NWFPs are an important component of food and livelihood security in ACP countries. The development and sustainability of these resources depends upon judicious management which stay within the limits of production. Many NWFPs are wild species where production levels are determined by ecological processes rather than cultivation. An expert workshop held in Rome in May 2000 confirmed that there are few biometric protocols available or used in NWFP management plans. This is partially because existing forest inventory techniques are not suitable for use with NWFPs and also because there has been little cross-over from other disciplines. Amongst the conclusions of the workshop were the following points: a need to increase awareness of the desirability of sound assessment of NWFP populations and dynamics when considering the utilisation of these resources, a clear expressed need from field workers for NWFP inventory methods that are simple and easy to use but at the same time are adequate for the determination of harvest levels, further work by inventory specialists on the development of inventory methods and protocols for NWFPs is required, drawing on methods that currently exist in a variety of disciplines, there is an urgent need to provide advice on existing NWFP inventory and analysis methods to field workers.

Type of Case
Printed publication (book, sourcebook, journal article…)

Publisher
FAO

Region
Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific

Biome
Tropical

Forest Type
All forest types (natural and planted)

Primary Designated Function
All