1 AIT Asian Institute of Technology

Prospects of promoting non-timber forest products in the mountains of Nepal

AuthorPandit, Bishnu Hari
Call NumberAIT DISS. no. RD-03-02
Subject(s)Non-timber forest products--Nepal
Non-timber forest products--Marketing--Nepal
NoteA dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philos
PublisherAsian Institute of Technology
AbstractResearch rationale and corresponding objectives address six issues: [i] the once abundant stock of plant species that are sources of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) is under threat of depletion; [ii] the degradation of the natural resource base is severe, thus making conservation mandatory; [iii] local people have become ever more dependent on the use of NFTPs to secure their livelihood; [iv] the sound alternative to the collecting of NTFPs in the wild as a supplementary activity to eking out a living through field crop cultivation on small landholdings in marginal lands appears to be the domestication of commercially valuable NTFP species; [ v] potential and prospects of planting NTFP species need to be appraised; and [vi] a two-pronged strategy for the domestication of NTFP species is required, with focus on the interfacing of natural resource conservation and gainful involvement especially of disadvantaged segments of the local population, for the overall improvement of socioeconomic conditions. Required data was collected in the Malekhu Khola watershed that covers part of Dhading District in the Central Middle Hills of Nepal, conducting surveys of NTFP collectors' households and traders' shops, and through PRA, group discussions with local people and simultaneous, structured field observation. Owing to the existing contrast of biophysical conditions and native people's ways of making a living by elevation, a systematic distinction is made between lower zone (LZ) and upper zone (UZ). Analytical tools employed render marketing margin, wealth ranking, and benefit-cost ratio and regression results. Findings pinpoint the causes of degradation of NTFP species in UZ government forests and LZ formal as well as informal community forests as [a] competitive extraction of NTFPs from the UZ open-access government forest, [b] malpractices in collecting NTFPs from LZ and UZ forests, [ c] deficiencies in managing LZ forests, [ d] lack of enforcement of control over the UZ government forest, and [ e] incoherent policy framework for sustainable use ofNTFPs. Collecting mostly wild NTFPs, processing and manufacturing of goods have substantially contributed to household earnings, more so to UZ than LZ household economies, with the share of domesticated NTFPs larger for UZ than LZ households. Results of profit and marketing margin analyses of the ten main NTFPs traded indicate that the major proportion of the total sales value of most NTFPs accrued to traders. Prospects of domestication are explored against the background of the traditional growing of assorted NTFP species in parts of the farmlands. Few farmers have grown, on trial basis, the medicinal aromatic plant (MAP) species of Swertia chirayita and Asparagus racemosus. Despite their expressive eagerness, by far most farmers would not venture into growing any NFTP species in their farmlands, for fear of reprisals by government line agency staff. Their manipulation of existing regulations to the disadvantage of NFTP collectors and growers has caused apprehension and led to the rejection of innovations. Results of regression analyses show NTFP domestication as negatively influenced by the variables of "apprehension of being arrested by forest rangers", "legal constraints in marketing", "free access to forest" (i.e. UZ government forest), "frequency of visits to forests" and "paddy terraces". The technical feasibility of the adoption of the planting of commercially valuable NTFP species is evident from the positive influence of the variables of "knowledge of NTFP domestication'', "fallow period of swidden plots", "kharbari land size", "goat herd size", "cattle herd size" and "NTFP goods making skill". Overall, the variables of "knowledge of NTFP domestication" and "NTFP goods making skill" appear to be the strongly positive ones and "frequency of visits to forests" the highly negative one. The economic feasibility of the adoption of the planting of commercially valuable NTFP species is evident from results of benefit-cost and net present value (NPV) comparative analyses of selected NTFP species and field crops grown in swidden plots, upland crop terraces and paddy terraces, indicating that in UZ all ten NTFP species are more profitable than field crops. As for NPV in the LZ, only two selected NTFP species are profitable. Results of a sensitivity analysis regarding the financial viability of NTFP domestication in the events of falling yield and market price, and with a view to improvement in the NTFP marketing system confirm the superiority of NTFPs over field crops. In spite of potential higher financial benefits, farmers prefer to integrate NTFPs into their traditional agroforestry practices, with 25% of their farmland being utilized for selected NTFPs. This scenario is more profitable than the "field crop only" scenario, in all tlU'ee types of land. Salient features of the strategy outlined include [1] promotion of sustainable NFTP collection practices; [2] improved management of government forests, specifically [a] entrusting local communities with the management of government forests, [b] entitlement for women and disadvantaged members of the FUG through amendments of the Community Forestry Law, and [c] leasing reserved forests to local groups of economically disadvantaged people; [3] participatory forest monitoring system; [ 4] integration of the planting of NTFP species with field crop cultivation; (5] enabling support programs including [a] credit delivery, [b] improved marketing, and [ c] small-scale industrial NTFP processing at local level; [ 6] policies and legal provisions covering [a] recognition of traditional rights of use in government and informal community forests, [b] conservation of NTFP species in both government and community forests, [ c] registration of the growing of NTFP species in private lands and exemption of domesticated NTFPs from levying royalty, [ d] review of the royalty system, [ e] extension for the promotion of planting NTFP species, [f] discontinuation of issuing NTFP collection and export licenses to outsiders holding a NTFP processing company certificate, [g] review of restrictive legislation on collection and trade, [h] adequate staffing of the District Forest Office, and [i] training and education. Complementary aspects identified for future research include [i] scientific investigation into the forest resource base in terms of abundance, distribution, ecology, and reproductive biology of NTFP species; [ii] policy research study; [iii] local manufacturing of NTFP based, new products; and [iv] longitudinal, biophysical survey for an inventory of NTFP resources in community and government forests.
Year2003
TypeDissertation
SchoolSchool of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD)
DepartmentDepartment of Development and Sustainability (DDS)
Academic Program/FoSRural Development, Gender and Resources (RD)
Chairperson(s)Thapa, Gopal B.
Examination Committee(s)Weber, Karl E.;Webb, Edward L.;Clemente, Roberto
Scholarship Donor(s)Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA)
DegreeThesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2003


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