Has the Development of the Non-Timber Forest Products Industry Achieved Poverty Alleviation? Evidence from Lower-Income Forest Areas in Yunnan Province

The development of the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) industry in Yunnan Province has significantly improved farmers' livelihoods and ecological environments, achieving a good poverty alleviation performance with an overall score of 79.33. This finding is based on a comprehensive evaluation using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), which assessed three key aspects: achievement, sustainability, and satisfaction with poverty alleviation in Sanhe Village, Nujiang Prefecture. Despite positive outcomes, challenges such as limited capital investments, weak roles of cooperatives and enterprises, low enthusiasm among lower-income households, and incomplete poverty alleviation projects were identified. The study provides a performance evaluation index system that can serve as a reference for similar assessments in other lower-income forest areas, offering actionable suggestions to enhance the NTFPs industry's developmental effects.

Dou, Y., Wu, J., Li, Y., Chen, X., & Zhao, X. (2023). Has the Development of the Non-Timber Forest Products Industry Achieved Poverty Alleviation? Evidence from Lower-Income Forest Areas in Yunnan Province. Forests, 14(4), 776. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14040776