Management And Marketing Of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) With Relating The Rural Livelihoods

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play an important role in the livelihoods of the rural poor, as a source of food, medicine, construction materials and income. In Lao PDR the forest is a vital asset in everyday life and food security of the rural population. Recently, the market for commercial NTFPs creating income-generating opportunities for rural people has received increasing research and development attention. However, knowledge about forest, people and market relations are still limited and this is a problem for current development and conservation efforts.The aim of this dissertation is to contribute to the understanding of the role of NTFPs in rural livelihoods and forest resource conservation, through a case study from North part of Nam Ha National Protected Area in Vieing Phukha district and South part of Nam Ha National Protected Area in Luang Namtha district, Luang Namtha province. Specifically the study addresses the role of NTFPs in rural livelihood strategies and the opportunities and constraints in the current management and marketing system. We used RRA/PRA techniques, questionnaire survey and group interview method carried out the study and the research included six months of fieldwork in Laos. A range of qualitative rapid rural appraisal methods combined with94quantitative household questionnaires were conducted in four villages. Further, interviews with district, provincial and national level stakeholders were conducted. Two conceptual frameworks were applied to structure the research, the’sustainable rural livelihoods approach’ and a ’methodology to analyze divergent case studies of NTFPs and their development potential’.It was found that NTFPs are fundamentally important for the livelihood strategies of rural people in the study areas and that forest dependency decreases with improved socio-economic development. Household income from NTFPs in the study villages was low compared to other studies. For rural people with coping or diversifying livelihood strategies, living in or adjacent to the forest, subsistence NTFPs can be a fundamental livelihood feature deserving attention of governments, NGOs and development agencies. NTFPs are extremely important as a safety net for rural poor and seem to have more potential for poverty prevention than for poverty reduction. A range of marketing and management constraints were identified, e.g. low organization of collection, lack of barriers to entry, limited resources and incentives for facilitation, lack of ecological knowledge at national level, a nontransparent imperfect market and a failing quota system. Some opportunities were identified, e.g. use of NTFPs in eco-tourism, community based natural resource management of subsistence NTFPs and training of grass root facilitators and governmental staff.The overall conclusion is that commercialization initiatives should be carefully evaluated before initiation, given the current constraints. Simultaneous improvements on macro and micro level are needed in order to improve development and conservation. The role of NTFPs is essential to rural people’s livelihood and this deserves continuous research, development and conservation attention.