November 2014: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) issued a Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP) ‘Update’ focusing on the foraging of plants both within and outside of forests.

The Update explores the role of foraging in maintaining food diversity, noting that agroforestry systems, in particular, offer privileged sites for foraging because they combine domesticated and wild species in close proximity. The article further discusses the role of children and youth in foraging as well as the important nutritional contribution of foraged food to such groups.

In addition to a general discussion on foraging, the bulletin includes reports on reasons for gathering in the US, pine nut harvesting in the Russian Federation, wild mushroom foraging in Finland, and wild licorice markets in Uzbekistan.

Finally, the Update introduces articles from other sources including a review of foraging, food security and forests from the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), an exploration of the value of wild indigenous fruit trees by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), and a comparative study on the use of non-timber forest products by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). [Publication: NWFP Update – Issue 4]