Modern Economy, 2021, 12, 929-943 https://www.scirp.org/journal/me ISSN Online: 2152-7261 ISSN Print: 2152-7245 DOI: 10.4236/me.2021.125047 May 18, 2021 929 Modern Economy Effects of the Diversification of Nontimber Forest Products on Human Development in Congo: The Case of Gnetum, Marantaceae and Rattan Maxime Rodrigue Sah, Jacques Hakizimana, Donald Dimitri Onounga Laboratory of Economic and Social Research and Studies (LARES), Faculty of Economics, Marien Ngouabi University, Brazzaville, Congo Abstract The objective of this paper is to analyze the effects of the diversification of nontimber forest products (NTFPs) on human development in Congo. An error correction model (VECM) is used to achieve this objective. The esti- mates are based on data from the statistical yearbooks of the Ministry of For- est Economy (MEF) from 2018, UNDP in 2019, World Bank in 2020 and FAO 2018. The results show that in the Congolese context, particularly in the forestry sector, NTFP diversification has no effect on human development in the short term. In contrast, in the long term, the effect of NTFP diversifica- tion on human development is positive and significant. These results suggest the need for, on the one hand, the implementation of policies for the conser- vation, protection and rational exploitation of forests and, on the other hand, the continued implementation of initiatives to combat the abusive exploita- tion of NTFPs. Keywords Non-Timber Forestry Products, Human Development, Congo 1. Introduction Over the past ten years, the human development index (HDI) scores of sub-Saharan African countries have increased, from 1.04% in 2010 to 1.09% in 2015; however, this continent faces development problems and is not attaining the common in- dicators of human well-being, i.e., literacy, nutrition, health and life expectancy. In the Congo, according to the National Human Development Report (RNDH, 2021), the HDI rose from 0.503 in 2005 to 0.591 in 2014 and to 0.608 in 2018. How to cite this paper: Sah, M. R., Haki- zimana, J., & Onounga, D. D. (2021). Ef- fects of the Diversification of Nontimber Forest Products on Human Development in Congo: The Case of Gnetum, Maranta- ceae and Rattan. Modern Economy, 12, 929-943. https://doi.org/10.4236/me.2021.125047 Received: April 10, 2021 Accepted: May 15, 2021 Published: May 18, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access