International Journal of Life Sciences International Peer Reviewed Open Access Refereed Journal Int. J. of Life Sciences, 2018; 6 (2):365-385 ISSN:2320-7817(p) | 2320-964X(o) UGC Approved Journal No 48951 Original Article Open Access © 2018 |IJLSCI www.ijlsci.in | 365 Impact of non-timber forest products on Forest and in Livelihood Economy of the People of Adjoining Areas of Jalpaiguri Forest Division, West Bengal, India Sarkar Anup Kumar 1* , Dey Manas 2 and Mazumder Mallika 3 1 Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, Dukhulal Nibaran Chandra College, Aurangabad, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. Pin-742201. 2 Assistant Teacher, Jurapani High School, Jurapani, Dhupguri, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India. Pin-735210. 3 Post Graduate Student, Department of Botany, Raiganj University, Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal, India.Pin-733134. *Corresponding author: anupsarkar.jpg@gmail.com. Manuscript details: ABSTRACT Received : 02.02.2018 Accepted : 10.04.2018 Published : 25.04.2018 Editor: Dr. Arvind Chavhan Cite this article as: Sarkar Anup Kumar, Dey Manas and Mazumder Mallika (2018) Impact of non-timber forest products on Forest and in Livelihood Economy of the People of Adjoining Areas of Jalpaiguri Forest Division,West Bengal, India, Int. J. of. Life Sciences, Volume 6(2): 365-385 Copyright: © Author, This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial - No Derives License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non- commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. Available online on http://www.ijlsci.in ISSN: 2320-964X (Online) ISSN: 2320-7817 (Print) The past decade has witnessed a rapid growth of interest in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) among conservation and development organisations in India. Non-timber forest products are an imperative part of the traditional life style in Forest adjacent area of West Bengal. In this study the diversity of non- timber forest products (NTFPS) was assessed in the Forest Adjoining Areas of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India. The present investigation also revealed that although there is high resource potential in the study sites but need of awareness, scientific knowledge, expertise and adequate market information. Keywords: NTFP, Biodiversity, Forest, Conservation, Livelihood. INTRODUCTION Forest fringe people of every corner of the world face a constant dilemma between economic development and pressure towards resource conservation. From the ancient time they used Forest Products as the important source of livelihood. But the increasing process of resource depletion leads to conservation oriented policies by the policy makers and commercialization of forest product has been restricted. Products from the forest can be differentiated in to two broad categories, Viz., Timber and Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs). Non-Timber Forest Products are simply referring the products that are derived from forest with the exception of timber (Ahenkan and Boon, 2011). It is also defined as “all products obtained from plants of forest origin and host plant species yielding products in association with insects and animals or their parts and items of mineral origin except timber” (Mathur and Shiva 1996). NTFPs are also considered as minor products of forest. NTFP has received increased attention after the famous article by Peters et al. (1989).