LIVELIHOOD POTENTIAL AND ECONOMIC STATUS OF NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCE (NTFP) IN SABARKANTHA DIVISION OF GUJARAT

Non-timber forest products (NTFP) will constitutes the largest determinant of livelihood for communities and the poor surrounding the forests. In India, many tribal communities live in and nearby forest and there daily activities are dependent directly or indirectly on forest resources. Such human dependency on forest for livelihood leads to certainly ecological loss and this Ecological loss must be compensated to ecological gain by sustainable management of forest resources. To examine the dependence of forest communities on NTFPs twelve sites in North Gujarat had been studied. Under this study, 65 villages were surveyed. In each village 10 to 20% sample house holds were surveyed which was extrapolated to 100% for final result. For this survey, nine major types of NTFPs were taken into account and Economic value for each product was studied separately. Some of the NTFPs like gum, leaves and flowers of Anogeissus latifolia (Roxb.) Wall. ex Bedd., Acacia nilotica (L.) Del., Madhuca indica J. F. Gmel., Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. Etc. Total income from these villages from above NTFPs is 1.002 crores and when sampling was extrapolated to 100% the income after selling is approx. 8.66 crores.