Wild Product Governance
Fortunata Panzo collecting flowers in the Sierra de Zongolica. (Photo: Daniel Sedas)
Wild, semi-domesticated, and managed products - also known as non-timber forest products (NTFPs) - are used as medicines, foods, spices, and for a multitude of other purposes. They are integral to traditional resource management systems and rural livelihoods, generate revenue for companies and governments (known today as ‘biotrade’), and have a range of impacts on biodiversity conservation.
Grilled sago worm, a favorite food of the Dayak Iban tribe. (Photo: Wahyu Widhi)
However, throughout the world, these resources have been both overlooked and poorly regulated by governments, and those laws that do exist are often crafted with limited or no input from local groups. Inappropriate policies have focused on enforcement and prohibitions, and have generated new forms of inequity, while undermining sustainability and customary legal systems.
The Wild Product Governance Program works to create more effective NTFP governance by bringing the views and experiences of producers, harvesters, traders and others to policy makers; undertaking research that fills gaps and promotes greater understanding; promoting more effective and fair policy development and implementation; developing policy briefs, manuals, articles and other communications tools for a range of audiences; and actively working with governments to improve and develop policies.
Bananas, duku fruit, cassava and yams. West Kalimantan, Indonesia. (Photo: Wahyu Widhi)
Green leaves from the forest. West Kalimantan, Indonesia. (Photo: Wahyu Widhi)
The Team
Sarah Laird, Rachel Wynberg, Citlalli Lopez, José Antonio Sierra, Jaci van Niekerk, Patricia Shanley, Rebecca McLain, Alan Pierce.
Partners
The Melza M. and Frank Theodore Barr Foundation
Selected Resources
Laird, S., McLain, R. and Wynberg, R. (2010). Wild Product Governance: Finding policies that work for non-timber forest products. Earthscan, London.
Wild Product Governance was published as part of the People and Plants International Conservation Series. It results from a collaboration between PPI, the United Nations University, CIFOR, the Institute for Culture and Ecology, and the University of Cape Town. The book reviews experiences with NTFP law and policy, provides information to support new policy approaches, and examines the broader governance issues associated with these products. It includes cases from around the world, a review of literature and resources, and an annotated bibliography.
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Sarah Laird, Rachel Wynberg and Rebecca J. McLain. (2009). Wild Product Governance. United Nations University, Centre for International Forestry Research, People and Plants International, Environmental Evaluation Unit, University of Cape Town, and the Institute for Culture and Ecology.
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Patricia Shanley, Alan Pierce, Sarah Laird and Dawn Robinson. (2008) Beyond timber: Certification and management of non-timber forest products. Bogor, Indonesia: Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
Download PDF in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Patricia Shanley, Alan R. Pierce, Sarah A. Laird, Citlalli López Binnqüist, and Manuel R. Guariguata. (2015). From Lifelines to Livelihoods: Non-timber Forest Products into the Twenty-First Century. In: Pancel L., Köhl M. (eds) Tropical Forestry Handbook. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Download PDF.Rachel Wynberg, Sarah Laird, Jaci Van Niekerk and Witness Kozanayi. (2015). Formalization of the Natural Product Trade in Southern Africa: Unintended Consequences and Policy Blurring in Biotrade and Bioprospecting. Society & Natural Resources, 28(5).
Download PDF.Sarah A. Laird, Rachel Wynberg, and Rebecca J. McLain. (2011). Regulating Complexity: Policies for the Governance of Non-timber Forest Products. In: Shackleton S., Shackleton C., Shanley P. (eds) Non-Timber Forest Products in the Global Context. Tropical Forestry, vol 7. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Download PDF.Sarah A. Laird and Rachel Wynberg. (2007). Less is often more: governance of a non-timber forest product, marula (Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra) in southern Africa. International Forestry Review 9(1).
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