Non-Timber Forest Products and its Sustainability

• ‘NTFP are plants, parts of plants, fungi, and other biological materials that are harvested from within
• and on the edges of natural, manipulated, or disturbed forests.
• NTFP may include fungi, moss, lichen, herbs, vines, shrubs, or trees. Many different parts are harvested, including the roots tubers, leaves, bark, twigs, and branches, the fruit, sap, and regin, as well as the wood.
• Are commonly grouped into categories such as floral greens, decorative, medicinal plants, foods, flavors, fragrances, fiber, and saps and resins.

Significance of NTFPs

• NTFPs include food and food additives (edible nuts, mushrooms, fruits, herbs, spices and condiments, aromatic plants, game), fibers (used in construction, furniture, clothing, or utensils) resins, gums, and plant and animal products used for medicinal, cosmetic or cultural purpose for human use (FAO 1982).
• The exact number of NTFPs is unavailable in Nepal, but 10 % of 7000 estimated plant species have been officially cited, and the number of NTFPs is greater than 700.
• NTFPs are an integral part of sustainable natural resource management, leading to ecosystem and biodiversity conservation of an area.