NTFPs on Nakai Plate.. - TABI

3 PROMINENT NTFP’S OF NAKAI PLATEAU
3.1 Listing of NTFP’s by groups of villagers
Villagers were asked to list all products which they gather from the forest. A complete list of
all NTFP’s recorded in this study is given in Annex 1: “NTFP List”. A total number of 306
NTFP species were recorded during this short survey (Table 1).
Table 1: Main categories of NTFP’s found on the Nakai plateau,
identified by villagers in 5 villages visited, March 1997.
Category No of species Category No of species
A: Food Products 223 B: Non-food Products 67
1 rattan/bamboo shoots 17 1 rattans 7
2 tubers 7 2 bamboos 8
3 vegetables 40 3 grasses, fibres 9
4 fruits 51 4 medicines 43
5 mushrooms 9
6 mammals 31 C: Sellable Products 16
7 birds 24
8 reptiles 13 TOTAL 306
9 fishes 28
10 molluscs 3
The most prominent NTFP’s will be described in more detail in the next paragraphs.
3.2 Main products for local use
Rattan and bamboo shoots, cooked or eaten raw, are the most important side dish to rice on
the daily menu. The two most common species are “boun” (Daemonorops schmidtiana), a
medium sized rattan, and “san” (Raphis sp.) a small palm tree.
Fish and other water animals like frogs, shrimps, soft-shelled turtles, crabs and molluscs are
probably the most important source of protein in the diet of villagers on the Nakai plateau, as
in most of Lao PDR. There are over 85 species of fish in the upper Nam Theun region
(Roberts, 1996; Kottelat, 1996). In our survey, villagers mentioned 28 species.
Wildlife is a more important source of protein than livestock for most villages in the upper
Nam Theun. Some 31 mammal species, 24 bird species and 13 reptile species were recorded
as regularly eaten (see appendix 1). During our fieldwork, freshly hunted animals were
regularly offered for sale to the team: we saw junglefowl (Gallus gallus), mousedeer
(Tragulus javanicus), red squirrels (Calliosciurus finlaysoni), brown hornbill (Ptilolaemus
tickelii).
Vegetables: Some 40 types of leaves from trees, shrubs and herbs are eaten fresh or cooked.
These are commonly referred to as “phak”. Tubers, “man”,”koy” (Dioscorea spp.) are eaten
as a susbstitute for rice in times of hunger. Mushrooms, “hed” are important in the rainy
season. Various flowers, “dok” and forest fruits “mak” (51 species) are also gathered and
eaten.