Paper presented at the International Conference on Role of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in Poverty Alleviation and Biodiversity Conservation, 11-15 June 2007, Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Conference brought together practitioners, entrepreneurs and researchers who are involved in NTFP initiatives that provide opportunities to address poverty reduction while maintaining biodiversity. Participants shared methodologies; approaches, product and market information and other lessons learned from NTFP development and conservation initiatives. A local trade fair was organized on the third day of the conference to provide an opportunity for NTFP producers to display their products and meet potential buyers.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has experienced that subsistence agriculture is increasingly becoming unsustainable both economically and environmentally. But niche products can serve as a basis for diversifying incomes of mountain communities. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been identified by various agencies as one of the sub-sectors with potentials to generate additional local income and employment opportunities through participatory approaches in the remote mountain regions.
