Projects
Featured here are recent and ongoing FAO projects and initiatives related to NWFPs. Technical assistance aligns with FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022-31 which supports the achievement of the broader SDG agenda. Core areas of technical assistance include supporting and promoting:
- sustainable NWFP-based value chains;
- food security and nutrition by optimizing the use of NWFPs;
- the sustainable management of NWFPs and associated habitats and services;
- an enabling environment, including through improved policies, data and knowledge.
| Title | Capacity Development Programme on enhancing Non-Wood Forest Products value chains - Lessons from the Republic of Korea |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Forests, woodlands and natural ecosystems host most of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, harbouring thousands of wild plant, fungi and animal species, often referred to as non-wood forest products (NWFP). As many as 50 000 wild species are used worldwide for food, medicine, energy, income, cultural identity and other practices, supporting half of the world’s population and about 70% of the world’s poor. |
| Start date | 2024 |
| End date | 2024 |
| Title | Global workshops on forests, trees and wild species’ contributions to sustainable agrifood system transformation |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Forests, woodlands and other ecosystems are home to thousands of wild plants, fungi and animal species that are used for food, medicine, energy, income, cultural identity and other practices. Globally, 50 000 wild species are used by some 5.76 billion people and play a vital role in human health and nutrition, especially for women, children, Indigenous Peoples and vulnerable segments of society. Yet these benefits are often overlooked in policy and practice. |
| Start date | 2023 |
| Title | Capacity building on the sustainable conservation and utilization of medicinal plants and non-timber forest products in Astore Valley and Deosai National Park Buffer Zone of Gilgit-Baltistan |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The project aims to promote conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants and other non-timber forest products in the Astore valley, and adjoining buffer zones of DNP through ethnobotanical surveys to assess the status of medicinal plant species used, their distribution, status and volumes harvested; to identify and implement appropriate management options for sustainable harvesting. |
| Start date | 2023 |
| End date | 2025 |
| Budget | 100,000 USD |
| Project Code | TCP/PAK/3904/C2 (22/IX/PAK/252) |
| Title | Strengthening country capacities to enable forest-based contributions to healthy and sustainable agrifood systems |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The project aims to strengthen institutional capacities to support and upscale interventions to enhance the contributions of forests, trees and non-wood forest products (NWFPs) to healthy and sustainable agrifood systems by optimizing their untapped potential. This will simultaneously address country priorities and commitments related to nutrition, poverty, biodiversity and climate through a systems-approach. |
| Start date | 2023 |
| End date | 2025 |
| Budget | 500,000 US$ |
| Project Code | TCP/INT/3905 |
| Title | Assessing data for MAPs (2019-2020) |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Assessment of data for selected flagship medicinal and aromatic plants to improve the visibility of non-wood forest products in forest statistics, support more systematic monitoring and inform associated policy and decision making, with the ultimate aim of assessing the sustainability of value chains for improved livelihoods and conservation of plant diversity. |
| Start date | 2019 |
| End date | 2020 |
| Title | Building nutrition-sensitive wild product value chains in Uganda |
|---|---|
| Introduction | With training and integration of NWFPs in forest management, land-use planning and nutrition and livelihood interventions, NWFPs have the potential to make a greater contribution to nutrition and food security, particularly dietary diversity and quality, as well as increased household income and the conservation of biodiversity. |
| Start date | 2018 |
| End date | 2020 |
| Title | Wild Foods Zambia |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Quantification of wild foods from forests is essential to give a clear picture of the role of forests in supporting diet, nutrition, and livelihoods, particularly for rural communities, and to support these communities or collecting cooperatives in developing sustainable value chains for their products. |
| Start date | 2018 |
| End date | 2019 |
| Title | Enhancing the contribution of non-timber forest products to food security in Central African countries 2013-2016 |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The project contributes to food security and sustainable forest management in Central Africa in general and specifically in the Republic Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Rwanda, Burundi and Sao Tomé & Principe through the valorisation of NWFP by local people. |
| Start date | 2014 |
| End date | 2017 |
| Budget | EUR 3,589,587 |
| Project Code | GCP/RAF/479/AFB |
| Title | Action Against Desertification |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Action Against Desertification is an initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) to restore drylands and degraded lands in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific to tackle the detrimental social, economic and environmental impact of land degradation and desertification. It is a key partner of the Great Green Wall initiative, Africa's flagship programme to combat the effects of climate change and desertification across North Africa, the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. |
| Start date | 2014 |
| Donor | European Union |
| Title | Enhancing the contribution of NWFP to poverty alleviation and food security in Central African countries 2009-2012 |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The project contributes to poverty alleviation and sustainable forest management in Central Africa in general and specifically in Gabon, the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo through the valorisation of non-wood forest products by local people. |
| Start date | 2009 |
| End date | 2012 |
| Budget | USD 3 842 271 |
| Donor | Germany |
| Project Code | GCP/RAF/441/GER |