Files
Details
Title
Forest Product Markets, Forests and Poverty Reduction
Author(s)
Belcher, Brian M.
Issue Date
Aug 16 2005
Publication Type
Conference Paper/ Presentation
DOI and Other Identifiers
10.22004/ag.econ.124400
Record Identifier
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/124400
PURL Identifier
http://purl.umn.edu/124400
Language
English
Total Pages
11
Note
There is a new and increasing emphasis on poverty
alleviation and livelihoods improvement in forestry,
representing both a challenge and an
opportunity. This paper briefly reviews the evolution
of the ‘livelihoods’ issue, analyses the concept of
‘poverty alleviation’ and discusses means by which
forestry can contribute to livelihoods improvement.
It focuses on the contributions of forest products
and markets, questioning the typical timber vs nontimber
dichotomy. The role and the potential of a
forest product is determined more by the socioeconomic
and environmental context of the production,
processing and marketing system than by
the physical characteristics of the product itself.
This is important as new opportunities arise
through increased control of resources by local
people and new markets for forest products. Helping
achieve poverty alleviation through forestry requires
protecting poverty mitigation functions,
enhancing income and employment options, and
taking advantage of opportunities to build and
strengthen local institutions through policies and
project-level interventions.