NTFPs on Nakai Plate.. - TABI

PART 1:
SUMMARY
A: Background
This report describes the findings of a short mission (3 weeks) to study the use of Non
Timber Forest Products (NTFP’s) on the Nakai Plateau, Khammouan Province, Lao PDR.
This study is part of a larger study on resettlement options on the Nakai Plateau, which is
undertaken by NTEC, the consortium aiming to construct the Nakai Nam Theun 2
Hydroelectric Power Project.
The terms of reference for the NTFP mission were:
- to identify type and value of NTFP’s currently used by the villagers on the Nakai plateau;
- to identify traditional user boundaries for various NTFP’s, especially in the proposed
resettlement area;
- to identify potential opportunities for the NTFP’s that occur naturally and their sustainable
use and value;
- to identify potential opportunities for improvement in the use of NTFP’s in the resettlement
area.
A team of three staff members of the Department of Forestry, currently working with its
NTFP Project (financed by Lao and Netherlands Governments, assisted by IUCN) were
assigned for this mission. They were assisted by their field advisor in setting up the survey
and in designing the report.
The group used state-of-the-art Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) techniques such as building
rapport, semi-structured interviews with key informants, cross checking, structured group
meetings, participatory group sketch mapping, listing and ranking of NTFP’s, ranking of
income and expenditure, wealth ranking, forest walks, rapid forest inventories and simple
family interview questionnaires, to identify current use of NTFP’s in 5 selected villages on
the Nakai plateau: Khone Ken, Kaoy, Nakai Neua, Sop Phene and Thalang.
B: Main findings
1- interviewed villagers could identify 306 species of NTFP’s: 223 food products and 67 nonfood
products. Among the food products, 50 species of edible leaves, 50 fruit species, 31
mammals, 28 fishes were identified.
2- kisi resin (damar resin from Shorea sp.), fish/frogs, edible rattan shoots (Raphis sp. and
Daemonorops schmidtii), cardamom (Amomum sp.) and wildlife are considered by villagers
to be the most important products from the forest. Food products are more numerous and
considered more important (56%) than non-food products (44%).
3- According to ranking exercises, done with groups of villagers, NTFP’s account for 76 %
of average family income over all five villages surveyed. Livestock sales are the second most
important source of income (16%). Within the NTFP’s, kisi resin (14%), fish (12%),
cardamom (11%) and wildlife (10 %) are the most important products sold.
4- In the same exercise, we used to ask villagers to also rank their main expenditures. Buying
rice (18%), other food (14%), clothes (13%) and medicines (12%) are considered as the main
family expenditures.