The Impact of Sustainable Forest Management on the Development of the Non-Timber Forest Products: An Empirical Investigation

Promoting the development of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is of great significance for reconciling the trade-off between environmental protection and economic growth. Given its distinctiveness as a management paradigm capable of sustainably providing ecosystem services, sustainable forest management (SFM) may play a pivotal role in promoting the development of NTFPs and related industries. To investigate the impact and underlying mechanisms of SFM on NTFP development, this study employs a two-way fixed effects panel model, utilizing panel data from 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China over the period 2013–2022. The findings are threefold. (1) The baseline regression results indicate that SFM indeed promotes the growth of NTFPs, remaining robust across a series of robustness checks. (2) Regarding the underlying mechanisms, SFM can effectively reduce the risk of pest and disease outbreaks by enhancing forest ecological resilience, thereby increasing the total output value of NTFPs. Additionally, SFM can boost the total output value of NTFPs by increasing fiscal investment in forestry, thereby accelerating infrastructure improvement in forest regions. (3) Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect of SFM exhibits regional heterogeneity, being more pronounced in regions with lower forest resource endowments and in non-southern collective forest regions. The findings of this study offer novel insights into promoting the growth of NTFPs, provide empirical evidence for the role of SFM in fostering this sector, and offer policy guidance for governments to formulate regionally differentiated policies.