Impact 3
To improve national level policy regarding uses of products harvested from natural populations of plants through analysis of existing policies, and provision of alternative policies to the national bodies that regulate extraction, harvest, trade and commercialization of natural resources and in particular products from palms.
PALMS will specify environmental, social and economical conditions and circumstances favorable for combining sustainable extraction or production of forest or agro-forestry products with local-level development and poverty alleviation. To impact national level policy WP6 will specifically target deeper understanding of mechanisms governing management, trade and commercialization of palm products in northwestern South America. It is anticipated that this research will reveal conditions favorable to sustainable management and to trade and commercialization which represents healthy exploitation of the natural resources, and other mechanisms and activities that are adverse to this. The research will draw conclusion and provide recommendations which will be made available to policy makers in written and other forms, using both formal outlets and informal networks available to the researchers, who are well versed in the political system and governmental level administrations.
