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GLOBAL NTFP PARTNERSHIP - STRATEGY DOCUMENT
Introduction
More than two billion people around the world depend on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for food, shelter, medicine, fuel, and cash income. Despite their importance for sustaining rural livelihoods, furthering rural poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation, and facilitating rural economic growth, NTFPs have not received the sustained and systematic support given to conventional agriculture and forestry. Instead, they remain largely neglected by national and local government development strategies, donor priorities and often overlooked by the formal private sector. Where markets for NTFPs do exist, informal trade has in many cases led to over-harvesting and to opaque trading structures and inefficient markets.
With a more effective regional and inter-regional institutional infrastructure to encourage systematic and sustainable resource management; develop more formal product markets; provide technical, financial, and marketing assistance to producers; and promote policies that facilitate the sustainable use and marketing of NTFPs, this under-harnessed sub-sector could make a significant and ecologically sustainable contribution to rural economies and environment.
The Global Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) Partnership, henceforth referred to as the “Partnership”, will link global, regional, and national organizations currently engaged in research and development activities concerning the systematic conservation and management of NTFPs in four regions: Africa, East and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and South Asia. Leveraging a regionally-focused, global network, the NTFP Partnership will raise the profile of NTFPs and enhance capacities, relevance and effectiveness of partners, producers and all other stakeholders. Through local investments in marketing, management, and policy research relevant to NTFP production, the Partnership will aim to create a virtuous cycle where success breeds greater interest, and greater interest breeds further success.
Organizational Description and Governance
The Partnership will establish a Coordination Unit (CU) in New Delhi, which will be facilitated through INBAR. It is planned to recruit a full-time coordinator early in 2007. The coordinator will assume supervisory, organizational and coordination responsibilities for all activities of the Partnership in 2007. A Steering Committee (SC) will be constituted to oversee the work of the CU. Initially, a limited number of groups or task forces (TF) will be set up to backstop activities in a limited number of selected priority areas.
It is envisaged that the governance structure will evolve along with the developing portfolio of the Partnership. This will include Regional Focal Units for liaison with the regional fora, groups or task forces to backstop and support ongoing technical work of the Partnership in focused technical or cross-cutting areas, and distributed responsibilities for business development, i.e., donor liaison and project/proposal development. Leadership in the various technical and cross-cutting areas will be vested in partners with relevant and outstanding expertise. SC and TF will be constituted from among the partnership members.
Vision
To promote collaborative efforts, synergies and economies of scale for addressing strategic NTFPs research and development issues of global relevance for contributing in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Mission
Develop, provide, and promote best practices, relevant information sharing, sound technologies, ethical trade & enterprise activities, sound conservation and development solutions, and pro-poor policies and institutional framework to benefit people and environment.
Contribute to sustainable forest management through social and environmentally friendly economic solutions to the use of NTFPs to benefit NTFP-dependent rural communities around the world.
Goal: Enhance the quality of life of poor and disadvantaged peoples around the globe making favourable impacts on quality of life and livelihoods of poor and marginalized communities.
Purpose: In pursuit of the mission and goal, the purposes of NTFP partnership include: a) identifying, coordinating and supporting demand driven, people-centred and livelihood-focused research and development work consistent with the priorities set by national programs, local stakeholders and global and regional partner organizations; b) building skills and enhancing capacity of research and outreach organizations; and c) strengthening national, regional, and international coordination, cooperation and collaboration and networking.
Value Statements
1. The Global NTFP Partnership is a multi-level stakeholder platform that fosters a partnership approach to R&D and brings into play a more diverse range of actors than conventional approaches;
2. Partnership-based approaches require considerably higher commitment in time for partners' identification, consensus building, complementarities, strategy formulation, and evaluation; all these together serve to develop capacity including networking and information exchange;
3. The Partnership is based on the following principles: a) Complementarity and recognition of institutional roles; b) Promotion of innovative mode of collaborative research based on an “open nucleus” principle in which partners are active parts; c) Facilitating collaboration of a critical mass of researchers and pooling of research outputs in key areas of strategic importance; d) Promote the development of action-oriented R&D network or working groups; e) Enhance economies of scale; f) Foster learning processes.
Goals and Strategies
Goal 1. Strengthened profiles of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and stakeholders
Efforts to promote wider recognition of the economic and ecological importance of NTFPs have not gained sufficient traction in national policy debates. Internationally, there is a notable lack of collaboration and networking. NTFPs continue to be considered marginal products that have not received the desirable attention for management interventions and institutional and financial investments given to more conventional agricultural and forestry products. The Partnership will build on the experience of previous NTFP programmes, with its profile raising activities being rooted in the partners’ competencies and local action research sites.
The ability to scale up research and development activities from the partner sites will be the ultimate measure of the Global Partnership’s success. Here, the Partnership’s strong institutional base will facilitate the sharing of institutional, financial, ecological and marketing innovations from locally-based activities to a broad regional and, where applicable, global communities.
The Partnership will strengthen NTFPs’ and stakeholders’ profiles by:
Strategy 1.1 Developing a global institutional system that leads and coordinates among a broad range of NTFP stakeholders
Strategy 1.2 Building a partner network based on actors who are or could be well-positioned to undertake and promote NTFP research and development
Strategy 1.3 Coordinating a range of multi-stakeholder activities around action research partnership sites, designed to create the basis for regional sectoral cohesion and multiplier effects
Strategy 1.4 Designing and launching awareness programmes aimed primarily at policymakers, producers, market players and users
Strategy 1.5 Scaling up of successful practices and innovations
Goal 2. Enhanced capacities of partners and producers
Key task of the Global Partnership is to strengthen the role and status of partner organizations and skills of producers, for creating greater national and regional level support for NTFPs marketing and management.
The Partnership will enhance capacities of partners and producers by:
Strategy 2.1 Enhancing technical and market knowledge and skills through facilitating regional and global training initiatives
Strategy 2.2 Developing and/or facilitating the use of systems and tools to improve access to information, knowledge and technology
Strategy 2.3 Facilitating the establishment of rural financing systems providing micro-credits to rural producers and entrepreneurs
Strategy 2.4 Facilitating the establishment of producer associations, rural enterprises and other means to empower producers and collectors and to increase incomes along value chains
Strategy 2.5 Developing and disseminating successful partnership models
Goal 3. Improved NTFP frameworks: markets, policies, and livelihood opportunities
Both supply and demand factors hinder more vibrant NTFP markets. On the supply side, producers often lack access to credit, technology, and skills. On the demand side, markets are often enshrouded in informal arrangements where traders have monopsony or oligopsony status. In combination, supply- and demand-side constraints mean that producers are typically relegated to the lowest rung of the value added ladder. Where NTFPs are collected, over-production as a result of falling per unit prices can lead to the depletion of the resource base which, in turn, threatens producers’ livelihoods. The creation of well functioning NTFP markets where producers add more value will require both supply- and demand-side interventions.
Many of the policy issues most relevant to NTFP marketing and management are not NTFP specific, e.g., use rights. Supply chains are often inefficient because of broader regulatory measures restricting local or international trade. While many of these issues are also country specific, a global partnership can provide a forum for developing and sharing best practices among partner countries. Because of regional trade linkages many policies that govern trade also have implications for the marketing and management of NTFPs. The Partnership will provide a forum for recognizing cross-border issues and identifying ways — whether through coordinated policy or more formal supply chains — to address them.
The Partnership will improve markets, policies and livelihood opportunities by:
Strategy 3.1 Improving producers’ access to market information
Strategy 3.2 Identifying policy issues in both NTFP marketing and management, both within and across regions as well as locally
Strategy 3.3 Developing and disseminating policy recommendations
Goal 4. Improved NTFP management systems
In part due to the market forces mentioned above, NTFPs collection, extraction, and cultivation has in many cases proved environmentally destructive, both to NTFP species themselves and to surrounding ecosystems. In cases where management techniques are more sustainable, either based on traditional skills or science-based interventions, learning has been cloistered or the ability to share information locally or regionally has often been limited.
A second difficulty in making inventory of sustainable management techniques lies in the sheer diversity of NTFP species. Some NTFPs are collected; others are cultivated. Because of this diversity, formalizing knowledge of flora and fauna and management techniques suited to different regions has proved a daunting task. Models — whether centralized or decentralized; global, national, or local — for better cataloguing NTFP species and management approaches are still underdeveloped.
The Partnership will improve NTFP management systems by:
Strategy 4.1 Developing models for the scientific inventory of NTFPs and encourage species-specific research for in-situ and ex-situ conservation interventions
Strategy 4.2 Encouraging and facilitating action research on scientific extraction and prevention of destructive harvesting and on cultivation
Strategy 4.3 Collecting and disseminating information and knowledge about improved NTFP management systems
Annexes
Goals for Steering Committee and Coordinator
Functions of the Steering Committee
1. Review progress in achievement of goals of the Partnership annually
2. Analyse the implementation of various strategies and if required, request amendments in the strategies for achieving the various goals
3. Approve the five year/ long-term ‘Action Plan’ as well as annual action plans for the partnerships
4. Approve action research and demonstration sites in the partner countries
Duties and functions of the Co-ordinator
1. Ensure smooth functioning of the Secretariat of the Global NTFP Partnership
2. Develop a Global NTFP Partnership website and ensure its updating with information on all activities of the Partnership
3. To remain in constant touch with the member Focal Points and pass on quickly information on the developments taking place under the Partnership
4. Play a facilitating role bringing together the partners in this initiative
5. Draft agenda for the meetings of the Steering Committees and obtain comments of the members
6. Organize meetings of the Steering Committee and regional Focal Points
7. Develop draft ‘Operational Plan’ for next five years and annual action plans and ensure follow-up on decisions taken in various meetings
8. Facilitate identification of research and development priorities in the NTFP sector
9. Project annual requirement of finances (including in-kind contributions) for the Partnership
Operating Plan
(This will in the future be a rolling plan to be prepared by the Coordinator)
The Partnership, in 2007, will have activities in the following main areas:
- Establishment of a governance structure
- Strategic fundraising
- Awareness raising, capacity and network building
- Information and knowledge management
- Project implementation
Monitoring and Evaluation
M&E will be the primary responsibility of the Coordination Unit. In addition, the Coordination Unit will prepare the M&E plan in consultation with all the partners. Logframe(s) with outputs and related indicators will be developed and will provide the basis for M&E. Consideration will be given to two different applications of indicators, i.e., performance and impact.
The NTFP Partnership will adopt an impact pathway planning and analysis approach. The assumption is that projects and programs will better achieve and communicate impact if they describe their impact pathways and then monitor and evaluate progress along them. A project's ex - ante impact pathways are the likely causal chains linking project outputs to outcomes to final impact, together with descriptions of stakeholders’ tasks.
Quantitative and qualitative indicators will be determined at the project planning stage. Baseline information will be collected at the project inception stage. Impact data collection will be a regular project feature; impact reports will be produced by the Partnership’s projects on an annual basis.
MARRAKECH DECLARATION
Declaration on the Establishment of the Global NTFP Partnership
Adopted at the Global NTFP Partnership Inception Workshop, held on 1-2 December 2005, at Marrakech, Morocco
The Global Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) Partnership Workshop, convened by the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) and sponsored by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and attended by representatives of various stakeholders,
Recognizing that:
1. NTFPs are plant resources that underwrite the survival of about 2 billion poorest of the rural and urban poor, and among the most valuable of all plant resources for our present and future security - for food, fuel, health and income security, and traditional knowledge.
2. NTFPs are an important means of addressing the Millennium Development Goals and the global effort to combat climate change.
3. NTFP products are characterized by unregulated extraction, limited value addition at source, informality, lack of stakeholder organization and support infrastructure, minimal credibility of the sector amongst policy makers and investors, despite rapidly expanding markets.
4. Policies in the NTFP sector are largely top-down, and are often revenue-driven and not livelihood-driven, to the detriment of poor rural and urban communities.
5. Informality of the sector often results in middlemen and contractors taking advantage of people’s ignorance regarding the actual market prices, as alternative marketing channels are not so easily available to the local collectors.
6. There is insufficient collaboration and networking in the NTFP sector, such that much learning remains unavailable to others.
7. NTFPs have not received the kind of institutional and financial investments that food and timber resources have had through the CGIAR system and forestry institutions, and have been orphan resources institutionally despite their vital importance.
8. Institutionally, the sector has no strategic global system and support, and only fledgling knowledge systems that capture the learning, financing is project based, without a shared institutional framework and strategy or formal information gathering and sharing systems.
We consequently resolve that:
9. To establish this day the Global NTFP Partnership that is field-based and founded in the Action Research Partnership Sites of partners in several countries.
10. The Global NTFP Partnership will be an institutional framework that brings together existing and new field sites of the partners for common good and understanding.
12. The programmatic elements of the Partnership are a function of their local relevance to communities within local Action Research Partnership Sites with strategic technical, financial and marketing partnerships but together provide globally relevant strategic policies.
13. Technical issues on specific NTFPs common to several sites will be worked on by NTFP-specific Technical Working Groups that will bring in diverse interested partners.
14. Issues on thematic areas of supply chain management, marketing, pro-poor commoditization, financing systems, etc., will be addressed by cross-cutting NTFP Thematic Groups.
15. A global learning and knowledge repository and management system which collects, secures, organizes and delivers information and knowledge both locally to those who need to benefit the most, and globally to those who have the knowledge and experience to make it happen, will be put in place. An annual calendar of training events and Open and Distance Learning (ODL) materials would be developed to complement the above.
16. The programme will be a stakeholder-led initiative with a strong bottom-up issue based and priority setting strategic approach focused on capacity building, knowledge-sharing and validation in the forest/on farm, with supporting institutional arrangements that will be put into place in project locations.
17. A range of strategic partnerships will be developed to make available the range of knowledge and skills that will be needed. Where possible, private sector partnerships will be encouraged.
18. The initiative will, at the outset, make use of the partners’ in-kind contributions (including sites, staff resources, information and knowledge) to consolidate previous and ongoing activities and outputs. All partners commit to making efforts in fundraising to expand the scope of the initiative to further sites, NTFPs, projects and activities.
19. The initiative remains open to future cooperation with other relevant initiatives and partners.
We the undersigned endorse the establishment of the Global NTFP Partnership and resolve to work together to achieve its goals. Signed on the second of December 2005, in Marrakech, Morocco.
--Rkwaschik 01:16, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
GFAR GPP Process
The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) is a forum for the discussion of strategic issues in agricultural research for development (ARD). It facilitates and promotes cost-effective partnerships and strategic alliances among ARD stakeholders in their efforts to alleviate poverty, increase food security and promote the sustainable use of natural resources. GFAR stakeholders work together to define and develop the GFAR Programme of Work and activities in a consultative manner. The seven GFAR stakeholders are: National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), international agricultural research centres of the CGIAR, advanced research institutes, farmers' organisations, NGOs, private sector, and donors and development agencies.
New modes of research collaboration are emerging as part of the gradual shift in the organisational structure of science and research towards more collaborative modalities and participatory approaches. The Global Forum, as a multistakeholder led initiative, was established precisely to facilitate and promote the emergence of these "new and innovative" research partnerships, which can play a key role in the process of building the emerging Global Agricultural Research System in ARD. For this purpose GFAR is fostering Global Partnership Programmes (GPPs) which are collaborative programmes, projects or activities initiated, developed and implemented by recognized GFAR stakeholder groups, and which remain open to participation by other stakeholders as and when they find a suitable niche. GPPs seek to exploit the comparative advantages of participating stakeholders, and are aimed to be implemented at the most effective level - local, regional or global.
In March 2004 an agreement was reached between GFAR and INBAR to develop the GPP. A concept was developed and discussed between the GFAR Secretariat, FAO and INBAR at a meeting in Rome; there has also been limited electronic polling in Asia to determine interest in such a GPP of various partners, which indicated strong interest (August 2004). In October 2004 a presentation of the proposal was made to the GFAR Steering Committee Meeting in Mexico City. The proposal was supported by APAARI and FARA. The GFAR newsletter reported that "The Steering Committee recommended that the NTFP programme continue the consultation process to ascertain the true global nature and relative interest of stakeholders in a GPP around the NTFP theme."
Consequently, the regional fora in Asia, Africa and Latin America have been consulted with and the proposed GPP on NTFPs was welcomed:
- Presentation to the APAARI General Meeting in Bangkok; APAARI welcomed the GPP on NTFPs (December 2004).
- Presentation to the AARINENA Executive Committee Meeting in Marrakech; AARINENA supports the GPP (December 2004).
- Presentation to FORAGRO in Panama; FORAGRO supports proposal as a necessary initiative (April 2005).
- Presentation to FARA (side-event and plenary), no objections (June 2005).
- The Governments of India, Ecuador and Mozambique are supporting the GPP.
Further, a representative of the NTFP Partnership was invited to participate in the GFAR Learning and Review Workshop on Global Partnership Programmes in Rome in January 2006. The objective of the GFAR review process was inter alia to establish clear guidelines for the development of GPPs.
At the GFAR Programme Committee and Steering Committee meetings in November/December 2006 in Washington, the NTFP Partnership has been approved as a GFAR Global Partnership Programme.
SWOT Analysis
Findings from the SWOT analysis of the Global NTFP Partnership
A SWOT analysis was carried out in July/August 2006 to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in relation to the Global NTFP Partnership. The results are summarized below:
Summary of Strengths
Overall many participants in this analysis found the main strength of this partnership to be the variety of organizations involved worldwide. This collaboration will inevitably bring a variety of experiences and knowledge that will help build the future success of the partnership. It is important that there is collaboration in sharing of information for this partnership to be a success. A further strength of this partnership is how it will raise awareness of and interest in NTFPs, which will promote the livelihoods of producers. Also, the partnership will help advance the management of NTFPs in both local and international markets.
Summary of Weaknesses
The fact that not all partners communicated and contributed equally was seen as a weakness [though this is probably a common phenomenon in collaborative endeavors]. Also, the lack of funding from a central donor might impede on the future success of the partnership. The partners also saw the goals and objectives as too unfocused and the target group too broad, some suggesting to narrow down the group to a few select more important NTFPs, at least to start [a concern which in the meantime has been addressed by carrying out a partnership survey in order to better define key competencies, complementarities/synergies and priorities].
Summary of Opportunities
One of the main propositions made by the partners was how at many international events where most of the partners are attending; there could be side venues where all could meet and discuss. Also, a few partners thought that at these events it would be a good idea to make an international announcement of the creation of the partnership, so others could be informed about the intentions of the partnership. An innovative solution to the communication problem made by one partner was the addition of web cams to phone conferences, to create a more personal feel. Also, it was recommended that there should be more concept notes written to prospective donors to look for external funding.
Summary of Threats
The main threat to this partnership, mentioned by a majority of the partners, is a lack of funding and support from donor agencies. Some partners felt a lack of action and motivation to move forward. Some partners see the initiating organization of the partnership could be potentially too assertive which could hamper cooperation by all partners [again, this concern has been addressed by surveying the partnership to better define strengths, needs and future direction].
Survey September 2006 - Results
Executive Summary
This report presents the Global NTFP Partnership survey information, which was carried out in late 2006 in order to facilitate (i) the identification of areas of common interest and complementarities among partners, (ii) priority issues for interventions, based on informed judgment by partners, and (iii) key competencies of partners. The objective of this survey was to find synergies and complementarities among the partners in order to develop ideas and concept notes for engaging donors.
This survey was administered through e-mail and also through an online survey platform in order to gather responses from the partners. The survey was designed to collect data on a wide range of indicators including, NTFPs and locations, interventions, competencies, and priority issues.
The results from this survey suggest that the respondent partners are involved in several areas of NTFP management, including, but not limited to, production to consumption value chain management, organic collection and cultivation system development, economic development of local communities, etc. Their work is focused in Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Respondents are competent in a variety of technical skills, including, but not limited to, enterprise development and management, forestry research, and certification. Main strengths appear to be in capacity building, business and enterprise development, and in working with communities.
A range of priorities and opportunities for cooperation have been identified by respondents. The question of identifying priority species is emerging as an important next step in order to increase relevance and credibility of interventions. It is recommended to further develop priorities and complementarities among the partners to establish common platforms for focused and effective interventions. During 2007, the Partnership should identify and focus on strategic areas where these resources can make a difference.
Recommendations
It is evident from responses to the survey that the members of the Partnership are in a position to mobilize formidable knowledge and technical resources. This section of the survey report aims to summarize key competencies and to indicate potential areas where those competencies can create synergies. It also briefly examines ways to use this information and suggests next steps for the Partnership.
The Partnership’s main strengths are in capacity building, business and enterprise development, and in working with communities. These business and livelihood competencies can be complemented by some respondents’ familiarity with biodiversity conservation, forest certification and governance, and policy dialoguing. Respondents explicitly and most frequently mention the sharing of knowledge and information, and mutual learning as major areas where the Partnership’s collective resources can be brought to bear. Further issues that would benefit from various partners’ expertise are (i) formalized or institutionalized supply chains as the current informal chains are detrimental to communities’ livelihoods and (ii) the expansion of research sites across regions. In fact, one of the original pillars of the Partnership has been the development and collaborative use of Action Research Partnership Sites (ARPS) at existing partners’ or new sites. In light of partners’ competencies as well as identified research needs, such sites could be a central mechanism of the Partnership to address location-specific research issues and to validate practices and technologies across diverse environments and settings.
Obviously, the possible complementarities and synergies of the Partnership are diverse and need to be developed in light of stakeholders’ (partners, beneficiaries and investors) actual requirements and in a context of thrusts and priorities of the Partnership.
From the above it appears that significant opportunities for cooperation exist in the conservation-utilization-livelihoods continuum. There are also suggestions regarding research needs to fill knowledge gaps as well as to find specific solutions to problems. The following themes are emerging from partners’ responses and provide food for thought and for action:
- Several NTFPs or groups of NTFPs have been suggested by respondents as priority species. These include medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP), bamboo, forest foods, mushrooms, and nuts. [Comment: A need for a more narrow focus on priority species has in fact been expressed in earlier interactions with partners and the Partnership may wish to consider the issue further in light of the points below.]
- Selection of priority species should be the first task of the Partnership. This suggestion has three components: (i) NTFPs in vogue in major source countries (particularly, in global biodiversity hotspots such as Brazil, China, India, Sri Lanka & African countries) and/or any other country having representation in the Partnership, considering utilization patterns under various categories of application. (ii) Based on this information NTFPs with global relevance can be identified. (iii) Value chain analyses for at least 5 – 10 top NTFPs for each country should be carried out to arrive at the financial value of the individual commodities, market dynamics influencing their utilization and supply-demand gaps in the respective countries or at global level where applicable. In this way it would be ensured that interventions benefit large numbers of communities and have global relevance. [Comment: This is a very specific and helpful contribution and a valuable opportunity to generate strategic information. The originator has in fact offered to carry out the task of collecting and collating the information from the partners. Serious thought should be given to this and full participation of the partners is expected.]
- Biodiversity conservation
- Certification
- Scientific and sustainable management and collecting
- Product and technology innovations, processing
- Policy aspects and ownership, access rights
- Marketing, market development and access, fair prices for collectors
- Collaboration across national or regional borders
Nest steps for the Partnership should be to revisit likely synergies by focusing on key competencies and to develop a list of priority project ideas. These should be assessed against donors’ priorities and a shortlist of ideas with a likelihood of attracting funding should be developed into concept notes and later proposals if and when warranted. The identification of priority species and products based on available data and information, possibly complemented by a study into less accessible data such as value chain analyses (see above) would be an important input towards attracting and engaging investors as we will need to produce hard evidence (i.e., data) to support our case. Strategic work of this kind will have to be a major part of the Partnership’s activities in 2007, besides PR and other outreach activities, and it will be key to the viability and sustainability of the Partnership. All partners are strongly encouraged to contribute actively to this process.
