In Afghanistan, chilgoza pine is distributed in eastern and southeastern provinces. Chilgoza pine is the only edible pine species of the country. Pine nuts are an important non-timber forest product (NTFP). Chilgoza pine forests play significant role in the livelihood of communities. Local villagers harvest and roast the nuts for their own use or sell them to local markets. Chilgoza pine nuts are traded worldwide and used raw, roasted or mixed with other ingredients. This study was intended to investigate the importance of chilgoza pine forests for local communities living across the species range. The study results revealed that compared to other non-timber forests products, pine nuts is the most important NTFP in eastern and southeastern provinces of the country. In Afghanistan most of the chilgoza forests are owned and managed by village or tribal shura (community council), while a small percentage of chilgoza forests are owned by individual families. After collection large portion of pine nuts are sold to local traders. The average price of chilgoza per kilogram sold by villagers in 2015-2016 was about 582 AFN ($8.5). The early income from chilgoza pine nuts is varied from year to year. On average, families receive 85500 AFN ($1251) per year from sale of pine nuts
