download
(PDF Document)

The land cover map of Eritrea shows that extensive areas of the country have arid and semi-arid climatic conditions and cannot be used for arable crop production without irrigation. One of the major problems facing this country has been how to make these drylands productive enough to support the rural population and contribute to food security.

In Eritrea, forest resources and vegetation cover are under serious threat and the areas under forest cover and the quality of forests are declining.

Agricultural development programmes have, so far, put emphasis in increasing production through the use of agrochemicals or the expansion of cultivable land at the expense of the natural land resources-base that yield non-wood forest products. Both options have a negative impact on the natural resource base in general and that of non-wood forest producing species in particular.

This study prepared a checklist of the major non-wood yielding plant species, describing their use, assessing the contribution of the non-wood forest products to the rural communities, and documenting the local knowledge regarding the management of the forest resources in Eritrea and coming up with specific management intervention strategies to conserve the remaining NWFP producing species in the country.