New Values of Non-Wood Forest Products

Abstract

The role of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) in industrialised country economies has declined in the past, but they are generating renewed interest as business opportunities. In a forest-based bio-economy frame, NWFPs can contribute to human nutrition, renewable materials, and cultural and experiential services, as well as create job and income opportunities in rural areas. Applying a service-dominant logic (SDL) approach to analysis of NWFPs, this article aimed to understand how new goods and services are co-created through networks of public and private actors in specific institutional, social, and cultural contexts. This focus sheds light on the experiences associated with NWFP harvest and use, revealing a fulsome suite of values and economic opportunities that include but are greater than the physical goods themselves. Turning the SDL lens on in-depth case studies from Europe and North America, we show dimensions of forest products that go beyond commercial values but are, at the same time, constituent of commercial activities. SDL provides a new view on customer relations, service provision to businesses, and policy measures for innovation support for non-wood forest products.