Non-Timber Forest Products: Potential for Sustainable and Equitable Development In Ontario, Canada

The contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to community sustainability remains an understudied topic of academic inquiry. Focusing on southern and central Ontario, Canada, the ways in which NTFPs may contribute to sustainable livelihoods are explored, along with how a fragmented sociopolitical landscape and the potential impacts of climate change might impede the development of the sector. Following interviews with twenty NTFP producers, four key themes highlighting the major challenges and opportunities are discussed. This paper contends that for an economically viable, socially just and environmentally sustainable NTFP industry to emerge, political-ecological power relations informed by critical social and environmental justice thinking must be understood and addressed.