Africa continues to have serious problems with generating new information and innovations in forestry, accessing externally available information, as well as with analysing and adopting such information and innovation into practical forest management. A substantial amount of information on Non-Wood Forest Products and Services (NWFPS) is available in various sources and forms and are of varying scientific quality. The AFF explored how such information could be made of use by educational and training institutions for technical and professional education in forestry and related areas.

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This gave rise to the preparation of the non-wood forest products and services compendium which aims at enabling students and other interested groups including government officials, producers, exporters, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research institutes and other stakeholders to acquire knowledge, skills, and values in the identification, development, management, utilisation and promotion of opportunities in NWFPS.

The compendium is not written as a paper for scientific journal publication, but as scientific information drawn from various sources and presented in a pedagogical manner to facilitate uptake of the same by students and their instructors. Information dispersed in various writings on the subject has been collated and systematically synthesised into chapters that focus on certain topics and in a sequence that facilitates the understanding of the industry of Non-Wood Forest Products and Services. Hopefully this compendium will provide incentives for others to write books that will address the needs of teachers and students on the same and similar issues.