Potentiality of Income Generation Through NTFP

NTFPs can be defined as all goods for commercial industrial or subsistence use derived from the forest other than the wood i.e. everything except timber and fuel wood .Essential oils spices and medicines are the most common intermediate or the end products, which result from the processing of NTFPs and these are often sold to the national or international market. The role and contribution of NTFPs are crucial and more so amongst the rural communities of developing countries. Some 80% of the population of developing countries depends on NTFP for their primary health, nutritional needs and income generation.This is particularly true to a country like Nepal, where alternative economic opportunities are limited. The increasing commercial demand for the NTFPs found in Nepal presents an economically, environmentally and socially viable means of assisting rural communities in controlling the transition from subsistence to cash economy.

Bindu Subedi belongs to Himalayan country with her academic background from Biodiversity & Environment management, forestry.Expertise in research in the field of wildlife species, Non Timber Forest Products, Payment for Ecosystem Services, IEE & EIA. She is also working as Non Gazetted Officer of Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, Nepal