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Abstract:
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"Concern over the fate of the tropical rain forests and the people who depend on their forest resources has prompted much discussion on the promise of rain forest extraction by traditional communities for rural economic development and forest conservation. Recent studies from Amazonia and elsewhere point to the significant contribution of rain forest products to household, local, regional and even national economies. Encouraged by these findings, numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other groups are working to help traditional forest peoples secure their rights to the forest and develop management regimes for the sustainable and mutually profitable harvesting of local non-wood resources. In doing so, such groups hope to preserve the forest, conserve its resources and enhance rural welfare by raising the incomes of forest peoples. Increasingly, however, practitioners and researchers are recognizing the need for a deeper understanding of the factors that influence income generation among forest peoples, beyond the market value of the wood and non-wood forest products (NWFPs) (see Godoy and Bawa, 1993; Coomes and Barham, 1997 and articles in this issue). This understanding is crucial to appropriate programme design and policy formation."
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