Strategies for poverty alleviation through dovetailing the potential of microfinance practices with non-timber forest products from dipterocarps: lessons from India

Forests are generally considered a major environmental asset and also a secondary economic asset, particularly with reference to poor people, who traditionally depend on forests for livelihoods. In order to promote the socio-economic role of forests, particularly to address the subsistence economic needs of the poor, who are dependant on collecting non-timber forest products (NTFPs), the experience from India could give us some alternatives to form strategies for poverty alleviation. One such alternative is the dovetailing of the potential of microfinance practices with value-addition options for NTFPs from dipterocarps. The experience not only tells us about formulation of strategies but its effective implementation too with all the means that are within reach. The Indian experiment can certainly solve the problem of limited capital and appropriate technology dissemination. The development of appropriate value-addition technologies as important as providing the conducive environment for their adoption by providing all pre-requisites like awareness, creating willingness to adopt and required horizontal (microfinance) and vertical linkages (accessibility to up-country markets). Thus the dovetailing of value-addition options with availability of microfinance and appropriate technology has become an important part of strategy formulation in eradicating the poverty amongst the forest dwellers. In addition to augmenting livelihood options, the dovetailing of microfinance will also arrest the undue competition amongst poor forest dwellers leading to premature and unsustainable harvest of NTFPs from dipterocarps.