[MPWG] New Report: NTFPs and Biodiversity Relationship U.S.

[Eric T Jones]

Please forward to your colleagues...

New Report: The Relationship between Nontimber Forest Product Management 
and Biodiversity in the United States. March 2004. Eric T. Jones, Rebecca 
J. McLain, Kathryn A. Lynch. Institute for Culture and 
Ecology.  http://www.ifcae.org/projects/ncssf1/

Abstract: Nontimber forest products (NTFP) in the United States are 
harvested for commercial and noncommercial purposes and include thousands 
of wild or semi-wild species or parts of species used for medicines, foods, 
decorations, fragrances, containers, dyes, fuel, shelter, art, ceremonial 
purposes, and more.  Despite the known and substantial economic value of a 
few individual NTFPs, and the unknown, but likely high economic value of 
NTFPs in aggregate, historically managers have not included them as 
important factors in forest management.  Not only do NTFPs comprise a 
significant part of the biological diversity of forest ecosystems, but 
given the lack of formal NTFP research, the many people who harvest NTFPs 
part or fulltime have the most knowledge about them.  Consequently, efforts 
to conserve biodiversity are unlikely to succeed unless knowledge about 
NTFPs, and the effects on them of various forest management activities such 
as timber removal, grazing, prescribed burning, and NTFP harvesting 
practices, becomes an integral part of forest management.  This research 
project attempts to address these issues through achieving two objectives: 
1) to advance understanding of the role and impact of NTFP management in 
forest ecosystem sustainability and biodiversity; and 2) to support the 
ability of U.S. forest managers to assess NTFP sustainability.  We 
developed five interrelated components to meet these objectives.  The first 
component is an online species database expanded from 857 to 1,343 
entries.  The database serves as an initial tool for identifying NTFP 
species that currently or formerly existed in their region and that can 
potentially be incorporated into planning for biodiversity conservation, 
forest restoration, cultural use patterns, and sustainable economic 
development.  The second component is an online bibliographic database 
expanded from 1,468 to over 2,600 entries.  The database aids in 
identifying NTFP references of books, journals, and gray literature. A 
large portion of the entries are annotated.  The academic publications 
included in the database are drawn more heavily from the international NTFP 
arena, which is where the majority of NTFP research has been done thus 
far.  The third component is a national survey of Forest Service Ranger 
District employees and state forest managers for the purpose of examining 
NTFP management in relation to biodiversity. The surveys include several 
questions specifically addressing inventory and monitoring activities.  The 
fourth component is ethnographic fieldwork throughout the lower 48 United 
States that entailed driving over 37,000 miles to meet harvesters and other 
stakeholders in their communities.  The fieldwork included formal and 
informal interviews and participant observation with hundreds of NTFP 
harvesters and other stakeholders including land managers, scientists, 
Native Americans, commercial businesses, and environmental groups.  The 
fifth component is a series of four all-day multi-stakeholder workshops and 
a three-day retreat of the seven member project team held to discuss the 
possibilities for inventory and monitoring programs involving NTFP 
harvesters.  The results of these meetings including rationale, harvester 
incentives, barriers, case studies, recommendations, and steps for creating 
participatory inventory and monitoring programs are incorporated into a 
companion document to this report.  - Funded by the National Commission on 
Science for Sustainable Forestry.


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