Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) abundantly available in various ecological domains across India have been identified to serve critical living needs of the communities. The multiplicity in using NTFPs and their importance in reaching subsistence as well as income generation necessities have now been increasingly recognized for reducing the poverty of rural and vulnerable communities.

More than 6 million peoples who living in India is forest dwellers. They don’t have any option to survive in this world without forest due to those reasons; they used to cut the forest for their food as well as shelter purpose. According to the government rules and order as well as environment safety concern, they should not cut the forest without any reason. Before the terminology called NTFPs came to existing in India, peoples were struggled too much especially forest dwellers.

After the terminology called NTFPs came to exist among the people, the poverty level of the people reduced gradually. They have understood the value of the forest as well as the profit comes out from the NTFPs, NTFPs could reduce the poverty level of rural and vulnerable communities through following ways;

1. Providing employment opportunities for unemployed men and women through harvesting of the NTFPs products.
2. Increasing the forest cover area by conserving the trees from forest dwellers through offering the sustainable
    livelihood status through NTFPs opportunities.
3. Poverty allegation is the main focus of NTFPs concept that to focus on vulnerable communities through SHGs, NGOs
    and cooperatives.
4. NTFPs could maintain the equilibrium level between rural communities and forest, through these equilibrium NTFPs
    could reduce the poverty level among the rural and vulnerable communities.

A large number of valuable medicinal plants naturally wing mostly in fragile ecosystems that are predominantly inhabited by rural poor and indigenous communities. The sustainable management of these traditionally used plants not only help conserve nationally and globally important biodiversity but also provide critical resources to sustain livelihoods. In all the countries of South Asia, medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) play a significant role in the subsistence economy of the people, especially those living in the rugged and impoverished hills, mountains and rural interiors. The collection, simple processing and trading of medicinal plants contribute significantly to the cash income of the poor and women in these regions.

Traditionally, women have been the mainstays of med-plants-based activities and micro-enterprises because the products and activities thereof easily fit within the average daily needs and work schedules of women. The MAP sub-sector is an integral part of natural resource management (NRM), contributing to economic growth, environmental protection and trade. The potential contribution of MAP can be substantial in capital-poor but resource-rich countries of South Asia if investment and efforts can be substantially increased in this sub-sector.

Med-plants sub-sector has much to offer, not just in the way of raising season income through collection and cultivation activities, but being an integral component of forest resource management, especially in the processing and marketing of non-timber forest products (NTFP), and providing a means to create rural assets and wealth through the development of micro-enterprises.

Tangible relationship of NTFP with the communities is nothing but, the things which should be harvest by forest dwellers. Like NTFPs Bamboo, fruits, honey, gums, resin, medicinal and aromatic plants etc. consider as a tangible NTFPs. community forest management also maintaining a good relationship with NTFP, through harvesting those above mentioned products. Intangible NTFPs is nothing but, the things which should not be harvest from the forest, like wild animals, timbers etc. Now days the forest dwellers are also maintaining a good relationship with intangible NTFPs by community forest management.