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The article presents a study of pre-developed phyto-compositions for the preparation of hot drinks based on birch chaga (Inonotus obliquus) with the addition of various plant materials (herbs, berries, lichen). We used the traditional method for evaluating the beneficial properties of such products - determining the level of antioxidant activity, and not typical methods that allowed us to establish the antibacterial and antiprotozoal activity of the finished product. It was shown that the antioxidant activity in aqueous extracts from phytocompositions increased compared to extracts from monocomponents (by a maximum of 4.8 times). Biotesting methods confirmed the effect of synergism of plant components in their joint action. Antiprotozoal activity decreased only in the mixture of chaga, apples and cinnamon compared to the values for individual ingredients. Antibacterial activity was not observed in 57% of extracts from monocomponents, and when they were combined, we observed the inhibition of E. coli in all variants.

The entire operation of an enterprise is carried out through business processes. They represent a set of business activities, which transform available resources into results (outputs), such as a product or service. When it comes to non-wood forest products (NWFP), the business of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is based on procurement (col­lection and buying), processing and/or selling of these products. A very important aspect of SME business is cooperation with other enterprises. Cooperation can be achieved in procure­ment, production, placement, research, training, etc. This research aims to study business processes and activities, with a focus on the cooperation of NWFPs-based in the Topličko and Moravsko forest regions. The methods of analysis and synthesis and the statistical method were used. Data collection was conducted using face to face survey with representatives of 28 NWFPs-based enterprises in March 2022. Research results indicate that the majority of SMEs perform business processes related to the procurement, processing and selling of NWFPs. The most common form of purchase is at own purchase stations (96.4%) and with collectors coming to companies (92.9%). Most enterprises do not perform secondary processing of products, but neither do they export. The most common form of placement is to “other processors”. All analysed SMEs cooperate with other companies, but their representatives are also interested in improving that cooperation. There is a need for the improvement of business processes and the development of cooperation between NWFPs-based SMEs in selected forest regions, to increase their competitiveness.

Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) constitute a vital sources of household income for millions of people worldwide. This review paper focuses on NWFPs in Sudan aiming to elucidate their contribution across different region. It also examines key tree species that underpin rural and urban income, along with their applications. The study involves an analysis of published papers on NWFPs from 1994 to 2023. Findings indicate that NWFPs contribute over 50% to Sudanese household income, with variation tied to local species diversity. Intriguingly, NWFPs exhibit a higher significance for impoverished livelihoods. Notably, marketable fruits like Ziziphus spina-christi, Balanites aegyptiaca, Adansonia digitata, Tamarindus indica, and Grewia tenax feature prominently in rural income generation. Nonetheless, several species, pivotal to household income, are alarmingly classified as endangered by IUCN. While more than ten tree species cater to local subsistence, only a fraction enter international trade. To enhance household income, it is recommended that sustainable harvesting and value addition practices be taught to rural communities.

The study makes a comparative analysis of Ethiopia and Asia/19 countries in the foreign trade of non-timber forest products between the periods of 2008-2018. The study focused on two commodity groups with a harmonized system of (HS) codes; HS409: Natural honey; HS130190: Natural Gums, resins, gum Arabic, and oleoresins. To assess the competitive advantage and disadvantage of Ethiopia in non-timber forest products foreign trade within Asia/19 countries, the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index, Relative Export Advantage Index, Relative Import Advantage Index, and Relative Trade Advantage Index. At the same time, Cross Relative Export Advantage and Cross Relative Import Advantage indicators were employed to test the competitiveness of Ethiopia with Asia/19 countries in the foreign trade of non-timber forest products. The study finding shows that Ethiopia experiences a comparative advantage both in a relative export and import advantage in the trade of non-timber forest products over the study period as compared to Asia/19 countries.

With the alarming increase in dying trees and massive logging in the Czech forests due to bark beetle infestation, the collection of non-wood forest products, a beneficial recreational activity in the Czech Republic, is now being promoted as an alternative to wood provisioning services. This paper aims to present findings on the non-wood forest product preferences in the country as part of a baseline assessment for promoting the usage. This study relied on the 2019 national survey data of public preferences in collecting forest berries, mushrooms, honey, and medicinal herbs. K-means cluster analysis was employed to classify the respondents. A binary logistic regression with a conditional forward approach was employed to identify the potential predictors of the high preference for each non-wood forest product. Data from 1,050 online respondents were included, and two groups of respondents were clustered based on their preferences for the entire non-wood forest, i.e., higher and lower utilization. The regression analysis revealed that frequent forest visitors were the primary predictor of high utilization of all non-wood forest products (between 1.437 to 4.579 odd ratios), in addition to age, gender, and location of the forest property. By clustering the respondents based on the high and low preferences in utilizing non-wood forest products, the promotion of this service, from recreational to potential livelihood activities and economic benefits, can be better targeted, e.g., target customer, infrastructure development in the location with high preferences, scenarios based on the type of owners (municipal or private forest owners), which in accordance to the national forest policy and laws, and, at the same time, maintain the ecological stability.

The main purpose of the present paper is to highlight the most important non-wood forest products (NWFPs) from Sălaj County. For this purpose, a set of 19 criteria was taken into consideration and the analytic hierarchy process was applied to establish criteria weights. Subsequently, the method was tested by using Expert Choice software. The selected NWFPs were: honey fungus [Armillaria mellea (Vahl) P.Kumm.], parasol mushroom [Macrolepiota procera (Scop.) Singer], acorns, Tilia flowers, wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.), St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.), European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) and European pine marten (Martes martes L.). The two NWFPs with the highest potential were European roe deer and honey fungus, while the less important ones were Tilia flowers and St John’s wort. Sălaj County has great potential, diversity and distribution of the NWFPs, but this sector is underdeveloped and disorganized. This approach provides forest managers with information to develop further NWFP management strategies.

Global trends towards the bio-economy and a rapid change in value production caused by an awareness of climate change and the importance of forests and the environment overall, as well as of the demographical change in modern societies suggests a potential for increasing the role of non-wood forest products (NWFP) in future forest-based natural resources systems. The change of production-based societies to service-based societies has opened opportunities for the growing heterogenic group of forest owners as well. As new value production models have been identified, many forestry sector managers and owners are still in their infancy in seizing opportunities related to the service-based forest value production as well as in the need of conceptual clarity and understanding of the phenomena. This paper aims to study those factors influencing forest owners in diversifying value production into non-wood based products. The focus is on identifying those factors that attribute to the non-industrial private forest owner's decision to engage in NWFP production alongside traditional forestry. The results provide an overall picture of drivers and barriers which forest owners encounter while engaging and operating in the natural products sector. This study was based on in-depth interviews collected from twenty forest owners in Finland. The results revealed that drivers for engaging in NWFPs production are principally internal whereas barriers are mainly external. According to results increased knowledge, more effective communication, cooperation and networking between forest owners, forest professionals and NWFP suppliers are needed to support the supply chain, and consequently to develop the NWFPs production.

In this study, the foreign trade of some plant based non-wood forest products are investigated. Firstly, the changes in the export and import values of chestnut, thyme, bay leaf and pine nuts, which are non-wood forest products, have been examined in the last ten years (1998-2017) using "external trade statistics published by the Turkey Statistical Institute. Afterwards, the amount and revenue projections of thyme and bay leaves were made by using export amounts and export revenues between 1990 and 2017. Estimated values were obtained for projections based on moving averages, exponential smoothing, linear and exponential trend. According to the results of the study, it is estimated that the export quantities and revenues of thyme and bay leaf will increase in 2019-2023.

The successful experience of Lithuania, Moldova and Poland in the field of taxation of citizens’ income from the sale of self-grown or self-gathered forest products or relevant harvesting activities is analyzed. It is concluded that the improved mechanism of taxation of personal income from the sale of self-grown or self-gathered fruits, berries, grapes, spicy, aromatic and medicinal crops, honey and non-wood forest products in Ukraine should be: 1) as simple as possible; 2) do not foresee radical changes that may destimulate the payment of taxes; 3) be based on the tax exemption of small sales volumes and the application of a low personal income tax rate (hereinafter referred to as PIT) with respect to the remaining income from these activities; 4) be easy to administer, not provide for a significant increase in the administrative burden on payers, which is mainly rural population; 5) minimize the possibility of concealment of the object of taxation. In view of the above, it is proposed: to extend the exemption from taxation of personal income on the basis of a certificate according to the form No. 3DF for the income from the sale of self-gathered fruits of the forest; proceed to the taxation of personal income tax of the rest of citizens’ income from the sale of fruits, berries, grapes, spicy, aromatic and medicinal crops, honey and non-wood forest products at a rate of 5% (without paying a military fee); apply fines in case of detection of concealment of such income from taxation.

Over the last decade, direct marketing practices have been widely used in the marketing of agricultural products in the world. The non-wood forest products (NWFP) have been affected by this development and direct marketing efforts of these products have made significant progress in the world. Direct marketing of NWFP in the world is organized with civil organizations, producers and consumers. On the other hand, it has been determined that no significant improvement has been achieved in NWFP, although partial improvement was observed in the direct marketing initiatives for agricultural products in Turkey. In this study, direct marketing options that were widely used in NWFP were discussed with examples. The benefits and risks of each direct marketing option for NWFP were demonstrated. In addition, some suggestions have been made in terms of giving direction to direct marketing initiatives in Turkey. The difficulty of inventory of these products due to the large size of the forests collected from large forest areas, the lack of communication with collectors, intermediaries and other marketing channel members, irregular use of products, lack of inspection and inadequacy of education were some of the important constraints for the direct marketing of NWFP.

After the proclamation of the independence of the Republic of Moldova, the national forestry fund is constantly growing. At the same time, the harvesting and collection of non-timber forest products (PFNL) was intensified by the forest enterprises under the Moldsilva Agency. Non-timber forest products collected are of plant (fruit, berries, herbs, decorative plants) and animal (fish, snails, honey, wild boar) origin. Over time, forestry sector was in a permanent institutional reforming. At present, Moldsilva agency is the administrative authority of the public administration, empowered to ensure the implementation of state policy and sustainable development in the fields of forestry and hunting. After 1990, the commercial potential of forest fruits and berries decreases, as many fruit plantations have degraded or have been transferred to other land use categories. Because of low wages and difficult manual labor, the number of employees in the forestry sector is steadily decreasing. The largest forested area is concentrated in the center of the country. In the period 2001-2009 the forested area significantly increased, especially in the south of the republic due to the implementation of some European projects. The most non-timber forest products collected are those of medicinal utilisation. Due to the dispersion of the forest fund in small forest tracts, the hunting potential is small. The number and species of animals hunted each year in the forest fund are established by Government Decision, these being the boar (Sus scrofa L.) and the pheasant (Phasianus colchicus L.). The purpose of this research is to present the evolution and the development potential of the non-timber forestry sector in the Republic of Moldova in relation to the institutional changes in the central forest authority. The study has the following objectives: describing the institutional evolution of the central forest authority; analyzing the evolution of the number of employees in the forest branch; distribution and evolution of the national forests as the ground of non wood timber products harvesting; assessing the biological and commercial potential of the sector; analyzing the dynamics of PFNL collection by forest enterprises.

The document discusses the sustainable management and governance of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) and their potential contributions to various sectors. It highlights the challenges and opportunities associated with characterizing, managing, and marketing NWFPs, emphasizing the need for integrated management strategies. Case studies from different regions explore the economic, social, and ecological importance of NWFPs, showcasing their diverse potential and challenges. The document concludes by stressing the importance of developing a comprehensive framework to fully realize the potential of NWFPs and support rural development while promoting sustainability and cultural values. [Extracted from the article]