Shrinking harvest: Genetic consequences and challenges for sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products.

Non-timber forest products (NTFP) have been an important source of subsistence as well as livelihoods for many forest-dwelling and for - est-fringe communities across the developing world. NTFP collection has been promoted as a win-win strategy to not only conserve biodi - versity but also provide livelihood options to scores of forest-dwelling communities. There has been evidence both for, and against, the impacts of harvesting and the ecological sustainability of harvested species. Harvest - ing can act as a selective force and reduce the population genetic diversity, especially for species in which the reproductive parts are harvested. A debate has been raging among scientists, resource managers, as well as pol - icy makers for decades, over which methods, and what levels of harvest, can be considered ecologically sustainable.