Assessment and sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products: Some initiatives in community forestry in the hills of Nepal

Increasing subsistence as well as commercial expectations from non-timber forest products necessitates more careful assessment of resource base and sustainable harvesting scheme. Forest User Groups as well as supporting organizations facing challenges to ensure sustainable harvesting of these products, and in several instances, they are developing specific methods to cope with this. This paper reviews ANSAB and some other organizations' experiences with commercial medicinal herbs and fiber-yielding shrubs. These cases demonstrate the need for a diversity of resource assessment approaches to respond to specific plant form and product types, as well as a holistic consideration of social and ecological factors to address often ignored dimensions of sustainable harvesting. Finally, the paper identifies challenges and draws key lessons in developing sustainable harvesting system and practices.