Unlike most temperate forests used for timber harvesting, tropical forests are highly populated and the people who live in them depend upon the forests for their livelihoods. The Tropical Forest Foundation (TFF) has supported several research projects that underscore the importance of considering local populations when logging tropical forests and the potential impacts of logging on non-timber forest resources when planning forestry operations in tropical regions.

In partnership with TFF, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) conducted research in the Bulungan Research Forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia that indicated Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) are the single most important source of income for the area’s indigenous people, accounting for as much as 80 percent of an average household income (Wollenberg, 1998). Similarly, a study in Cameroon (Nef, 1997) demonstrated that timber companies have been able to gain support of local populations and thereby avoid chronic theft and operational disruptions by avoiding timber species from which local communities harvest NTFPs.

By incorporating research such as this into TFF’s approach to on-site training andReduced Impact Logging (RIL)programs, TFF has successfully improved the economic success as well as the cultural preservation of local communities in tropical regions across Southeast Asia, South America and the Congo Basin. TFF’s strategies for developing healthy relationships with local populations include providing free on-site training and education to local people interested in becoming involved in the timber industry and offering sustainable forest management strategies to local timber harvesting companies that take indigenous populations into consideration.