NOT O NOT Tropical forests contain much more value, commercially and for TECHNICAL SERIES NOT ONLY TIMBER communities, than just timber. For centuries, forest-dependent N peoples have known and used numerous edible nuts, fruits and TIMBER LY The potential for managing non-timber forest products in other plant and animal products for food and medicine—what tropical production forests—a comprehensive literature review today we call non-timber forest products (NTFPs). 50 This report, which draws on the authors’ field experience and a thorough review of the literature, explores multiple-use forest management approaches in which NTFPs help make the economic case for natural forests. It presents three examples of well-established NTFPs in humid tropical forests—Brazil nut, JUNE 2021 rattan and rubber. For each, it examines the factors and strategies that have enabled the sustainable harvesting of the NTFP, as well as the challenges in maintaining a sustainable NTFP management regime. The report also describes six promising NTFPs that grow in tropical forests—two each from tropical Africa, Southeast Asia and the Amazon—for which the potential is yet to be fully realized. And it uses a five-star system to rate the potential of 28 individual NTFPs to yield positive economic, social and environmental outcomes. The report concludes that integrating NTFP management in timber production forests could be a decisive step in ensuring economic viability, bearing in mind the imperative to use natural tropical forests wisely and sustainably, or risk losing them forever. | downloaded: 30.9.2021 I TTO T E C H N I C A L SERIE S 50 INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION https://doi.org/10.24451/arbor.15020 International Organizations Center, 5th Floor, Pacifico-Yokohama, 1-1-1, Minato-Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, 220-0012, Japan Tel 81-45-223-1110 Fax 81-45-223-1111 Email [email protected] Web www.itto.int © ITTO and Precious Forests Foundation 2021 source: INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION This document is printed on recycled paper. TS50 TECHNICAL SERIES NOT ONLY TIMBER The potential for managing non-timber forest products in tropical production forests—a comprehensive literature review Jürgen Blaser, Juliana Frizzo and Lindsey Norgrove ITTO Technical Series #50 1 NOT ONLY TIMBER Preferred citation: Blaser, J., Frizzo, J. & Norgrove, L. 2021. Not only timber: the potential for managing non-timber forest products in tropical production forests—a comprehensive literature review. ITTO Technical Series No. 50. International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), Yokohama, Japan, and Precious Forests Foundation, Zürich, Switzerland. The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) is an intergovernmental organization promoting the conservation and sustainable management, use and trade of tropical forest resources. Its members represent the bulk of the world’s tropical forests and of the global tropical timber trade. ITTO develops internationally agreed policy documents to promote sustainable forest management and forest conservation and assists tropical member countries to adapt such policies to local circumstances and to implement them in the field through projects. In addition, ITTO collects, analyzes and disseminates data on the production and trade of tropical timber and funds projects and other actions aimed at developing sustainable forest industries at both the community and industrial scales. Since it became operational in 1987, ITTO has funded more than 1200 projects, pre-projects and activities valued at more than USD 430 million. All projects are funded by voluntary contributions, the major donors to date being the governments of Japan and the United States of America. The Precious Forests Foundation—established in May 2018—is dedicated to improving the sustainable use and valorization of tropical forests, thus contributing to the lasting preservation of their ecosystem services for both local communities and the planet and to the responsible multiple use of their renewable wood and non-wood products. The foundation promotes and finances innovations based on applied research relevant to the practice of certified sustainable forest management. Its goal is to improve certified sustainable forest management through knowledge and innovative solutions so that it becomes a viable business model to protect forests and provide livelihoods to local communities and is attractive for (impact) investments. The Precious Forests Foundation is a non-profit, denominationally and politically neutral Swiss foundation, with its headquarters in Zürich. © ITTO and Precious Forests Foundation 2021 This work is copyright. Except for the ITTO and PPF logos, graphical and textual information in this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part provided that it is not sold or put to commercial use and its source is acknowledged. Disclaimer The designations employed and the presentation of material herein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. ISBN 978-4-86507-070-5 Front-cover photo: Harvesting wild cocoa in tropical Bolivia. © S. Opladen/Helvetas 2 TS50 CONTENTS Foreword........................................................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................................5 Abbreviations and acronyms.........................................................................................................................6 Executive summary........................................................................................................................................7 1 The case for multiple-use management for timber and non-timber products in the tropics................9 What we know about managing non-timber forest products in tropical forests..........................................10 Core elements of multiple-use management for timber and non-timber forest products............................12 Pathways to multiple-use management for timber and non-timber forest products in tropical production forests...17 Legal constraints on including non-timber forest products in timber management schemes ......................21 Unsustainable and illegal harvesting of non-timber forest products in tropical production forests..............22 Potential of and constraints on multiple-use forestry that combines timber and non-timber forest products......23 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................23 2 Overview of well-established non-timber forest products.....................................................................25 Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa)...................................................................................................................26 Rattan (Calamus and Daemonorops species)...............................................................................................28 Rubber (Hevea species)..............................................................................................................................30 3 Case studies of promising non-timber forest products..........................................................................32 Allanblackia (Allanblackia species).............................................................................................................33 Safou (Dacryodes edulis).............................................................................................................................36 Agarwood (Aquilaria and Gyrinops species)...............................................................................................39 Damar resin (dipterocarps).........................................................................................................................43 Açaí (Euterpe oleracea)................................................................................................................................46 Wild cocoa (Theobroma cacao)...................................................................................................................51 4 Sustainable harvesting potential of promising non-timber forest products..........................................56 5 Looking forward: towards multiple-use management for timber and non-timber forest products.........67 References....................................................................................................................................................69 Table Table 1: Examples of valuable tropical timber species and their potential as non-timber forest products........20 Boxes Box 1: Forest products and services—two sides of the same coin...................................................................10 Box 2: Abundance of Brazil nut in some Amazon Basin forests......................................................................12 Box 3: ITTO’s work on non-timber forest products in multiple-use forest management................................13 Box 4: Sapelli and tali—valuable timber species in the Congo Basin providing protein..................................18 Box 5: Babassu—a newcomer in multiple-use production forests?.................................................................19