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C O U N T R Y C O M P A S S

NON-WOOD NEWS No. 15 July 2007

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ANGOLA

German NGO for dissemination of naturalmedicineAt a recent seminar on natural medicine, theNGO German Agrarian Action has suggestedthe practice and dissemination of naturalmedicine in Angola with a view to facilitatingpeople’s access to primary medicalassistance. According to the NGO’srepresentative in the country, naturalmedicine is a good alternative for countriessuch as Angola, mainly in the rural areas,where many people have no access toprimary health care, nor access to drugs thatare often costly and unattainable by many. Hesaid the natural medicine is advantageous,because it can be manufactured in allcommunities, is cheaper and everyone canproduce a garden for medicinal plants.

An Angolan physician, João BaptistaNsende, explained that the African Unionhas an interministerial commission thataddresses the continent’s pharmocopy andAngola, as a member country, must adopt aposition on the matter and regulate the useof medicinal plants. He explained that inAngola there are about 30 000 medicinalplants with which a large variety ofdiseases can be treated, mainly those mostfrequent such as malaria, diarrhoea andrespiratory infections.

The seminar participants analysed about60 medicinal plants from the tropics, theirtherapeutic effects and dosage and learnedhow to prepare some medicines andointments from plants. (Source:AngolaPress [Angola], 26 February 2007.)

ARMENIA

The forest is receding Precious plants are nearing extinction inthe forest area surrounding Vanadzor.Agricultural scientist Lilia Bayramyan hasidentified such medicinal herbs and wildplants as nettle, thyme, mint, cat thyme,motherwort, Solomon's seal and St John'swort. Her observations in and aroundVanadzor's central bazaar last springrevealed that about 4 tonnes of herbs andwild plants were collected and sold eachday during that period. “If this trendcontinues, the reserves of precious plantswill be exhausted in two years,” LiliaBayramyan concludes.

In addition to this ruthless collection ofherbs, her studies also suggest that theplants are endangered above all by logging

in the area. “Since logging began, thetemperature has risen and these preciousplants began withering in the sunlight. Nowthey can only grow in the upper ortransalpine layer of the forest. And people,in their turn, keep picking them.”

The result of all this is that in the formerlyforested areas of Vanadzor, precious plantsare being replaced by herbaceous plants,which are gradually turning the forest areasinto a transalpine zone in which thetemperature is continuously rising.Favourable conditions for grass have beencreated and wild horseradish, trefoil andcoltsfoot have overtaken the former forestsand, growing rapidly, prevent any other treeor plant seeds that end up here from takingroot. (Source: Hetq Online [Yerevan,Armenia], 8 January 2007.)

Two organizations sign memorandum ofcooperation for biodiversity protectionThe World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)Armenia and Armenian Public RelationsAssociation (APRA) signed a memorandumof cooperation on 10 April 2007.

The office public relations departmentsays the memorandum attachesimportance to the protection of Armenianbiodiversity and the sustainable use ofnatural resources. The cooperation aims toreact quickly and provide accurateinformation for decision-makers and thepublic. WWF Director Karen Manvelyanraised the hope that “cooperation withAPRA will step up public education inenvironmental protection as well as attractpublic attention to biodiversity risks”.(Source: Panorama.am, 11 April 2007 viaCENN Weekly Digest, 13 April 2007.)

BELIZE

IACHR Commission says the Governmentof Belize must protect the indigenouspeople of ToledoBy permitting oil exploration on indigenouslands in the Sarstoon/Temash NationalPark in the Toledo district, the Governmentof Belize is violating treaty obligations anda 2004 ruling by the Inter-AmericanCommission on Human Rights (IACHR).This is the official view of theenvironmental group Global Response.

The Sarstoon/Temash National Park isBelize’s second largest national park,encompassing an area of 41 000 acres(approximately 16 592 ha) of pristine forestand coastline along the southern border

with Guatemala. The park includes 16miles (approximately 25.7 km) of Caribbeancoastline and contains 14 ecosystem typesincluding undisturbed mangrove, the onlycomfre palm forest (comfre palm is arough, hairy perennial herb, not a tree; itsroots contain tannin and are used widely inherbal medicine and treatments in Belize)and the only known lowland sphagnummoss bog, also known as bog moss andfound in wet boggy soil, growing in clumps.The moss is permeated with capillary cellsthat retain water and is used in pottedplants and, in some countries, also as adressing for wounds in Central America.The park is home to 226 species of birds, 24species of mammals, 22 species of reptilesand 46 species of butterflies.

In 2003 the Government of Belize signedan agreement with the Sarstoon/TemashInstitute for Indigenous Management(SATIIM) giving it authority to manage thepark and for the last four years SATIIM hasbeen taking care of the park and makingsure environmental laws are obeyed.SATIIM represents five Ketchi Maya andGarifuna indigenous communities in thearea and is internationally recognized as anorganization with legal powers to enforcethe law. (Source: The Reporter [Belize], 5January 2007.)(Please see page 34 for more informationon sphagnum moss.)

BOTSWANA

Hoodia gordonii – a rare medicinal hopeTshabong. Some Bokspits residents call thisplant seboka while others know it astlhokabotshwaro. Outsiders have named itbushman’s hat and Queen of the Namib,among others. Scientifically, however, thewild plant is known as Hoodia gordonii and isreputed to have medicinal properties.

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Found in the Bokspits region, the plant isnow being grown commercially to benefitthe communities of southern Kgalagadiwhere it grows wild. Local Khoisancommunities, however, have long knownabout the special medicinal value of theplant and have chewed its succulent stemsto suppress hunger.

Duncan Basima of the Department ofForestry and Range Resources said theplant was in high demand internationallyand that they have decided to cultivate itdomestically to benefit communities whereit grows wild. The plant species they havecultivated contains the active ingredientP.57 which suppresses hunger.

He said his department started acommunal cultivation project in Bokspits togenerate income for residents and createnational capacity in Hoodia cultivation. Fourcommunities in the Bokspits area havebeen mobilized and trained to cultivate theplant. The project, funded by the AfricanDevelopment Fund for two years incooperation with Veld Products Research &Development, will help reduce poverty inthe arid Bokspits area and communitieswill be able to earn a living from the plants.However, Bokspits residents will have towait until 2009 to harvest their first crop ofmedicinal plants as they only started theproject in October last year.

The General Manager of Veld ProductsResearch and Development saidmultinational pharmaceutical companieswere interested in the plant, which growswild in Namibia, South Africa andBotswana. He said the Hoodia gordoniiproject was still in the cultivation stage andthat his organization was trying to traincommunities on how to conserve andharvest the plant for commercial use. Hesaid that he was trying to encourage peopleto plant Hoodia gordonii in their own plotssince there is not much in the bush thatcould be used for commercial purposes. Ittakes three to four years for the plant to beready for harvest.

South African scientists have beentesting Hoodia gordonii and they discoveredthat the plant contained a previouslyunknown molecule that replicates theeffect glucose has on nerve cells in thebrain, fooling the body into thinking it isfull. The appetite suppressant properties ofHoodia gordonii have now been developedand Hoodia products are marketed in manyWestern countries where obesity is aproblem. (Source: Botswana, 27 March2007.)

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

Firms and groups invited to proposeprojects to tap nation's forests Private companies and groups are welcometo propose projects to the Ministry ofIndustry and Primary Resources and itsForestry Department to developpharmaceutical and even cosmeticproducts derived from the country's richrain forest resources.

“Tropical rain forests in BruneiDarussalam are very rich. We want toexplore ways to make use of the richness ofour resources, not only for timber but alsofor non-timber resources,” Mahmud Yussof,Acting Deputy-Director of the departmentsaid in an interview, noting that 78 percent ofthe country is covered in thick rain forestteeming with valuable plants that can beused for medicine. “Brunei Darussalamdefinitely has the potential to create amarket in this area. We have very richforests here where there are local medicinaland herbal plants. One such type of tree iscalled gaharu, a local species that canproduce fragrance. Thailand and the MiddleEast have already ventured into this.”

Conservation of the rain forest todevelop these types of economic activitiesis apparent through Brunei Darussalam'sinvolvement in the Heart of Borneo projectduring the signing of the Heart of BorneoDeclaration earlier this week. (Source:BruDirect.com [Brunei Darussalam], 15February 2007.)(Please see page 62 for more informationon the Heart of Borneo project.)

BULGARIA

Parliament approves Biodiversity Bill onfirst readingThe Bulgarian Parliament approved itsBiodiversity Bill on first reading. The billstipulates that the Ecological Assessmentand Environmental Impact Assessment areto be enforced when investment proposals

for protected areas are filed. Theamendments are a result of Bulgaria’scommitments to the EuropeanCommission, thus meeting therequirements of ecological network,Natura 2000. (Source: FOCUS News [Sofia,Bulgaria], 15 March 2007.)

Bulgaria produces 8 000 tonnes of honey,half of which is exportedMore than half the honey produced inBulgaria is exported to other countries,mainly in the European Union, thechairman of Sofia’s Bulgarian ApiaristUnion announced at an apiculture seminar.Bulgaria produces an average of 6 000–8 000 tonnes of honey, 4,000–5 000tonnes of which are exported. Bulgarianhoney consumption is very low: 150–200g/person/year.

Bulgarian apiarists have some clasheswith legislation amendments, whichimposed tax levying on their production.(Source: FOCUS News [Sofia, Bulgaria], 5April 2007.)

CAMEROON

From a taboo to a delicacy: the evolution ofeating snail meat in the Bakossi landscapeareaWithin the last two decades, the eating ofsnail meat has not only moved from being asociocultural taboo among the people whoinhabit the Bakossi landscape area inCameroon, but has evolved to represent animportant protein food and one of the keyincome sources for many households.Many snail species are eaten in the area,but the most popular is Achatina achatina,mostly found in the forest zones ofCameroon.

Situated in the southwest and littoralprovinces of Cameroon, the Bakossilandscape area harbours three keymontane forest sites: Kupe, Bakossi andMuanenguba, renowned for theirsignificant biodiversity and socioculturalvalues. These forests cover an area ofabout 900 km2 featuring amongCameroon’s most important montaneforests with an exceptional level ofendemism and biological diversity. Richerin plant species diversity than the adjacentMount Cameroon, with 2 435 species, it isthe richest rain forest site in Central andWest Africa, and home to many primates.The local population of over 150 000 peoplecontinues to depend on the resources of

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these forests for their livelihoods andincome (via hunting, farming, tourism anddrinking-water). The forests are also theicon of the cultural and spiritual heritage ofthe Bakossi (the dominant tribe of thearea). This unique biodiversity andsociocultural values, however, arethreatened by overhunting, agriculturalencroachment and illegal logging.

As recently as 20 years ago, people in theBakossi landscape area still perceivedsnails in general as inedible. Thisstigmatization went on in the area foranother decade until the Bakossi verifiedthat other Cameroonians in bigger townssuch as Kumba and Mamfe actually lovedeating snails. Then in the mid-1970straders came from Kumba to buy snails.The snails actually brought in income evenfor non-snail eating Bakossi households,significantly subsidizing livelihoods. Thesnails were more valuable than manythought. Then medical advice startedpointing at snails as an important andcheap source of protein and consequentlysome Bakossi slowly began to developrelatively sociable attitudes towards them.At this point, hunting to raise income wasmore popular than hunting to eat.

As snail hunting and sales gainedground owing to the increasing market,there was a glaring upshot on theiravailability. Snails that were once easilyseen near people’s homes startedbecoming rare. Snail hunting wascommonly done at night (in lowtemperatures) especially by children, whocarried with them flashlights and lamps.

It was still uncommon, however, to findBakossi people who consumed snailspublicly. Slowly and steadily, however, thetaboos associated with snail eating startedfading away and some Bakossi startedfinding it normal to eat snails in public.Consequently, the market for snails in thearea further expanded and the hunting rateincreased.

As people in the area becameincreasingly familiar with snail hunting,more and more lessons were learned andbasic scientific discoveries made anddeveloped. After returning from snailhunting, some hunters either ate all theircatch or ate and reserved some for sale,while others sold them all. It was throughthis process that a certain EnugeAugustine, today President of the localsnail farming NGO Progressive All PurposeCommon Initiative Group (PAPCIG) realizedthat the snails his children had reserved

(covered with a bucket) for sale, laid eggs,which eventually hatched to producejuvenile snails. From this experience, hebuilt a box, in which he transferred theeggs and the hatched snails. An AmericanPeace corps volunteer who was working inthe area advised him to contact WWFCameroon on his findings.

Support given to him by WWF not onlyhelped him to realize the status of PAPCIG,but enabled PAPCIG to benefit from somematerial, technical and financial supportthat helped erect a 10 000 capacitycontemporary snail farm in Tombel, whichhas not only served as an income-generating farm for the group and theemployment of some unemployed youth,but has also been of significant assistanceto research.

Having embedded itself as meat byvirtue of its taste, cooked snails are todaysold in different parts of the Bakossi land,on streets and in hotels, etc. The meat,especially when spiced with pepper andother spices from the forest, serves as areal appetizer for beer consumers and alsoas an important alternative for commonlyconsumed meat (cattle, goats, chickens,etc.), bushmeat and fish.

Having recognized poverty as one of thekey causes of forest and species reduction inthe area, WWF Coastal Forests Program(WWF-CFP), embarked on lending itssupport to PAPCIG, as one of the approachesfor increasing snail availability in the localmarket, and managing the pressure (mostlyfrom snail hunters) on snails in the wild.Over 15 community-based organizations(CBOs) exist today in the area benefitingfrom WWF-CFP’s organizational, human(capacity development), financial andphysical (material) support.

The CBOs are not only supplying livesnails but some have evolved totransformation levels. Like beekeeping inthe area, a transformation and sales unit(where the quality of snails is controlled,they are packaged in sachets and preservedin deep freezers for sale) was set up byCommunity Action for Development(CADEV) in 2006, hence adding value to their

products. A full sachet of 250 g is sold at500 CFA francs (about US$1). Up to March2007, CADEV made an average profit of 35 000 CFA francs (US$63) from processedsnail sales monthly, excluding the sale ofother related snail components such asempty snail shells used for calciumproduction. It is worth noting that most ofthe snail farming CBOs in the area sell theirlive snails to the CADEV transformationunit, where they receive the full cost of theirlive snails on the spot and are givenbonuses at the end of each quarter.

Like the locally produced natural honeythat is known to generate an annual incomeof 4 400 000 CFA francs (US$8.000) for one ofthe beekeeping CBOs in the area, snail salesare gradually also becoming a real incomeprovider although it is hard to find anyonedepending exclusively on snail farming andsales for survival. The activity is most oftensecondary, given that farming forms themainstay of the people in the area. But itscontribution to the socio-economicdevelopment of households in the Bakossilandscape area cannot be underestimated.

The direct implication of snail farming asan income provider to many Bakossihouseholds and its indirect impact onbiodiversity conservation, by virtue of itsalternative force for bushmeat, makes itlucid for WWF-CFP to support the activity.

Today, snail consumption has not onlyevolved to gain the status of a delicacy inthe Bakossi culture, but serves as asatisfactory alternative source of meatamong a significant part of the population.There is also a considerable drop in thehunting of snails in the wild, in favour offarming them.

However, snail farmers are concernedabout both the incessant attacks bypredators (black flies, reptiles, rats, ants,etc.) on the snail farms and otherimportant constraining factors includingsaturation of the local snail market. Moresupport is critical to help in predatormanagement and the marketing of snails.International market networks that canboost snail farmers’ economic power areunknown. A positive start would be to carryout studies on the snail international marketnetwork and demand. The NationalAssociation of Snail Farmers in Cameroon(NASFARM), founded in 2006, is poised to dothis, but given its infancy, certainly needshelp for this to be realized. (Contributed by:Ngwene Theophilus Nseme, WWF-CoastalForests Program, PO Box 1169, Bota-Limbe,Cameroon. E-mail: [email protected])



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CHILE

Adaptación de especies de bambú declima templado en ChileEl Instituto Forestal, INFOR, realizó el 25 deabril en la ciudad de Valdivia un Seminariode lanzamiento del proyecto «Adaptaciónde especies de bambú de clima templadoen Chile», seleccionado en el XIII ConcursoNacional del Fondo de Fomento alDesarrollo Científico y TecnológicoFONDEF del Conicyt.

El proyecto tiene como objetivo generaladaptar especies exóticas de bambú declima templado para uso industrial, desdela Región Metropolitana hasta la undécimaregión, incluyendo la Isla de Pascua. Estaespecie es considerada como una de lasque experimenta mayor tasa decrecimiento dentro de los vegetales, y sirvecomo forraje, alimento, producción depasta y papel, protección de riberas y ríos,artesanías, muebles, construcción ytextiles, entre otros.

La adaptación y plantación industrial deestas especies en Chile será una nuevafuente de ingresos para los pequeños ymedianos agricultores, debido a la entregade materias primas industriales y suutilización directa, ya sea en construcción,tutores, cercos, fabricación de muebles,alimento, entre otros. Además, uno de losbeneficios de esta especie, es que puedeser cosechada anualmente, a diferencia delas rotaciones forestales tradicionales.Fuente: Informativo Forestal Diario deINFOR, miércoles 11 de abril de 2007.

Orquídeas silvestres ancestralesEl bosque chileno y su campiña, aunquecontienen menos especies en total que losbosques tropicales, constituyen unareserva mundial de biodiversidad, dado elalto grado de endemismos locales. Entrelos descendientes de estos antiguos linajesúnicos en el planeta, se cuentan lasorquídeas terrestres chilenas.

En los escasos fragmentos de bosquenativo que aún subsisten en Chile, hayalgunas áreas donde surgen las orquídeassilvestres, que aún conservan unacondición prístina. Por ello, conocer yconservar estas plantas endémicasamenazadas no es sólo una carrera contrael tiempo, sino un objetivo importante en laprotección de nuestra flora herbácea. Estariqueza florística, con altos niveles deexclusividad, ha sido reconocida por lacomunidad científica internacional comoun hotspot de biodiversidad.

Las orquídeas son fuentes de bienes yservicios que van desde valores estéticosexpresados a nivel del paisaje, hasta valoreseconómicos asociados a determinadosproductos exportables, tanto como florcortada, como en maceta. En este marco, laFundación para la Innovación Agraria (FIA)ha apoyado de manera permanente eldesarrollo de la biotecnología agropecuariaal prestar ayuda, tanto financiera comotécnica, en dos Proyectos de Domesticacióny Mejoramiento Genético de OrquídeasSilvestres del Género Chloraea.

Con esos dos proyectos de investigaciónse persigue, además de poner fin a sudisminución acelerada, obtener un productooriginal, renovado y atractivo, con alto valoragregado, que compita ventajosamente enel mercado internacional.

Has sido un trabajo multifacético,pionero, exigente, prologado y apasionante,lo que permitirá, gracias al esfuerzo yperseverancia de un puñado deinvestigadores y al apoyo constante delGobierno de Chile, a través de unorganismo del Ministerio de Agricultura,junto al resguardo de estas especiesúnicas, diversificar la opción como paísemergente en la producción de floresbulbosas.

Para posicionarlas, tanto en nuestromedio como en el extranjero, es importanteque a las orquídeas terrestres, ahoracultivadas, se les reconozca la identidad desu prolongado endemismo, como un valorhistórico-cultural, designándolas floresemblemáticas de la celebración delBicentenario de la República, que estápróximo a cumplirse.Fuente: Extraído de un articulo de EnriqueMatthei Jensen, Ejecutor Proyectos FIA inRevista Chile Forestal, Año 2006, N° 321.

CHINA

Chinese company doubles steviaproduction capacity Qufo, China. Sunwin InternationalNeutraceuticals, Inc. (SUWN), a leader in

the production and distribution of Chineseherbs, veterinary medicines and one of theworld's leading producers of all natural,zero-calorie stevia in China, announcedtoday that it has completed construction ofits new stevia manufacturing facilities.These new facilities are capable ofproducing an additional 300 tonnes ofpremium stevia per year, increasing annualbulk production by approximately US$15million.

The new facilities will use proprietarytechnology developed by SUWN to processthe seeds of the Stevia rebaudiana plant,enabling the company to produce thehighest-grade stevia in the industry. Thecompany anticipates that this additionalproduction will be marketed to thepharmaceutical industry in China, Japanand the Republic of Korea as well as toother countries such as Singapore,Malaysia, Thailand and India. (Source:NPIcenter [press release], 9 January 2007.)

CUBA

Quality honey produced in Sancti SpiritusHoney is once more ratified as one of themain exports in the Cuban central provinceof Sancti Spiritus, where over 500 tonnes ofthe product have been sold to date,especially to European countries. Theprocessing plant in this territory, whichreceives the honey from Pinar del Rio up toCamaguey province, was able to increaseproduction above scheduled plans.(Source: Escambray [Cuba], 28 March2007.)

Camagüey boosts bamboo plantationsThe reforestation plan in the easternprovince of Camagüey is devoting specialattention to boosting bamboo plantationssince bamboo has disappeared from morethan 600 ha over the last five years; 70 hahave been planted, approximately half ofthat planned last year. In 2007, the sowingprogramme includes 40 ha.

The Forest State Service branch office inCamagüey said that the bambooreforestation has tackled certain problems.Most of the plantations are located nearlivestock water sources and the plant’sleaves are used as food for the cattle. It isalso a raw material widely used in theconstruction of furniture and fences and inthe pharmaceutical and paper industry.(Source: Radio Cadena Agramonet [Cuba],19 March 2007.)

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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICOF THE CONGO

Greenpeace spotlights rain forest damage The environmental group Greenpeace calledfor urgent action on Wednesday to preventillegal logging in the rain forests of theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, accusinginternational companies there of “causingsocial chaos and wreaking environmentalhavoc”.

In a report that accused the World Bank offailing to stem the problem of illegal logging,Greenpeace said over 15 million ha (37 million acres) of rain forest had beengranted to the logging industry since amoratorium was agreed by the Governmentin May 2002. The group’s report, “Carving upthe Congo”, also accused internationallogging companies of deception andintimidation to obtain timber.

Of the 60 million people in the countryabout 40 million depend upon the rain foreststo provide essential food, medicine and otherNTFPs along with energy and buildingmaterials. And the forests are critical for thesurvival of wildlife, including gorillas,chimpanzees and bonobos, the report said.

Meanwhile, the World Bank hasacknowledged that over the last three yearsno money whatsoever has been paid in taxesby logging companies to local communitiesto provide essential services such as schoolsand hospitals.

“This leaves these people not only withoutthe forest that provided their food, shelterand medicine, but without the benefits theyhad been promised,“ Greenpeace said.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo hasthe second-largest primal tropical forest inthe world with 86 million ha (212 millionacres) of which 60 million ha (148 millionacres) are potentially exploitable for logging.(Source: Sapa-AFP in Citizen [South Africa],12 April 2007.)

ETHIOPIA

Tapping into bamboo A training class held by Chinese expertschanged the life of one impoverished farmerin a bamboo-growing village 300 km fromAddis Ababa. In 2005, Solomon Gessesseparticipated in a bamboo-processing class inAddis Ababa and later established a bamboofactory there, hiring 13 workers. His monthlyincome now exceeds 12 000 birr. In contrast,another bamboo-processing facility nearbywith five employees, whose owner did not

participate in such training, earns only 1 000birr/month.

Ethiopia processes abundant bambooresources, covering 1 million ha andaccounting for 67 percent of the total bamboogroves in Africa. However, for a long timebamboo production was very low withbamboo processing remaining at the primarystage with low added value. China has adeveloped bamboo industry with muchexperience in bamboo growing andprocessing. As a member of the InternationalNetwork for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR),China actively participates in and promotesSouth-South cooperation. While developingits own bamboo industry, it also rendersfinancial and technological support to otherdeveloping countries, helping them utilizetheir bamboo resources and train their ownexperts.

In 2005–2006, the Chinese Governmentcooperated with INBAR to hold two trainingcourses for bamboo industry development inEthiopia, training 97 bamboo growing andprocessing technicians. In 2006, a total of 23Ethiopians attended the bamboo processingcourse. Chinese experts started theircourses from scratch – from selecting thebamboo, making bamboo strips, bamboodyes and creating moulds to weave newtypes of small bamboo baskets, bags,lampshades and curtains. They alsointroduced the Ethiopians to a new method ofcutting several bamboo pieces into strips ofthe same width at one time.

In addition, Chinese experts have helpedhold two workshops in Ethiopia on bamboodevelopment with more than 160participants. The Beijing Summit of theForum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)also provided a new opportunity for China tocooperate with Ethiopia in bamboodevelopment. In December 2006, a Chineseeconomic and trade delegation, tasked withfollowing up on FOCAC, went to Ethiopia and

attended the workshop on promoting thesustainable development of the bambooindustry in the country.

Some large enterprises in Ethiopia havealso begun to invest in the bamboo industry,including an Ethiopia-United States jointventure that has invested in bamboo grovescovering 400 000 ha. It has signedagreements with three large Indian papermills to supply bamboo pulp, worth US$130million within three years. Meanwhile, aChinese mining enterprise plans to invest inmaking paper from bamboo. (Source:Chinafrica, February 2007, Vol. 2, No. 2;www.chinafrica.cn)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Fu Jinhe, Ph.D., Senior Program Officer,International Network for Bamboo and Rattan(INBAR), 8 Fu Tong Dong Da Jie, Wang Jing area,Chao Yang district, Beijing 100102, China. Fax: +86-10-6470 2166; e-mail: [email protected];http://www.inbar.int

Ethiopian Biodiversity ConservationInstitute striving to utilize and conservemedicinal plantsThe Ethiopian Biodiversity ConservationInstitute announced that it has beenundertaking, through its Medicinal HerbsCare and Sustainable Conservation project,various activities to enable the communityto utilize medicinal plants that could becultivated in backyards and conserve thosefound in the field with over 16.2 million birr.

Ethiopia produces 56 000 tonnes ofmedicinal herbs annually, 87 percent ofwhich grow in the forest while peoplecultivate the remaining 13 percent in theirbackyards, said project coordinator Dr FasilKibebew. The medicinal herbs will bring inrevenue that covers 8 percent of the annualbudget and will also cover 42 percent of theGovernment's expenditure for theprocurement of medicines. Currently,medicinal herbs have a US$62 billiontransaction in the international market, hesaid, further stating that efforts are underway to enable the country to obtain a shareof the market.

As part of efforts to utilize the herbs byprocessing them in factories, Addis AbabaUniversity has succeeded in preparing ananti-tapeworm for animals with a 93percent reliability.

Field gene banks have been establishedin Wondo-Genet and Goba to preserve theplants and 300 medicinal plants in Wondo-Genet and 247 medicinal plants in Goba areunder protection. These plants that should

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be preserved in their origins are underprotection and care in Bale National Park,Adele, Workiti and Goba forests, Dr Fasilsaid, adding that the institute is supportingthe local community to utilize the plants.

The project has distributed improvedstoves among the community to deter themfrom using the plants for firewood. It hasalso multiplied over 1.3 million seedlingsand distributed them to the community tobe planted in their backyards. (Source: TheEthiopian Herald, 4 March 2007.)

GUATEMALA

Ornamental greens from the MayaBiosphere Reserve: the RainforestAlliance’s Certified Xate InitiativeVillagers in the Guatemalan community ofUaxactún subsist primarily on incomeearned from the collection of NTFPs, suchas fruits, gum, resin and xate, anornamental palm leaf. Their forest home,once a major Mayan city, lies within theconfines of the Maya Biosphere Reserve,the largest protected area in Mesoamerica.In addition to hundreds of Mayan ruins, the5.2 million acre (2.1 million ha) reserveboasts an astounding diversity of plant andanimal life.

In recent years, land clearing and forestfires have been destroying the forestexpanse at an accelerating pace. Which iswhy the Rainforest Alliance, aninternational conservation organization,has been working with Uaxactún villagersand others to create an incentive for theprotection of their forest home. In additionto certifying Uaxactún for sustainabletimber harvesting, the Rainforest Alliance,in collaboration with the community, hasestablished guidelines for the sustainableharvest of the xate palm, also known aschico (Chamaedorea spp.). Thirty millionxate fronds are delivered each year to theUnited States of America and Canada forPalm Sunday services. Xate exportscontribute over 1 million dollars annually tothe Guatemalan economy and in the SelvaMaya, where nearly 50 percent of thepopulation has no formal education, wildxate harvesting generates about 10 000jobs, especially for women.

When only a few leaves are removedfrom the plant at a time, the fronds areallowed to regenerate. However, theincreased demand for xate combined withan absence of standards and managementpractices, have resulted in serious

challenges to the sustainability of the plant.Not only have the palms becomethreatened by overharvesting, but theworkers who collect them have beenventuring further into the forest, oftencollecting other threatened plants andseeds as they go. Since the establishmentof the standards in July 2005, thecommunity of Uaxactún together withnearby Carmelita have sent one shipmentof sustainably harvested xate per week toContinental Floral Greens of San Antonio,Texas, United States of America. Theseshipments represent an income of morethan US$100 000 per year for theimpoverished communities, more than halfof which goes directly to the xate collectors.

The Rainforest Alliance explains thatbefore linking up with Continental FloralGreens, harvesters sold their xate tointermediaries for a much lower price.Most of the leaves had defects, so theyended up in exporters’ dumps. TheRainforest Alliance has encouraged xatecollectors to cut only quality leaves andleave more fronds on the palm, whichpermits faster regeneration. They now selltheir leaves for twice as much as they didpreviously.

In addition, according to theManagement and ConservationOrganization (OMYC), which manages thecommunity’s forest concession in the MayaBiosphere Reserve, women who untilrecently had no cash income now earnbetween US$6 and $7 per day harvesting,selecting and packaging xate for export.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Rainforest Alliance, 665 Broadway, Suite 500, New York, NY 10012-2331, United States of America. Fax: +1-212/677-2187; e-mail: [email protected];www.rainforest-alliance.org

GUYANA

Guyana: United Kingdom HighCommission donates money to GMTCS The British High Commission recentlymade monetary donations to a socialwelfare and sustainable developmentsociety. According to a press release, theBritish High Commissioner presentedcheques to the Help and Shelter and theGuyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society(GMTCS).

The money donated to GTMCS is the thirdpart in a project aimed at building capacityfor the indigenous people of northwestGuyana to assist them to manage theirnatural resources effectively and toundertake a preliminary assessment ofcertification for local organic NTFPs.According to the press release, the projectstarted last July and has resulted in NTFPsfrom the area being sold in the local markets.Additionally, six persons were trained as tourguides and a map of the area's naturalresources has been drawn. (Source:Stabroek News [Guyana], 3 April 2007.)

INDIA

Jharkhand to upgrade sericultureproductionTo upgrade silk production in Jharkhand,the Central Silk Board (CSB) and stateindustry department has initiated a jointventure project of a perspective plan forsericulture development with aninvestment of Rs151 crore. Jharkhand atpresent produces 100 tonnes of raw silkand targets to reach 350 tonnes within thenext six years. The state produces tasar,mulberry and eri silk, with the regions ofWest Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharsawanand Santhal Pargana serving as breedinggrounds for cocoon cultivators.

In this venture, the Government plans toundertake infrastructure development,plantation activities, training and valueaddition of raw silk projects in the currentfiscal year. The Ranchi-based Central TasarResearch and Training Institute would helpin the project by providing services oftraining, research and development andtechnology transfer to farmers.

At the moment sericulture is beingcarried out on plant species such as arjuna,saal, asan and the mulberry tree but theGovernment’s focus would be on non-mulberry production. (Source:Fibre2fashion.com [India], 5 April 2007.)

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Ms Alka Shiva, President and Managing Director,Centre of Minor Forest Products (COMFORPTS),HIG - 2, No. 8, Indirapuram, GMS Road, PO Majra, Dehra Dun- 248 171, India. E-mail: [email protected];www.angelfire.com/ma/MinorForestProducts

Determination of sustainable harvestinglimits of commercially important NTFPs innatural tropical forests of MadhyaPradeshThe conservation of commerciallyimportant forest resources in state-owned

natural tropical forests is a challengingtask because these forests constitute acommon property resource and localpeople have the right of free access tocollect NTFPs. Owing to increasedcommercial utilization of forest resources,local user communities are encouraged tooverexploit forest products, ignoring thetraditional practices of sustainableharvesting of utilizable resources fromnatural forests. In the prevailing forestmanagement system, extraction of NTFPsis not at all sustainable, either in ecologicalor in socio-economic terms. A participatory

approach involving local forest-dependentuser communities seems to be aninevitable tool for sustainable managementand in situ conservation of valuableindigenous forest resources.

Keeping this as the main objective, theMadhya Pradesh State Forest ResearchInstitute, Jabalpur, India has taken the leadto determine the sustainable harvestinglimits of overexploited NTFPs in naturalforests, employing an integratedparticipatory approach in the tribal-dominated tropical forests of MadhyaPradesh under a research project

Gums and resins 2002–2003 2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006(tonnes) (tonnes) (tonnes) (tonnes)

Exports Imports Exports Imports Exports Imports Exports Imports

Gum arabic (Acacia nilotica) 86.31 7 341.24 101.85 8 172.15 168.78 12 730.93 1.39 14 825.84Asian gum 285.33 75.01 359.84 49.89 66.4 7 – –African gum (Acacia senegal) 129.31 22 13.21 – 6.51 – 1.44 –Assafoetida (Ferula asafoetida) 473.91 514.23 744.21 902.12 731.63 985.1 1 269.42 528.52Benjamin ras 1.2 118.5 0.38 26.47 – 34.6 – 60.09Benjamin cowrie 1.84 – – – – – – 40Karaya gum (Indian tragacanth) (Sterculia urens) 1 119.83 – 429.69 3 773.1 1 0.65 10.82Acacia gum – – – – – – – –Mastic gum (Pistacia lentiscus) 0.64 4.72 1.24 1.86 0.45 5.01 – –Other natural gum 645.53 777.73 761.17 453.36 459.44 195.75 206.51 48.68Other gum resin 968.7 148.67 582.48 121.22 139.29 176.37 29.37 –Guar gum refined split (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) 41 337.02 – 38 072.3 473 48 738.47 0.33 14 951.54 16.22Guar gum treated and pulverized 69 513.86 – 77 797.59 0.25 76 298.65 0.3 134 190.53 69.55Guar meal 1 097.46 6.37 4 691.36 – 4 611.34 4.6 3 146.54 –Copal (Agathis spp.) 49.66 1 593.93 0.65 1 188.52 – 1 540.77 – –Dammar Batu 0.22 4 206.35 14.13 5 221.77 2 9 477.63 – –Other resins 69.52 147.04 8 611.44 470.46 2 832.82 1 507.29 – –Myrrh (Commiphora spp.) – 12.2 11.86 23.45 11.7 13.82 0.08 12.82Olibanum or frankincense (Boswellia serrata) 6.5 16.25 7.98 1 12.08 7 – 4.22Natural resin enamels – 0.715 – – – – – –Balsam of Tolu(Myroxylon balsamum) 0.01 68.56 – – – – – –Pepper oleoresins 1 043.8 0.5 – – – – – –Turmeric oleoresins 235.9 1.42 – – – – – –Cardamom oleoresins 2.45 – – – – – – –Celery seed oleoresins(Apium graveolens) 324.77 – – – – – – –Nutmeg oleoresins 178.38 0.01 – – – – – –Oleoresins of spices, nes 77.32 – – – – – – 0.25Other balsams/oleoresins 349.08 133.69 770.51 10 497.04 877.77 5 822.78 549.8 3 809.6Agar agar w/w modified 15.48 30.83 24.93 43.44 20.01 67.46 3 146.54 –Other mucilage thickeners w/n modified, derived from locust beans or locust bean seeds 242.16 2.7 420.42 33.39 1 224.68 43.12 – 3.6Total gums and resins 118 256.192 15 222.665 133 417.24 27 682.39 136 975.12 32 620.86 157 493.81 19 430.21

Trade figures on gums and resins

Source: Monthly Statistics of Foreign Trade of India, Vols I and II, Export and Import, 2007. Directorate-General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Government of India, Kolkata.



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sponsored by the Council of Scientific andIndustrial Research, New Delhi,Government of India.

In this project, eight site-specificcommercially important NTFP species,Chlorophytum tuberosum, Curculigoorchioides, Dioscorea daemona, Curcumaangustifolia, Bauhinia vahlii, Plumbagozeylanica, Asparagus racemosus andEmbelia robusta were selected to determinesustainable harvesting limits in naturalforest ecosystems. An innovative experimentwas designed with various treatments basedon different harvesting intensities, i.e.control (no harvesting), T1 (20 percent), T2

(40 percent), T3 (60 percent) and T4 (80percent), where underground plant parts(roots/ rhizomes/ tubers) are harvested. Inthe case of Bauhinia vahlii, however, theleaves of which are harvested, an additionaltreatment, i.e. T (100 percent extraction) wasundertaken. All the treatments were done infive replications. Regeneration capacity ofthe species was estimated for all thetreatments with five replications by using aregeneration index method.

The results of the experiment were quitealarming, particularly for Chlorophytumtuberosum, Dioscorea daemona andAsparagus racemosus, which allowedharvesting of only 18, 38 and 32 percent ofplants respectively to maintainsustainability in natural forest conditions.However, other species, i.e. Curculigoorchioides (75 percent), Curcumaangustifolia (60 percent), Plumbagozeylanica (60 percent) and Embelia robusta(80 percent) showed comparatively highersustainable harvesting limits. Bauhiniavahlii, which contributes substantially (Rs5 000–7 000/family) to the annualincome of forest-dependent communities,was found to be in a very precariouscondition because of repeatedoverexploitation of its leaves. Almost all theplants were found to have lost theirflowering, fruiting and leaf growth vigour.Leaves of this species are in high demandfor making plates and cups and areharvested twice in a year in summer aswell as in winter. The bark of the stem ofthis species is also used for making rope.Findings of the experiment have suggestedthat 70 and 80 percent of harvesting insummer and winter can be permissible tomaintain leaf-sprouting vigour of the plantin natural forest ecosystems, both inqualitative and quantitative terms.

It has been established from the studythat the development of skills and

capabilities of local user communities (askey stakeholders) at the grassroots levelfor the sustainable use of forest resourcesis the only viable tool for the conservationand sustainable management of forestresources in natural forest ecosystems ofthe country.

The present study is a part of the project“Determination of sustainable harvestinglimits of utilizable forest resources intribal-dominated natural tropical forests ofMadhya Pradesh”. (Contributed by: Dr R.K.Pandey (Senior Scientist and Head) and Dr(Mrs) Satvant Kaur Saini (ResearchAssociate), Ecology and EnvironmentDivision, State Forest Research Institute,Jabalpur, pin: 482008, Madhya Pradesh,India. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected])

Jaipur's lac industry is boomingThe lac industry began in the eighteenthcentury in the narrow lanes of Jaipur's oldcity. Today, it is a booming business with itsproducts finding their way to places as faraway as Europe.

In recent years, the industry hassuccessfully broken away from its traditionalimage of making bangles to produceexquisite jewellery and gift items. Today,over 5 000 families in Jaipur are involved inthe industry. Jaipur alone accounts forannual exports worth Rs700–800 million.

Several local artisans have even beenawarded for their contribution and creativeinnovations. Yet these artisans have to toilhard and long in difficult conditions to giveshape to their designs. “We have to work onhot furnaces where lac is melted. Workingconditions are very harsh, especially duringsummer,” said one manufacturer of lacitems.

But the artisans seem to forget abouttheir hardships when they proudly begin to

talk about taking the cottage industry toglobal levels. (Source: Hindustan Times[India], 11 April 2007.)

Boost to bamboo cultivationThe Department of Agriculture andCooperation has launched a programme ona National Bamboo Mission in India from2006 to 2007 to enhance the production andproductivity of bamboo. The mission aimsat i) promoting the growth of the bamboosector through an area- based regionallydifferentiated strategy; ii) increasing thecoverage of the area under bamboo inpotential areas, with improved varieties toenhance yields; iii) promoting marketing ofbamboo and bamboo-based handicrafts; iv)establishing convergence and synergyamong stakeholders for the development ofbamboo; v) promoting, developing anddisseminating technologies through aseamless blend of traditional wisdom andmodern scientific knowledge; and vi)generating employment opportunities forskilled and unskilled persons, especiallyyouth.

The proposed bamboo plantationactivities under the mission wouldgenerate about 50.4 million workdays. Inthe nursery sector, total estimatedemployment to be generated every year willbe around 9.7 lakh workdays. Besides this,there will be employment generation inboth skilled and unskilled segments in thehandicraft sector.

The proposed scheme is environmentfriendly and economically viable in nature.The project proposals submitted by the stategovernments for financial assistance underthe mission during 2006 to2007 are underconsideration by the Department ofAgriculture and Cooperation.

At present, bamboo is being cultivated in89 575 km in the country. (Source: PressInformation Bureau (press release) [NewDelhi, India], 12 March 2007.)

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INDONESIA

Indonesia's paradise lost – and regained The United Kingdom’s Royal Society for theProtection of Birds (RSPB) is enlarging itsvision and is moving into tropical birdconservation in a serious way as part of apartnership that is seeking to save one ofthe world's greatest wildlife hotspots. Withits sister organization in Indonesia andBirdLife International, the RSPB hassecured a long-lasting managementconcession on a stretch of lowland rainforest in Sumatra which has more breedingbird species than the whole of the UnitedKingdom.

The Harapan rain forest hosts at least267 types of birds and may hold more than300. It is also home to a striking range ofanimal species, as well as the world'srichest and most diverse flora. Yet for all itsnatural treasures, the forest has beenplaced under dire threat by the pressuresof illegal logging and conversion to timberand palm oil plantations, which havereduced the Sumatran rain forest to afraction – less than 5 percent – of its former16 million ha.

Up to now, sites earmarked for timberproduction or plantation crops in Indonesiacould be used for nothing else. But theecosystem restoration decree, which wasintroduced by the Indonesian Ministry ofForestry, permits the management of foreststo obtain benefits labelled “ecosystemservices”. These include storing carbon,controls on pollution and protection forwildlife, all of which, says the partnership,will help nearby human communities.

Directly benefiting will be the 150-strongBatin Sembilan tribe, a nomadic peoplethat will continue to harvest rubber, honey,fruits and rattan for its own use. “Withintact forest remaining, they will have thechoice of maintaining their traditionallifestyles,” said Sukianto Lusli, executive-director of Burung Indonesia. “They willalso have the option of becoming wildlifemonitors or forest wardens, as will otherpeople in the local area.” There will beother jobs for the Harapan community asforest guides, in nursery management andthe preparation of land. Field staff arebeing recruited now and the site willeventually be managed by a team of about80 people. The development of a researchstation and ecotourism are long-termpossibilities.

Harapan is the Indonesian word forhope. The forest stretches 35 km east to

west and 40 km north to south, andrepresents about 6 percent of remaininglowland rain forest in Sumatra. It is twodegrees south of the equator andconservationists hope that its humidconditions will hasten regeneration.Furthermore, the ecosystem restorationdecree means other private managementbodies can also apply to restore forests inIndonesia.

The RSPB is about to launch a UnitedKingdom fundraising campaign forHarapan with a target of UK£2 million overthe next 12 months. Similar campaigns arebeginning in other European countries andJapan. The initiative has already receivedsignificant financial support from theEuropean Commission and ConservationInternational's Global Conservation Fund.

In the long term, the RSPB, BurungIndonesia and BirdLife International plan toestablish a trust fund of UK£9 million.Annual interest payments from the fundwill cover the forest's management costs.(Source: The Independent [UnitedKingdom], 3 April 2007.)

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

The Republic is to improve medicinal herbcultivation in 2007 The Islamic Republic of Iran’s AgricultureJihad Ministry will put the medicinal herbscomprehensive plan into practice for thenext five years to develop the output, saidthe Ministry’s Ornamental Plants andMedicinal Herbs Office.

One of the plan’s goals is to exportmedicinal herbs. To this end, almost 58–60 000 ha are under cultivation, with an

expected yield of 73 000 tonnes ofmedicinal herbs. The Ministry plans to findthe proper farm lands for herbs, train itsexperts and producers, and cooperate withstandards institutes to produce qualitymedicinal herbs. (Source: MehrNews.com/[Iran], 13 April 2007.)

JAMAICA

Allspice: high demand for pimento Pimento, or allspice as it is knowninternationally, is currently impacting theculinary world. It is one of the mainingredients in jerk seasonings and mixedspices.

The growing demand for the product, notonly for local consumption, but for useoverseas and in the hospitality industry, hasopened up a niche market that is expected tobe very profitable for local farmers.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Lands isreporting that the pimento industry isearning an estimated US$5 millionannually from exports of whole berries,leaf, berry oils, liqueurs and other value-added products. There is also an increasingdemand for pimento berries to satisfy theexpansion of the jerk market.

With the sudden interest in the product,there are certain guidelines andprocedures that must be followed to get theproduct from its natural state to acceptablestandards for export. (Source: JamaicaGleaner [Jamaica], 15 February 2007.

KENYA

Kenyan President prohibits trade insandalwood Kenyan President Kibaki has made thehighly priced sandalwood tree a protectedspecies for a period of five years,representing a ban on trade. According tothe announcement, the ban on thesandalwood tree‘s exploitation and trade iseffective from 14 February this year,meaning that there will be no cutting ortrading of the species and those caughttrading in the products will be prosecuted.

The species, also known as Osyrislanceolata, is threatened with extinctionbecause of indiscriminate exploitation andillegal trade.

The species can fetch between Sh1 millionand Sh3 million depending on its age. (Source: SomaliNet [United States ofAmerica], 6 April 2007.)

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Ecotourism in the Lembus forest What started as a community concept onecotourism is now a regional story on goodcommunity conservation practice. Whenthe people of Koibatek approachedVolunteerforafrica (VFA) to help them comeup with a management concept for theLembus forest, little did they know that thiswould hatch into a project that wouldchange their lives, at least in so far asforest management and culture exposureare concerned.

With funding from the NetherlandsCommittee for the World ConservationUnion (IUCN), the community, throughtechnical advice from VFA's SustainableNatural Resources ManagementProgramme, have established anEcotourism and Cultural Centre, which hasthe following advantages.Income. The Ecotourism site is providing anincome to community members, whichinclude a youth group and a women’sgroup, operating the site. Membershipcomes from people living around the forestand income derived means that the peopleare able to benefit directly from the forestby improving their living standards. It alsomakes them believe in the conservation ofthe forest. Forest conservation and/or sustainableuse. With ecotourism, the people now havesome knowledge on the importance offorest and wetland conservation. Education and information. The Ecotourismsite is serving as an education point for thecommunity on the virtues of theenvironment and shows them why theyreally need to protect the Lembus forest,now and for the future.Culture. The Ecotourism site is designed ina traditional way, using traditionalmaterials. This is enhancing a localunderstanding and preservation of Tugencultural values. (Source: Web site ofVolunteerforAfrica,www.volunteerforafrica.org/)

MALI

Une expérience de promotion de PFNL àTominianL’ONG nationale Sahel Eco a bénéficié d’unfinancement de la FAO à travers lemécanisme d’appui à la foresterie du Mali etTREE AID, une ONG britannique pour lamise en ?uvre d’un projet dénommé Projetde promotion des entreprises forestièresvillageoises (EFV). D’une durée initiale detrois ans (septembre 2005-septembre2007), le projet a accompagné 160exploitants forestiers, essentiellement desfemmes, à la création de 14 entreprisesautour de trois produits à savoir le miel, lefruit de tamarinier et les amandes de karité.Ce projet s’appuie sur une approcheparticulière appelée ADM (Analyse etdéveloppement de marché).

Avec un chiffre d’affaires de plusieursmillions par entreprise, les bénéficiaires ontpris des mesures pour la bonne gestion desressources dans la forêt appelée DUWA dontleur vie dépend. Parmi ces mesures on peutciter, la redynamisation des comités desurveillance de la forêt chargés de veillersur le respect des règles consensuelles degestion. Les entrepreneurs ont tissé desalliances stratégiques avec les caissesd’épargne sur place pour faciliter l’accès aucrédit et avec des partenaires commerciauxcomme l’ULPK (Union locale desproductrices de karité) de Dioîla pourfaciliter l’écoulement de leur produit. Ilsproduisent et commercialisent les amandes,le beurre, le fruit de tamarinier et le miel.

Tous ces groupes évoluent au sein d’uneassociation coopérative appelée Farakunna,composée de 22 villages, qui tire l’essentielde leur revenu de la forêt. (Contribution de:Bakary Diarma, Coordonnateur du projetEFV/Sahel Eco, BP 04 Tominian; courriel:[email protected])

NEPAL

Improving village life in NepalEvery year in Nepal's Himalaya highlands,villagers gather thousands of tonnes ofmedicinal plants from the wild, and packand dry them to sell to traders for export.The sale of these plants, oils and resins, ornon-timber forest products (NTFPs),provides much-needed income to localcommunities in Nepal, who also rely on theplants for food, medicines and fuel.

The sale of these NTFPs represents apotential long-term source of income for

local villagers and a powerful incentive forthem to conserve their forests. However, thevillagers typically sell their goods toexploitive medicinal herb traders, whoencourage them to harvest as much as theycan, while paying them poorly for theirproducts. Once a plant supply runs out, thetraders move on, leaving the villagers whohave depleted their only source of livelihoodwithout much recourse.

In January 2005, the Rainforest Allianceawarded Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)certification to the Federation of CommunityForest Users, Nepal (FECOFUN), whosemembers harvest their forest botanicals in aresponsible way, ensuring the long-termavailability of their natural resources andmaintaining the health of the forests. Theythen sell their wild-crafted ingredients tothe international natural products industry.The villagers' certified essential oils andhandmade papers are now available in theUnited States of America and the UnitedKingdom.

Walter Smith, lead auditor and seniortechnical specialist for the RainforestAlliance forestry programme, conducted theannual Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)audit of FECOFUN, the group certificateholder for the community forest usergroups. This involved the need to revisit theforests to make sure that they are still beingharvested and managed in compliance withFSC standards. This audit is particularlydifficult because there are no roads leadingdirectly to each certified forest.

The head of one community group visitedwas an indigenous Thami man who took theaudit group to the Rainforest Alliancecertified handmade paper factory. It is not afactory in the usual sense. Several men andwomen (mostly women) are boiling plantcuttings and scraping bark for makingpaper. The bark is going to aJapanese/Nepali company that sells it toJapan for use in manufacturing Japanesecurrency. This community group (like othersin the certified pool) gives first priority forjobs to the poorest community members.(Source: Rainforest Matters, RainforestAlliance, March 2007.)

Community development fromparticipatory rattan managementNine species of two genera of rattan arerecorded in Nepal. Among them, Calamustenuis, Calamus acanthospathus andCalamus inermis are protected, mostly inthe Community Forest of Nepal. Calamustenuis is a small rattan, which is native to

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the Terai region of Nepal. Some of thespecies of rattan, however, are indigenousto Nepal. Because of an indifferent approachby foresters, their management has beenneglected in both the natural forests andsacred groves. The need to manage rattan inthe natural forests has been recognizedsince 1994, when research work on rattanwas pioneered. Calamus tenuis is the mostdistributed in natural forests, communityforests and some private lands.

The concept of community forestryevolved in the 1990s in Nepal. The 1993Forest Act and the 1995 Forest Regulation,which aimed to empower the communityforest user groups, are the main legalinstruments that govern the functioning ofcommunity forest in Nepal. According toforest policy, any part of the state forest canbe handed over to the local communitieswho have access to and have been using thepatch of the forest over a long period oftime. The community has full authority tomake decisions on the issues of forestmanagement and utilization, as well as fundmanagement. It gets all revenues from theforest and is supposed to spend the incomeon forestry and local development activities.The community participatory forestryapproach has been successful in managingforests, including biodiversity.

Rattan is an important NTFP in Nepal.Calamus tenuis is an endemic and widelydistributed species throughout the lowlandareas of the country. Rattan has been locallyused for various domestic purposes butlargely as basketry and furniture. In thepast, rattan was seriously degraded as aresult of lack of conservation initiatives,improper management and unscientificnon-sustainable harvesting, immaturecollection and overexploitation by thefarmers and habitat destruction in mostpart of the country. It is estimated that morethan 60 percent (roughly 10 000 ha) ofnatural rattan forests have vanished forever.Despite these negative figures, the recentcommunity forestry programmes havebrought a positive change in theconservation and management of forestresources, including the management ofNTFPs such as rattan. Currently, sixCommunity Forest User Groups (CFUGs),three protected areas (national parks andwildlife reserves), three religious groups,three institutions (schools and herbalfarms) and some private farmers arecontributing to conserving rattan in Nepal.

The Sati Karnali community forest islocated in the far western Terai of Nepal.

The total area of this community forest is298.5 ha, including 170 ha of Calamustenuis and benefits 5 352 inhabitants (892households). The food supply situationshows that 16 percent of households'production can support only three months,6 percent for three to six months, 20percent for six to nine months, 10 percentfor nine to12 months and 48 percent formore than a year.

A recent case study focused on the SatiKarnali Community Forest User Group(SKCFUG). It was handed over tocommunities in 1994 and in 1996 the RattanManagement Plan (RMP) was prepared.After implementing the RMP, production ofrattan has increased by 15 percent, whereincome earning was 25 percent in eachsubsequent year, and the rattan forest hasfully revived. The present average growingstock of cane is 19 840 stems per ha withannual production of 6 to 8 tonnes of cane(dry weight) per ha. CFUG auctions rattanon a weight basis at a minimum rate ofRs30 (US$0.40) per kg. They make aboutNrs210 000 (US$3 000) per ha annually,which gives about 3.5 million rupees (aboutUS$45,000) per year. For example, in 2002,SKCFUG earned a total of Nrs4 657 970, outof which Nrs3 871 402 (83.1 percent) werefrom rattan alone.

Rattan is managed utilizing indigenousknowledge for regulating access, utilizationand distribution of benefits in thecommunity.

The case study concluded the following.• Community forestry in Nepal has

boosted NTFPs (such as rattan) as amajor income-generating source andparticipatory management practice isone of the successful methods tomanage rattan and other forestproducts in Nepal.

• SKCFUG has contributed significantlyto social development, such as health,education, agriculture, rural financeand capacity building.

• The diversification of rattan species todevelop enterprises and value additionworks are challenges ahead ofSKCFUG.

• Degraded rattan forest can be restoredthrough participatory management anduse of community funds for forest andsocial development work.

(Contributed by: Chhote Lal Chowdhary,Canadian Center for International Studiesand Cooperation (CECI Nepal), PO Box2959, Kathmandu, Nepal. E-mail:[email protected])

NIGERIA

Raffia and barkcloth weaving and palmwineThe weaving of raffia in Akwa Ibom is asmall-scale industry that has adapted well tomodern demands. In a village in Abak, theweaving was and is still a craft conducted byboys to produce money for clothing,education and so on.

Raffia threads, ndam, consist of the outerskin peeled from fronds of the raffia palm,knotted together in a continuous length. Atfirst, the threads are green in colour, but theydry to a light brown. Formerly, vegetable dyeswere used, but now modern dyes areemployed to make coloured threads forweaving. The weaving technology isextremely simple. A slanting loom, akparaekpat, made of lengths of palm midrib isused, alongside other weaving tools such asa hardwood beater or sword, awat ekpat; ashuttle, okop ekpat; a heddle, nisong ekpat,made from two lengths of palm midrib barkand raffia threads.

Products of raffia weaving include lengthsof cloth used for wrapping headloads,making garri sacks, covering mattresses andseats of the deckchair type. The majorproduct is the raffia bag used by hunters andfarmers for game and farm produce. In thepast, raffia cloth was used as clothing and, tothis day, special wrappers with stripedpatterns are worn on ceremonial occasionsby chiefs and dancers.

Barkcloth is a non-textile fabric madefrom the bark of a tree. In the forest region ofsoutheastern Nigeria, barkcloth was thenormal apparel used for wrapping precious

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objects, such as skin-covered masks and forstorage. The use of barkcloth declineddrastically as soon as imported cottonbecame available. Today, it only survives in afew ceremonial contexts.

One of the central features of traditionaland ceremonial life in the southeastern partof Nigeria is the drinking of palm wine; infact, no social event of any importance istruly complete without it. The communaldrinking of palm wine is an overt act offellowship and expresses a stranger’s goodintent.

The Ibibio tap their wine from the raffiapalm (Raphia spp.) while elsewhere the oilpalm (Elaeis guinness) is exploited. Abamboo ladder is used to climb the tree anda flat-ended chisel-like knife, enuon, isemployed to cut the male inflorescencestalk. The wine is collected in a specialtapping pot but in the case of the oil palm,“up wine” is obtained by using a climbingrope to climb the tree, and the incision ismade in the inflorescence with a curvedknife. “Down wine” is obtained by felling thetree and tying a container to the top end afterall the leaves have been removed.

Everywhere, wine is collected twice daily,in the morning and in the evening. The winemay be consumed fresh from the tree, or onthe first, second or third day after tapping.The rate of fermentation is so rapid that bythe second day, the drink is fairly intoxicatingand by the third day it is sour and ofconsiderable potency. The people of Obuduin the Cross River state developedtechniques of storing and increasing thealcoholic content of palm wine, butelsewhere, wine older than three days isdistilled into spirits – ufofop or kaikai, whichare also commonly used in traditionalceremonies.

Biologists and nutritionists also talk of thenutritional value of palm wine. The naturaldrink, they say, contains a lot of yeast andminerals rich in vitamins that nourish thebody and helps it to relax. (Source: AkwaIbom state [Nigeria], 6 February 2007.)

PARAGUAY

Ecoturismo en el Parque Nacional YbycuíEl Parque Nacional Ybycuí posee una ricacalidad paisajística, con exuberantesarroyos y saltos que le proporcionan unacualidad ambiental única, para usoturístico. Fue designado como ParqueNacional en el año 1973 y cuenta con unaextensión de 5000 hectáreas. Se encuentraubicado a 150 km de Asunción, en elDepartamento de Paraguari.

El Plan de Ecoturismo del Parque ofreceal visitante varias opciones para disfrutar desu estadía, ya que existe una superficieboscosa que protege la rica fuente de aguadulce.

El parque se subdivide en zonas demanejo: de uso extensivo, histórica, de usoespecial, de recuperación, primitiva yprimitiva intangible, se puede encontrar unadescripción de los posibles usos de cadazona en el centro de visitantes que se hallaubicado en la zona de uso intensivo (árearecreativa).

La vegetación boscosa y los cerrosofrecen un paisaje variado. Los senderosexistentes dentro del bosque permitenapreciar la vida silvestre del lugar y conocera las especies de animales y plantascaracterísticas de la región. El visitanteencuentra aquí espacios para el descanso,deportes al aire libre y la posibilidad dedisfrutar de la belleza de sus arroyos ycascadas.

Conserva gran parte de la flora de laEcorregión Selva Central, presentandoejemplares representativos en vías deextinción. Entre las especies vegetales seencuentran helechos gigantes, palmeras,cactus, tunas, bromelias, cañas, orquídeas,camalotes, entre otros.

Se presentan algunos afloramientos derocas correspondientes al grupo de lacordillera de Caacupé, formacionesParaguari, Cerro Hú y Tobatí, constituidaspor areniscas sedimentarias formadas en elsilúrico, hace aproximadamente 400millones de años.

A la entrada del parque se encuentra laprimera fundición de hierro del Paraguay yde Sudamérica, conocida con el nombre de«La Rosada», construida entre los años1850 y 1854 bajo el gobierno de Don CarlosAntonio López. Sus hornos proveían lamateria prima para la construcción deembarcaciones y maquinarias. La Rosadafuncionó hasta 1868, año en fue destruidapor las tropas uruguayas y brasileñasdurante la Guerra de la Triple Alianza.

La zona histórica fue reconstruida en1973 y restaurada en el año 1998, consta deun museo histórico y cultural que permiteinterpretar a través de las piezasconservadas la tecnología de la época y elingenio humano desarrollado para laelaboración de los primeros elementosmetálicos en el Paraguay.

A dos kilómetros de la entrada, porcamino de tierra, se llega hasta el árearecreativa del parque, donde se puederealizar senderismo, recorriendo los cuatrosenderos y los saltos de agua, como elMbocaruzú, Yryvucuá y Karaimi o travesíapor agua en el Arroyo Corrientes.

Aportado por Maura Isabel Díaz Lezcano,Departamento de Ingeniería Forestal,Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros deMontes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid,Ciudad Universitaria, 28040, Madrid,España.Correo electrónico: [email protected]

THE PHILIPPINES

Upland dwellers tapped to manage forestresourcesThe country's forests are home to 22million Filipinos. Among the Philippines'poorest, these upland dwellers have beenpartly blamed for the depletion of the forestresources. Lately, however, severalgovernment and non-government groups,including the Department of Science andTechnology's Forest Products Researchand Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI),have begun to look at these communities,no longer as an ecological nuisance but asa potent force in forest rehabilitation andprotection.

A step towards this direction was theproject funded by the Japan-basedInternational Tropical Timber Organization(ITTO) where FPRDI researchers surveyedand trained forest dwellers in the provincesof Aurora, Western Samar, Surigao del Surand Palawan.

They documented the communities'economic activities, especially how theycollect, process and market NWFPs suchas rattan, vines, bamboo, erect palms,honey and almaciga resin. “After surveyingten settlements in these provinces, wefound that forest communities, many ofwhich consist of indigenous people,depended on forest products as a majorsource of income,” says project leaderArnaldo Mosteiro. “They were diligent andcreative, producing all sorts of handicrafts

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– mats, hats, fans, bags, brooms, housedecors – from every available raw material.Ignorance, however, stifles theirproductivity and jeopardizes their rawmaterial base. For instance, farmers usedvery crude methods to tap resin fromalmaciga trees. In the process, the treesare maimed and ultimately killed.”

“Over the years, FPRDI has trainedupland dwellers on the wise use of non-wood forest resources. We have sharedtechnologies that would improve theirproduct quality and productivity, as well aslivelihood skills that would lessen theirdependence on the forest,” said FPRDIDirector Florence P. Soriano. “Last year, forinstance, DOST conducted a project thattaught B'laan tribal women in SouthCotabato and NPA rebel returnees inSamar to make handmade paper andhandmade paper novelty items.“

“The FPRDI-ITTO survey alerts us thatwe need to link up with all concernedgroups so that we can give thesecommunities the best business supportand environmental education that we can.We have no other choice. If we are seriousin saving our forests, we have to be seriousin empowering the people who live inthem,” Soriano concluded. (Source: SunStar [The Philippines], 15 February 2007.)

ROMANIA

Romanian forestry sector to receive fundsof over one billion eurosThe Romanian forestry sector will receiveover one billion euros (about US$1.30billion) of European funds from 2007 to2013, the Ministry of Agriculture said onTuesday. Once the 2007–2013 NationalRural Development Plan is approved by theEuropean Commission, Romania willreceive rural development funds worth8.022 billion euros (about US$10.43 billion),with about one billion euros of this to beearmarked for the forestry sector.

The money will be used by Romania forstaff training, the improvement of theforest's economic value, the increase of theforestry products' added value,infrastructure, and planting forests on farmand non-farm land.

Starting in 1956, Romania was the onlycountry in the world whose forests had ten-year management programmes and theywere entirely planned according to a unitarydesign; the Romanian school of forestplanning was internationally recognized.

In the European context, Romaniastands out because of the high biodiversityof its forestry ecosystem, especiallyriverside coppices, plain and hill mixedfoliage forests, beech and resinous mixedforests, natural spruce fir forests under theaspect of genetic diversity, placingRomania in the top echelon of Europeancountries. (Source: People's Daily Online[Beijing, China], 10 January 2007.)

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Ecotourism in the Russian Far East The 1990s brought an increase inecotourism activities in the Russian Far East(RFE) after growing interest in the regionfrom the global environmental movementand greater international demand foradventure tourism. Ecotourists wereattracted to the RFE by the Siberian tiger,rare plants, wild salmon rivers, vast intactforests and a unique marine environment.

Ecotourism brought a means ofconservation and subsistence to a regionthat was heavily dependent on resourceextraction. Local communities andindigenous groups also benefited from theincrease in tourism by buildingaccommodation and developing their ownecotourism activities. For the indigenouspeople of Udege, living in the forests by theBikin and Samarga rivers, revenue fromJapanese ecotourists provided essentialfinancial support for a period when theywere dependent on hunting and fishing.

But ecotourism is not synonymous withconservation. Some Zapovednik (Russianstate nature reserve) managers have beencompelled by the Government to set upunsustainable ecotourism activities inrestricted zones, jeopardizing some of theRussian Federation’s most valuable naturalareas such as the Geizer’s Valley inKamchatka and the Marine Preserve inPrimorye. Tourist pressure and industrialinterests in these regions have led to aseries of lengthy court cases, publicdiscussions and environmental protestsfrom Lake Baikal to the Kamchatkapeninsula. Even the conservation status of a

United Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization (UNESCO) WorldHeritage Site, awarded to the Baikalwatershed, Bystrinsky Park and CentralSikhote Alin, may not guarantee their futureconservation.

The positive and negative effects oftourism are a controversial issue. One groupthat seems to be benefiting from it is theEveny people, an indigenous community inthe Bystrinsky natural park of Kamchatka, averitable ecotourist’s paradise that is nowgaining popularity as a destination forcultural tourism.

Originally reindeer herders and peoplewho revere the larch tree, the Eveny peoplehave always had an intimate connection withthe taiga and tundra. For the last three yearsthey have been organizing ethnoculturaltourism in their community. Ecotourists livein the traditional way of the Eveny peopleand are taught handicrafts such as birchbark carving and skin tanning. (Source:extracted from an article by Stephan Nielsenand Anatoly Lebedev in Taiganews, 57,Winter 2006.)(Please also see page 62 of Non-WoodNews 13.

Growing market for wild fungi and berries Russian companies actively developharvesting and processing of wild fungi(chanterelles, boletus), berries (cranberries,lingonberries, bilberries) and nuts (cedarnuts). The profitability of this business in theRussian Federation exceeds 15 percent, andin the case of export to the EU countries, 100percent. In contrast to cultivated fungi andberries, wild ones do not requireexpenditures for cultivation, they enjoy highdemand in the West, and do not need largeinitial investments. Since there are noofficial statistical data on the volume of themarket for wild fungi, berries and nuts in thecountry, it can only be estimated at ahundred million dollars.

According to data provided by the agencyof Tomsk province development (ARTOT),market capacity in this region only accountsfor 138 000 tonnes per year (US$370 millionin 2005). Besides the Tomsk province,production and processing of wild fruits,fungi and nuts are significant in otherSiberian territories and northern regions ofthe country. The harvesting season lastsusually from June through October. Duringthe season more than 30 intermediaries areinvolved in buying wild products frompickers and the Tomsk food company AMK,which controls more than 50 percent of the

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local markets and even has its own forestland specially for harvesting fungi, berriesand nuts.

The company exports several thousandtonnes of edible boletus, chanterelles andcranberries per year to Italy and Sweden.Some companies export raw products andsalted or boiled chanterelles, but also moreadvanced quick-frozen products. Accordingto the President of the Ledovo Group,cultivated and wild fungi sectors are notcompetitors. One of the major issues in thewild fungi sector is the instability of supplywhich strongly depends on climaticconditions and the ecological situation.

Consumption of fungi in the RussianFederation is a national tradition andtherefore this market has prospects forconsiderable increase, but only ifcommercial cultivation on the industrialscale develops. Then, possibly, the cultivatedanalogues of wild fungi could extrude thosegrowing wild. In the majority of Europeancountries, the United States of America,Australia, Japan and China such fungi are nolonger collected and buyers do not see alarge difference between wild and cultivatedproducts. The same has already occurredwith blueberries, which are cultivated on alarge scale in Europe, North and SouthAmerica and Australia, or cranberries,commercially grown in the United States ofAmerica, whereas most cranberries usedfor processing in Europe come from Russianforests. (Source: FreshPlaza [theNetherlands], 29 January 2007.)

SAINT LUCIA

The latanyé project: development of thelatanyé broom industry in Saint Lucia Latanyé (Coccothrinax barbadensis) is a

palm native to Saint Lucia and its leavesare used to make crafts and brooms.

Success in latanyé development wasachieved by:

• latanyé being identified as bothecologically vulnerable and as a plantused to maintain the livelihoods ofrural communities;

• carrying out research anddocumentation of the appropriate andsuccessful methods to: propagate thespecies, establish cultivatedplantations and sustainably harvestlatanyé leaves; and

• collaboration among agencies thatimpact on the latanyé plant and broomproduction.

A socio-economic study by Lyndon Johnin 2001 detailed the vulnerable nature of thelatanyé broom industry in which there was ahigh demand for latanyé brooms, anoverharvesting of latanyé leaves and aconsequent scarcity or unavailability ofleaves. Latanyé brooms are bought locallyand are also sold elsewhere, including inBarbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, UnitedStates Virgin Islands and Saint Martin.However, the scarcity of leaves resulted inthe reduction of the quantity and the qualityof brooms produced.

To ensure conservation of the latanyéplant, the Forestry Department and latanyéfarmers used wildlings to establish plots ongovernment and private holdings. Therewere also experimental trials to germinatethe latanyé seeds. But these two strategieswere costly. Research at the ForestryDepartment in 2002 determined apregerminative method that gave 90 to 100percent germination. This method alsoreduced the time for germination of seedsand resulted in the production of a greaternumber of plants with uniform age and lessmortality.

Another experiment was carried out(from September 2004 to September 2005)to determine the optimum harvestingregime of latanyé leaves in a plantation.Every four months, four treatments of 30,40, 50 and 60 percent removal of leaves wereundertaken in three blocks using theexperimental design of randomizedcomplete blocks. The results indicated that:

• there was a clear trend with higherremoval of leaves leading to fewerleaves remaining;

• greater productivity of leaves in therainy season in blocks where there wasgreater exposure to light; and

• greater productivity of leaves in the dryseason in blocks where there was lessexposure to light.

The results suggest that using aharvesting intensity of 40 percent of leavesper plant present in the dry season and 50percent in the wet season, would result inthe optimum and sustainable production oflatanyé leaves.

Apart from research on the appropriatesilvicultural and agronomic practices, thelatanyé project also examined the economicaspects of production. The ForestryDepartment determined the cost ofproduction to establish one acre(approximately 0.4 ha) of a latanyé plantationand, in collaboration with the CorporatePlanning Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture,determined that the production of latanyéleaves and sale of latanyé brooms waseconomically feasible. There was alsocollaboration with other governmentservices such as the Extension Service,Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Planning,Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards, latanyéplant and broom producers and exporters,and NGOs for product development andexploration of markets for the sale oflatanyé brooms. The Forestry Departmentand the Extension Service provided pottedlatanyé plants and technical assistance tolatanyé farmers that resulted in thesuccessful establishment of 34 plantationsof pure and mixed plots of latanyé onfarmers’ holdings. The average size of aplantation was 1 acre (0.4 ha).

All of the above-mentioned organizationsare part of the Latanyé Task Force. The planof work related to latanyé broom productionis guided by the mandate of this task force. (Contributed by: Donatian Gustave, ForestOfficer, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry andFisheries, Saint Lucia. E-mail:[email protected]) (The project report is available from FAO’sNWFP home page under “Readers’Research”.)

SIERRA LEONE

Tiwai Island and the threat of thebushmeat trade The humanitarian dilemma created inSierra Leone and Liberia over the last 15years has resulted in refugees and forcedmigrations. The subsequent crippling ofdomestic agricultural supplies and thelimited access to food provided by aidorganizations have meant that refugees

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and internally displaced persons have hadto rely on wildlife as an alternative andsupplementary food source. Protectedareas tend to be the most heavily affected,because animals there become easytargets for poachers, and park guards areeither victimized or forced to flee for theirown lives.

Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary, acommunity-based ecotourism project inthe south of Sierra Leone has certainly feltthis pinch. Since research and ecotourismactivities began on Tiwai in 1982, until theoutbreak of the civil war in 1991, virtuallyno hunting of any kind occurred and inJanuary 1987 the island became a legalgame sanctuary in which all hunting wasprohibited. During the war, financialsupport to Tiwai was terminated and theisland was inaccessible to researchers.Local staff and village communitiessuffered tremendously and several peoplelost their lives. At the end of the war, thepotential for increased threats tobiodiversity nationwide was greater thanever, especially for areas like Tiwai.

The manifestation of peace in SierraLeone could, eventually, lead tosustainable development or to anintensification of unsustainable resourceexploitation, such as bushmeat hunting bylarge numbers of displaced refugees andhost communities who have had theirlivelihoods undermined. In the immediatewake of the war, Tiwai ultimately becameexposed to intensive anthropogenicactivities such as trapping and hunting forbushmeat and habitat destruction foragricultural services. In addition, intensivepoaching was carried out on the islandduring the civil conflict.

The Environmental Foundation for Africa(EFA) first became aware of poachingproblems on the island during field visits in2000. Since then, EFA staff members haveworked with the two chiefdoms borderingthe island to revive hopes for restoration ofthe wildlife sanctuary. Followingcommunity meetings, the chiefs of bothchiefdoms imposed a ban on all huntingactivities on the island and formed aninterim project committee to mobilizerestoration efforts. The rapid resumption ofecotourism and of wildlife and ecologicalstudies, prompted by EFA, has helped todiscourage unsustainable activities andhas started to generate a much neededcash flow to benefit local people. However,even as community support grows for theproject, day-to-day needs and expectations

about the project's benefits pose seriouschallenges.

Poaching is still prevalent on the islandand its eradication is one of the greatestchallenges facing Tiwai. The communityrecognizes this as a problem with relevantcommunity meetings identifying thepredicament of bushmeat hunting on Tiwai,but the way forward is unclear. Poachingultimately presents a serious threat to theisland’s future as a sanctuary. It isendangered as an ecotourist destination,as visitors hearing gunshots often reportnegative experiences, which can lead tobad press and ultimately ruin Tiwai’sreputation as an idyllic retreat for futuretourists. International research on theisland, which was recently restarted inJanuary 2007, is also easily undermined bythe prevalence of hunting. Ultimately,primates need to be alive and unafraid ofhumans, to be considered useful researchsubjects.

International researchers have beenrecognized as the most financiallyprofitable visitors to Tiwai and without theirpresence the project will struggle tosurvive in future. Tiwai, through tourismand research, has the potential to raisegreat revenue for its surroundingcommunities, but hunting on the islandcould well undermine this. Thus, the fewwho are currently poaching on Tiwai aredoing so at the expense of the greatercommunity. If the issue of poaching is notaddressed properly, it may undermine thewhole project. A one-of-a-kind ecosystemcould be lost and the communities thatsurround Tiwai could ultimately lose aunique livelihood opportunity. (Source:extracted from an article by Paul Munro,Environmental Foundation for Africa [inAfrica News], 27 February 2007.)

THE SUDAN

Road to prosperity is paved with gumThroughout its history, the Sudan has beenracked by fighting and instability, largelybecause of ethnic divides between itsArabic north and African south. Asuccessful Canadian land developer, DavidTennant, first travelled to the region inJanuary 2005, just after the south signedthe Comprehensive Peace Agreement withthe northern government of Khartoum. Hewas looking for a way to create economicactivity, train people and invest profits backinto the community.

Two years later, what began as a smallhumanitarian project is giving birth to anindustry. “I almost accidentally fell into aproduct called gum arabic,” says Tennant.“We exported it through the south of theSudan and we were the first people to do so.”

Gum arabic is the hardened tree sap thatbleeds out of acacia trees. It is in countlessordinary products – sweetening candies,coating aspirins and prolonging the fizz insoft drinks. It is so prized that the UnitedStates of America still imports gum,despite economic sanctions against theSudan since 1997. For thousands of years,Arab traders from the more developednorth have taken the product to the worldmarket, hence the name gum arabic. Thenorthern Sudan exports 70 to 90 percent ofthe world's supply through the partly state-owned Gum Arabic Company.

But according to the Ministry of Exportand Trade in the south, 80 percent of thatdried resin actually comes from the southwhere the trees are abundant even thoughthe southern Sudanese have seen littlebenefit.

Consequently, Tennant began touringthe parched countryside, meeting withbusiness people, politicians, traders andfarmers. His idea caught on – that shippinggum out of the south to improve the life ofthe southern Sudanese could be more thanjust a dream.

Tennant raised money in Canada,invested a lot of his own and set up the firstgum company in the southern Sudan,stipulating that future profits would fundhumanitarian projects. A year and a halflater, the gum company delivered its firstshipment – 37 tonnes of certified gum – tobuyers in Dubai. Tennant calls theachievement a miracle. “Before the peaceagreement, the issue of gum wassomething that was a dream,” says MosesKuch, Deputy Director for External Trade,

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Supply and Commerce. “We never realizedthat we could develop it and own it.”

This month, on his third trip to Juba,Tennant returned as a special adviser tothe Ministry of Trade. Talk has turned toborder restrictions, certification, qualitycontrol, farming cooperatives andnurseries, as well as training, educationand conservation at the local level. Millionsof dollars have started flowing from theGovernment and national bank to open upother gum-rich areas.

Another priority is setting the recordstraight on where so much of the best gumin the world actually comes from. There iseven a new name. The Government nowcalls it gum Africa. But in a country wheredisputes over resources spark bloodyconflict, it is a regional initiative that mightnot go over so well in the north. Thesouthern Sudanese officials say that is notstopping them. “Indeed it will be aneconomic blow to the people of the northbut it's our right. The gum is beingproduced in our territory and we need tothink of how we can best manage ourresources.”

But how to convince major buyers suchas Coca-Cola to switch suppliers? Achemical engineer, who accompaniedTennant to the southern Sudan, says itcomes down to quality. “The gum that'scoming out of the southern Sudan has areputation of low quality because it hasnever been regulated, there's no gradingsystem, and most of it is smuggled outthrough neighbouring countries,” says theUniversity of Western Ontario's MohammedRahbari. “I think we should be able to puttogether quality control systems andeducate the farmers and buyers at the localmarkets of what exactly we need to ensurewe don't turn buyers away from this gum.”

Last month, Tennant sent Rahbari and ateam from the gum company into the ruralsouthern Sudan to show harvesters exactlywhat they are looking for – larger chunks,free from tree bark and other resin.

The establishment of a gum industry inthe south is already improving workingconditions and is a far cry from the past.

Dealing with the gum companyguarantees better prices. It also givesharvesters a sense of ownership andfreedom. Aside from Tennant and Rahbari,all the company's top employees are youngsouthern Sudanese, including oneSudanese-Canadian. (Source: extracted froman article by Andrea Huncar, The HamiltonSpectator [Canada], 10 March 2007.)

UGANDA

Uganda honey gets EU nodUganda’s honey has been selected to be theAfrican flag carrier to the European Union(EU) market, the Uganda ExportPromotions Board’s executive director,Florence Kata, has said. “Uganda isrequired to supply 60 tonnes of Ambar(Gold) honey. The consignment is to belaunched in London in May,” Kata said. Sheadded that the honey would get tosupermarkets through a network of buyersacross Europe.

“However, after the launch, we want thebuyers to be assured of constant supply forthe next three years, during which weshould be able to gain experience andintellectual ability of supplying to largermarkets,” she said.

“The international price for honey is Ush1 600. The firm proposed to offer U sh1800 at the farmgate level and will onlycollect honey that is more than 500 kg.However, the prices are all still beingnegotiated,” Kata said. (Source: New Vision[Kampala], 15 March 2007.)

Aloe vera farmers to get Ush1 billion plantThe Uganda Commercial Aloe VeraFarmers Association and a United Statesfirm have raised US$600 000 (about Ush1billion) to put up a processing plant. Theplant will process the multimedicinal plantinto various health products – cosmetics,toothpaste, health drinks – and theresidues will be turned into animal feeds.

Ali Sessanga, the project director,explained that the plant would helpfarmers sustain the export market, addingthat the machinery was acquired through along-term loan. Aloe vera has not beenprocessed in Uganda before. Sessanga saidthe machine has the capacity to crush 60144 acres (approximately 24 339 ha) of aloevera per month. Uganda's aloe vera area is912 acres (approximately 369.07 ha), whichmeans that farmers should produce moreof the crop. (Source: New Vision [Kampala],14 February 2007.)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

New postage stamps on biodiversity in theUnited Arab Emirates issued Emirates Post, in association withEnvironment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD),has issued three sets of postage stamps,illustrating the flora and fauna of the

United Arab Emirates, some of which areendangered species.

The commemorative stamps are meantto highlight the biodiversity of the Emiratesand raise awareness among the public onthe need to preserve flora and faunaendangered by the degradation of theirhabitats, overgrazing and shrinkage ofvegetation.

One set of stamps features mostwidespread wild plants, while other twosets portray desert reptiles and gazelles,respectively. (Source: Dubai City Guide[United Arab Emirates], February 2007.)

UNITED KINGDOM

Myrica gale makes a comeback The Vikings used it as a stimulant beforegoing into battle, the Celts used it to flavourtheir beer and Scottish Highland housewivesused it as an insect repellent. Now bogmyrtle (Myrica gale), or sweet gale as it isalso known, is experiencing a new lease oflife in a range of natural products.

The pharmaceutical giant Boots has spentUK£700 000 researching the use of bogmyrtle, which could have an important role inthe Scottish Highland economy. So far, theessential oil of sweet gale in the firm's newsensitive skincare products has all beenharvested from wild outcrops of Scottish bogmyrtle. Highland Natural Products, Boots'research partner in the project, has startedwork on developing cultivated areas of bogmyrtle. The plant occurs naturally in theHighlands but it may be possible to establishplantations in the Highlands, Aberdeenshireand the Borders.

The potential demand for sweet gale oilcould result in 500 new jobs and be worthUK£2 million a year to the rural economy by2016.

However, the people behind the researchinto the uses of bog myrtle believe theScottish Executive should be doing more tosupport research into commercial cultivation

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bamboo and manufacture various productsfor sale so as to support themselvesfinancially. Mkumba George, a teacher at theschool, said that currently more than 60young people have been trained, 40 of whomare female. Ten of these have formed aworking group which operates in locations atKimara, Mwenge and Ubungo, on theoutskirts of the city.

George explained that they are promotingthe theme that bamboos constitute moneythat grows, which they are using to cooptyouth into the project. He said that they getraw materials mainly from Kigoma andMbeya. He pointed out that given the stiffcompetition in the current businessenvironment, youth can cope successfullyonly if they are well organized economicallyand make high-quality, appealing productsfor sale on the domestic and overseasmarkets.

The project would also reducedeforestation in the country, since peoplewould use bamboo instead of cutting downtrees wantonly for making furniture, andother activities.

George said appreciable success hadbeen recorded in marketing their productslocally, but they were unable to meetexternal demand because of lack ofsufficient capital. He said one of the surestways out of the problem was securing loans,to place them on a sound financial footing.(Source: Sunday Observer, 11 March 2007[in IPP Media, United Republic of Tanzania].)

Insect-based industries While the value of considering insects as“mini-game” or “mini-livestock” may notbe immediately obvious, the analogy iscompelling. As a forest-based wildliferesource, certain insects can be managedlike other animals and have economicpotential at least at the subsistence level, ifnot at higher commercial scales.

Four insect-based industries are ofinterest in the United Republic of Tanzania:

• the use of insects for human or animalfood (entomophagy)

• beekeeping (apiculture)• silk production (sericulture); and• trade in collectible insects.Entomophagy and apiculture were of

great traditional importance to certainTanzanian communities, but culturalalienation from time-honoured rituals andexcessive, non-sustainable rates ofextraction have led to decliningdependence on them over the last century.During the colonial and modern age,

entomophagy developed a negative imagein large segments of the general public,although the practice survives in variousparts of rural Tanzania. But even in areaswhere insect feasting is accepted, certaingroups of insects appreciated as nutritiousand delicious elsewhere in the world maybe completely ignored, probably for nobetter reason than traditional oversight,cultural taboos or readily available proteinalternatives. The country could easily revivewhat may have been Africa’s strongestapiculture tradition and a potentiallysubstantial national industry that is atpresent functioning far below its potential.

Although sericulture and collectibles donot have strong traditional roots in theRepublic, they are now being promoted aspotentially rewarding, small-scaleeconomic ventures. Silk production may bemost feasible in conjunction with artisanenterprises or export to West Africa, wheretraditional demand was strong but localsupplies have recently declined throughdeforestation. Given the country’sextraordinary biodiversity and wealth ofshowy often endemic species of insects,their exploitation as a renewable resourcefor a growing international market ofspecimen collectors has barely begun, butmust also be regulated to assuresustainability. (Source: Springer/KluwerAcademic Publishers, Forest Entomologyin East Africa: Forest Insects of Tanzania.2006. Chapter 9, Forest-based insectindustries. H.G. Schabel. (With kindpermission of Springer Science andBusiness Media.).

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Prof. H. Schabel, 7976 Co I, Custer, WI 54423,United States of America. E-mail: [email protected]

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Maine law defines “pure maple syrup”As Maine's maple sugar season wound down,Governor John Baldacci signed legislation toclarify the legal definition of “pure maplesyrup” to help consumers decide whetherthey are getting the real thing.

The new law sets standards on how muchsugar must be in syrup in order for it to beconsidered pure. It took effect immediatelyupon the governor's signature on Monday.

The bill was advanced by the Maine MapleProducers. The Maine Farm Bureau said the

of the plant. Unless more is done, they warn,the chance for a new Highland boom couldbe squandered, with companies looking tocountries such as Poland to developcultivation of the crop. The research directorof Highland Natural Products said: “Themain problem in Scotland is there is no policyfor developing non-food crops, whereas thereis a policy in England and Wales. There doesnot seem to be much idea of how importantthese things can be to the rural economy.”Both Boots and Highland Natural Productshave spent thousands of pounds testing theantibacterial qualities of bog myrtle oil andmaking sure it is suitable for use on sensitiveskins. They say there is a need forgovernment support if the crop is to becultivated with commercial success.

By 2016 Boots expects to need 10 tonnesof bog myrtle oil a year. The harvested areacovers 50 ha, but this will need to rise to 2 900 ha by 2016.

The shrub, which grows on rocky, boggyground, can be grown on land which is alsoused for woodland and grazing. One hectareof ground can yield 1 kg of oil. Funding forgrowers in the initial stages of cultivation isalso important and would ensure that theplant could go commercial in years ratherthan decades.

According to a research associate at theRoyal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, bog myrtleis a wonder herb that is firmly planted inScotland's history of medicinal plant use.People have used it to treat ulcers, intestinalworms and aching muscles. It is even usedas an alternative to hops in beer. “This projectis a wonderful renaissance for bog myrtle,which I'm sure will be welcomed byScotland's hill farmers.”

An interim report, commissioned by theScottish Executive last year to study thebenefits of sweet gale cultivation, found thatit could generate investment of UK£4.8million at the farm level and create up to 460jobs. The Scottish Executive said thatfarmers who applied for funding with asatisfactory business plan would stand agood chance of receiving support. (Source:The Scotsman, 5 February 2007.)

THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

Bamboo a potential saviour of poor childrenThe Dar-es-Salaam-based Bamboo TrainingSchool has embarked on an operation totrain street kids and disadvantaged childrenfrom the city and upcountry on how to knit

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new standard helps to protect Maine's maplesyrup industry.

Maple sugar producers say that if there istoo much sugar in syrup, it can crystallizeshortly after sale. The new law helps toensure that when someone buys “puremaple syrup”, that's what they are getting.

Vermont, the nation's No. 1 maple syrupproducer, has rules similar to Maine's newstandard. Maine is the nation's second-largest maple syrup producer. (Source:BusinessWeek [United States of America], 4April 2007.)

Are ramps under threat? Demand for ramps from celebrity chefs,avant-garde restaurateurs and avid foodieshas some experts worried for the future ofthe pungent wild leeks grown in the hills ofAppalachia.

“[Ramps are] becoming harder to find inmany areas because they’ve become sopopular,” said Jeanine Davis, an associateprofessor of horticulture at North CarolinaState University. Davis said the increase inpopularity over the years means that chicbig city eateries and their adventurous chefsare vying for the bulbs but “very few peopleare producing them commercially”.

Ramps look much like a spring onion or ascallion, with flat green leaves protrudingfrom a white onion-like bulb. Their flavourand smell, which is said to linger on thebreath and skin for days after being eaten, ispowerful and garlic-like.

A group in Chicago recently hosted aUS$65-a-plate ramp dinner, considerablyhigher than the $6 to $10 dinners found inmost parts of West Virginia every spring.

The ramp plant takes three years tomature to the stage where it is edible, andtwo more years before it begins bearingseed for reproduction. Although ramps areharvested in the spring, the plants are notmature enough to produce seeds forreplanting until autumn. Many foragers whofind ramps growing wild in March or April donot return to sow new seeds in Septemberor October, Davis said.

The owner of one of the few ramp farmsin the country, Ramp Farm Specialties inRichwood, says that areas off the mainroads are pretty well dug up, but ramps arestill abundant in the mountains. Her 50-acre(20.23 ha) farm supplies ramps toindividuals and restaurants all across thecountry. The state Department ofAgriculture said that ramps are stillabundant in the eastern and northeasternparts of the state. (Source: AP in Community

Forest Resource Center [CFRC] WeeklySummary, 12 April 2007.)

Medicinal fungi in Alaska Other than consumption as food, forest fungiare also used medicinally. Medicinal fungifound in Alaska are mostly perennial conks ofwood-decay fungi that typically fruit oninfected mature trees.

Although published documentation of theconsumption of edible fungi by native peoplesof the Pacific Northwest remains sparse,some woody conks have reportedly beenused for medicinal and spiritual purposes.

Less well documented in Westernliterature, woody sporocarps of other wooddecay fungi might be valued for medicinal orspiritual purposes by Native Americansbecause such use is common amongaboriginal societies throughout the NorthernHemisphere and stretches back in time priorto written history. For instance, a strong teaof the “chew ash fungus” (Phellinus [Fomes]igniarius) was used by the Yupik forconstipation and stomach troubles and,although birch fungus (Phellinus tremulae)that grows on trembling aspen is notreported to have medicinal value, its ashesare mixed with tobacco or snuff.

It is clear that the original inhabitants ofour continent should not be expected todivulge sensitive information regarding theuse of native flora and mycota in theirspiritual traditions. When evidence exists of

this link, it is incumbent upon governmentagencies that wish to promote harvesting ofthese products to consult thoroughly withNative Americans about such plans. At thevery least, tribes can define areas that shouldnot be harvested for certain species, and thisinformation should be kept confidential.Another issue that government agenciesneed to address with regard to using thisresource is the likelihood that maintainingendemic populations of these fungi in variousplaces will allow for more genetic diversityrequired to isolate strains with superiormedicinal properties for subsequentpropagation. Proper compensation to nativepeoples for bioprospecting on theirtraditional lands is a very salient issue, asmajor pharmaceutical companies may someday wish to produce compounds derived fromcultivating these species.

In southeast and south-central Alaska, atleast 12 species of wood decay fungi havevaried potential for commercial harvestingas medicinal fungi: Fomes fomentarius,Fomitopsis officinalis, Ganodermaapplanatum, G. oregonense, G. tsugae,Hericium abietis, Inonotus obliquus,Phellinus igniarius, P. tremulae, Piptoporusbetulinus, Pleurotus ostreatus and Trametesversicolor. Another, Schizophyllum commune(split gill polypore) is the most common andwidely distributed mushroom in the world. Itgrows on the stems, branches, stumps andlogs of hardwood species. It is mentioned

Fomes fomentarius. The “tinder conk” has one of the most ancient documented historiesof use, both for starting fires and as a valued medicinal. It is one of the fungi found inthe pouch of the 5 300-year-old “Ice Man” of the Italian/Swiss Alps. It grows on birch andfir (Abies sp.) trees throughout the Northern Hemisphere.Hericium abietis. The “conifer coral fungus” not only has medicinal properties, but is adelicious and safe edible mushroom. It must be collected, handled and preserved likeother fleshy mushrooms because it is not a woody conk, although it is often foundgrowing on the boles of snags. It is not common and is difficult to propagate artificiallyin growth chambers, but it is one of the few edible mushrooms that decay conifers. Ittherefore has potential in southeast Alaska for inoculating hemlock stands where itwould be convenient to collect.Pleurotus ostreatus. The “oyster mushroom,” like Hericium abietis, is a premier ediblemushroom with medicinal properties. It grows on alder, aspen, cottonwood and birch,often fruiting in large flushes for some years after the tree has died. As with Hericiumand all flesh fungi, it is perishable and must either be sold quickly or preserved soon afterharvest (commonly by drying).Trametes versicolor: The “turkey tail” is a common, globally distributed fungus withpotent anticancer properties. It grows in dense overlapping clusters on the stems andbranches of many hardwood species. Cultivated to extract pharmacologically activecompounds, wild strains exhibit aggressive growth in artificial culture, hence the speciesmight be a target for bioprospecting.



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here, not because of its potential value as anNTFP, but by way of caution. In their heat-sterilized form they have documentedmedicinal properties but harvesting andmarketing wild material could be hazardous.They have been shown capable of producinglung and brain infections (mycoses) whenlarge concentrations of spores or fragmentsof the fungus are inhaled.

Most of the fungi occur on one or severalspecific host tree species. Their collection istherefore limited to areas where these treesgrow.

Among these fungi, the woody conks canbe harvested at any time of the year becausethey are slow growing and persist for manyyears. The edible wood decay fungi withmedicinal value (Hericium and Pleurotus)fruit predominantly during the warmermonths of spring and summer. They must notonly be harvested in season, but preferablywhen they are fresh and at their peak ofdevelopment. Sustainable harvest levels havenot been analysed for any of these fungi, buttheir abundance and resistance to harvestpressures are related to the prevalence oftheir habitat, namely, the host tree species.(Source: extracted from D.A. Pilz, S.J.Smith,J. Schoreder and J.R. Freed. 2006. Non-timber forest product opportunities inAlaska. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-671.Portland, Oregon, United States Departmentof Agriculture, Forest Service, PacificNorthwest Research Station. 79 pp.)

VIET NAM

Medicinal herbs vanish in Son LaMedicinal plants, once prevalent on HoangLien Son Mountain in Son La province, arefacing extinction because of uncontrolledharvesting by traders, according to experts.Most of the plants are being sold to China,from where about 60 percent of the herbswere originally imported.

The plants are popular because they canbe sold for hundreds of thousands of dong.Even a small amount of Coptis sinensis,Panax pseudo ginseng or Ngu Diep ginseng

will raise between VND200 000 (US$12) andVND500 000 (US$30). Around 40 species ofmedicinal plants have completely vanishedand at least ten more are on the verge ofextinction. If this trend continues, there willbe no more herbs left to sell.

Traders, however, are more concernedabout feeding their families than worryingabout the future of these herbs. Onemedicine dealer says his family always goesinto the jungle when the plants are ready tobe picked. On a good day, his family can earnmore than enough money to eat and livecomfortably for months.

The director of Hoang Lien Son NationalPark admits this is a major problem in thearea; it is difficult to stop dealers becausethere are not enough forest officials to policethe more than 10 000 households living in oraround the park.

Stricter penalties are being requested tocurb the uncontrolled trade of these plants toprotect them for future generations. (Source:Viet Nam News [Viet Nam], 16 April 2007.)

ZIMBABWE

Promotion of wild plant foodsThe University of Zimbabwe has started aproject to promote wild plant foods, whichcan contribute substantially to householdfood and livelihood security for communitiesdotted around the country.

The project, which is being carried out inthe Buhera district of the Manicalandprovince, is coordinated by Dr MaudMuchuweti of the Department ofBiochemistry and a team of other experts inthe field of food, nutrition and family andbiological science. The Kellogg Foundationfunded the project through a grant.

“We want to create more awareness aboutthe value of indigenous wild plant foods andpromote their effective utilization,” DrMuchuweti said. “Wild plant foods areeffective as a survival strategy. We areidentifying plant foods that are traditionallyused by people in Buhera. We aredocumenting how the foods are prepared andpreserved as well as their nutritionalcontent.”

This is a major milestone in thedevelopment of cultural information that willprovide an authoritative look at manyneglected food sources that can contribute tofood security, agricultural diversification andincome generation. It puts Zimbabwe on afirm footing in line with the Convention onBiological Diversity.

Wild plant foods are still being consumedin Zimbabwe and in most parts of Africadespite the threats of urbanization,environmental degradation, loss ofindigenous knowledge regarding theiridentification, preparation and preservationand other factors.

The university project will involveidentifying wild and famine plant foods, theirpreparation and preservation, nutrientanalysis, and cataloguing and documentingother uses of wild plant foods to enhancelivelihood security. According to DrMuchuweti, commercial crops pose a threatof genetic erosion to indigenous food plants.Reduced exploitation of wild and famine plantfoods is very unfortunate as some local foodsmay have better nutritional value thancommercial ones. For example, muchakataor muhacha (Parinari curatellifolia), amedium to large evergreen tree whichproduces yellow-brown fruits (hacha) fromMay to November can be used to prepare“Mukandabota”, a kind of porridge.

Communities dotted around Zimbabweare rich in information pertaining to variousaspects of how wild plant fruits, vegetablesand tubers can be identified, prepared andpreserved. Wild fruits and berries found inZimbabwe include checheni, chechete,nhunguru, matamba, mapfura, maroro,masau, matohwe, nhengeni, tsambatsi,umqokolo and many others that can, amongother things, contribute to the prevention ofcardiovascular diseases. Wild vegetablesinclude a variety of okra types – dereremowa, derere hosi, derere njeje, dererenama and other vegetables such as bupwe,chipondamasvinya, nyevhe and many others.Tubers include chinyembanyemba, garidye,chifumuro, madhumbe, mufarinya, tsenza,tsangadzi and numerous others that haveboth medicinal and nutritional values.

Such foods form an integral part of thedaily diets of many poor rural households.Wild foods are a source of importantvitamins, minerals and other nutrients thatcomplement the staple crops eaten by manyof the more vulnerable people, includingchildren and the elderly.

The importance of a wide range of wildplant species – including roots and tubers,leafy vegetables and fruits – needs to bedocumented in a botanical database forfuture generations.

The university project is also documentingan assortment of wild edible mushrooms,edible grass and seeds from communities inBuhera. (Source: The Herald [Harare], 7February 2007.) �

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