A brief assessment is presented highlighting the recent experiences, as well as identifying constraints and prospects, on the integration of non-timber forest resources (NTFR) into larger forest inventories (mostly for timber), with emphasis from tropical regions, and from regional to local levels. Although several experiences have been implemented, further documentation is needed on the degree of compatibility of timber management with respect to the extraction of NTFR. One of the main constraints to integration involves the actual costs of undertaking assessments for specific NTFR and the lack of trained personnel who usually have a focus on timber inventories. To overcome this barrier, cross-disciplinary information exchange may be needed in order to make assessments cost-effective and stimulate further work on developing assessment methods for particular NTFR within the framework of larger forest inventories.