This publication was produced as a background document to the Tropenbos research strategy on non-timber forest products (NTFP). It emphasises an important aspect of NTFP, namely the potential of commercial extraction for conservation and sound forest management. It exemplifies the multidisciplinary and strategic Tropenbos approach, aiming at direct application of research results in policy and forest management. The document departs from the starting-point that commercial extraction can provide a stimulus to conservation and sound forest management, through generating incomes for forest-dwelling people and contributing to a country's national income and export earnings. This requires, however, that extraction occurs on a sustainable basis. The publication, therefore, offers an overview of ecological, economic, political and cultural factors to be taken into account. The document also pays attention to potential pitfalls and dead ends. The proposed research strategy aims to develop a checklist of attributes and requirements for successful and sustainable extraction, and a method to apply this checklist in land-use planning. The method enables the identification of areas where the implementation or expansion of commercial extraction seems to be promising for the conservation of tropical rain forests.