Recognizing the potential benefits of sharing experiences and pooling expertise, like-minded individuals started an informal group of practitioners working in local initiatives in Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines in 1998. As partnerships strengthened and initiatives intensified, the group decided to register as a non-profit organisation in September 2003 in Manila.
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![asia-2](http://i4projects.net/devsite/ntfpv2/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/asia-2.jpg)
NTFP-EP’s shared goal is to empower forest-based communities to make use of and manage forest resources in a sustainable manner. To this end, NTFP-EP catalyses and supports activities that build up and strengthen the capacity of our partners in their work with forest-dependent communities, particularly indigenous peoples. Our partners, while respecting the integrity of cultural traditions, work together with communities in developing and implementing initiatives that meet local needs.
Today, NTFP-EP has partners and major contacts in South and Southeast Asia, specifically in the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam.