The impacts of selective logging on non-timber forest products of livelihood importance

Rist, L. and Shanley, P. and Sunderland, T. and Sheil, D. and Ndoye, O. and Liswanti, N. and Tieguhong, J. (2012) The impacts of selective logging on non-timber forest products of livelihood importance. Forest Ecology and Management, 268 (1). pp. 57-69.

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Abstract

The potential for combining timber and non-timber forest product extraction has been examined in the context of diversified forest management. Many tropical forests are exploited both commercially for timber and by forest-dependent communities for non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Divergences between these two uses may have significant implications for forest-dependent livelihoods. This article gathers existing examples of conflicts and complementarities between selective logging and non-timber uses of forest from the livelihood perspective. Additionally it draws on three case studies from Brazil, Cameroon and Indonesia to examine by what mechanisms, and to what extent, logging impacts forest resources of livelihood importance, as well as to consider how factors such as logging regime and forest management system may mediate such influences. By doing so we aim to shed further light on a relatively unacknowledged issue in tropical forest management and conservation. Four specific mechanisms were identified; conflict of use and the indirect impacts of logging being those most commonly implicated in negative effects on livelihood-relevant NTFPs. Eighty two percent of reviewed articles highlighted negative impacts on NTFP availability. Examples of positive impacts were restricted to light demanding species that respond to the opening of forest structure and typically represent a small subset of those of livelihood value. Despite considerable impacts on livelihoods, in all three case studies we found evidence to support the potential for enhanced compatibility between timber extraction and the subsistence use of NTFPs. Drawing on this evidence, and findings from our review, we make specific recommendations for research, policy and management implementation. These findings have significant implications for reconciling timber and non-timber uses of tropical forests

Item Type: Article
Author Affiliation: Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
Subjects: Plant Production
Plant Production > Production Practices
Divisions: Other Crops
Depositing User: Mr B Krishnamurthy
Date Deposited: 20 Feb 2012 06:34
Last Modified: 20 Feb 2012 06:34
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2011.04.037
URI: http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/3055

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