ABSTRACT
Can ecological sustainability and commercialization coexist? The answer, almost always, is ‘it depends’. Generalizations are near impossible to make, reflecting the multiplicity of variables involved and the complex and dynamic social, economic, cultural, institutional and environmental interactions that are involved when non-timber forest products (NTFPs) move from being subsistence resources which are typically wild-harvested at a local scale, to commercialized assets that are managed or cultivated at large scale, and are sold to local, national or export markets.
