Non-timber forest products (NTFP) have been an important source of subsistence as well as livelihoods for many forest-dwelling and forest- fringe communities across the developing world. NTFP collection has been promoted as a win-win strategy to not only conserve biodiversity but also provide livelihood options to scores of forest-dwelling communities. There has been evidence both for, and against, the impacts of harvesting and the ecological sustainability of harvested species. Harvesting can act as a selective force and reduce the population genetic diversity, especially for species in which the reproductive parts are harvested. A debate has been raging among scientists, resource managers, as well as policy makers for decades,over which methods, and what levels of harvest, can be considered ecologically sustainable.