INTRODUCTION

                 Forest dwellers’ life and economy revolves around non-timber forest produces, which are used for domestic consumption as well as cash income for more than 6 months a year. Being a product for commerce, NTFP trade has always been a buyers’ market and has never operated in a typical demand-supply principle.

                 For a long time, management and trade of NTFP was an exclusive domain of the government especially the forest department. While it comes to the trade of NTFP, although it was part of the government's domain significant volume of the trade was in the hands of private trading houses and end users/corporate houses. Now the management of many important NTFP has been liberalized and in Orissa a set of 68 NTFP items have been transferred to Gram Panchayats (local self-governing bodies at council of village level) for ownership, control and management.

                Very recently RCDC has been putting in efforts for community based management and trade of NTFP (non-timber forest produces). In this context RCDC has launched the website www.banajata.org which provides information on policy, laws, rules, notification, management, procurement, processing, marketing and trade of different NTFPs in 6 states.

               RCDC (Regional Centre For Development Cooperation) is a non-government organization, working for strengthening the community-based management of natural resources in Orissa.The organization focuses on the participatory development of the tribal and other marginalized communities in Orissa through multi-faceted interventions, with activities such as-

• Demonstration field projects on community based research management, democracy and governance
• Advocacy and lobbying to uphold livelihood rights
• Research, documentation, publication and circulation of public educational material
• Training and institutional capacity building.

                 The website www.banajata.org tries to present all possible information on NTFP management and trade mostly relating to Orissa and its neighboring states, where the NTFP from Orissa go for higher level value addition and marketing. The website not only emphasizes on the market related information but also on scientific management of different NTFP. An important component in the website is the list of NTFP booklets in Oriya which gives a detailed information on the phenology, cultivation, sustainable harvesting, processing, storage, commercial propagation, marketing, policies etc related to different NTFPs.The website also hosts the current market price of different NTFPs in at least 6 national markets of India as well as some important NTFP markets of Orissa.

                 This website would provide a platform for the primary collectors' associations such as forest protection committees and their networks at the district and sub-district level, SHGs etc, NGOs, traders, PRIs, researchers etc to share their information, experience and expectations in the management and trade of NTFP.

                 Despite decentralisation of the management and trade of NTFP, the primary collectors and their organisations continue to suffer in collection and sale of different NTFP. They are yet to be provided fair price for their labour. Still the private trading houses control the trade. The common notion is that the trade in NTFP is highly complex, risky, cumbersome etc and none other than the private traders can manage and sustain the trade. The main purpose of this website is to facilitate demystification of this notion and make the trade in NTFP fair and competitive.

                 We appeal all the stakeholders to actively participate in information sharing in order to make the NTFP trade fair and beneficial for the poor forest dependent population.