair wages to collectors, to enhance revenue for the state, to ensure quality and to maximize the collection of produce. In most cases, trading is controlled through state-owned institutions such as state forest development corporations, federations, cooperatives and tribal societies.
Numerous literatures are available regarding different tree species yielding NTFPs in India and world. Tree species yielding flavours and fragrances (essential oils) are gums, resins, latex, fibres and flosses, tannins and dyes, edible plant products and important bamboos, rattans and palms.