Anuja Anil Date and Sharachchandra Lele

Forest Policy and Economics |  July 29, 2025

Studies show that forest dependent communities (FDCs) can improve economic outcomes through community-based forest enterprises (CFEs) based on timber harvest and sale. In India, since FDCs do not have rights to timber even under decentralization laws, they must rely on unpredictable non-timber forest product (NTFP) markets for economic benefits. Additionally, their enterprises would have to compete with pre-existing well-funded state-assisted NTFP marketing institutions.