We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation for everyone who attended the CBNE Forum 2021: A Season of Learning last 13-14 October 2021. With over 330+ participants joining us in the various sessions throughout the two-day event, the forum has been a succesful avenue for learning, sharing and connecting CBNEs and supporters from all around the world.
Stay tuned for updates as we will be uploading the recordings, documentations and speaker presentations from the forum here.
Below the forest canopy, many products are harvested and traded by communities and their community forest producer groups. These non-timber forest products (NTFP) significantly contribute to the livelihoods and incomes of approximately 1.3 billion people who depend on forest resources and services. Despite this importance of the NTFP trade, it often goes unnoticed compared to the very visible timber trade.
Community-Based Non-Timber Forest Product Enterprises (CBNE) stimulates income generation for indigenous and rural communities and promotes conservation of natural resources through forest protection and sustainable harvest practices. Considering the growth of social forestry programs in South and Southeast Asia, the potential of CBNEs in the health and beauty, food, cosmetics, furniture and craft, textile and other industries are often overlooked as CBNEs are considered small players with little capacity, scale and market access. They often lack the organization and consolidation capacities that allow them to approach the market strategically and capitalize on their unique points of leverage. A dynamic and supportive political environment is still to be seen for these enterprises to become successful.
Non-Timber Forest Products – Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP), recognizing the untapped potential of thousands of CBNEs across the region and their vast contribution to community well-being and forest conservation, will organize a forum to channel the public’s focus on CBNEs. The online forum will foster information exchange, capacity enhancement, market engagement, and political action in support of CBNEs. It will provide a venue for sharing, exchanging, partnering, and bringing the issues of the understory to light. It will be an opportunity for CBNEs to grow, connect and navigate in the new normal as attention and action are solicited from more sectors, more segments and more generations.
Participants may request for certificates of participation from the forum secretariat. They may request the same by emailing to cbneforum2021@ntfp.org
The secretariat will only provide digital copies of the certificate.
The certificates will be released 1-2 weeks after the end of the forum.