(People and Plants International Conservation) 1st Edition
by Charlie M. Shackleton (Editor), Ashok K. Pandey (Editor), Tamara Ticktin (Editor)
There is growing knowledge about
and appreciation of the importance of Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs)
to rural livelihoods in developing countries, and to a lesser extent,
developed countries. However, there is also an assumption on the part of
policy-makers that any harvesting of wild animal or plant products from
the forests and other natural and modified ecosystems must be
detrimental to the long-term viability of target populations and
species. This book challenges this idea and shows that while examples of
such negative impacts certainly exist, there are also many examples of
sustainable harvesting systems for NTFPs.
The chapters review
and present coherent and scientifically sound information and case
studies on the ecologically sustainable use of NTFPs. They also outline a
general interdisciplinary approach for assessing the sustainability of
NTFP harvesting systems at different scales. A wide range of case
studies is included from Africa, Asia and South America, using plant and
animal products for food, crafts, textiles, medicines and cosmetics.
