Non-timber tree products: A partial inventory of products available in the Mount Cameroon area

The value of tree-growing on tropical farms, for subsistence uses, commercial sale and environmental stability, has been increasingly argued in recent decades. But while impressive progress has been made in identifying a wide range of tree production systems, there has been very little associated research on the market potential of these systems. The failures of many sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, and community forestry programmes have now been attributed to 'market failures'. The Natural Resources Institute is collaborating with the International Food Policy Research Instihtte on a project funded by the Overseas Development Administration (UK), to explore domestic market potential for tree products from farms and rural communities. Field work is being conducted in Cameroon and Brazil. This partial inventory of non-timber tree products (nttps) is the product of the initial field work in 1995 in South West Province in Cameroon, where Mount Cameroon is located - an area which is recognised globally for its biodiversity. The inventory was derived from visits to markets, and villages bordering the forest, interviews with key informants (particularly traders and forestry professionals) and from secondary sources. Approximately 300 products available in the Mount Cameroon area are listed by their local name. Additional information is provided, where available, on latin names, end use, product source, seasonality, location of markets and availability in markets. The inventory has been reproduced now in response to the growing interest in non-timber tree products, and particular interest in the highly biodiverse flora of the Mount Cameroon area