| Summary: | Study of Non Woody Forest Products Exploitation and Market in Kinshasa. In spite of the considerable number of ethnobotanic studies carried out in many regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, almost no information is available on the exploitation and commerce of the wild products (non woody forest products, "produits forestiers non ligneux" – PFNL) of the Congolese provinces in general and the urban province of Kinshasa in particular. Nevertheless, these products are largely used and marketed. Therefore, direct observations in situ, and socio-economic and ethnoecologic investigations (including interviews) were organized in the urban province of Kinshasa to analyse various aspects of consumption of these wild products. The purpose of these investigations was to collect information regarding the use and the marketing of PFNL products by the populations living in the zones surrounding the urban area. The analysis of the various types of exploitation and use of the PFNL has shown twelve categories of PFNL use: energy, food, construction of music instruments, saw mill applications, drink, drugs, dye, packing, construction of baskets, textile fabrication, construction and ornamentation. The majority of these PFNL originate not only from the secondary forests and from forest galleries, but from shrubby savannas and the marshes as well. The exploitations and uses of the PFNL vary rather largely with the level of income, the purchasing power, the attachment with food practices and with local traditions. The various levels of semi-monthly income by owner of the PFNL are estimated for the following plants which were used as vegetables: Gnetum africanum Welw., (275.0 $); Pteridium aquilinium Hieron. (166.7 $); Dracaena camerooniana Baker. (75.5 $); Dioscorea praehensilis (Benth.) (71.0 $); Psophocarpus scandens (Endl.) Verdc. (58.7 $). The average income resulting from the firewood sale was estimated at 80 $ per month and per person, for a group of 25 owners in Dumi. Supplementary information concerning the use of the PFNL and the organization of its processing chain is included.
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