The goal of the Certification and Sustainable Marketing of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) alliance project is to link Nepal and foreign NTFP buyers, Nepali producers, and NGOs and government programs assisting the NTFP sector in order to:

• Increase incomes and employment for Nepal's NTFP producers, especially in rural areas;
• Promote sustainable resource management;
• Institute a certification program for NTFP in Nepal; and
• Expand responsible buying practices among industry members in the west.

This new alliance brings together U.S. product buyers and designers (Aveda and its extended industry contacts of the American Herbal Products Association); certification expertise (Rainforest Alliance); a diverse range of Nepali companies(Himalyan Bio Trade Pvt. Ltd. and Gorkha Ayurved Company (P) Ltd); Nepali Networks and NGOs (Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources-ANSAB, Nepal NTFP Network, Himali Jadibuti Sarokar Samuha, and Federation of Community Forestry Users, Nepal); and donars (The Ford Foundation, SNV, and SDC) that have been developing community forest user groups and NTFP industry coordination within Nepal, Aveda and Rainforest Alliance are new partners in the alliance and bring global cutting edge industry and certification expertise to the alliance.

The alliance members have worked together to contribute ideas and direction to the project proposal as well as work plan and its implementation. With its proven track record in coordinating the Nepali partners and delivering NTFP enterprise and forest management services to community forest user groups, ANSAB has been coordinating overall alliance activities by holding meetings, providing business development services to NTFP enterprises, and administer product design and product development research grants in order to achieve the following specific objectivities of the project.

• Promote Community Based Forest Enterprisess (CBFE) to ensure sustainable use of NTFP, alleviate poverty in rural areas, and consolidate Forest User Groups' supplies to make attractive to buyers
• Implement certification model for Nepal that takes into account its NTFP and forest user group (FUG) resources and encourages good governance of community resources
• Improve and maintain quality and consistency of Nepali NTFPs
• Gain better market position for Nepali NTFP in international markets; including exploration of certification options and design coordination with buyers
• Educate NTFP buyers on how to support Nepalese NTFP industry to achieve sustainable long-term supplies of quality products
• Lobby for enabling policy environment for free and fair trade practices.