NTFP Facts

Language
Andy Souvanhphukdee
NTFP Facts
Agrobiodiversity
phakhaolao.la
phakhaolao.la

TABI's Special focus NTFPs have told about NTFP Facts that

  • The main benefit of biodiversity for rural population of Lao PDR is related to the use of forest products

  • 757 plants and 150 animals have been identified as NTFPs, but the real figure is probably 4 or 5 times higher

  • The biodiversity of NTFPs is an essential part of rural food security, by direct consumption, as well as by selling in times of rice shortage

  • In the uplands NTFPs provide up to 50% of cash income of rural villages

  • NTFPs contributes to roughly US$ 6-7 million per year or 2% of total export volume of Lao PDR

  • Cardamom [Amomum sp.] and malva nuts [Scaphium macropodum] both used in Chinese medicine, are the most important export product, together representing 60-70% of the total NTFPs export value for Lao PDR

  • The main NTFPs export destinations are china, Thailand, and Vietnam

  • The local and macroeconomic values of NTFPs provide strong economic incentives for biodiversity management and conservation

  • The fast change from subsistence farming to marketing economic, with a rapid expansion of mono-culture plantation and the resulting transformation of the small-scale agriculture landscapes, lead to an increase pressure on the still rice NTFP resources and biodiversity

Conclusion

NTFPs are uniquely essential for food security and local as well as national economy. They are a key element in poverty alleviation, forest and biodiversity conservation

Source: TABI Update 2011

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