<Nature and Our Future: The Mekong Basin and Japan>

1-2. Non-Timber Forest Product Use and Food Security:
The Lao Case
The Importance of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs)
People living in agricultural villages in Laos are self sufficient, growing crops and collecting andconsuming food from forests and rivers. Approximately 70% of people live in mountainous regions
and practice shifting cultivation as one of a variety of agricultural practices (NAFRI et al. 2005). Nontimber forest products (NTFPs) have a very important significance for their livelihood1.
NTFPs are taken from the mosaic of forest and fallow lands created by swidden agriculture (NAFRI etal. 2005), and the amount consumed is second only to the staple of rice (Foppes and Ketphanh 2004).
In agricultural communities in Laos, because farming depends on the natural environment, it isdifficult to maintain a steady level of food production. The role that edible NTFPs play is therefore
very important. In addition, less than 1/4 of a household’s total income is cash, of which income
from NTFPs is 40-50% (Foppes and Ketphanh 2004; NAFRI et al. 2005). There is a tendency forhouseholds with lesser cash income to depend more heavily on NTFPs (Greijmans et al. 2007; Rosaleset al. 2003).
NTFPs can be directly consumed as food, and they also support livelihood by being sold in domestic
markets or exported internationally. When people do not have enough rice, selling NTFPs enables
them to purchase rice, so NTFPs are especially important for people living in areas where riceproduction is limited (Foppes and Ketphanh 2004). It can be said that the traditionally sustainableagricultural practices of Lao agricultural communities have actually conserved the rich naturalenvironment, because the way they have managed and venerated forests ensures that NTFPs are notexhausted.
The importance of NTFPs in Laos can be summarized in the following categories: (1) food security;(2) cash or non-cash income; (3) agricultural community small-scale businesses; (4) construction
materials for houses, building tools; (5) medicine; and (6) conservation of biodiversity in wild animals
and wild and cultivated plants (NAFRI et al. 2005).

Use of NTFPs
It has become known that up to now, 700 varieties of NTFPs have been used in Lao agriculturalvillages (See Table). There are many different types of NTFPs, and it is clear that biodiversity has
been made use of in agricultural life. For people living in agricultural villages, aquatic animals (fish,frogs, shrimp, snails, shellfish, etc.) and land animals (birds, rodents) are also forest products. These
are important sources of protein in the daily diet (Foppes and Ketphanh 2004).
There are about 25 varieties of NTFPs that are for commercial use, and NTFPs are important sourcesof income for agricultural communities. Edible products are bought and sold in domestic markets,and medicinal plants and spices are often exported to neighboring countries like Thailand, China, andVietnam. Benzoin is used for perfumes and exported to France, and aromatic trees are exported toJapan and Arab countries (NAFRI et al. 2005).
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<Nature and Our Future: The Mekong Basin and Japan>

Category# ofproducts

Examplesfruit, seeds

87

sugar palm fruits, Baccaurea berries, Irvingia nuts

leaves86

Barringtonia, Lasia, Azadirachta, Centellashoots (spouts, stems)

23

bamboo shoots, rattan shoots, palm hearts

tubers, roots

22

yam tubers (Dioscorea), galangal roots

mushrooms

16

ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, termite mushrooms
Sesbania, Butea

flowers4

all plants (subtotal)

238

fish

300

birds

63

Cyprinidae (Cypriniformes), Pangasiidae,Siluridae (Siluriformes), Notopteridae
doves (Columbindae), partridges (Phasianidae), pheasants(Phasianidae), bulbuls (Pycnonotidae), estrildas (Passerinae)

mammals54

squirrel, wild boar, rats, civets, mouse deer

reptiles and amphibians

41

frogs, monitor lizards, snakes, turtles

mollusks

7

freshwater shrimp, crabs, snails, shells

insects

5

red ant eggs, bamboo grub, dung beetles

All animals (subtotal)

470

Total708

Table: NTFPs used in Laos (based on Foppes and Ketphanh 2004)2

The Lao government understands the importance of NTFPs. However, because it decided to increase
the percentage of forest cover to 70% by 2020 (Lao PDR 2005), local governments tend to look onlyat this numerical target. Afforestation projects are being emphasized in order to increase forest cover,but some of these projects are implemented after logging natural forests first, so increasing forest
cover does not necessarily mean conservation of biodiversity, or villagers’ stable access to NFTPs.
References
Foppes, J., and S. Ketphanh. 2004. NTFP Use and Household Food Security in Lao PDR.
Forest Research Centre (FRC) and SNV Netherlands Development Organization.
http://www.mekonginfo.org/mrc_en/doclib.nsf/0/BC0D1629438B4CAB472571420024AC37/$FILE/FULLTEXT.pdf
Greijmans, M., P. Phonnachith, P. Thongda, S. Ponpakdy, and N. Chantavong. 2007.
Selected NTFPs for Development in Phoukoun, Xieng Nguen, Ngoi, and Phakxeng Districts, Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang, Lao PDR: World Vision.
Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR). 2005. Forestry Strategy to Year 2020 of Lao PDR.
National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), National Agriculture and Forestry Extension Service (NAFES), andNational University of Lao PDR (NUOL). 2005. Improving Livelihoods in the Uplands of the Lao PDR, Volume 2: Options andOpportunities. Vientiane, Lao PDR: NAFRI.
http://www.nafri.org.la/03_information/sourcebook/Volume2.htm
Nonaka, Kenichi et al. 2008. Rice Paddies that Nurture Living Creatures and their Use. In Kenichi Nonaka (ed.)
Vientiane Plains Life: Diverse Uses of Environment in Rice Farming Villages. Tokyo, Japan: Mekong.
Rosales, R. M. P., M. F. Kallesoe, P. Gerrard, P. Muangchanh, S. Phomtavong, and S. Khamsomphou. 2003.
The Economic Returns from Conserving Natural Forests in Sekong, Lao PDR. Vientiane, Lao
PDR: International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Kumiko Totsu and Yuka Kiguchi

1. There are various definitions of NTFP, but here we will define it as materials from the forest that people use and that are not made ofwood.
2. According to one Japanese survey, there are 17 insect species, including stink bugs (Pentatomoidea), scarabs, cicadae, and earthboring scarab beetles (Nonaka et al., 2008).

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