There is global recognition that forests are not only about trees but also about the people who live in and around them. Empirical evidence on the role of forests in food security, poverty reduction through income and employment generation, and addressing the challenges of climate change is increasingly being generated and documented. Over 1.6 billion people worldwide depend heavily on forest resources for their livelihoods, of which 1.2 billion people in developing countries use trees on farms to generate food and income.

For the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region where forest resources are scarce and the potentials for timber production are limited, non-wood forest products (NWFPs) such as fruit, bark, roots, tubers, corms, leaves, flowers, nuts, gums, sap, resins, dyes, honey, mushrooms, medicinal and aromatic plants, and wildlife animal products are becoming ever more important. Local people use these products to meet their daily needs; as a source of food, fodder and medicine, and to generate income. However, current production of NWFPs represents a small fraction of what it could actually be in most countries in the region, and its full potential for poverty reduction, livelihood improvement and environmental sustainability has yet to be harnessed to help local people in the region out of poverty and food insecurity. Although the commercialization of NWFPs in the NENA region runs deep in the region’s history and has done for thousands of years, local producers still remain on the side-lines and receive a much smaller commercial margin compared to what other actors receive.

In this context the FAO, through its Regional Initiative for Small-Scale Family Farming (SSFF), supported country studies in selected NENA countries on the potential of NWFPs for value chain development and value addition to generate evidence-based data on the valorization of NWFPs in the NENA region. The aim is to support policy recommendations, strategies and actions that can increase benefit retention and poverty reduction by commercializing NWFPs at the local level and boost their contribution to the well-being of rural communities, national economies and to the sustainable development of the NENA countries overall.