Global NTFP Partnership –Activities 2007 and Plans 2008

GFAR Programme Committee MeetingBeijing, November 2007

Ralf KwaschikCoordinator, Global NTFP Partnership

International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR)

Vision & MissionVision:To promote collaborative efforts, synergies and economies of scale for addressing strategic NTFPs research and development issues of global relevance for contributing in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Mission:• Develop, provide, and promote best practices, relevant

information sharing, sound technologies, ethical trade & enterprise activities, sound conservation and development solutions, and pro-poor policies and institutional framework to benefit people and environment.

• Contribute to sustainable forest management through social and environmentally friendly economic solutions to the use of NTFPs to benefit NTFP-dependent rural communities around the world.

Goals

Goal 1. Strengthened profiles of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and stakeholders

Goal 2. Enhanced capacities of partners and producers

Goal 3. Improved NTFP frameworks: markets, policies, and livelihood opportunities

Goal 4. Improved NTFP management systems

Approach• Sharing experiential learning, leveraging knowledge and

raising efficiencies and effectiveness through networking and institution-building

• The core of the Partnership are locally anchored community action research field sites, as its participatory “grassroots laboratories”

• These sites will both support and be supported by a set of light and incremental regional and global institutional mechanisms (RIMs, GIMs) with low transactional costs,

• RIMs & GIMs will capture and disseminate replicable technologies, enterprise models, and best practices across the sector to the benefit of producers and collectors globally.

C O L

Founding Partners:International organizations:International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), Initiating PartnerCommonwealth of Learning (COL)International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)International Centre for Under-utilized Crops (ICUC)International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO)World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)

NARS:EcuadorIndiaMozambique

NGOs:Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF), IndiaCentre for Indian Bamboo Resource and Technology (CIBART), IndiaInHand Abra Foundation, PhilippinesSNV Netherlands

Private sector:cetes GmbH, GermanyDabur India Limited, India

New Partners in 2006/2007:• Asian Centre for Underutilized Crops (ACUC), Sri Lanka

• Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources (ANSAB), Nepal

• Fundación Chile

• Multipurpose Tree Species Research Network, Sri Lanka

• Arab Network for Sustainable Agriculture (ANSAB)

Stakeholder constituencies:• Private Sector [3]

• NGOs [6]

• NARS [3]

• IARCs [4]

• Intergovernmental Organization/ICB [2]

Project on Sustainable Charcoal ProductionOne-year Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) from IFAD, 2007-2008

Objectives:• State-of-the-Art report’ based on data on charcoal production and its

poverty and environmental impact especially in Africa

• Collect list of charcoal technologies and case data across the regions

• International Conference on Charcoal and Communities in Africa

• Leading edge project concepts and proposals on charcoal issues

• Create awareness and interest among the donor community, national programmes and technical institutions, and develop targeted practical information packages to IFAD loan projects

• Formulate/develop a global agenda for charcoal as an acceptable and sustainable instrument of rural poverty alleviation and energy security, and a proposal for a large grant to implement the recommended agenda for action

Project on Sustainable Charcoal Production, cont’dA consultant has been based in Mozambique for 4 months to collect data for charcoal supply chain analyses. A detailed report on the state of the art is being prepared. Further, training activities and an international conference on charcoal and communities, co-funded by GTZ, will be held in early 2008. The conference is expected to produce ideas and concept notes for donors, establish a community of practice and create awareness for the importance of charcoal on the continent.

Coordination Unit (CU) in New Delhi• A Coordination Unit has been established in New Delhi, with

financial support from the German Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM), a unit of GTZ, and from INBAR. The unit is hosted by INBAR’s South Asia regional Office.

• A full-time coordinator (Ralf Kwaschik) has taken up the position in September. The CU will coordinate fundraising efforts (proposal development, donor liaison) and the establishment of the governance structure (Steering Committee, Task Forces).

International NTFP Centre in India• The Government of India (GOI), Ministry of the Environment

and Forests (MOEF), and the Government of the state of Uttarakhand are planning to establish an international NTFP research centre in Dehradun in fulfilment of their commitment to host the NTFP-GPP’s secretariat.

• This will mean a strengthened partner for the NTFP GPP, which will add significant technical and research backstopping capacity.

• Funds have been allocated to support some core and technical staff. In the coming period, land and project sites will be developed; buildings and international staff will also be supported.

Information sharing and disseminationInformation dissemination continues to be a core activity of thePartnership. The main platform is a Wiki-based web site, which allows for user-defined content development. This feature has been used for collaborative strategy development. The website has sections on the partners, events, opportunities, selected priority NTFPs, cross-cutting issues, etc.

The web site is a main responsibility of the coordinator, but all partners are strongly encouraged to contribute. The focus is on sharing of experiences and best practices.

Training and awareness raising events• Training Workshop on selected NTFPs in China, with a focus

on priority and high-potential NTFPs and cross-cutting issues

An International Training Workshop on NTFP Development and Utilization, sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), was carried out by the International Farm Forestry Training Center (INFORTRACE) of Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF) and INBAR from September 10-23, 2007 in Zhejiang Province. Seventeen participants from eight countries attended.

Topics included: Development of NTFPs and Sustainable Management of the Forest, Brief on China's NTFPs and their development, local case studies on the production, processing, trade and policies of certain important NTFPs in China (mushrooms, Chinese traditional medicines, nuts, flowers, fruits, bamboo and shoots, eco-tourism, etc.), roles of various stakeholders.

Training and awareness raising events, cont’d• Co-organization, together with ITTO and the State Forestry

Administration (SFA) of China of an “International Conference to Promote Development of Non-Timber Forest Products and Services”, Beijing (ITTO, FAO, SFA, INBAR).

A paper on the Global NTFP Partnership was presented at the conference. ITTO has expressed interest in developing, together with the Partnership, a proposal.

Plans for 2008Main activities in 2008 will include a planning workshop of the Partners to develop project ideas, concept notes and proposals. This will take place in early 2008 in Delhi. Proposaldevelopment and donor liaison would be carried out throughout the year. An international charcoal conference will be held in early 2008 in Maputo, also with the aim to develop proposals and to engage donors. GOI will be assisted in the development and the refinement of the plan for the International NTFP Centre.

THANK YOU!