non-wood · 2009. 9. 18. · countries where forest connect operates there are signs that smfes can...

EDITORIAL

CONTENTS

3 Guest Article% • Communicating research for

impact and accountability

6 Special Features% Marketing of traditional NWFPs

• Are insects valuable? Synopsis ofmopane worms

• Bark cloth makes comeback oninternational fashion scene

• Chambira palm: baskets bring anew way of life to Peruvians

• Ecoenterprises and Terminaliaferdinandiana: “best laid plans” andAustralian policy lessons

• First FSC-labelled gin fromBelgium

• Consumers’ contribution towardsbiodiversity – the cork case study

• Honey and wax: a sticky challenge• Custom-made Crafts Centre:

creating new markets andappropriate strategies forcommunities

• International logos for localproducts in Nepal

• Brazilian brokering company tomarket Amazonian NWFP oils

• Guatemalan maya nut producersparticipate in the Terra Madre eventin Italy

• Marketing and export of yarina(Phytelephas macrocarpa) inLoreto, Peru

% Berries• Mistletoe infection of amla, the

value of local managementpractices

The editorial for this issue of Non-Wood News has been written by SophieGrouwels, Forestry Officer in charge of the small-scale forest enterprisedevelopment programme.

The Millennium Development Goals commit most countries to reducing globalpoverty in half by 2015. Perhaps nowhere are the stakes higher for meetingthis goal than in forest-dependent communities in tropical countries, wherepoverty tends to be more pervasive and deeper than in urban and more-favouredrural areas. According to the World Bank, approximately 90 percent of thepoorest people rely on forests for subsistence and income. The developmentof small and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs) represents an opportunity forstrengthening the livelihoods of these people and conserving the naturalresource base through sustainable forest management and processing oftimber and non-wood forest products (NWFPs). Local benefits from SMFEdevelopment may include wages and employment, profit-sharing, capitalaccumulation, cultural and political empowerment, investment in public goods,and increased conservation of forest ecosystems through long-term sustainablemanagement.

Several new market trends favour the development of SMFEs, includingincreased tourism, providing expanding markets for handicrafts and ecotourism;specialized export markets, e.g. fair trade NWFPs and bio-ingredients; andgrowing specialized domestic and regional markets for NWFPs such as bamboo,rattan and palm hearts. In this issue, Non-Wood News has highlighted a varietyof aspects related to this development. For example, one of the Special Featuresincludes information on the marketing of traditional NWFPs, including varioushandicrafts. In addition, in the Products and Markets section, you will find articleson the fair trade of two specific NWFPs (shea butter and palm fronds), as wellas information in the Products and Markets section on bamboo and rattan.

However, most SMFEs are not able to capture the benefits from these opportunitiesfully. They struggle to advance beyond the start-up stage of business development,exhibiting low levels of output, productivity, value added and profit. Overcomingthese challenges requires concerted action and long-term investments amongthe various stakeholders, including SMFEs themselves, their business partners(processors and buyers) and service providers, as well as government agenciesand non-governmental organizations (NGOs). One of the key constraints that

NON-WOOD NEWSis compiled and coordinated by Tina Etherington, Forest Products Service of the FAO Forest Products and IndustriesDivision. For this issue, editing support was provided by Adam DeHeer; language editing by Roberta Mitchell, JosianeBonomi and Deliana Fanego; design, graphics and desktop publishing by Claudia Tonini.

Non-Wood News is open to contributions by readers. Contributions are welcomed in English, French and Spanishand may be edited to fit the appropriate size and focus of the bulletin.If you have any material that could be included in the next issue of Non-Wood News for the benefit of other readers,kindly send it, before 15 October 2009, to: NON-WOOD NEWS – FOIPFAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, ItalyE-mail: [email protected]/forestry/nwfp/nonwood.htm

FAO home page: www.fao.org

All Internet links cited were checked on 5 July 2009. Articles express the views of their authors, not necessarily those ofFAO. Authors may be contacted directly for their reference sources. The designations employed and the presentation ofmaterial in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities,or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products ofmanufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommendedby FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

An information bullet in on Non-Wood Forest Productsnon-woodnon-wood 19ISSN

1020-3435

J U L Y 2 0 0 9

• Summer berries in BritishColumbia, Canada

• Thousands of Thai berry pickersinvited to Finland

• Berry products showcased • Antioxidant in berries stops wrinkles• Açaí berry, superfood or

superfraud?• “Miracle fruit” turns sour things

sweet• Guarana beverage• Maqui superberry • Berry-based natural sweetener

"brazzein" to hit the market in 2009

15 News and Notes% Biodegradable chewing gum% Bioprospecting/benefit-sharing or

biopiracy?• Bioprospecting: “The Green Gold

Rush”• India moves to protect traditional

medicines from foreign patents• Rural communities in Kenya to

benefit from plan to market naturalplants

• Biopiracy in the Cuzco region, Peru% Bird flu antivirus sourced from Indian

trees% “Cork ReHarvest”% Educational tool with a difference% Forests, human health and the

impacts of climate change% Hope for Africa in baobab% Japan’s Denso develops “organic”

radiator tank

% NWFPs – a global perspective• NWFPs in North America• PFNM en América Latina• NWFPs in Europe• PFNL en Afrique• NWFPs in Western and Central Asia• NWFPs in Asia and the Pacific

% Non-profit organizations and NGOs• ApiTrade Africa• The Association for Nature and

Sustainable Development (ANDES),Peru

• Le Centre de développement desforêts communautaires auCameroun

% Palm fronds: fair trade andecofriendly

% Photovoices: new way to sharetraditional knowledge

% Sustainability standards in wildplants harvesting – FairWild andISSC-MAP

% The role of NWFPs and forests inimproving and sustaining livelihoods• Forests sustain livelihoods• The role of NWFPs in improving

rural livelihoods% Tulsi to “insulate” the Taj Mahal% Who owns the world’s forests?

24 Products and Markets% Bamboo, Frankincense, Hedychium

spicatum, Honey, Kava, Medicinalplants and herbs, Natural fibres,Rattan, Saffron, Sandalwood,Sclerocarya birrea, Shea butter, Silk,Wildlife and bushmeat

40 Country Compass% Armenia, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan,

Bolivia (Plurinational State of),Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon,Canada, China, Colombia, Ethiopia,Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, India, Italy,Krygyzstan, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico,Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru,Republic of the Congo, Republic ofKorea, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka,Sudan, Tunisia, United Kingdom,

United Republic of Tanzania, UnitedStates of America, Viet Nam, Zambia

61 Econook% Africa: Minister tasks continent on

bioresources development% Forest elephants and their role in

“planting” trees in the Congo% Forests move rain: study

revolutionizes meteorology% Plant workshop winds up with resolve

to create a regional network % Transboundary rain forest park in

West Africa: a symbol of peace andstability

% Wild food biodiversity

63 International Action% FAO, The XIII World Forestry

Congress, Center for InternationalForest Research (CIFOR),International Year of Natural Fibres2009

67 Recent and Forthcoming Events

70 Publications of Interest

74 Web Sites

75 Readers’ Response

SMFEs face has to do with isolation. They are isolated in various ways,not only from neighbouring enterprises with whom they might work forscale efficiencies and bargaining power, but also from potential buyerswho would give them sales options, from financial and businessdevelopment service providers who would help them with sustainabilityand upgrading and from decision-makers governing their forest accessand use.

Forest Connect, an alliance launched in 2007, is dedicated to tacklingthis. Its overall goal is to avoid deforestation and reduce poverty bybetter linking sustainable small forest enterprises to each other, tomarkets, to service providers and to policy processes such as National Forest Programmes. In fact, across the differentcountries where Forest Connect operates there are signs that SMFEs can contribute – and are already contributingconsiderably – to local economies and the sustainable management of the forest, including NWFPs.

Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are goodsof biological origin other than wood, derivedfrom forests, other wooded land and treesoutside forests. Non-timber forest products(NTFPs), another term frequently used to coverthis vast array of animal and plant products,also include small wood and fuelwood.However, these two terms are usedsynonymously throughout this bulletin. Otherterms, such as “minor”, “secondary” or“speciality” forest products, are sometimesused to keep original names and/or titles.

NON-WOOD NEWS No. 19 July 2009

G U E S T A R T I C L E


3

COMMUNICATINGRESEARCH FOR IMPACTAND ACCOUNTABILITY

What do we do with our research when it iscomplete? Publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal and knock off the donorreport. Then begin anew – on to the nextpaying project. This well-entrenchedmodel generally ignores communicatingwith governmental decision-makers aswell as communities at the site of theresearch. The prevailing pattern creates achasm between where knowledge isgenerated and where it is needed. Likelogging and mining, such an extractiveapproach to research rarely leads topositive ecological or livelihood outcomeswhere the work was conducted.

Some of this stems from the fact thatscientists are generally measured, andthus moulded, according to oneoverarching parameter – their publicationrecord. Scientists are trained to producescience, and rewarded for making theirfindings available through internationalscientific journals. While the peer-reviewsystem is a cornerstone of modernscience and critically important as anassurance of scientific quality, the presentemphasis on quantity of publications mayundermine quality, innovation and risk-taking in research. Critics contend thatcurrent incentive structures triggerperformance anxiety, leading to short-cuts,reduced amount of time spent in fieldresearch, superficiality and stagnation inscience.

In research involving forest resources,especially NWFPs, such trends areparticularly disturbing. Why? One reasonis that local people are often moreknowledgeable about forest resourcesthan scientists, and in-depth fieldresearch is necessary to understandcomplex management systems. Culturalpractices are also linked with naturalresource use, and the insights of forest-reliant people are fundamentallyimportant to conservation anddevelopment. Furthermore, on an ethicallevel, what does it signify to takeinformation and knowledge fromstruggling forest communities and notgive back? Frustration with the lack ofimpact of research and the missing linksbetween knowledge and action have led to calls for a more discerning analysis of how researchers communicate anddisseminate their findings.

%dissemination. Trickle down embodies abelief that communication is a hierarchicone-way process, with little or no inputfrom the users of the research, whetherthese constitute the government, industryor community. New models of researchexamine not only with whom we shareresults, but also the process itself, withthe goal of increasing equity along thechain from research design todissemination. Participatory paradigmsrecognize the capacity of ordinary peopleto create knowledge – not only scientists,but also farmers, hunters and forestgatherers.

To improve the conservation anddevelopment outcomes of bioculturallyrelated research, the links betweenculture, communication and naturalresource use need to be better recognized.To begin with, researchers need to beforthright when proposing research topics.Have they been to the proposed site? Is thequestion of relevance local, national orregional? What outputs are planned? Whois the anticipated audience? Whatcommunication channels will be used todisseminate the research? Although theseare rudimentary questions, researchersoften lack the training and thecommunication skills needed to identifyimpact pathways and use them. Discussedbelow are some of the challenges andopportunities for improvingcommunication and giving increasedattention to culture in natural resourceand NWFP-related research.

Training for relevance and accountability First, the common practice of developingresearch questions and projects in areasgeographically and conceptually distantfrom the site of research can result instudies of little relevance at the local level.As a result, conservation and developmentprojects may serve limited and/or self-serving aims – a graduate degree, apublication or a project output. In additionfrequently to having minimal localrelevance, projects addressing theinterface of people and natural resourceuse are often intrusive. Homes are enteredwithout invitation, rounds of questionsasked, incomes and diets pried into andcommunal areas entered and surveyed.After the last round of data entry has takenplace, villagers are accustomed to glimpseresearchers’ backs as they leave withdata-filled notebooks and householdsurveys. Where does accountability lie?

Disenchantment among donors,communities, conservationists andresearchers Researchers cite lack of time, funds andtraining as routine obstacles to sharingresearch. Communicating science to civilsociety in an accessible language is alsoconsidered damaging to one’s professionalreputation. Institutional incentives remainfirm to engage in linear, top-downcommunication of results that, in turn,guarantees positive performancemeasurement in research and academia.Such a surfeit of publishing has madescant progress in amelioratingimpoverishment, either of humancommunities or ecosystems. Such a widegulf between knowledge and action hasled to what some term a “biodiversitytragedy in progress”.

An insightful study of 2 202 written textsrelating to conservation and naturalresource management over a 450–yearperiod in Peru discovered that less than 1 percent was directed at lay people orstudents. Summarizing what the authorsof the study find to be “dysfunction in thetropical literature”, it is concluded that“written accounts of tropical biology andconservation reach a tiny fraction of theirpotential audience …

One cannot hope for the advance oftropical conservation and science whileshrugging one’s shoulders at the vastlyinefficient way tropical biologists generateand share information.”

Today, rural communities are fatiguedand donors disenchanted by the revolvingdoor of projects without concrete results.In response, development practitioners,civil society organizations and scientistsare questioning the “trickle-down andtranslate” models of research and

Significant gains have been madeinvolving company–community partnershipsregarding benefit sharing and priorinformed consent. However, the intrusivenature of project teams and graduatestudents entering communities to conductresearch has received less attention. Rightnow, thousands of researcher scientists,graduate students and project consultantsare working within rural communities onnatural resource-related issues. Of these,how many will leave anything of use behind?

Recently, the need to bridge the gulfbetween knowledge and action and to bemore accountable to local people, policy-makers and civil society has beenhighlighted by students, academics andconservationists. Professors and studentsare calling for greater equity in researchprocesses and products. To improverelationships between local communitiesand researchers, students will needimproved training in equitable researchprocesses that move beyond priorinformed consent. When working closelywith communities on issues of localrelevance, consent to someone else’sagenda is insufficient. Local people in thevicinity of research need to participatemore fully in research design and agendasetting.

To achieve this, proposal conception anddevelopment in natural resource-relatedthemes need attention. Timetables set byacademic advisers or donors should notrequire researchers to submit fully fledgedproposals prior to minimal understandingor even a visit to research sites. Initialdrafts of project proposals involving localcommunities are better left as roughsketches. These can later be delineated inthe field with local constituents, ratherthan be invented and belaboured far fromthe research site to meet institutionalrequirements or to appease bureaucraticmind-sets.

Shrinking amounts of field time need toexpand. The recent tendency for field workto consist of a series of multistakeholderworkshops or modelling seminars is nosubstitute for immersion in complexecosystems and cultures. Fleeting fieldtime can result in misleading analysis,leading to theoretical abstraction that cando more harm than good. Theories arebuilt and tested upon empirical evidence.Students and researchers benefit fromsubstantial time living in and among ruralcommunities and the plants and animalsthey rely upon.

Culturally attuned research andcommunication Communication was formerly viewed as atop-down, linear process, with knowledgeconveyed by experts to the uninformed.Today, the flow of information is recognizedas a complex, interactive, multidirectionalexchange or “shared learning”. Interactivecommunication is now conceived as ameans to maximize the impact of researchon development. New approaches tocommunication in the health sector, wherelives are literally at stake, offer usefullessons. In the field of health care, uptakepathways are clearly defined and the needfor interaction and dialogue with affectedcommunities widely recognized.Researchers working in environmentallyrelated fields have lagged behind but arealso recognizing that more attention tocommunication, local knowledge systemsand culture is needed.

Cultural practices and traditionalknowledge systems have customarilyremained unrecognized and/orunderappreciated by natural resourcescientists. When perceived by outsiders,cultures have often been belittled and theembedded beliefs, myths and ritualsdisparaged by rationalist scientists.Theoretical advances in communication anddevelopment indicate the need forintegration of various knowledge systems.However, for key issues such as land rightsand deforestation, cultural concerns remainperipheral and lacking in application.

Research in the social sciences indicatesthat attention to cultural context anddiverse knowledge systems can improve theresearch process and uptake. Recentinterest from conservation biologists inpolitical science, psychology, social issues,communication and education offers

hopeful signs of growing interdisciplinarycollaboration.

Since the 1990s, after the signing of theConvention on Biological Diversity, workhas been under way to improve socio-economic and environmental justice fortraditional peoples. Theoretical andpractical progress is evident in thedevelopment of agreements for priorinformed consent and more equitablebenefit sharing, and in strengthened codesof ethics and protection of intellectualproperty rights. These mechanismsrepresent significant milestones towardsmore equitable relationships that respectthe cultures and traditional knowledge ofcommunities.

Actors that help move information fromwhere it is generated to where it is needed –often known as knowledge brokers orboundary organizations – also play acritical role. Knowledge brokers help toprevent the costly practice of reinventingthe wheel, as they “search out knowledge,synthesize research and scan for bestpractices and examples from outside theirorganizations”, according to the CanadianHealth Services Research Foundation.Although fundamental to an impact-oriented approach, the critical networkingcapabilities, flexibility and linking functionsthey perform are often undetected,undervalued and/or actively discouraged byperformance measurement systems atresearch institutes. To increase thepotential for impact from research, suchorganizations should seek out andencourage individuals who demonstratethese skills.

A serious argument against researchers’engagement in communicating results isthat they are already stretched too thin.Proposal writing, donor engagements,impact assessments and bureaucraticduties already occupy too much ofscientists’ time. Clearly, not all research issuitable or relevant to share with non-scientific audiences. In addition, not allresearchers have sufficient skills orinclination to engage in targetedcommunication of research results.However, for impact to occur, recognition ofthe critical role that some researchers andresearch organizations play incommunicating results to key audienceswill be needed. As one author states, theprimary activity “must remain theexpansion of knowledge ... but the link topolicy and action calls for expanding thescope of activities and approaches”.



4

Challenges and opportunities ofcommunicating research Information is “sticky” – it tends to staywhere it is generated. In research, this oftenmeans that research findings and analysisremain confined to the ivory tower. Forinformation to have a wider impact than itsinitial focus, a variety of dissemination andcommunication methods needs to beemployed, linked closely to user needs.Embracing all users – of different economicclasses, cultures and educational levels –constitutes a challenge as well as an impactopportunity for researchers.

A central challenge is that one in fivepeople in the world are functionally non-literate. This figure rises to nearly four out offive in some remote regions – regions thatmay often have scant access to formaleducation but high biodiversity. If localknowledge is valued, as stated by theConventions on Biological Diversity andClimate Change, then communication withland and resource stewards will need tomove from rhetoric to an integral part ofproject planning and execution.

Reaching people of all educational levelsand economic classes through the use ofrelevant information and appropriatecommunication channels has beenspearheaded by pioneers such as theBrazilian education theorist Paulo Freire.Popular education and communicationtheories affirm that research anddissemination strategies that appreciateculture and local knowledge systems aremore likely to succeed than conventionalprojects. Innovative public education isburgeoning in Latin America and Africa,particularly in the health and social servicesectors. Radio, theatre, dance, puppetry,comics and video are proving to be highlysuccessful in raising awareness, changingbehaviour and improving livelihoods.

As researchers attempt to share theirfindings with a range of stakeholders, theywill be confronted with basic “translation”challenges. For example, how to conveysimply the economic and ecological trade-offs between sales of timber and non-timberforest products to inform negotiations offorest communities? How to make graphs ofvariable fruit production and seasonal pricescomprehensible to villagers? How to ensurethat women, the elderly and themarginalized are both understood andheard? Published descriptions ofendeavours to share research with localusers are uncommon in academia. As morescientists invest time in conveying research

through various means to diverseaudiences, their experiences can be usefulto inform other researchers and students.

Close to the site of research, efforts toshare results in culturally compelling wayssuch as illustrated books, comics, theatreand video, are more likely to be embraced bymarginalized populations and civil society. Bycontrast, scientists may deride researchshared through such means as not“legitimate”. However, the “translation” workthat goes into making research accessible toa range of audiences is considerable andwhen done well, the product should not be a“dumbed-down” version, but one whoserigour is enhanced through a thoroughprocess of review by a combination of bothscientists and end-users. Farmers, foragersand hunters sustain their families over alifetime, using the animals and plants thatresearchers study over a relatively fleetingtime frame. If given the chance, such localexperts can offer astute and critical reviewsof research, honing the analysis with decadesof first-hand knowledge. Ideally, scientistswill complement local knowledge with socio-economic, ecological and policy analysisunavailable at the local level.

Conclusion The gap in communication betweenscientists and local people is part of awell-ingrained professional culture andremains because of institutional incentivestructures and personal reward systemsin academia. Current performancemeasurement systems discouragecommunication to audiences other thanscientists. As a result, equity at theresearch site and broader impact for civilsociety may be disregarded. Theunderaddressed problem of lowresearcher accountability at the study siteis compounded by accelerated projecttime frames, unrealistic donorrequirements, financial constraints andthe chronic push to move on to the nextpaying project.

Lessons to tackle this problem in naturalresource-related research can be gleanedfrom the health and social service sectorsthat have confronted the gap incommunication between knowledgegeneration and application over the lastthree decades. As in the health sector,there is now rising recognition in thenatural sciences that research is sociallyembedded and that this has implications forresearch design and dissemination.

To make their research moreaccountable, scientists working on issuesrelated to the interface of people andnatural resource use are posing questionssuch as: Is the research relevant and towhom? Have a range of stakeholders beeninvolved in the research process and at whatstage? Does the research pay sufficientattention to local culture and locally definedneeds? What outputs and impact pathwaysare planned? Are there potential partnersengaged in communication and/or populareducation who can collaborate in sharingthe research?

For an impact-oriented communicationparadigm to take hold, researchinstitutions will need to create incentivesthat support production of an expandedrange of outputs and broaderdissemination to targeted audiences.Scientists and research organizations willneed to distinguish between high citationratings (i.e. “impact factor”) and actualconservation and development impacts onthe ground. Lessons can then be gleanedfrom rigorous evaluation of research andcommunication strategies and theirimpacts on forests and forest-reliantfamilies. (Contributed by: Patricia Shanley,Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Center forInternational Forestry Research [CIFOR], PO Box 0113 BOCBD,Bogor 16000, Indonesia. E-mail:[email protected]; www.cifor.cgiar.org)

Dr Patricia Shanley is a Senior Scientist atCIFOR and also Associate Director ofWoods & Wayside International. Dr Shanley,a renowned scientist with long experiencein the Amazon region, has produced award-winning research materials in a format andstyle suitable for local forest users. DrShanley is also one of the editors of aforthcoming joint FAO/CIFOR publication,“Fruit trees and useful plants in Amazonianlife”, which will be published shortly inFAO's NWFP series. Dr Shanley can becontacted directly for the referencesrelated to this article.



5

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E S


6

MARKETING OFTRADITIONAL NWFPS

Are insects valuable? Synopsis of mopaneworms Mopane worms are the larvae of the mothImbrasia belina and are widely consumed inrural areas of southern Africa for theirnutrition and income-generationopportunities. They are mostly consumed inthe rural areas of countries such asBotswana and Zimbabwe and the Limpopoand Mpumalanga Provinces of South Africa.Mopane worms are good nutritionalsupplements for the majority of people inrural areas, since they provideapproximately 65 percent protein, 51 percent fats and amino acids. Theavailability of mopane worms createsseasonal employment for rural women.Sixty-five percent of rural dwellers in thesouthern Africa mopane belt collect mopaneworms for subsistence use, while 35 percentsell them at the nearby urban markets.

Women and children are mainly involvedin collection and sale of the worms but, inrecent years, men too have been engaged,attracted by income-earning opportunities.Mopane worms are sold along the streetsin urban areas and in areas where elderlypeople receive their pensions. Trading ofmopane worms is currently a commercialbusiness with good economic returns.During a good year, dried mopane wormssold by an urban vendor at Thohoyandou,South Africa, can make a turnover of aboutUS$2 975. Mopane worms are currentlyprocessed and traded locally andinternationally as snacks and cannedproducts. The commercial trade of mopaneworms in Botswana, Zimbabwe and theLimpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces ofSouth Africa contributes multimillion randsto the gross domestic product (GDP). Thisshows the lucrative trade for mopaneworms. The price for selling the worms,however, is determined by the number ofbuyers, abundance of the worms anddistance from the market. An abundantsupply of mopane worms results in a dropin price because of oversupply in themarket, a situation that is reversed whenthe supply is no longer abundant. Distancefrom the market increases price sincetransport costs need to be recovered.Consequently, all these factors determinethe income that can be generated fromselling mopane worms.

The outbreak of mopane worms occurstwice a year, normally from December to

January and from April to May. Outbreakand abundance vary annually, asdetermined by the availability of rainfalland the presence of host-tree leaves(Colophospermum mopane). Low rainfalland scarcity of host-tree leaves limit theabundance of the worms, since there is ashortage of fresh mopane leaves on whichthey feed. Despite the value of mopaneworms, primarily for livelihoods, theirabundance has been limited in recentyears. The causes of this low supply areuncertain, but could relate to unfavourableconditions resulting from climate change(low rainfall and high temperatures) andthe destruction of the mopane worms’ hosttree. Absence of rules that regulate theharvesting of mopane worms has alsoincreased competition for harvestingbetween the local people and outsiders,and this also affects their life cycle. Allthese factors hamper the wealth andnutritional supplement that mopaneworms can provide, and increase thevulnerability of rural people tomalnutrition. (Contributed by: RudzaniMakhado, Assistant Director, ForestryResearch, Forestry Policy and Strategy,Department of Water Affairs and Forestry,P/Bag x 313, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; e-mail: [email protected] and Martin Potgieter, Department ofBiodiversity, University of Limpopo, P/Bag x 1106, Sovenga, South Africa; e-mail: [email protected])

Bark cloth makes comeback oninternational fashion sceneKampala. Bark cloth, a fabric historicallyused by the Buganda in central Uganda towrap their dead before burial, is making acomeback in the form of trendy crafts,clothing and household goods. The cloth,made from Ficus natalensis trees, wassupplanted by the introduction of cotton byArab caravan traders in the nineteenthcentury. Now bark cloth crafts such astable mats, bedcovers, jackets, purses andwide-brimmed hats are finding their wayon to the international market.

Bark cloth is exported to Germany,Japan, Australia, the United States ofAmerica and Canada where significantpopulations of Ugandans live. There is alsohuge demand from neighbouring Kenya.Kenyan traders blend the cloth and exportthe products to Europe and the UnitedStates.

The Mwangwe Rural DevelopmentAssociation works to raise consciousness

among artisans to improve the quality ofbark cloth products. Vincent Musubire,chairperson of the association, said that"when we look at it critically, bark cloth hasa big future but not in the traditional senseof burying people. It has value and cangenerate income, which is where I amputting the emphasis." He said thatprospects for the bark cloth market werepromising, especially internationally. "Wewant to ensure that the crafts from barkcloth produced by women and men meetthe quality requirements of the local andinternational craft market. That is why weare not leaving it to the local community toproduce. I'm linking up with skilled younggraduates of industrial art and design towork with local craftspeople to producequality products", he said.

Nuwa Wamala Nyanzi, an artist andowner of a crafts business in Kampala,confirmed that the demand for bark clothamong tourists is high but that it is notbeing marketed widely enough atinternational craft expos. Nyanzi alsoadded that bark cloth production issuffering because there are fewcraftspeople who have the skill to makequality bark cloth. Traditionally,craftspeople of the Ngonge clan havemanufactured bark cloth for the Bagandaroyal family and the rest of the community;however, many have died without passingon their skill.

Bark cloth is recognized as part of theworld's collective heritage by the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO). Head of theUganda National Commission for UNESCO,Augustine Omare Okurut, said that"research is being conducted on themaking of bark cloth, how to preserve itand how it can be exploited for the benefitof the local and international community".(Source: Inter Press Service [Uganda], 12February 2009.)

%

Chambira palm: baskets bring a new wayof life to PeruviansSan Antonio de Pintuyacu, Peru. Women inthis remote Amazon village can weavefibres from the branch of the chambirapalm tree into practically anything theyneed – fishing nets, hammocks, purses,skirts and dental floss. But for the last yearthey have put their hopes in baskets,weaving hundreds to build up an inventoryfor export to the United States of America.Their first international buyers are the SanDiego Natural History Museum and SanDiego Zoo, and they plan to sell to othermuseums and home décor purveyors.

The enterprise is one of many venturesin the Amazon aimed at “productiveconservation”, which advocates say willsave the rain forest by transforming it into arenewable economic resource for localpeople.

The government of Loreto, Peru’sdensely forested and least populous region,organized the basket project, which isfinanced by grants from two non-profitgroups, Nature & Culture International andthe Moore Foundation.

The changes in Loreto may correspondto a broader shift in Peru’s attitude towardsconservation. Last spring, motivated by thesigning of a free trade agreement with theUnited States of America, the country setup an environment ministry, which hasalready started to focus on deforestation.

The basket project is the brainchild ofNoam Shany, an Israeli agronomist andentrepreneur. A bird-watching trip in 2005led him to a remote village on the TahuayoRiver, an Amazon tributary. There, he said,he noticed striking local baskets for sale ina tourist lodge.

Mr Shany, who had previously soldartificial plants to Walmart and cacti tonurseries in California and Australia,decided to put his retail experience to anenvironmental use.

In 2006, he helped found PROCREL, abiodiversity programme that has workedwith the regional government to establishthree vast protected reserves. The basketprogramme is one of several conservationinitiatives intended to help indigenouspeoples benefit from the conservationefforts.

Pitching Peruvian handicrafts to retailersin the United States was easy. “Thesebaskets represent so much more thansimply a basket,” said Nancy Stevens,manager of retail and wholesale operationsfor the San Diego Natural History Museum.

Pitching an international enterprise tothe villagers was almost as easy. Mr Shanyturned a somewhat haphazard local craft –women making a few baskets, selling themin a local shop, and then making a fewmore – into something more like massproduction, with higher returns to theproducers.

Artisans get US$10–12 for each basket,which sells for $40 in the United States.About a third of that goes into shipping anddistribution, and the rest is retailer profit,meaning that the company distributing thebaskets gets a little more per unit thaneach maker. Mr Shany and PROCRELreceive nothing.

The artisans’ cut may not seemsubstantial, Mr Shany said, but it is morethan double previous monthly earnings.Two years ago, households in this regionearned as little as $30 a month selling fishand palm frond roofing at city markets, hesaid. Today, experienced weavers can earnup to $100 a month. (Source: The New YorkTimes [United States of America], 19January 2009.)

Ecoenterprises and Terminaliaferdinandiana: “best laid plans” andAustralian policy lessonsIn a recent article in Economic Botany, A.B.Cunningham et al. review practical policylessons from trade in a dietary supplement(or nutraceutical) processed fromTerminalia ferdinandiana (Combretaceae),which contains extremely high levels ofnatural ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Mostproduction is from wild harvesting byAboriginal people, who get US$14/kg forpicked, sorted fruit. However, the mainAustralian company involved is strugglingto get the 12 tonnes/year it requires, andcould market much more. AlthoughAboriginal people ideally should benefiteconomically from the harvest of T.ferdinandiana, there are major challengesto this objective, including Australia’s highlabour costs compared with Asia, Africaand Latin America where T. ferdinandianacan be grown. In addition, althoughAustralia is a signatory to and plays aleading role in the international Conventionon Biodiversity (CBD), this has meant littlein practice so far.

“Cultural branding” and certification oforganic, wild harvested T. ferdinandianafruit collected by Aboriginal people workingin partnership with commercial companiesoffer a possibility for Aboriginal people tocontinue to benefit from wild harvest or

enrichment plantings. However, even theestablishment of commercial horticulturalproduction within Australia faces severalchallenges.

For Australia to maintain and developthe international market, futuredevelopment of this bush food mustinclude: (i) implementation of existinginternational and national policies on theprotection of genetic resources; (ii) formation of a producer association to increase production efficiencies; (iii) functioning partnerships betweenAboriginal producers and commercialpartners that guarantee and expandreliable supply and develop culturalbranding and certification as marketingtools; and (iv) scientific research intoimproving T. ferdinandiana fruit yields andproduction methods, based on improvedresource management and efficientprocessing methods. (Source: EconomicBotany, 63(1), 2009.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACTTHE AUTHOR:A.B. Cunningham, School forEnvironmental Research, Charles DarwinUniversity, Darwin NT 0909, Australia.Fax: +61 8 9336 6783; e-mail: [email protected]



7

T. ferdinandianafruits have along history ofAboriginaldietary use.Commercialattentionwas drawn to the speciesas a source ofvitamin C over 20 years ago. But,unlike the more establishedmarkets for carvings, didgeridoos,sandalwood oil and bush tucker, whichhave been in operation since at least the1970s, commercial harvesting of T.ferdinandiana only started in 1996.However, the fact that the final productproduced from T. ferdinandiana –naturally occurring ascorbic acid – hasbeen commercially available for a longtime, enables T. ferdinandiana productsto link into an existing niche market.



8

First FSC-labelled gin from BelgiumThe first Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-labelled gin was launched on the Belgiummarket in December 2008. Made from thegreen pine cones of Pinus sylvestris, acommon tree in the Flemish region, thelaunch of this gin also marks the first FSC-certified NTFP originating from Belgium.

Known as dennenknopje, “little pinecone” in Dutch, the gin is made from conesthat are collected from the FSC-certifiedDomeinbos Pijnven forest. Owned by theFlemish Government, it is managed as partof a larger FSC group that has been certifiedsince 2006. Certification under FSC’sPrinciples and Criteria for responsible forestmanagement ensures that the natural forestcomplexity is maintained and social issuesare considered, while securing long-termsupplies of forest products.

Distilleerderij Leukenheide is the family-owned company responsible for producingthe gin. Founded in 1833, it is the oldesttraditional gin distillery in the region. Thecompany achieved the FSC chain of custodycertification in May 2008, facilitatingcompletion of the supply chain fromDomeinbos Pijnven forest by processing thegin and labelling the bottle with the FSClabel.

The eye-catching FSC-labelled ginpromotes FSC in the country and hasstrengthened local identity for this relativelyforest-rich region. It also demonstrates thatresponsible management of forests canbring new and interesting opportunities, notonly for recreational purposes, but alsowithin the economic perspective ofresponsible forest product harvesting.(Source: Forest Stewardship Council, 19 January 2009.)

Consumers’ contribution towardsbiodiversity – the cork case studyCork oak forests extend over an area ofalmost 2.2 million ha, concentrated mainly inthe Mediterranean region, in southernEurope and North Africa.

Cork oak forests are an effective barrieragainst the desertification affecting a largepart of the Mediterranean region, playing akey role in ecological processes, such aswater retention, soil conservation andcarbon storage (carbon sink of over 14 million tonnes annually) – environmentalservices with a non-market value(externalities).

In the undergrowth of cork oak forests,and supported by its features of multiple-use low-intensity agroforestry systems – a

unique system shaped by human beings –aromatic and medicinal plants, mushrooms,natural grazing with extensive livestockfarming and game complete this fantasticecosystem and provide rural populationswith work and sources of income.

These landscapes also support one of thehighest levels of biodiversity among foresthabitats (they are listed in the EC HabitatsDirective – 92/43/EEC), reaching levels of60–100 flowering plant species per 0.1 ha, aswell as species-rich grasslands with up to135 species per 0.1 ha. They also providehabitat requirements for a large number ofendangered species (Iberian lynx, Iberianimperial eagle, the black vulture, the blackstork, etc.), and large numbers of winteringbirds from northern Europe, together with arich diversity of fauna.

The sustainable cork use for wine bottlestoppers is the strongest economic activity.The cork oak tree has a lifespan of around170–200 years, during which time it will bestripped about 15–18 times (every nineyears). After the harvest, the bark renewsitself until it is ready to be harvested again;none of the trees are cut.

Through cork, the European Union (EU) isalso the world leader in the wine stoppersector – perhaps one of the few cases inwhich a natural product persistently holdson to its leadership of the market. With atotal cork market value of about €1.5 billion,with EU exports worth €0.47 billion, corkstoppers also account for 70 percent of theinternational wine stopper trade.

Besides their superior quality as closures,cork stoppers have numerous advantages(environmental and social values) thatclearly distinguish them from alternativewine stoppers, specifically plastic stoppersand screw tops (aluminium).

Cork for bottle stoppers accounts foralmost 70 percent of the total value of thecork market, ensuring a vital role inmaintaining the economic value of cork andthe low-intensity use of cork oak forests.

There has been a significant decrease inthe cork stopper market because of theincrease in the market share of alternativewine stoppers (plastic stoppers and screwtops), supported by a huge marketingcampaign and by what some retailers arechoosing for the wine consumer. Thischange in the global closure market isreducing the economic value of cork forests,which represents a major threat to thesustainability of these important landscapes.

Even though wine drinkers continueoverwhelmingly to prefer cork wine closures

to the alternatives, they do not have theinformation to enable them to makesustainable choices that take intoconsideration wider society concerns,because of the absence of labelling aboutthe type of stoppers used in the wine.

The cork oak forests and cork case studyis one of the best examples of how aconsumer’s choice, through an informedpurchasing decision, can contribute tosupporting high biodiversity levels andsustainable economic activities.(Contributed by: Nuno Mendes Calado(Secretário-Geral), UNAC-União da FlorestaMediterrânica, Av. Colégio Militar, Lote 1786,1549-012 Lisbon, Portugal. Fax: +351 21 71000 37; e-mail: [email protected])

Honey and wax: a sticky challengeThe Blue Mountains or Nilgiris region of Indiaare considered one of the most ecologicallyfragile areas in the region. The Nilgiris hillshave varied flora, ranging from scrub and drydeciduous to moist evergreen and montaneor shola forests. The Nilgiris total land area of2 749 km2 has long faced threats fromencroachment and illegal felling of timber; itsgreatest threat now is the expanding tea andcoffee plantations, which cover about 50 percent of the entire cultivated area. Thus,protecting what is left of the forest is crucialto conserving its flora and fauna.

The new system of economics and landuse has significantly affected the traditionsand culture of the Adivasis, the collectiveterm used to describe the indigenouspeoples of India. Numbering about 30 000,the Adivasis of the Nilgiris are known forliving in harmony with nature, as seen intheir daily lives and survival strategies.

Honey gathering is a traditional activitywith a long history in the Nilgiris. For theAdivasis living in the region, marketingsupport from the Keystone Foundation,using fair-trade practices, was crucial infinding local markets for this traditionalproduct, increasing their incomes and



9

Fourteen people's organizations andNGOs participate in the Centre'sprogrammes in manufacturing andmarketing community handicrafts. Theoperations of CMCC also support smallcottage industries in Manila and nearbyprovinces, as well as urban poorenterprises. Moreover, several craftdesigners and experts contribute their timeand effort in coming up with unique andhigh-quality products for CMCC.

The Centre supports ten culturalcommunities, each with an array of uniquehandicraft products – basketry, handweaving, bead work and embroidery. Forthese communities, handicraft-making is aheightened expression of their cultures andtraditions. At the same time, it is atraditional economic activity as well, withhandicrafts being bartered for householdneeds. When the market economy becameincreasingly influential in theircommunities, the economic value of craftsgained more importance and, eventually,handicraft-making metamorphosed into animportant source of livelihood. Theindigenous artisans learned that they couldearn cash by selling their handicrafts.Treating the crafts as novelty products,tourists bought one or two as souvenirs,thus starting the handicrafts trade.

However, the market economy exposedthe indigenous communities to risks. Whilethey profited from selling handicrafts, theyalso learned that the market could be fickleand unstable. They have to scout constantlyfor regular buyers. Without them, cashflows tend to be irregular.

CMCC faced similar problems. Gainingaccess to appropriate and new markets,and meeting market requirements wereconstant worries. Hence, its livelihoodprogramme was designed to weave variedbut interrelated socio-economic, culturaland environmental considerations in itsproduction and marketing planning.(Source: From seeds to beads. Tales, tips andtools for building a community-based NTFP

protecting biodiversity. In 1995, this NGOestablished its base in the Nilgiris afterconducting a survey of honey gatherers andbeekeepers in the state of Tamil Nadu. Theorganization works in the field ofenvironment and development, and theinitiative in the Nilgiris was an attempt toharmonize the needs of ecology with thedemands of the local economy.

Traditional beliefs, customs andsuperstitions guide the honey-gatheringactivity. When collecting from the Idighcliffs, the Adivasis use forest vines asladders; collecting honey from trees iseasier, since they simply climb up thetrees. In both methods, smokers made offresh leaves and dry twigs are used to flushout the bees. The gatherers use theirspears to collect the honeycombs, whichare then placed in bamboo baskets andcarried to the village.

On average, one honeycomb yieldsbetween 8 and 15 kg of honey. During thepeak season, which lasts about twomonths, a group of honey gatherers cancollect up to 500 kg of honey. In 1994, honeycould be sold to traders for Rs18–30(around US$0.45–0.75) per kg in bulk; ifbottled, it could be sold for Rs40 ($1) perkg. Thus, a gatherer's average incomewould be about Rs3 000 (approximately$75) during the honey season. In 2008, theprice had increased to Rs80 ($2) per kg butthe level of compensation is still quite low,given the amount of effort and skill involvedin honey gathering.

To address this issue, Keystone initiatedtraining for a number of honey gatherers inthe Kotagiri district. The training focusedon both indigenous knowledge andmodern/scientific aspects of honeycollection. After the training, the honeyextracted by the gatherers had a betterquality and a longer shelf-life. Keystonestarted a processing and marketing unit aswell, where Adivasis could sell theirproduce, such as honey and beeswax. Inaddition, Keystone incorporated fair-tradeprinciples in procuring honey, whichincreased the confidence of the Adivasis.

Soon, more honey started arriving andmore people were trained. News about the“honey unit” spread by word of mouth inthe community. The unit conducts regulartraining for newcomers and now sells overeight tonnes of honey and beeswax everyyear in the region. It also has over 2 000Adivasi honey gatherers in its network.

Finding local markets. Afterexperimenting and developing the

appropriate technology for processing,Keystone began bottling honey and formingbeeswax into hand-rolled candles andcomb foundation sheets. Initially, it wasdifficult to find a market for these products.Local people in the towns of Nilgiris had noknowledge about the Adivasis or theirspecial niche in collecting forest products.Keystone increased its efforts to informconsumers about the honey and the peoplebehind it. Because of the high-qualityproducts and regular supply, local peoplefrom the towns started buying the goodsand the clientele steadily increased. Theproducts eventually infiltrated the touristmarket and now more than 60 percent ofgoods are sold in small towns in theNilgiris.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:Snehlata Nath, Director of the KeystoneFoundation, Keystone Centre, PB 35,Groves Hill Road, Kotagiri 643 217, NilgirisDistrict, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: [email protected];www.keystone-foundation.net/web/home/

Custom-made Crafts Centre: creating newmarkets and appropriate strategies forcommunitiesA non-traditional approach to thedevelopment of traditional crafts hasallowed a unique marketing programme inthe Philippines to bring the benefits of well-planned marketing strategies to indigenouspeoples' communities.

Hinabol is a colourful loom-woven clothmade of abaca fibre produced in BukidnonProvince, in the southern Philippines. It isone of the handcrafted traditions whosecultural value is recognized through thealternative marketing centre, Custom-madeCrafts Centre (CMCC), which offers acollection of products from indigenousartisans. Their materials are made fromnon-timber forest resources and the designsare drawn from timeless traditions that havebeen fashioned into functional items forhome or personal use.

A livelihood programme of the Non-Timber Forest Products – Task ForcePhilippines, CMCC is a marketing initiativethat provides a stable source of incomeand better returns for artisans, as well asa venue for expressing traditional artforms. It balances the needs of bothconsumers and producers by"customizing" the crafts to the tastes ofthe modern market while respecting theartisans' traditions and lifestyles.

enterprise. Non-Timber Forest ProductsExchange Programme for South andSoutheast Asia. ISBN 978-971-93388-1-9.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACTTHE AUTHOR:Nola Andaya, Crafts Coordinator or ArlynnAquino, Consultant, Non-Timber ForestProducts – Task Force Philippines, 92-A Masikap Extension, BarangayCentral, Diliman, Quezon City 1100, Philippines. Fax: +63 2-426 2757; e-mail: [email protected]; www.ntfp.org

International logos for local products inNepalKathmandu. Nepali lokta paper and Nepalipashmina, together with their own brands,are set to rule the international market.Nepali lokta paper is being promoted withthe brand “Nepalokta, the new spirit inpaper”, while Nepali pashmina hasdeveloped its brand name as “Chyangrapashmina”.

Nepali lokta paper has already had itsbrand registered with the EU and alsoreceived approval to be used in governmentcorrespondence work. The NepalPashmina Industries Association (NPIA)has been trying to register its brand logo.

“After the cabinet approval, now Nepalilokta paper will be used in officialdocumenting work. The decision hasbrought Nepali handmade paper back tolife,” said Milan Dev Bhattarai, President ofNepal Handmade Paper Association(HANDPASS) during the Nepalokta brandpromotion programme today.

Use of Nepali handmade paper in thepast was compulsory in government legalcorrespondence, but was suddenly phasedout from government offices. The propertyownership certificates issued by theMinistry of Land Reform and the certificateof citizenship and passport issued by theHome Ministry used to be made fromhandmade paper but, after 1998, theGovernment started using imported paperfor these purposes.

According to Bhattarai, in 2008 the totalexport of Nepali lokta paper was more thanRs300 million directly and about Rs200million indirectly through tourists arrivingin Nepal. (Source: The Himalayan Times,13 April 2009.)

Brazilian brokering company to marketAmazonian NWFP oils Unit Brazil, a brokering companyheadquartered in São Paulo, has just been

hired as the export agent to marketAmazonian oils and butters produced byEngefar, a cosmetics raw materialssupplier located in the state of Pará.

Engefar's products are oils and buttersextracted from exotic fruit pulps and seedsof the rain forest, such as buriti (Mauritiaflexuosa), açaí (Euterpe oleracea), copaiba(Copaifera spp.), muru-muru (Astrocaryummurumuru) and andiroba (Carapaguianensis). These raw materials havefunctional elements that are desirable toupgrade formulations. For example, açaíoil, extracted from the açaí berry pulp, canadd antioxidants to moisturizing creamsand shampoos, while buriti oil is widelyused as a solar filter for skin protection.

According to John Laurino, Unit's ChiefExecutive Officer: "We are amazed to seesuch fast positive feedback from majorcosmetics ingredients distributors all overthe world; it is like we are offering them agolden raw material, capable to upgradetheir product's profile." He believes that theAmazonian oils he just added to hisportfolio may represent a US$20million/year business in a couple of years.(Source: PR.com, 13 May 2009.)

Guatemalan maya nut producersparticipate in the Terra Madre event in Italy The Equilibrium Fund is an NGO with amission to alleviate poverty, malnutritionand deforestation by teaching rural andindigenous women about the nutrition,uses and processing of maya nut(Brosimum alicastrum). In October 2008,two members of the Cooperative for RuralWomen's Development (CODEMUR), apartner organization of the EquilibriumFund, were invited to share maya nutproducts at the world's largest food fair,Terra Madre, in Turin, Italy.

There they had the opportunity to mingleand exchange ideas with over 1 500 smallproducers from 142 countries. Inconjunction with Terra Madre and theItalian Slow Food Foundation, CODEMURhas decided to form a Maya Nut Presidium,dedicated to the preservation of the mayanut as a traditional food for CentralAmerica.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:The Equilibrium Fund, PO Box 2371,Crested Butte, CO 81224, United States of America. E-mail: [email protected];www.theequilibriumfund.org/page.cfm?pageid=2889



10

Marketing and export of yarina(Phytelephas macrocarpa) in Loreto, Peru Yarina, known locally as tagua or vegetableivory, is a native species used by Amazoniancommunities: the leaves for roofing houses,the fruits for food and the seeds for themanufacture of organic buttons.

The purchase price of the fruit in thecommunity before being transferred to themanufacturing plant is US$0.17/kg withoutthe shell and $0.23/kg shelled. One kilogramis equivalent to 20–25 seeds, depending onthe size of the fruit. The trade of the leaves iscarried out locally in the communities andcan sometimes be found at Iquitos city.

PROCESSING THE SEEDS

The local producers gather the seeds inthe field, either in clusters or the ripe fruitthat has fallen to the ground, removingthe seeds and at the same time removingthe skin and the mesocarp. Once clean,the seeds are stored in polypropylenebags of 50 kg to be transported to artisancommunities for drying, where theprimary processing starts – drying of theshelled seeds and their classification bysize, quality and condition.

The seeds are placed on black plastic todry in the sun for 20–30 days (in somecases, even more), taking care that theydo not get wet in the rain. After thisperiod, the seeds have hardened enoughto be classified and stored according tosize, with any impurities or seeds in poorcondition having been removed. Thedried seeds are then transported to thepurchaser’s plant. These companies fulfilthe role of transformers-exporters and areresponsible for the secondary processingof the seeds, which is the transformationinto semi-finished products for buttonsand handicrafts.



11

Some of the processors of yarina, suchas Amazon Ivory EIRL, which is responsiblefor the development of different types ofhandicrafts, and Marfil del Amazonas SAC,which is responsible for the production ofdiscs for buttons, have driven thecommercial development of this resourcein the Loreto region, e.g. the basin of theriver Yanayacu Pucate at the ReservaNacional Pacaya Samiria.

The main markets for vegetable ivoryand its derivatives are Italy, the UnitedStates of America, Germany, France, Chile,the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, theNetherlands, Spain and Belgium, withgreat export demand in 2005 in Costa Rica(US$48 723), Spain ($11 863) and Germany($8 458). At present, it is also beingexported to the Asian market and hasbecome an activity that contributes to theeffective preservation of the Amazonenvironment. (Contributed by: Joe SixtoSaldaña Rojas, Red Ambiental Loretana(RAL), Av. Guardia Republicana (ex-Guayabamaba) Nº 163 - a 100 metros delC.O.A, Loreto, Peru. E-mail:[email protected] [email protected];www.redambientalloretana.org)

BERRIES

Mistletoe infection of amla, the value of local management practices Amla (Phyllanthus emblica and P. indofischeri) is an NTFP of significantlivelihood importance in southern Indiaand wider economic importancethroughout the rest of the country. Athree-year study completed last year atthe Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT)wildlife sanctuary in Karnatakainvestigated the scale of mistletoeinfection, its ecological and economicimplications, and the potential ofalternative management approaches tooffer a solution to this threat tosustainable harvesting (see Non-WoodNews 14/07).

Forest surveys, mistletoe removalexperiments and mistletoe seeddeposition surveys were employed toassess the prevalence of mistletoeinfection in the amla population,characteristics of infection in relation toresource value and the appropriateness oflocal versus institutional managementapproaches to the problem. The findings ofthis study suggest that not only is

%

AMLA, THE INDIAN GOOSEBERRY

Amla is an important medicinal plantspecies, its fruit being used extensivelyin the traditional Indian medicinesystem, Ayurveda. Amla berries arealso used for making pickles, jams andcosmetics and are an important foodresource for a number of ungulatespecies. Trade in the south of India islargely from wild extraction but severalcultivars are grown in commercialplantations in Uttar Pradesh,Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan andAndhra Pradesh, and also in someareas of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.The economic value of amla fruits(including processed products) hasbeen estimated at between Rs200 and250 million (US$5–6.25 million) butdemand appears to be growing andmarket potential is considered to bemuch higher.

fact has been shown to have managementbenefits. These benefits include increasedproductivity through resprouting of amlatrees and subsequently higher levels offruit production, as well as reduced risk offurther mistletoe infection. However,neither mistletoe removal by hand norbranch cutting appears to offer a viablecontrol strategy in isolation. A multifariousstrategy, including new approaches tomanagement, is probably needed tosafeguard the role of this resource in locallivelihoods and future work will aim atdeveloping such a strategy as part ofongoing participatory managementundertaken by the Ashoka Trust forResearch in Ecology and Environment(ATREE).

This study, conducted by scientists fromETH Zürich and Imperial College London, inassociation with ATREE has shown thatlocal harvesting practices may not be asdamaging as first suspected and indeedmay have significant management benefits.Local NTFP harvesting and managementpractices should be evaluated objectivelywithout preconceptions about their efficacy.The recognition and acceptance of theirbenefits (as well as deficiencies) withinscientifically driven management andpolicy frameworks may have significantvalue. (Contributed by: Lucy Rist, ETHZürich, Institute for Terrestrial Ecosystems,Professorship Ecosystem Management,Universitaetstrasse 22, Zürich 8092,Switzerland. E-mail: [email protected];http://www.ecology.ethz.ch/)

Summer berries in British Columbia,Canada Wild berries abound in the summer. Berryquality can vary greatly depending onhabitat. The berries can be either soldfresh or made into a variety of value-addedproducts, such as preserves, baked goodsand even wine.

With the exception of blueberries andhuckleberries, most wild berries do notcurrently have a large commercial market(i.e. it may be difficult to find a buyer forthe berries). Therefore, it is not easy toestimate prices that might be obtained forthe various berries. The best option forfresh berries is to sell directly to arestaurant, grocery store or at a farmers’market. This will also increase the pricepaid per litre, especially if the berries areof high quality and clean.

There are many species in the Rubusgenus (the raspberry clan), all of which

mistletoe infection widespread in the BRTsanctuary, affecting over half of the amlapopulation, but that it is particularlysevere in those trees of greatestreproductive value. Infectioncharacteristics and resource values differbetween the two Phyllanthus species, thespecies of greatest value (P. emblica)being that most seriously affected.

Institutional perspectives on themanagement of these two species conflictwith local practices. The Karnataka ForestDepartment advocates removal ofmistletoes by hand and has promoted thisstrategy to harvesters. In contrast,harvesters consider removal by hand to beboth impractical and ineffective andtherefore prefer to chop off the infectedbranches in order to remove mistletoes, apractice most commonly implementedduring the annual harvest. This cutting ofbranches by amla collectors waspreviously considered destructive but in



12

good tea when dried, and have been usedby many Aboriginal peoples for a variety ofhealth ailments. Leaves and twigs can beharvested at any time but are best whenharvested in late autumn.

Processing berries can add value to theproduct. Wild berry jam generally sells foraround US$6 per 250 ml jar (with aboutfour jars of jam from one litre of berries,

have edible berries. It is interesting to notethat the new shoots (branches) of mostRubus species can be eaten in the springwhen they are still soft and bendable (theskin is peeled and they are eaten raw orcooked). The shoots do not store well andhave therefore not yet become a popularcommercial product. All the species ofRubus have leaves and twigs that make a

plus the cost of the jar, label and sugar).(Source: Wendy Cocksedge and MichelleSchroeder (eds). 2007. A Harvester’sHandbook. A guide to commercial non-timber forest products in BritishColumbia. Victoria, British Columbia,Canada, Royal Roads University, Centre forNon-Timber Resources.)

Thousands of Thai berry pickers invited toFinland Finnish berry farms and suppliers invitethousands of seasonal workers fromThailand to Finland to pick wild berriesnext summer.

According to First Secretary VesaHäkkinen from the Unit for Passports andVisas at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, atotal of 3 500 prequalification assessmentsfor visas to Finland have so far beensubmitted to the Finnish representation inBangkok.

Häkkinen adds that the problemevidently is that the further away the berrypickers, the higher the related expenses. Aflight ticket alone costs more than a berrypicker’s annual income would be inThailand. In addition, the picker has to payfor a visa and possibly even a fee to anagent in Thailand. In Finland, he or she hasto pay for accommodation, transport, petroland food.

“The process involves unscrupulouscollection of money at nearly every stage. Iregard it as a kind of extortion. It is nottrafficking in human beings but it issomething similar. Juridically, everybodycomes here at their own risk, like self-financing entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, it isa major ethical issue,” said Häkkinen.

A total of some 12 000 foreign berrypickers arrive in Finland every year. Most ofthem come from the neighbouring areas ofthe Russian Federation and the Balticstates. The Ministry for Foreign Affairsrecommends that berry farms should

SALMONBERRY (RUBUS SPECTABILIS)

Salmonberries grow in thickets, with erectbranches up to 13 ft (4 m) tall, althoughaveraging about 5 ft (1.5 m). They are verycommon all along coastal BritishColumbia, from low up to subalpineelevations and thrive in wet areas – besidestreams, lake edges, depressed areaswithin forests, and also on disturbed sites.

Salmonberries have a high moisturecontent, so do not store as well as otherberries when fresh (they become mushyvery quickly). Although they are oftenconsidered more of a “weed” than adelicacy, they are actually very tasty andhave good commercial potential. Theymake a sweet jam with a distinctivelybeautiful colour.

HUCKLEBERRY AND WILD BLUEBERRY(VACCINIUM SPP.)

There are a variety of huckleberry andblueberry species that grow in thePacific Northwest, including Alaskablueberry (Vaccinium alaskaense), redhuckleberry (V. parvifolium), oval-leavedblueberry (V. ovalifolium) and evergreenhuckleberry (V. ovatum) at lowerelevations, and black huckleberry (V. membranaceum) and cascadehuckleberry (V. deliciosum) at higherelevations. All are edible and delicious.

Huckleberries and blueberries are verycommon and appear along the wholecoastal area of British Columbia. Redhuckleberry and evergreen huckleberryoccur at low elevations, with evergreenhuckleberry often found close to theocean. Alaskan blueberry and oval-leaved blueberry occur from low tosubalpine elevations, and blackhuckleberry and cascade huckleberry arefound at middle to high (alpine)elevations.

Although huckleberry and blueberrybushes will grow in the shade, theyrequire light to produce berries. Goodberry bushes are found most often inclear-cuts and young forests, matureforests where there are gaps in thecanopy, along forest edges, and alongstreams and lakes. Berries found in partialshade tend to be juicier and sweeter thanthose produced on plants growing indirect sunlight (such as in a clear-cut).

Berries are used either fresh or as avalue-added product. Huckleberrypreserves are very popular. Picking theberries individually by hand results in theleast amount of damage to the plant,although this method can be quite slow.A small berry comb can be draggedthrough the bush, pulling off the berries.Berry combs can be purchased, or a wide-toothed hair comb or pick can simply beused. Combs should be used carefully toavoid excessive damage to the foliage.Using a comb also requires sorting theberries once picked to remove leaves andimperfect berries. A standard method ofsorting is to roll the berries down a wetboard or rough blanket – the leaves willstick to the board or become caught inthe blanket while the berries roll to thebottom.

To maintain quality for both theRubus spectabilis and Vaccinium spp.mentioned above, the berries should becooled (recommended to about 5 °C) assoon as possible after picking. Do notwash the berries prior to storing them ina fridge or cooler, as this will decreasetheir storage life. Berries should betaken to a buyer within a day or twoafter picking, unless they are frozen.When transporting, take care to usewide shallow containers or baskets toavoid crushing. If you plan on makingpreserves, freeze the berries first as thishelps break the cell walls of the berry.



13

increasingly hire pickers who come fromneighbouring countries. Then it would beeasier to react to the situation if prospectsfor the berry crop appear to be worse thanusual.

“When berry pickers come to Finlandfrom far-off countries with high hopes ofearning money and the berry-pickingseason turns out to be worse thanexpected, they have no money for a returntrip,” Häkkinen adds.

Most seasonal Thai workers come toFinland in order to pick wild berries. Inpractice, berry farms and berry-processingcompanies invite berry pickers to Finlandand then buy the berries they have picked.The income may be low if the berry cropremains poor but, if the season is good,many can earn a year’s income frompicking wild blueberries and lingonberriesand selling them to berry buyers.

Berry pickers from Thailand arepreferred as they are in a league of theirown, says Export Manager Ben Strömstenfrom Riitan Herkku. “They are diligentpickers and easy team members,” he says.(Source: ScandAsia.com, 3 May 2009.)

Berry products showcased Many new developments in functional foodand the nutraceutical industry were sharedat the Vitafoods International and FinishedProducts Expo, running from 5 to 7 May2009 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Premium Ingredients International willbe at the show with its unique product,LingonMax™. Extracted from thelingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea),LingonMax is a natural skincare ingredienteffectively shown to increase skin moisture,decrease skin spots, reduce wrinkles anddecrease sensitivity. (Source: NPI centernews, 22 April 2009.)

Antioxidant in berries stops wrinkles Data are mounting that phytochemicalsfound in a host of berries can improvehealth from the inside. Now comesresearch just presented at theExperimental Biology 2009 meeting held inNew Orleans, Louisiana, United States ofAmerica, that a specific type of antioxidantphytochemical called ellagic acid holds thepromise of enhancing our bodies on theoutside, too. In fact, it may hold the key toslowing down or even stopping skin ageingsuccessfully.

Researchers in the laboratory of Dr Young-Hee Kang at Hallym University inthe Republic of Korea have found thattopical application of ellagic acid markedlyprevents the two major causes of wrinkles –the destruction of collagen andinflammation.

Ellagic acid is found in many fruits,vegetables and nuts but it is especiallyabundant in raspberries, strawberries,cranberries and pomegranates.

Scientists from the University ofLouisville and Fox Chase Cancer Centerpublished research recently in theInternational Journal of Molecular Sciencethat strongly suggests ellagic acid can alsoreduce damage to DNA and, in fact, mayhelp repair faulty DNA. (Source: NaturalNews, 24 April 2009.)

Açaí berry, superfood or superfraud? Is the açaí berry a superfood or asuperfraud? For years, the media has been raving about the açaí berry and itshealth benefits, but a recent rash ofnegative publicity has forced people to askthe question – is açaí the real deal?

“The media tends to like juicy stories –either something very positive orsomething very negative. Of course, thetruth usually lies in the middle. This is thecase with the açaí berry,” states BobPeters, Director of Communications forPowerSupplements.

The açaí berry comes from the açaí palm trees in the Amazon rain forest. The berry is very high in antioxidants,healthy omega fats, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Because of itsimpressive nutritional profile, it has been called a superfruit or superfood.

The mention of the açaí berry on theOprah television show in the United Statesof America set off an avalanche of positivepublicity on the berry as a superfruit.

Unfortunately, in 2008 a number ofmarketing companies decided to create

fictitious açaí berry review sites and açaídiet blogs. These açaí scam companieswould promise “free trials” and guaranteethat you would lose “30 pounds in oneweek”. The açaí that they sell is of very lowquality, was never endorsed by anycelebrities and the only weight you lose isin your wallet.

“We have been raising red flags aboutthese açaí scam companies for over a yearnow,” states Peters. “However, it is unfairto say that the açaí berry is a scam or fraudsimply because there are some fraudulentcompanies selling açaí supplements. Ifconsumers do their research and look forthe Perfect Açaí Consumer Bill of Rightsseal, they will be fine.” (Source:TransWorld News, 8 April 2009.)

“Miracle fruit” turns sour things sweet The small fruit has the colour of acranberry, the shape of an almond andtastes like a flavourless gum. But afterchewing the fruit and rubbing the pulpagainst the tongue, the berry, known by

JUNIPER “BERRIES”

In certain dishes there isno substitute for juniper,with its unique aroma:piney, woodsy andvaguely peppery. It isespecially popular whenused with game, but it isalso good with pork,beef and duck, and is astandard addition to dishes containingsauerkraut. Contemporary cooks havebeen more playful with juniper, dancingaround its association with gin orabandoning it altogether for newassociations that sound promising.

The "berries" are actually the modifiedcones of the conifer Juniperus communis;underripe berries are preferred by ginmakers while overripe specimens aregathered for culinary purposes. Green orripe, the berries have a lot of pinene, theessential oil that gives rosemary itsdistinctive snap, and they contain some ofthe same compounds that give citrusfruits their fresh scent. But in riper berriesthe sharper notes give way to a softer,vegetal aroma. (Source: The Seattle Times[United States of America], 17 May 2009.)



14

the promising name "miracle fruit" orSynsepalum dulcificum, releases asweetening potency that alters the tastebuds. For about 15 to 30 minutes,everything sour is sweet. Lemons losetheir zing and taste like candy. Orangesbecome sickeningly sweet.

Through word of mouth, these miraclefruits have inspired “taste-tripping”parties, where foodies and curious eaterspay US$10–35 to try the berries, which arenative to West Africa.

About five months ago, a hospital inMiami, Florida (United States of America)began studying whether the fruit'ssweetening effects could restore theappetite of cancer patients whosechemotherapy treatments have left themwith dulled taste buds. Dr Mike Cusnir, alead researcher on the project andoncologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center,filed for an investigational new drugapplication, which is required by the USFood and Drug Administration to use anunapproved product in a new patientpopulation. His study seeks 40 cancerpatients. If the results show promise ofhelping cancer patients to maintain ahealthy body weight and appetite, therewill be further studies, Cusnir said. Theprocess is expected to take several years.

Linda Bartoshuk, a professor at theUniversity of Florida's Center for Smelland Taste, is also working to understandbetter how the berry works. In the 1970s,she studied the fruit while working for theUnited States Army and Navy laboratories.Bartoshuk explains that the miracle fruitcontains a natural protein, calledmiraculin, which has sugar molecules thatbind to the tongue. When acid enters themouth, the sugar molecules press into thesweet receptors.

"This new resurgence of interest isfascinating," said Bartoshuk. "It popped on

the scene and people are having fun with it.It motivated us to go back and doresearch." Bartoshuk said she has notseen any reports of dangers from eatingthe berries, but warned against prematurehealth benefit claims. (Source: CNN[United States of America], 25 March2009.)

Guarana beverage BAWLS is the brainchild of entrepreneurHoby Buppert, Chief Executive Officer ofHobarama, LLC, who named the beveragefor the caffeinated “bounce” the drinkpacks. Widely distributed, BAWLS is apremium, non-alcoholic, carbonatedbeverage made from the guarana berryharvested in the Amazonian rain forest.

The caffeine found in BAWLS containsthe same amount of caffeine as coffee andnearly three times that of traditional sodasbecause of a naturally occurring form ofthe stimulant found in the guarana berry.(Source: BevNET [United States ofAmerica], 5 March 2009.)

Maqui superberry Novelle International, the first company tointroduce maqui berry (Aristoteliachilensis)-based supplements, has addedSuperFruit Energy Powder to its productlist. The maqui-based SuperFruit EnergyPowder boasts a premier energy blend ofrhodiola, rosea, Siberian ginseng, yerbamaté and B vitamins. Maqui is the highestantioxidant superfruit in the worlddelivering a high value of oxggen radicalabsorbance capacity ( ORAC) of almostdouble the açaí berry.

Recently Novelle donated specializedcomputer equipment to serve MapucheIndian schools. "The Mapuche Indianfamilies have used the maqui berry as afood supplement and for health care forcenturies. Novelle is honoured to supporttheir education and help sustain their landthrough organic certification andsustainable harvest practices," said AnnieEng, President and Founder of Novelle.(Source: Market Watch [United States ofAmerica], 2 March 2009.)

Berry-based natural sweetener"brazzein" to hit the market in 2009 A new sweetener derived from the berry ofthe West African plant oubli(Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon) hasbeen successfully synthesized in a formcompatible with mass production and thecompany Natur Research Ingredients

expects to make it commercially availablebetween late 2008 and mid-2009.

Oubli has long been used as a foodsource by West Africans and was firstsynthesized into a sugar alternative in 1994by researchers from the University ofWisconsin at Madison, United States ofAmerica.

Because the University of Wisconsinused an artificial process to extract thebrazzein sweetener from oubli berries, itwas able to obtain patents over thesweetener itself. No credit was given orpayment made to the indigenous Africanswho had used the sweetener for centuries,drawing accusations that the university hadengaged in "biopiracy". The universityretains several patents over the ingredientbrazzein. (Source: Natural News [UnitedStates of America], 22 December 2008.) �

Facing it, always facing it, that's the wayto get through. Face it.

Joseph Conrad



15N E W S A N D N O T E S

BIODEGRADABLECHEWING GUM

United Kingdom authorities andenvironmental groups were welcoming thelaunch this week of the world's firstbiodegradable chewing gum, which theysay could help save some of the millionsspent on clearing up the mess thatordinary gum creates.

The new gum becomes non-adhesivewhen dry and decomposes to dust withinsix weeks, a spokesman for Mexico'sChicza Mayan Rainforest Chewing Gum toldCNN. Unlike other gums that containpetrochemicals, the natural gum isproduced from the sap of the chicozapotetree (Manilkara zapota) found in theMexican rain forest.

A spokesman for campaign group KeepBritain Tidy told CNN they welcome anyproduct that can help eradicate the stainingon pavements caused by dropped chewinggum. According to the Local GovernmentAssociation, removing chewing gum littercosts local authorities £150 million a year.

The producer of the new gum isConsorcio Chiclero, which comprises 46cooperatives with around 2 000 chiclerosfarmers, working in an area of 1.3 millionha of rain forest. Locals have beenextracting the natural chicle gum basefrom the bark of the chicozapote trees for acentury, a spokesman for Chicza told CNN.

After years of exporting the gum base tobe used as an ingredient in themanufacture of regular chewing gum, thecooperative recently decided to start

making its own gum using only chicle gumbase and natural flavourings andsweeteners. (Source: CNN [UnitedKingdom], 3 April 2009.)

BIOPROSPECTING/BENEFIT-SHARING OR BIOPIRACY?

Bioprospecting: “The Green Gold Rush”The Green Gold Rush is the name of a videodocumentary about bioprospecting andindigenous peoples that was produced inOctober–November 2008 in Geneva,Switzerland. This project is the result ofcollaboration between the Swiss NGOGroup of Volunteers Overseas (GVOM) andthe Vice-presidency of the PlurinationalState of Bolivia.

The objective of the project is tostimulate the debate about the protectionand valorization of traditional knowledgeand biological resources in thePlurinational State of Bolivia. It isarticulated in two phases. During the firsttwo months in Geneva, a videodocumentary was produced andinformation about internationalexperiences and strategies was collected.During the next six months in La Paz,Plurinational State of Bolivia(January–June 2009), various publicpresentations of the video documentaryand debates, weekly meeting of experts,seven workshops with more than 700delegates of indigenous peoples and anational encounter of 50 delegates ofindigenous peoples, were being organized.

The national encounter was to take placein La Paz over three days during the firstweek of June 2009 in coordination with aregional encounter of 180 indigenouspeoples' delegates on “intellectual propertyand traditional knowledge”, organized byCOINCABOL. It is also expected that variousinternational experts, intellectuals andactivists will be able to participate. (Source:TheGreenGoldRush.org)

India moves to protect traditionalmedicines from foreign patentsIn the first step by a developing country tostop multinational companies from patentingtraditional remedies from local plants andanimals, the Indian Government haseffectively licensed 200 000 local treatmentsas "public property", free for anyone to usebut no one to sell as a "brand".

The move comes after scientists in Delhinoticed an alarming trend – the"bioprospecting" of natural remedies bycompanies abroad. After trawling throughthe records of the global trademark offices,officials found 5 000 patents had beenissued – at a cost of at least US$150 million –for "medical plants and traditionalsystems".

"More than 2 000 of these belong to theIndian systems of medicine … We began toask why multinational companies werespending millions of dollars to patenttreatments that so many lobbies in Europedeny work at all," said Dr Vinod KumarGupta, who heads the TraditionalKnowledge Digital Library (TKDL), whichlists in encyclopaedic detail the 200 000treatments. The database, which took 200researchers eight years to compile bymeticulously translating ancient Indiantexts, will now be used by the EuropeanPatent Office to check againstbioprospectors. (TKDL can be found at:www.tkdl.res.in/tkdl/langdefault/common/home.asp?GL=Eng)

Gupta points out that in Brussels alonethere had been 285 patents for medicinalplants whose uses had long been known inthe three principal Indian systems:Ayurveda, India's traditional medicaltreatment; Unani, a system believed tohave come to India via ancient Greece; andSiddha, one of India's oldest healththerapies, from the south.

In the past, India has had to go to courtto get patents revoked. Officials say that tolift patents from medicines created fromturmeric and neem, an Indian tree, it spentmore than US$5 million. In the case of theneem patent, the legal battle took almostten years. "We won because we provedthese were part of traditional Indianknowledge. There was no innovation andtherefore no patent should be granted,"said Gupta.

India's battle to protect its traditionaltreatments is rooted in the belief that thedeveloping world's rich biodiversity is apotential treasure trove of starting materialfor new drugs and crops. Gupta said that it

“Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFPs)consist of goods of biological originother than wood, derived from forests,other wooded land and trees outsideforests.”«Les produits forestiers non ligneuxsont des biens d’origine biologiqueautres que le bois, dérivés des forêts,des autres terres boisées, et des arbreshors forêts.»«Productos forestales no madererosson los bienes de origen biológicodistintos de la madera derivados de losbosques, de otras tierras boscosas y delos árboles fuera de los bosques.»

(FAO’s working definition)

%

%



16 N E W S A N D N O T E S

costs the West US$15 billion and 15 yearsto produce a "blockbuster drug". A patentlasts for 20 years, so a pharmaceuticalcompany has just five years to recover itscosts – which makes conventionaltreatments expensive.

"If you can take a natural remedy andisolate the active ingredient then you justneed drug trials and the marketing.Traditional medicine could herald a newage of cheap drugs." (Source:guardian.co.uk, 22 February 2009.)

Rural communities in Kenya to benefitfrom plan to market natural plantsRural communities are set to benefit fromresearch firms and the University ofNairobi’s plan to market natural plants.The move is aimed at boosting the livingstandards of rural communities andpreserving the environment.

The initiative involves looking for specialgenes or plants that can be used tomanufacture medicine, industrial productsand food supplements for commercialpurposes.

Kenya has not tapped into this market,which now stands at about US$600 billionglobally, despite its richness in biodiversity.International researchers andmultinational drug manufacturingcompanies are now looking for ways toexploit the country’s biodiversity, bearing inmind its potential to contribute to thediscovery of medicine extracts. However,the strain used to manufacture a drugknown as Acarbose used for treatingdiabetes came from Ruiru, although thecommunity around there has not benefitedmuch from its discovery.

Bioprospecting is not common in Kenyabecause of lack of research and productdevelopment, poor technology,uncoordinated gathering of information,and lack of skills and awareness. Dr WilburLwande, a researcher at the InternationalCentre for Insect Physiology and Ecology,says bioprospecting can be a tool ofeconomic development, but only if productsare developed and proceeds from the saleof the products shared among locals andsome used for natural resourcesconservation. (Source: Business Daily[Nairobi], 16 January 2009.)

Biopiracy in the Cuzco region, PeruA session workshop on “Biopiracy in theCuzco region” was held during theinternational workshop “Implementation ofthe Biosafety Protocol and the Regional

Order 010-2007-CR/GRC.CUSCO” that tookplace from 21 to 23 April 2009 in Cuzco,Peru. This session analysed the impactsand challenges of biopiracy in Peru, and itsrelevance to the recently promulgatedOrder 048-2008-CR/GRC.CUSCO.

This regional legal benchmark seeks toregulate the activities of access to geneticresources and associated traditionalknowledge, practices and innovations withinthe traditional territories of indigenous andnative communities of the Cuzco region, aswell as aspects related to the protection andpromotion of the biocultural heritage ofindigenous communities in Peru.

The workshop sought to advance thedesign and implementation of tools, such aslocal biocultural registers, customary law-based protocols and intercommunityagreements that will protect and defend theregion’s biocultural heritage and promotetools that foment creative economies basedon solidarity, as well as protect thetraditional institutions and customary lawswithin the respective Andean-Amazoniancommunities. (Source: www.andes.org.pe/php=left_en05.php)(Please also see page 20 for moreinformation on the NGO ANDES.)

BIRD FLU ANTIVIRUSSOURCED FROM INDIANTREES

A team of scientists in Bangalore (India)reported in Current Science last week (25 March) that they have identified severaltree species that contain shikimic acid, acrucial component in the production ofTamiflu, the only drug used against bird flucaused by the H5N1 virus.

Plants meet two-thirds of therequirements for shikimic acid and theremaining one-third is met by engineeringthe bacterium Escherichia coli to producethe chemical – which is not cost-effective.

The researchers screened 210 treespecies in the Western Ghats region forshikimic acid content and shortlisted seventrees that contain 1–5 percent shikimic acidby dry weight.

The acid is mostly present in the leaves ofthese trees. This is an advantage, thescientists report, as the sheer volume ofleaves present on trees – compared withfruits – will make extraction cheaper.

"Industries have existing technologies forisolation of shikimic acid from Illiciumvernum [the Chinese plant]. The same could

be applied to these [Western Ghats] plantsas well, with minor modifications," says UmaShaanker, a researcher at the University ofAgricultural Sciences in Bangalore, and oneof the authors of the paper. The process isrelatively simple as shikimic acid is highlywater soluble, he says.

Besides isolation, commercializationwould require bulk extraction on a largescale and validation of the shikimic acidcontent.

Shaanker's laboratory now plans todemonstrate the feasibility of bulkextraction – in tens of kilograms comparedwith milligrams in the laboratory – in thetwo species, Araucaria excelsa andCalophyllum apetalum, with the highestshikimic acid content. (Source: SciDev.NetWeekly Update [31 March to 5 April 2009].)

“CORK REHARVEST”

The Willamette Valley Vineyards in Oregon,United States of America – the world’s firstwinery to earn Forest StewardshipCouncil/Rainforest Alliance certification forusing cork stoppers harvested fromresponsibly managed forestlands – haslaunched a new cork recycling programme:“Cork ReHarvest”.

A first for Oregon and a model forwineries around the globe, the programmehas two aims: to collect and recycle usedcorks; and to educate the public about theimportance of sustaining the cork forests ofthe Mediterranean. (Source: RainforestMatters, March 2009.)

EDUCATIONAL TOOLWITH A DIFFERENCE

Are you a NTFP gamer? Watch out for thisfun game called “Lost and Found in theRainforest!” This board game popularizesthe various issues surrounding NTFPmanagement in an easily accessible form

%

%

%




biodiversity assets and ecosystem servicesof tropical forests. This will lead to indirectimpacts such as a decrease in water supplyand quality, which in turn will lead to anincrease in water-related diseases,especially water-borne diseases followingextreme rainfall. (Source: CIFOR News 46,November 2008.)

HOPE FOR AFRICA IN BAOBAB

The baobab tree produces fruit that is rich invitamin C, antioxidants and minerals. “Thepulp of the fruit has the most vitamin C of allthe natural foods in the world,” says FloraChadare in Critical Reviews in Food Scienceand Nutrition. “The baobab is a very richtree. Its edible products are the fruit pulp,the seed and kernels, and the leaves.”

Chadare carried out a literature study ofthe macro- and micronutrients, amino acidsand fatty acids in the pulp, leaves, seeds andkernels of the baobab tree. “The pulp has ahigh antioxidant level as well as a lot ofvitamin C, and the link between these is alsostrong. The leaves have a high mineralcontent, mainly calcium and iron. They alsocontain antioxidants. Baobab seeds andkernels are oily and fatty.” Chadare foundvery varied results in the literature, probablybecause several different measuringmethods were used, and because the originof the samples was variable. No conclusionscan yet be drawn about biological variationeither. Chadare’s follow-up research looksinto how available and digestible theminerals in the leaves are.

Chadare was recently awarded a grant bythe Storm-van der Chijs Fund for promotingthe careers of women scientists atWageningen UR. But her interest goesbeyond the nutritional value of baobabproducts. She has already published articlesabout the various baobab food productsprocessed by the people of Benin. “Forexample, they use fermented foods that areunknown in the literature. People in Beninalso use the fresh leaves, which are onlyavailable during the rainy season, to make asauce. The leaves are slimy, just like okra.In dried powder form, the leaves are eatenin the dry season as well. The baobab fruit iseaten too, and the surplus is often sold atthe market.”

There are some problems to beaddressed, as Chadare explains: “Thekernels are good for selling and eating, butit is difficult to get them out of the seeds, so

the latter are often simply thrown away. Ifwe can improve this process and thepackaging, the kernels can be a very goodproduct for export.”

In an important development for theexport potential of dried baobab fruit, theEU has recently categorized it as a novelfood (see Non-Wood News 18), opening up awhole new export market. “And the baobabis prominent throughout Africa, so thisproduct can be very valuable for poorAfrican farmers.” (Source: ResourceWeekly for Wageningen UR, 29 January2009.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Flora Chadare, Bomenweg 2, 6703HD,Wageningen, Netherlands. Fax: +31 317 483669;e-mail: [email protected]/

JAPAN’S DENSODEVELOPS “ORGANIC”RADIATOR TANK

Denso says it has developed a plant-derived resin radiator tank using an organiccompound derived from the castor oil tree(Ricinus communis). The company says itwill start mass-producing this new productin the spring of 2009 for vehicles soldworldwide.

The plant-derived resin, which Densojointly developed with DuPont KabushikiKaisha, is produced by a chemical reactionbetween two organic compounds that arederived from the castor oil tree andpetroleum. An additive, such as glass fibre,is then added to the substance to producethe resin. The plant-derived ingredientcomprises about 40 percent of theecofriendly resin.

Since engine compartment components,such as the radiator tank, need to beextremely heat resistant and durable, itwas previously difficult to develop a resinwith a high percentage of plant-derivedingredients.

Denso says that, compared withconventional products, the new radiatortank releases fewer carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions into the atmosphere during itslife cycle because it is partially made frommaterial extracted from plants, whichabsorb CO2 through the photosynthesisprocess.

The new product also helps conserve oiland has a cold weather advantage, Densosays. (Source: just-auto.com [Japan], 20 February 2009.)

for youth and adults alike. It is hoped thatplaying the game will initiate deeperdiscussions on the issues and threatsrelated to NTFPs and managing forests. (Source: Voices from the Forest, 15,September 2008.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Non-Timber Forest Products ExchangeProgramme for South and Southeast Asia, 92-A Masikap Extension, Barangay Central, Diliman, Quezon City 1100, Philippines. Fax: +63 2-426 2757; e-mail:[email protected]; www.ntfp.org

FORESTS, HUMANHEALTH AND THEIMPACTS OF CLIMATECHANGE

The World Health Organization dedicatedthe focus of this year’s World Health Day,on 14 April 2008, to “Protecting health fromthe adverse effects of climate change”.Although one may not readily see aconnection between climate change andhealth, the two are inextricably linked.Studies from around the world, includingthose by Carol Colfer of the Center forInternational Forestry Research (CIFOR),demonstrate that climate and weatherhave a powerful impact on human life andhealth, especially the health of vulnerableforest-dependent people.

However, according to CIFOR scientistPatricia Shanley, who has spent over fiveyears studying the complex relationshipbetween forests and health, “at present,people living in forests deal with muchmore immediate problems than climatechange, like children dying of dysenteryand malaria and other diseases caused bythe indirect effects of forest degradation.Add to this the fact that many of theirmedicinal plants and other Non-TimberForest Products (NTFPs) are beingdestroyed through logging.”

Climate change is likely to exacerbatethese problems by influencing the

%

%

%



18

%

N E W S A N D N O T E S

NWFPS – A GLOBALPERSPECTIVE

NWFPS IN NORTH AMERICAThe North America region, consisting ofthree countries and two areas, has 7 percent of the world’s population, 16 percent of its land area and 17 percent of its forest area (677 millionha). About one-third of the region’s landarea is forested. The highly varied climateconditions create great diversity in forestecosystems, ranging from humid tropicalto boreal. Some of the world’s mostproductive forests are found in this region.

Rural communities in Mexico dependon NWFPs for subsistence and income,although their use is declining rapidlybecause of urbanization, changes inemployment and availability of cheaperalternatives.

NWFP harvesting in Canada and theUnited States of America typically takesplace as part of forest recreation andcultural traditions, and it is increasing.Production of the few economicallyimportant NWFPs with long-establishedmarkets – notably maple syrup andChristmas trees – is highlycommercialized. Both markets have beenstable since 1994 and are expected toremain so. Canada accounts for 85 percent of the world’s maple syrupproduction and the United Statesproduces the rest. Canada produced 3.2 million Christmas trees in 2005.Markets for herbal products, includingforest medicinal plants, are expanding associety becomes increasingly healthconscious. Large pharmaceuticalcompanies are investing in theproduction and marketing of herbalplant products, which have become amultibillion-dollar industry in the UnitedStates. (Source: State of the World’sForests 2009.)

PFNM EN AMÉRICA LATINALa región de América Latina y el Caribe,formada por 47 países y áreas, contieneel 22 % de la superficie forestalmundial, el 14 % de la superficie detierra global y el 7 % de la poblacióndel mundo. En esta región se encuentrael mayor bloque continuo de bosque

pluvial tropical del mundo: la cuenca delAmazonas.

La mayoría de los PFNM de la regiónse destinan a un uso de subsistencialocal, aunque algunos se venden enmercados nacionales e internacionalescomo ingredientes para productossanitarios y de cuidado personal y defármacos. La nuez del Brasil(Bertholletia excelsa) constituye unanotable fuente de ingresos para losgrupos indígenas de Bolivia, el Brasil yPerú y es, asimismo, el PFNM comercialmás importante: la cadena desuministro proporciona empleo directoa 15 000 personas. Este productorepresenta el 45 % de las exportacionesde Bolivia relacionadas con el bosque,porcentaje superior al de todos losproductos madereros, y contribuye enmás de 70 millones de USD anuales a laeconomía nacional.

Con el objeto de reducir losconflictos entre las comunidadesindígenas dependientes de los PFNM ylos explotadores madereros y losganaderos del Amazonas, el Brasil hacreado reservas extractivas para larecolección exclusiva de PFNM. Estemodelo, que concede derechos a largoplazo en bosques públicos a gruposdedicados a actividades sostenibles, seestá extendiendo en toda la región. Lasiniciativas apoyadas por lasorganizaciones de la sociedad civil y losgobiernos han mejorado la recolecciónde los PFNM, la agregación de valor y lacomercialización, con el respaldo de lasorganizaciones de certificación y decomercio justo.

Se prevé que, a medida que laseconomías crezcan y se urbanicen, y sedisponga de oportunidades deproducción de ingresos más lucrativas,disminuya la dependencia de los PFNMpara la subsistencia. La elaboración y lacomercialización de productos que yason bien conocidos mejorarán. Lascadenas de valor locales seránsustituidas en gran medida por cadenasnacionales y mundiales, con frecuenciaasistidas por iniciativas de comerciojusto y de etiquetado orgánico. (Fuente:Situación de los Bosques del Mundo2009.)

NWFPS IN EUROPEEurope, consisting of 48 countries andareas, accounts for about 17 percent ofglobal land area but has one-quarter ofthe world’s forest resources,approximately 1 billion ha, of which 81 percent is in the Russian Federation.Europe has a long tradition of multiple-use forest management with substantialemphasis on the provision of social andenvironmental services.

Although not a major activity inEurope, the collection of NWFPs is acommon form of recreation. Keycommercial products include Christmastrees, game meat, cork, mushrooms(including truffles), honey, nuts andberries. Most of these have limited butwell-established (and sometimes highlyprofitable) markets. Two recentdevelopments include a decline in theviability of cork production (because ofsubstitutes) and increased interest infood from forests as part of the growingconsumer demand for organic products.

As with wood, European producersand forest managers have continuouslyadapted their practices to take advantageof the changing market conditions. Forexample, cork producers have improvedmarketing and introduced stricter qualitycontrols, standards and certification tocompete against substitutes. Producers offorest food products in Eastern Europehave taken advantage of low labour coststo serve the niche market for organicfoods. In Western Europe, forest managersare earning income from NWFPs, forexample through permits for recreationalcollection of mushrooms or sale ofChristmas trees. (Source: State of theWorld’s Forests 2009.)

PFNL EN AFRIQUELe continent africain, composé de 58 payset zones, possède des écosystèmes trèsdiversifiés. Il regroupe 14 pour cent de lapopulation mondiale. Les forêts en Afriquecouvrent 645 millions d’hectares, soit 21,4pour cent de la surface totale des terres.Les forêts du bassin du Congo constituentle deuxième massif forestier tropical dumonde.

Les PFNL africains (gommes et résines,miel sauvage et cire d’abeille, teintures et




tanins, bambou et rotin, gibier, fourrageset un nombre important de plantesmédicinales) sont largement utiliséscomme produits de subsistance ouéchangés de manière informelle. Leurcontribution aux moyens d’existence etleur importance au niveau local dépassentde loin ce qui peut être déduit desstatistiques officielles.

Du fait du renforcement des possibilitésde commerce local, régional etinternational, des changementsconsidérables se produisent dans le secteurdes PFNL en Afrique. Les Gouvernementsafricains multiplient les politiques et leslois en vue de formaliser des chaînes devaleur de ces produits. Il est important denoter l’émergence de marchésd’«alimentation ethnique», de plantesmédicinales et de produits naturels oubiologiques, comme le miel, la cired’abeille et le beurre de karité. Plusieursproduits échangés aux niveaux national etinternational couvrent à la fois les secteursformel et informel. Les activités de récoltedes produits sauvages, par exemple, fontpartie du secteur informel, tandis que leurtransformation et leur vente s’inscriventdans le secteur formel.

Compte tenu du large éventail desproduits et de leurs utilisations finales, ilest difficile de faire des prévisionsapplicables aux différents cas, mais onpeut anticiper:• une consommation de subsistance de la

majeure partie des produits,accompagnée d’une attentioninsuffisante accordée à la gestion desressources;

• une surexploitation et un épuisement decertaines ressources forestières sauvagesrécoltées à des fins commerciales;

• une pression supplémentaire exercée surles ressources en gibier, due àl’augmentation de la population;

• une domestication, une culture et unetransformation commerciales d’un petitnombre de produits par desentrepreneurs ou des communautéslocales;

• une demande croissante émanant desmarchés de niche pour des produitscertifiés et des produits du commerceéquitable.

(Source: Situation des forêts du monde2009.)

NWFPS IN WESTERN AND CENTRAL ASIAWestern and Central Asia, consisting of25 countries and areas, is the leastforested region in the world, with only 4 percent forest cover (1.1 percent of theglobal forest area). A few countriesaccount for most of the forest area; 19 countries have less than 10 percentforest cover. About 75 percent of theregion is arid, with low biomassproductivity. Vegetation ranges fromdesert scrub in Central Asia and theArabian Peninsula to pockets ofmangrove forests on the Persian Gulfcoast and alpine meadows in CentralAsia. In view of the low forest cover,trees outside forests, especially on farmsand in other wooded land, haveimportant productive and protectivefunctions.

As in other regions, the pattern ofNWFP use consists of many subsistenceproducts and a few commerciallyimportant ones, many of which aredomesticated and cultivatedsystematically. Subsistence use of andtrade in NWFPs are particularlysignificant for low-income ruralcommunities. In many countries, NWFPsprovide more income than woodproduction.

Commercial products include honey,mushrooms, medicinal plants, pine nuts,walnuts, pistachio nuts, bay leaves,thyme and fodder. In the morediversified economies, commerciallyimportant NWFPs have been

systematically developed with private-sector involvement. Lebanon’s privatelyowned pine (Pinus pinea) plantations aremanaged primarily for nut production.The production and processing of, andtrade in, bay leaves from Turkey haveimproved largely because of private-sector investments.

No major changes are expected in thepattern of NWFP use. The mainchallenge will be to improve theproduction and value addition of lesscommercialized products, to developmarkets and, thus, to enhance incomeopportunities for low-incomehouseholds. (Source: State of the World’sForests 2009.)

NWFPS IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC The Asia and the Pacific region,consisting of 47 countries and areas, ishome to more than half of the world’spopulation and has some of the mostdensely populated countries in theworld. It has 18.6 percent of the world’sforest area in a wide array of ecosystems,including tropical and temperate forests,coastal mangroves, mountains anddeserts. Rapid socio-economic changes inthe region are having profound impactson all sectors, including forestry. Whilewood products demand is increasing, sois the demand for environmental servicesof forests.

NWFPs from the region are diverse –food, medicines, fibres, gums, resins,cosmetics and handicrafts. Most are usedfor subsistence, collected and consumedlocally or traded in limited quantities.More than 150 NWFPs from Asia and thePacific are traded internationally,although apart from bamboo and rattanthe quantities are usually small.Increasing interest in “natural products”,owing to their perceived health andenvironmental benefits, is drawingattention to the multitude of NWFPscommonly used by local communities.

The consumption of many subsistenceNWFPs is likely to fall in the long termbecause of:• declining supply from the wild, largely

because of reduction in forest coverand poor management;

• development of synthetic materials andtheir substitution for NWFPs as a result



20

%

N E W S A N D N O T E S

The University of Minnesota's Eco-Palmsprogramme ensures that the leaves wereharvested in Mexico and Guatemala in anenvironmentally sensitive manner byworkers getting paid a fair price andorganizers say they are getting more ordersthan ever.

The project grew from a 2001 study on theeffects of the North American Free TradeAgreement (NAFTA) to a 2005 pilot projectthat today has become a US$4.5 millionbusiness.

The project makes sure that workers get abetter wage for picking only the highest-quality fronds from palm trees growing wildin the rain forests of northern Guatemala andsouthern Mexico's Chiapas state, a practicethat allows the plants to continue growing.

And communities also benefit through anannual rebate. The programme this year, forexample, will send about $32 000 to tencommunities in Guatemala. Money in thepast has been used for scholarships for girlsand to supplement teacher salaries. (Source:Associated Press in wcco.com [United Statesof America], 3 April 2009.)

PHOTOVOICES: NEW WAYTO SHARE TRADITIONALKNOWLEDGE

Photovoices provides cameras and trainingon the basics of good photography toindigenous people, many of whom cannotread or write. Each project lasts from sixmonths to a year. Facilitators, fluent inlocal languages and dialects, are assignedto visit the villagers each month todocument the stories behind the photos ona computer. The information is then givento scientists and government leaders.(Source: The New Straits Times [Malaysia],17 March 2009.)

NON-PROFITORGANIZATIONS AND NGOS

ApiTrade AfricaApiTrade Africa is a non-profit-making,member-based company with aSecretariat in Kampala, Uganda, and hasthe aim of promoting African bee productson the world market.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: ApiTrade Africa/Uganda Export PromotionBoard, 5th Floor, Conrad Plaza, Plot 22,Entebbe Road, PO Box 5045, Kampala, Uganda.E-mail: [email protected];www.apitradeafrica.org

The Association for Nature andSustainable Development (ANDES), PeruANDES is an indigenous NGO that seeks todefend indigenous rights to geneticresources, traditional knowledge andlandscape character in Peru. It wasestablished in 1995 with volunteer staffand no funding, and has grownconsiderably over the years. It now workswith 39 indigenous rural communities,many of which live in conditions of povertyor extreme poverty.

The association has successfullybridged traditional Quechua principleswith modern organizational models toassert indigenous rights to heritage inpractical terms by establishing a new formof protected areas known as IndigenousBiocultural Heritage Areas (IBCHAs).These are locally and sustainablymanaged through communityassociations; form the basis for localenterprise (agricultural and culturalecotourism); involve and benefitmarginalized groups; unite communities;encourage participation by and

% negotiation with indigenous people; andcreate a model for future protection anddevelopment.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Asociación ANDES, Calle Ruinas 451, Casilla Postal Nº 567, Cusco, Peru. Fax: 51-84-232603; e-mail:[email protected]; www.andes.org.pe/

Le Centre de développement des forêtscommunautaires au Cameroun Le Centre de développement des forêtscommunautaires, CeDeFCom, est uneorganisation non gouvernementale (ONG)à but non lucratif. Basé au Cameroun, iltravaille dans le domaine de laconservation des écosystèmes forestierset de la faune sauvage. Créé en 1998, il aété reconnu officiellement en 2001.

Le Centre vise la promotion desinitiatives locales de développement enharmonie avec la nature, c'est-à-dire leurorganisation et leur consolidation en vuede mettre en place des communautésvillageoises fières de leur existence dansun environnement aimé et protégé.

POUR PLUS D’INFORMATIONS, CONTACTER: Atangana Enama Barthélemy Léopold,Coordonnateur des programmes, CeDeFCom,B.P. 379, Mbalmayo, Cameroun. Courriel: [email protected]

PALM FRONDS: FAIR TRADE ANDECOFRIENDLY

This weekend about 2 500 congregationsfrom every major denomination will usefair-trade palm fronds in their annualcelebration of Jesus' arrival in Jerusalemin the days before his crucifixion.

of increasing incomes and consumeraccess;

• the decreasing attractiveness of NWFPcollection relative to more remunerativeand less arduous occupations availablewhen incomes rise.

Several NWFPs – especially medicinalplants – have been commercialized andare traded nationally and globally.Increasing demand has led to theirintensive collection and to depletion of

wild stock. Products from open-accesspublic forests are particularly vulnerable.In many cases, collection and trade areinformal, offering minimal financialbenefits to collectors.

Declining supply from the wild has ledto substantial investment in thedomestication of some NWFP resources.Bamboo, rattan and several medicinalplants are grown on a large scale and,thus, have largely ceased to be forest

products. Cultivation of medicinal plantson farms and in home gardens, oftenwith technical and financial support frompharmaceutical companies, is becomingpopular. As with most cultivated crops,periodic demand-supply imbalancescreate challenges for organizedcultivation of NWFPs. (Source: State ofthe World’s Forests 2009.)(Please see page 73 for moreinformation.)

%




SUSTAINABILITYSTANDARDS IN WILDPLANTS HARVESTING –FAIRWILD AND ISSC-MAP

Two sustainability standards specialized inwild harvesting of plants – the FairWild (FW)Standard and the International Standard forSustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal andAromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP) – recentlymerged into one enterprise, offering acomprehensive framework for ecological,social and economic certification of productsand guidelines on sustainable resource usefor governments, intergovernmentalorganizations (IGOs), NGOs and a wide rangeof other stakeholders.

Joint implementation of FW and ISSC-MAP addresses overall sustainabilityrequirements in a more efficient mannerthan any of the other existing standards. InOctober 2008, at the IV IUCN WorldConservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain,an agreement was signed between the fourfounding institutions of ISSC-MAP to endorseglobal implementation of the standardthrough the newly established FairWildFoundation. The German Federal Agency forNature Conservation (BfN), the MedicinalPlant Specialist Group (MPSG) of theInternational Union for Conservation ofNature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission(SSC), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWFGermany), Swiss Import PromotionProgramme (SIPPO), Forum Essenzia e.V.and the Institute for Marketecology (IMO) areamong the organizations involved in activitiesof standards development since inception.

While ISSC-MAP is primarily an ecologicalsustainability standard with supportingelements of economic and socialsustainability, the FairWild Standard isprimarily a social standard with supportingelements of ecological and economicsustainability. Certification is based onresource assessment, the managementplan, sustainable collecting practices, costcalculation along the supply chain,

The marketing of FairWild certifiedingredients and finished products will benefitcompanies that support ecological and socialbest practice throughout the supply chain fromprocessors and wholesale ingredientdistribution companies to finished productmarketers and manufacturers, finishedproduct distributors and retailers of certifiedproducts.

The FairWild Foundation is looking forpartners among businesses, governmentaland non-governmental organizations.(Contributed by: Anastasiya Timoshyna,Medicinal Plants Officer, TRAFFIC Europe – Central Eastern Project Office, c/o WWF Hungary, Álmos vezér útja 69/A, 1141 Budapest, Hungary. E-mail: [email protected])

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: FairWild Foundation, Secretariat, WWF Germany, Rebstöckerstr. 55, D-60326Frankfurt/M, Germany. E-mail:[email protected];www.FairWild.org

THE ROLE OF NWFPS AND FORESTS IN IMPROVING AND SUSTAININGLIVELIHOODS

Forests sustain livelihoodsForests play an important role in thelivelihoods and welfare of a vast number ofpeople in both developed and developingcountries – from urban citizens taking arecreational stroll in a nearby forest to isolatedhunter-gatherers who live in and off the forest.

The World Bank has estimated that 1.6 billion people around the world depend tosome degree on forests for their livelihoods.Although only an estimate, this clearlyindicates that forest dependency iswidespread. In developing countries, it isprojected that a large number of people willremain at or below the poverty level. In relationto forests, this raises the question of whetherforested areas can play a role in povertyalleviation.

A livelihood involves income-generatingactivities determined by natural, social,human, financial and physical assets andaccess to these. Trees, shrubs, herbs, gameand a wide range of other forest products allconstitute important natural assets that areharvested in significant quantities by a largenumber of households across virtually allforest types. Such assets therefore make animportant contribution to livelihoods.

traceability of goods and finances anddocumented fair-trading practices.

A few wild harvest enterprises, fromEurope to Central Asia, have achieved theminimum entrance criteria for FairWildcertification, meeting the fair-traderequirements for the social certificationcomponent and organic wild-cropcertification as the minimum indicator forthe ecological component. As a result,certified finished herbal products shouldbegin to appear in the European and NorthAmerican markets by late 2009. These initialproducts will be certified on the basis ofmeeting fair-trade and organic wildrequirements. As the checklist for ISSC-MAPcompliance is still under development, thismodule will be gradually implemented in astepwise approach over a few years.

Countries in which the FairWild and ISSC-MAP Standards are currently beingimplemented include, among others,Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil,Cambodia, France, India, Lesotho, Macedonia,Nepal, South Africa and Uzbekistan.

Some of the key plant species includeliquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), cardamom(Amomum ovoideum), cinnamon(Cinnamomum cambodianum), kutki(Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora), chiraito(Swertia chirayita), jhula (Parmelia spp.),Ailanthus triphys, puxuri (Licaria puchury-major), buriti (Mauritia flexuosa), preciosa(Aniba canelilla), andiroba (Carapaguianensis), andirobinha (Carapa procera),Pelargonium sidoides and wild garlic(Allium ursinum).

The FairWild Foundation hopes that themajor beneficiaries from the application ofthe standards will be the wild collectioncommunities, which will be supported andrewarded for implementing these sustainablecollection practices in partnership with theirtrade partners up through the supply chain.

%

Glycyrrhiza glabra

%



22 N E W S A N D N O T E S

Examples are numerous. Forest-harvested fuelwood is an important sourceof household energy for heating andcooking in many countries. NTFPs, such asbushmeat, are important to help meetdietary deficits and are a vital source ofprotein. Medicinal plants from the forest,used in self-medication or in traditionalmedicine systems, are in many regions thesole or main source of medicinal remediesfor maintaining or improving health. Small-scale forest product processing, such aswood carvings or cane furniture, may be animportant source of non-farm employment.

Even though forests are often veryimportant to households, there issurprisingly little knowledge on the actuallevel of household forest income and therole of such income in maintaininglivelihoods. Households typically use forestproducts for subsistence purposes orproducts are traded in informal markets.Much forest use is therefore not recordedin regular income surveys. However,available evidence indicates that incomederived from the forest may constitute 20 percent or more of total householdincome, with the poor being the mostdependent on forests.

There is evidence that forests are oftenof particular importance for women,children and ethnic minorities. Forinstance, forest foods are crucial for manychildren and the involvement of women inNTFP collection and trade improvesintrahousehold equity. There are alsostudies indicating that richer householdsmay be highly forest dependent – althoughsuch dependence relates to other sets ofproducts than those extracted by poorhouseholds. For instance, fuelwood and theuse of dung have been found to decrease asincome rises in India, while fodder and theuse of wood for construction increase.

The evidence regarding the role offorests in allowing households to move outof poverty is scant and mixed; there areexamples such as the above study fromIndia indicating that income from forestsallows households to accumulate assets

and escape poverty. However, by way ofcontrast, figures from Madagascar showthat areas there with high forest cover havelow densities of people but high povertyrates.

The World Bank and FAO have urged thatforests can and must play a far greater rolein meeting the United Nations MillenniumDevelopment Goals, including the target ofhalving extreme poverty by 2015. There arealso international initiatives aimed atimproving our understanding of the relationbetween forests and livelihoods and theimpact of policies on such relations,including the Poverty and EnvironmentNetwork, the Programme on Forests andthe International Forestry Resources andInstitutions research programme.

Being able not only to harvest forestproducts but also to transport and sell suchproducts is important for hundreds ofthousands of households in order to exploitthe benefits of the forest fully. However,legislation often discriminates against smallforest users, typically by heavily regulatingtheir access rights. It also often givespreferential treatment to influentialcompanies and organizations and promotescorruption. Such is the case in Honduraswhere local communities cannot gainsecure rights to the forests in which they livewhile common, systematic and high-levelcorruption has characterized the workingsof the timber industry. There is thus scopefor increasing the contribution of forests topoverty prevention and reduction.

Building upon the emerging evidence ofthe absolute and relative importance offorests and forest products for livelihoods,governments and other development bodiesshould take action to make policy reforms innegotiation with small-scale forest users inorder to create conducive productionconditions, including securing ownershipand rights use; and revise legislation inorder to remove bias against household-level producers and supporting small-scalecommercial units, including community-based forestry. Such initiatives would allowhouseholds to use forests actively, enablingthem to build up their assets and improvetheir livelihoods. (Source: Vital ForestGraphics, 2009.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Director, Division of Early Warning andAssessment, United Nations EnvironmentProgramme, PO Box 30552, 00100 Nairobi,Kenya. Fax: +254 20 7623943; e-mail:[email protected]; www.unep.org

The role of NWFPs in improving rurallivelihoods NWFPs play many different roles insupporting the rural economy bycontributing to subsistence food security;nutrition; medicine; generation of additionalemployment and income; supply of rawmaterials; opportunities for processingenterprises; foreign exchange earnings; andthe support of biodiversity conservation andother environmental objectives.

In addition, the activities related to thecollection and primary processing of NWFPsrepresent opportunities for rural women toengage in income-generating activities. Thedegree of processing and value additionvaries greatly between NWFPs, and whiletrade in some products is largely confined toregional markets, others are successfullytraded internationally.

Over the past 20 years, there has been arapid growth of interest in NWFPs amongboth conservation and developmentorganizations. This is the result ofincreased recognition of the contributionthat these goods make to the livelihoods oflarge numbers of people in developingcountries; however, this potentialcontribution is not always realized.

When thinking about the contribution ofNWFP activities to reduce poverty andvulnerability, and stimulate ruraldevelopment, three different NWFP-usestrategies have been identified. Theyhighlight the fact that people may useNWFPs in different ways at different times,or that the same NWFP may provide asafety net for some and a stepping stonefor others.

The three categories of NWFP activity withregard to poverty reduction are the following.1) Safety nets to prevent people from falling

into greater poverty by reducing theirvulnerability to risk. These are particularlyimportant in times of crisis and unusualneed (e.g. during natural disasters, suchas drought or family illness).

2) Gap-filling activities, carried out regularlyduring the non-agricultural season,allowing for income spread and generallymaking poverty more bearable throughimproved nutrition or higher income.There is a large body of evidencesuggesting that, although many NWFP-based activities generate only smallamounts of income, the timing of thisincome during the non-agriculturalseason may increase its relativeimportance. Such seasonal income canplay a key role in reducing the vulnerability




of the poor through a decrease in thevariance of their annual revenue.

3) Stepping-stone activities to reducepoverty. Where these can permanently liftpeople out of poverty, the activity istermed poverty removal or elimination. Itis only in areas that are well integratedinto the cash economy that some NWFPproducers are able to pursue a specializedstrategy in which the NWFP contributesmore than 50 percent of total householdincome and collectors and producers tendto be better off than their peers.Likewise, three household economic

strategies have been identified with regard toNWFP activities, based roughly on the levelof integration into the cash economy and theproportion of household income contributedby the NWFP. They are the following. 1) Coping strategies. Households wild harvest

a large number of NWFPs fromunmanaged or lightly managed forests and,in most cases, resources are in decline.

2) Diversified strategies. Households useNWFP-generated income as additionalincome, earning the bulk of their incomefrom agriculture or non-farm sources.

3) Specialized strategies. Householdsfollowing these strategies tend to getbetter production per hectare of NWFPs,command higher prices for theirproducts, have higher household incomesand are the most integrated into the casheconomy.Thus, there is a need for those involved in

and supporting NWFP activities to be bothrealistic about objectives and outcomes, andclear and methodical about how the socialand ecological impacts will be monitored andmanaged. (Source: Elaine Marshall andCherukat Chandrasekharan. 2009. Non-farmincome from non-wood forest products.Diversification booklet 12. RuralInfrastructure and Agro-Industries Division.Rome, FAO.) (See also pages 30 and 73 for moreinformation.)

TULSI TO “INSULATE” THE TAJ MAHAL

Tulsi, the well-known medicinal herbOcimum sanctum (also known as holybasil), will now help to protect the TajMahal from environmental pollution. Onemillion tulsi saplings will be planted nearthe marble mausoleum by the UttarPradesh Forest Department and theLucknow-based Organic India.

Tulsi is one of the best plants to purifythe environment. It cleanses as it releaseshigh amounts of oxygen, which minimizesthe adverse impact of industrial andrefinery emission. (Source: The Hindu, 5 February 2009.)

WHO OWNS THE WORLD’SFORESTS?

Who owns the world’s forests? When AndyWhite and Alejandra Martin posed andanswered this question in their 2002 reportby the same name, they found that77 percent of forests worldwide wereadministered by governments. The goodnews was that the forested area owned anddesignated for use by local communitiesand indigenous peoples was rising.

William Sunderlin and colleagues havenow updated the numbers in their report,From exclusion to ownership? Challengesand opportunities in advancing foresttenure reform. Their findings are soberingfor those who hoped to see an upsurge incommunity control over forests. Sunderlinet al. found that only a few of the 30 mostforested countries in the tropics had madesignificant changes in forest tenure sincethe 2002 study. Most are in Latin America.

Brazil alone is responsible for much ofthe global progress, with an increase of 56 percent in the forest area designated foruse or owned by communities andindigenous peoples. Peru and thePlurinational State of Bolivia recordedsignificant increases. Colombia also posteda small increase. In Africa, communitiesmade small gains in the United Republic ofTanzania, the Sudan and Cameroon. ButZambia and the countries of the CongoBasin registered virtually no change at all.In Asia, India added more than 5 million hato the forested area designated for use bycommunities and indigenous peoples.Indonesia recorded no gains.

Even in the few countries that havereformed forest tenure, the granting ofrights has not guaranteed their realization.In Peru, for example, the Government hasallocated forested areas for oil, gas andmining exploration in violation of indigenousland titles in the Amazon. In Brazil, theGovernment has failed to prevent illegalincursions into extractive reserves byloggers, ranchers and miners. Even whenthere is a will to recognize rights, there isnot necessarily a way: meaningful tenurereform requires administrative capacity,

expertise and financial resources todemarcate and enforce community rights.

Are there any reasons for optimism?Sunderlin says yes. Countries ranging fromAngola to the Bolivarian Republic ofVenezuela have made changes in law andpolicy to facilitate recognition of indigenous,customary and community rights to forestlands. These recent developments could setthe stage for accelerated tenure transitionsin the near future. In addition, risinginterest in Reducing Emissions fromDeforestation and Forest Degradation(REDD) will put a new premium onclarifying forest-related property rights.

But unless the pace of change isquickened and extended to more countries,it could take decades to shift the globalbalance of forest ownership fromgovernments to rural people. Translatingrights on paper into control over whathappens on the ground is an equallydaunting challenge, and one that willdepend on sustained commitment frompotential beneficiaries, governments andthe international community.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: William Sunderlin, Senior Scientist in thePolicy and Social Sciences Division, Center for International Forestry Research(CIFOR), PO Box 6596, JKPWB, Jakarta10065, Indonesia. Fax: 62 251 622 100; e-mail: [email protected];www.rightsandresources.org/documents/files/doc_736.pdf�

%

%Knowledge is power. Information isliberating. Education is the premise ofprogress, in every society, in everyfamily.

Kofi Annan



24 P R O D U C T S A N D M A R K E T S

BAMBOO

Bamboo bicycles: a growing industry Riding your bike to work is becoming evenmore environmentally friendly with thegrowth of the bamboo bike industry.Londoners who can afford the £3 000 pricetag can now buy an organic, biodegradablebike made from bamboo. Calfee Design,one manufacturer of bamboo bikes, isusing bamboo harvested in the remotemountains of Yushan National Park, TaiwanProvince of China. The bamboo is shippedto the United States of America where it issmoked and heat-treated to preventsplitting. The pieces are then assembledwith lugs made from hemp fibre and sent tothe United Kingdom for sale.

Bamboo bikes are cropping up in theUnited States of America as well, and youcan even take part in the construction ofyour ecofriendly transportation. BambooBike Studio, based in New York, is offeringtwo-day bamboo bike-building courses.For US$1 000, you get all the raw materialsand instructions to build your own bike,custom-fit for your body and riding styleand made with a local, renewable resource –all while supporting a good cause. Thatcause is the Bamboo Bike Project, whichseeks to build a sustainable, ecofriendlybike industry in Ghana – to create asustainable form of transportation for poorAfricans in rural areas.

Here are a few additional reasons whybamboo bikes are growing in popularity:

• bamboo absorbs five times as muchgreenhouse gas as a “conventional”tree plantation;

• it does not undergo fatigue like metal;• it is stronger than mild steel and more

elastic than carbon fibre; and• it is the fastest growing plant: some

species can grow 1.5 m per day.If the cost does not turn you away, a

bamboo bike could soften your ride to workand your impact on the planet. (Sources:various.)

Bamboo keyboards manufactured inChinaJiangqiao Bamboo and Wood hail fromChina’s Jiangxi Province, where bambooresources are plentiful. Although thecompany began as a flooring company, it isnow diversifying its production to includethe latest in green design: bambookeyboards.

In recent years, bamboo has gainedpopularity as a sturdy, sustainablealternative to wood flooring. Currently,China produces 200 000 m3 of bambooplywood annually.

Jiangqiao, which began manufacturingthe green keyboards last October, hasalready received orders for 40 000 finishedunits and is China’s sole producer of thesekeyboards. The company says the productis as strong as its plastic equivalent. Proofthat bamboo’s strength surpasses what itsflexibility suggests lies in the fact thatmodern Hong Kong developers preferbamboo over steel reinforcing rods whenconstructing some of the world’s tallestskyscrapers.

Jiangqiao faced the same difficultiesthat are typical when adapting bamboo forindustrial use: keeping the bambookeyboard frame from cracking, preventingthe bamboo bottom plate from distortingand firmly fastening the buttons with themain board. However, the company hassuccessfully developed (and patented) itsformula, and also developed a bamboomouse and USB expected to go on themarket this spring.

Although Jiangqiao is not the firstcompany to use natural resources incomputer accessories, it may be the mostecofriendly. Much of the bamboo used inthe keyboards is leftover scrap frombamboo floorboard manufacturing, saysthe company’s general manager.

Combining efficiency with aestheticallypleasing design, Jiangqiao is earning aname for itself in innovation andsustainability. (Source: Sustainablog.com[United States of America], 7 May 2009.)

Bamboo, cornstalk used in cement-bonded boards in the PhilippinesManila. The Forest Products Research andDevelopment Institute (FPRDI) of theDepartment of Science and Technology hasdeveloped a low-cost construction materialfrom bamboo and cornstalk. Dr DwightEusebio, head of FPRDI’s CompositeProducts Section, said the alternative

construction material, called cement-bonded board or CBB, is made from locallyavailable agroforest waste materials.

Eusebio said two bamboo species –kauayan tinik (Bambusa blumeana) andbayog (Bambusa merrillianus), whichthrive all over the country – were selectedin making the boards.

The other material, cornstalk, alsoabounds in the countryside and has no usein most farms in Cagayan and the IlocosProvinces, including La Union.

Eusebio said CBBs have shown goodproperties and met required standards inlaboratory tests. He said they based thestandards on a previously developed woodwool cement board (WWCB) made ofyemane (Gmelina arborea).

“CBBs are generally known for theirresistance to fire, water damage, fungal andtermite attack. They also provide excellentsound and thermal insulation,” Eusebiosaid. CBBs passed tests on such propertiesas static bending, nail head pull-through,thickness swelling and water absorption, headded. He said these boards are commonlyused as exterior panels, interior partitionwalls and ceilings, and in cabinets.

Eusebio said he and a building productmanufacturer in Bay, Laguna have alreadyproduced 24 2 x 8 ft (0.6 x 2.4 m) boards,which are more than enough to use for ahousing unit in Tandang Sora, Quezon City totest the serviceability of CBBs.

FPRDI is mandated to conduct basic andapplied research and development toimprove the utility and value of wood andnon-wood products. (Source: The PhilippineStar [Philippines], 7 May 2009.)

Are ecoconscious consumers beingbamboozled?Because of its many benefits, bamboo hasbeen touted as an environmental miraclecrop. It is a significant carbon sink, growsquickly, is more termite-resistant thantimber, and can be used for everythingfrom food to clothing material toscaffolding for building construction. Butare environmentalists being bamboozled?Despite its benefits, increased bambooproduction may also give rise to a numberof concerns.

Perhaps the most pressing concernabout bamboo arises from the fact that itcannot be sustainably grown on a largescale in North America and Europe,meaning it has to be imported from abroad.Currently, 80 percent of the world'sbamboo production comes from China.

%



25P R O D U C T S A N D M A R K E T S

There is also concern that increaseddemand for bamboo could encouragefarmers to bolster their use of pesticides toboost yield, which would readilyaccumulate as runoff in the moist regionswhere bamboo grows best.

There is also increased distress thatbamboo is environmentally inappropriateas a raw material for textiles and clothingfabrics. Because of its rugged fibres,bamboo must be cooked in strongchemical solvents and turned into a viscosesolution before it can be reconstructed intoproper weaving material.

Furthermore, while expanding bambooproduction worldwide could help to preventdeforestation and timber usage at home,there are concerns that it could promptfarmers in the developing world to cleartheir native forests.

The good news is that many of theseconcerns are outweighed by the immensebenefits that bamboo production brings.Agricultural efficiency is easily its largestbenefit. Since bamboos are the fastestgrowing woody plants in the world, thecrop can be replenished quickly.Furthermore, bamboo is self-regenerating,which means that after the stalk has beencut, it rapidly regrows from the remainingrootstock. As long as bamboo is grown inits native habitat, its impact on localecosystems is minimal compared with thedestructive foresting practices of timberproduction.

Although concerns about bamboo as atextile and clothing fabric are warranted,bamboo is a remarkably suitablereplacement for timber as a buildingmaterial.

Moreover, despite the fact that almostall bamboo has to be imported to NorthAmerica and Europe, the carbon-consciousconsumer can rest more easily knowingthat the fuel used for transporting bamboofrom Asia to California is essentiallyequivalent to shipping timber coast-to-coast in the United States of America,according to the United States Departmentof Energy.

For farmers and local communities indeveloping countries such as Viet Nam, it isimpossible to deny the economic benefits ofgrowing more bamboo. As many as 1.5 billion people already rely upon bambooor rattan in some significant way, accordingto the International Network for Bambooand Rattan (INBAR). (Source: Ecoworldly,Guardian Environment Network,guardian.co.uk, 18 February 2009.)

Bamboo firewood and charcoal programmein Ethiopia and GhanaAddis Ababa, Ethiopia. The InternationalNetwork for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR)and the European Union, together with theirpartners: the Rural Energy Developmentand Promotion Centre (EREDPC), Ethiopia;the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana(FORIG); the Federal Micro and SmallEnterprises Development Agency(FeMSEDA), Ethiopia; the Bamboo and

Rattan Development Programme(BARADEP), Ghana; and Nanjing ForestryUniversity (NFU), China, announce thelaunch of their “Bamboo as sustainablebiomass energy: a suitable alternative forfirewood and charcoal production in Africa”programme in Ethiopia and Ghana.

The project is the first to develop bamboofirewood and charcoal as an alternative totimber charcoal in the region. It will increasethe range of useable bamboo available in

USE OF NEEM (AZADIRACHTAINDICA A. JUSS.) SEED OIL TOPROTECT BAMBOO

Bamboo, a woody perennial plantbelonging to the family Poaceae, playsa dominant role as a woody rawmaterial for a variety of products.There are about 75 genera and 1 250 species of bamboo in the world,of which 30 genera and 136 speciesoccur in India; the total forest areacovered by bamboo is 9.57 million ha.India is considered to be the secondlargest producer of bamboo, whereannual production may reach up to 4.6 million tonnes.

Because of its remarkable growthrate and versatile properties, bamboohas been exploited for variousindustrial and architectural uses. It haswide application in the manufacturingof pulp and paper, as a constructionalmaterial and for the preparation ofhandicraft articles.

However, low natural durability andbiodegradation by fungi, termites andborers are significant problems inbamboo. Decaying fungi seriouslyaffect the pulp yield, resulting in a lossof up to 25 percent per year. Inaddition, the loss of fibrous materialcaused by fungal, borer or termiteattack increases chipping losses andreduces digester capacity.

The service life of bamboo can beincreased by treatment withpreservative solutions. The ForestResearch Institute, Dehra Dun, India hasbeen working towards the developmentof various methodologies and chemicalsto enhance the service life of bamboo.Research has been directed towards the

development of preservatives preparedfrom natural products since syntheticpreservatives possess environmentalpolluting properties. Azadirachta indica,commonly known as neem, which is anative of the Indian subcontinent, isknown for its marked medicinal,insecticidal, pesticidal and fungicidalactivity. Previous studies carried out atthe Forest Research Institute have alsosuggested that samples of non-durablewood species treated with neem seedoil performed excellently whensubjected to wood-decaying fungi andtermites.

A study was therefore carried out toscreen the potential of neem seed oilfor bamboo protection. The oil wasimpregnated at different concentrationlevels into various species of bambooby the Boucherie process. Treated anduntreated samples of bamboo,converted into a sample size of 1 ft(30.5 cm), were installed in a test yardand observations were made at regularintervals on a visual basis. After 12 months, it was noted that samplestreated with 10, 15 and 20 percent ofneem seed oil were in a sound andnormal condition as compared with thecontrol untreated samples that weremoderately attacked by termites andfungi.

Further study is therefore requiredto explore and exploit the potential ofneem seed oil for bamboo and woodprotection so that it can replacesynthetic chemicals. (Contributed by: Dr Swati Dhyani, Wood PreservationDiscipline, Forest Products Division,Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun,Uttarakhand, India. E-mail:[email protected]




each country, establish bamboo charcoalmicro and small enterprises (MSEs), andhelp government and civil societyorganizations to support bamboo firewoodand charcoal production and use. Theexperiences from the programme will beapplicable throughout the bamboo-growingregions of Africa.

Dr Coosje Hoogendoorn, Director General,INBAR said: “We are very excited to launchthis innovative new programme today. Thenew bamboo charcoal technologiesdeveloped in Asia by INBAR and our partnersover the past decade have enormouspotential to help reduce deforestation andgenerate sustainable incomes, and thisprogramme marks a major step in theirapplication for improved energy security,environment and livelihoods of the peoples ofthe bamboo-growing regions of Africa.”

The programme will work in Benishangul-Gumuz state, Amhara national regional stateand Southern Nations Nationalities andPeoples’ regional state in Ethiopia and theWestern region of Ghana to develop at least 1 000 enterprises producing bamboocharcoal, and 30 000 households using it. Itwill train over 6 000 people in bamboocultivation, best bamboo firewood practicesand bamboo charcoal production, set up threebamboo charcoal technology centres anddevelop marketing strategies for bamboocharcoal.

Funding for the programme comes mainlyfrom the European Commission’s“Environment and sustainable managementof natural resources, including energy”programme. (Source: INBAR press release, 6April 2009.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Fu Jinhe Ph.D., Senior Programme Officer,International Network for Bamboo andRattan (INBAR), 8 Fu Tong Dong Da Jie,Wang Jing Area, Chao Yang District, Beijing100102, China. Fax: +86-10-6470 2166; e-mail: [email protected]; www.inbar.int

FRANKINCENSE

Frankincense: a brief updateThe year 2008 saw the publication of anumber of papers on the analysis andtherapeutic properties of frankincensegum, extracts and distillates. Frankincensegum (syn. olibanum) (syn. incense) isobtained by tapping the trees of a numberof Boswellia spp., and the gum andderivatives are valuable exportedcommodities for the Horn of Africa region(Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and theisland of Socotra [off Yemen]), but also forthe Sudan and other African regions.Frankincense gum is used to prepareincense, and extracts and distillates havebeen widely used as fragrance ingredients.Indian, Arabian and African Boswellia spp.have a number of uses in local ethnicmedicine, which is starting to translate intouses in evidence-based conventionalmedicine (see, for example, the majorfeature on frankincense and derivatives inPhytomedicine, June 2008).

For a working definition, frankincense canbe said to be the dried exudation obtainedfrom the schizogenous gum-oleoresinpockets in the bark of various Boswellia spp. –the Boswellia group itself being placedwithin the Burseraceae 12 family.

Frankincense has been very highlyvalued for thousands of years, and hasmany uses and applications. It is the Hornof Africa’s highest volume export and, apartfrom uses in incense/perfumery, the gumoleoresin and preparations thereof are alsoused in a number of medicinal systems, forflavourings and for skin cosmeticapplications for toner, emollient andantiwrinkle uses.

Several Boswellia spp. are listed in theIUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008,including several individual species fromthe island of Socotra. (Source: CropwatchNewsletter [United States of America], 14 January 2009.)

Frankincense oil may be a treatment forbladder cancer According to a study published this week inBMC Complementary and AlternativeMedicine 2009, 9:6, “Frankincense oilderived from Boswellia carteri inducestumor cell specific cytotoxicity”. Scientistsat the University of Oklahoma MedicalCenter have found in vitro evidence thatfrankincense oil (probably its constituentboswellic acid) can kill bladder cancer cellswithout affecting non-cancerous cells.

In order to determine that frankincensewas the effective oil, they compared it withsandalwood, fir, palo santo and hemlockoils, which did not differentiate between thetypes of cells. The study referencesnumerous other studies that have foundthat frankincense has potential in treatingcancerous cells. (Source: AromaConnection [United States of America], 21 March 2009.)

HEDYCHIUM SPICATUM

Hedychium spicatum – a commercialHimalayan herb needs entrepreneurshipat local levelThe genus Hedychium (Zingiberaceae),represented by about 50 species, is foundin Africa (Madagascar) and tropical towarm-temperate Asia, with majordistribution in tropical and subtropical Asia.Of 30 species in India, Hedychium spicatumBuch.-Ham., a rhizomatous perennial herb,is native and near endemic to the IndianHimalayas, growing along a 900–2 800 maltitude in temperate/subtemperate forestsin Himachal Pradesh to ArunachalPradesh; it is found up to 3 200 m in China,Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal.

Commonly referred to as “bari-sothi/ban-haldi” (shathi) or “kapurkachari”(in the trade), it is used in the Indianindigenous medicine system.

Its robust pseudostem (‹1.5 m) producesbroad sessile leaves and extends a littleover 30 cm. The white flowers in terminalspikes are fragrant and attract visitors.

This species has scarcely been studiedsubstantially for quantum availability innature, which is sciophytic, growing aspatches, with partial shade. I haveinvestigated over a dozen microhabitatswithin Himalayan niches. In the relativelydry northwest, the species grows on theground, especially shady/rocky habitats,whereas in the high rain zones of Sikkim, itflourishes as an epiphyte, besides retainingground niches.

Uses. The rhizomes yield about 4 percent essential oil, possessing antisepticproperties, considered stomachic,carmative, stimulant, insect-repellent andtonic and are used for dyspepsia, asthma,diarrhoea, dropsy, headaches and skindiseases. In addition, the plant is used tocurb hair loss. Abir, a fragrant colouredpowder marketed for religious ceremonies,is prepared from dried rhizomes. Recently,in the preparation of the anticancer drug,

%

%




PADMA 28, a rich antioxidant supportinghealthy circulation and general immunehealth (as PADMA Basic multiherb Tibetanmedicine-based formula), a crude rhizomeextract of H. spicatum is used, as animportant ingredient of a mixture among 18 dried/milled herbs/spices, etc. In Tibetanmedicines, the species has 19.43 percentuses in 175 herbal formulations. Similarly,one of the pharmaceutical companies inIndia revealed in the Therapeutic Index itsuse in 10.3 percent of 233 formulations.

Ethnobiologically, the species is notcommonly popular throughout the IndianHimalayas, but use is practised specificallyin different regions. In Himachal Pradesh, Istudied ethnobiological use of its leaves inmaking mats for the home, combined withwheat straw, enhancing the durability ofthe product. In Manipur, the rhizome iscooked to prepare chutney. However, inSikkim, the people do not see itsimportance even though appropriateagroclimatic conditions exist, indicating theimmense possibility of adopting speciesunder ex situ cultivation.

Markets. H. spicatum is traded in Indiaand wholesalers are available – theAmritsar and Delhi markets areparticularly large. As dried slices, rhizomesare marketed from different Himalayanranges. Large traders often employ localagents to collect raw material fromvillagers, who are lured economically for insitu harvesting. In Himachal, the species ismentioned under export permit after 1993,by the State Forest Department, withRs70/quintal royalties. In Sikkim, by 2001,the state government had completelybanned the harvesting of herbs from thewild, viewing their depletion with concern.However, good populations of H. spicatumat present available are an importantgenetic resource and need to be identifiedand evaluated for elite stock andimmediate ex situ multiplication. In recentyears, few organizations have fixed theirselling rates of self-produced freshrhizomes/whole plants of herbs; for H. spicatum, rates varied betweenRs8–10/plant or 50–80/kg (fresh rhizome).

Increased wild harvesting has led H. spicatum to be considered vulnerable(IUCN criteria; CAMP workshop, northIndia), and as rare for Garhwal-Himalayas.Specific habitat requirements have madethe species highly susceptible to forestdegradation. Ongoing global warming andresulting habitat loss may further adverselyaffect its populations. Its natural spread is

highly rhizome-dependent and voluminousin situ harvesting may negatively influenceits survival.

For global demand, the herb offersimmense scope for commercialentrepreneurship through ex situconservation/cultivation. Rhizomesegments may be used for developingplanting material at short intervals and exsitu-produced seeds for massmultiplication. Sandy loam soil with foresthumus is the best substrate for vegetativepropagation providing ›90 percent successand averaging 30–60 percent seedgermination in wild populations.Standardizing propagation, suited toregional physiography, is a prerequisite,choosing 2 000–2 400 m as appropriatealtitudes. Organic-based fielddemonstrations at different agroclimaticzones, involving stakeholders, are strategicat the local/regional level.

Marketing produce should not be aproblem; direct connectivity betweengrowers and pharmaceuticals needsstrengthening and scientificguidelines/monitoring are vital.(Contributed by: Dr Hemant K. Badola,Scientist, Conservation of Biodiversity, G.B.Pant Institute of Himalayan Environmentand Development, Sikkim Unit, Gangtok(Campus: Pangthang), Sikkim 737 101,India. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected])

HONEY

Scientists identify antibacterial agent inmanuka honeyChemistry Department researchers at NewZealand’s Waikato University made abreakthrough discovery when theyidentified the source of the antibacterial

activity in manuka honey. WaikatoUniversity Associate Professor Dr MerilynManley-Harris said: “We have known forsome time that a unique antibacterialactivity of manuka honey is associated withthe presence of methylglyoxal, or MGO. Butuntil now the origin of methylglyoxal wasnot known.”

The research showed dihydroxyacetone,or DHA, was present in young honey shortlyafter the bees had deposited it in the comb.As the honey ripens, the DHA converts toMGO, the component that gives manukahoney its antibacterial activity. Theresearchers stored the young manukahoney for 120 days and found a strongcorrelation in the dropoff of DHA, and anincrease in MGO. Since DHA is notantibacterial like MGO, the antibacterialactivity increases as the honey matures.

Dr Manley-Harris said that when theresearchers realized that DHA was theprecursor of MGO, they set aboutdetermining its origin. “They discovered itwhen they tested the nectar from manukaflowers from various trees around Hamiltonand the Waikato,” she said.

This discovery will enable producers todetermine when a batch of honey willmature, whether it will remain inactive andother details. (Source: Indian newslink [NewZealand], 12 May 2009.)

British beekeepers charge high prices for“local” manuka honey Beekeepers in the United Kingdom haveimported manuka plants from NewZealand to produce their own version ofmedicinal manuka honey, which they areselling at £5 (US$13) a teaspoonful.

The honey is being produced on theTregothnan estate in Cornwall, UnitedKingdom. Tregothnan's garden director,Jonathan Jones, said: "The honey isexpensive, but it is Britain's only manukahoney. It has become a lifestyle product, aluxury. This year is the first time the plantsproduced nectar, which gave us our firstjars, around 100. They were sold to womenof a certain age who are very healthconscious, but recently we have beengetting much wider interest."

The estate company claimed the pricetag was justified because its 100 000 beesare housed in 20 special hives claimed tobe worth £5 000 each and have theexclusive run of the garden's manukabushes.

The honey is claimed to have medicinalqualities and can help ailments including

%

Hedychium spicatum




gum disease, sore throats, acne, sunburnand digestive problems. (Source: The NewZealand Herald [New Zealand], 19 May2009.)

Exporters misuse the “Kashmir” honeybrand Honey exporters of Punjab and Tamil Naduhave been alleged of selling inferior qualityhoney under the brand name “Kashmir”.Kashmiri apiculturists have demandedlegal action against the “brand theft”.

Apiculturists have alleged that a Punjab-based exporter, Kashmir Apiaries Exports,a leading honey producer in India, has beenselling honey extracted from Punjab andelsewhere under the Kashmir brand toEuropean and Middle Eastern countries.

Every year, 70 000 tonnes of honey areproduced in India, of which 25 000 tonnesare exported. Punjab’s contribution to thehoney exports is around 5 500 tonnes, ofwhich 3 000 tonnes, worth US$3 million,are exported to the United States ofAmerica, United Kingdom, Europe andWest Asia.

Although the Punjab-based honeyexporter claims to be collecting honey fromKashmir to Kanyakumari, Kashmiri beekeepers belie the claim, saying that theexporter is cheating buyers by mixingKashmir honey with significantly largevolumes of honey produced from otherstates.

Lion Kashmir Honey, a Chennai-basedhoney exporter, claims to meetinternational standards for the Kashmirstatus. However, since no geographicidentification (GI) status has been grantedto Kashmir honey, such claims bymanufacturers are baseless. A proposalhas already been sent to the Ministry ofFood Processing and as soon as Kashmirhoney is granted a GI status, a campaignwill be launched against all such parties.

Kashmir honey is unique because it isproduced from wild trees – about 90 percent from acacia trees (commonlyknown as kikar) and the remaining 10 percent from wild flowers. The honeyproduced in other states comes either frompoplar trees or mustard plants. Moreover,Kashmir honey is a fertilizer- andpesticide-free product, and its glucose andfructose content is several times higherthan that of the honey produced in otherparts of the world.

If the Good Manufacturing Practices(GMP) and Good Agricultural Practices(GAP) standards are maintained, 1 kg of

Kashmir honey would sell for more thanRs1 000 on the international market.(Source: Institute of International Trade[India], 12 May 2009.)

KAVA

Kava (Piper methysticum) can help treatanxiety, depression Kava (Piper methysticum), used forgenerations in traditional ceremonies byPacific islanders, is an effective and safetreatment for anxiety, universityresearchers say. During a 60-person trialundertaken at the University of Queensland(UQ), Australia, people with "chronic highlevels of anxiety" feel less worried and, insome cases, less depressed. "We've beenable to show that kava offers a naturalalternative for the treatment of anxiety and,unlike some pharmaceutical options, hasless risk of dependency and less potentialof side-effects," said lead researcherJerome Sarris, a Ph.D. candidate from UQ'sSchool of Medicine. "We also found thatkava had a positive impact on reducingdepression levels, something which hadnot been tested before."

Critically, the study's participants did notshow any signs of potential liver damage –contrary to concerns that promptedEuropean, United Kingdom and Canadianauthorities to ban kava sales in 2002. Kavaproducts sold in these countries werebased on ethanol or acetone extracts of thekava plant, Mr Sarris said, not the water-soluble extracts used traditionally byPacific islanders and approved for sale inAustralia.

Kava contains the psychoactive agent"kavalactones" and a traditional ceremonyinvolves pulping roots of the plant and thendrinking them mixed with water. This issaid to have a tranquillizing effect but

without the loss of mental clarityassociated with alcohol.

Vanuatu and Fiji are among the world'slargest producers of kava, and Mr Sarris saidthat the loss of major export markets haddelivered a significant blow to the islands'economies. "Allowing the sale of kava inEurope, the United Kingdom and Canadawould significantly enhance Pacific islandeconomies, which have lost hundreds ofmillions of dollars by not being able to exportthe plant over the past several years," hesaid. (Source: The Age.com [Australia], 11May 2009.)

MEDICINAL PLANTS AND HERBS

Medicinal plants becoming extinctAccording to a report from the internationalconservation group, Plantlife, 15 000 of 50 000 medicinal plant species are underthreat of extinction. Medicinal trees at riskinclude the Himalayan yew (Taxuswallichiana), a source of the anticancer drug,paclitaxel; the paper bark tree (Warburgiaspp.), which yields an antimalarial; and theAfrican cherry (Prunus africana), an extractof which is used to treat a prostate condition.

Most people worldwide, including 80 percent of all Africans, rely on herbalmedicines obtained mainly from wild plants.This presents a risk because the loss ofmedicinal plants used to make traditionalremedies, together with the loss of medicinalplant diversity in general are quitedisastrous. Commercially, collectorsgenerally harvest medicinal plants with littlecare for sustainability, partly throughignorance, but mainly because suchcollection is unorganized and competitive.

The solution is to provide communitieswith incentives to protect these plants.Projects in many countries have shown thatthis approach can succeed. (Source: Timesof India, 12 January 2009.)

Cat's claw (Uncaria tomentosa) could tackledengue feverCuritiba. An Amazonian plant could formthe basis of a drug to combat dengue fever,according to Brazilian researchers.

A group of scientists at the ViralImmunology Laboratory of the Brazil-based Oswaldo Cruz Foundation has foundthat compounds of the plant cat's claw(Uncaria tomentosa) – native to the Amazonrain forest – have both antiviral andimmune system-regulating properties

%

%




when they come into contact with infectedcells in the laboratory.

Cat's claw is known in traditionalmedicine for its anti-inflammatory –immune system-regulating – effects, whichprompted the scientists to investigate theplant.

Dengue fever is a disease caused by avirus of the genus Flavivirus, transmittedby Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The WorldHealth Organization (WHO) estimates theremight be 50 million dengue infectionsworldwide every year. No effective medicineexists so the only recommended treatmentis hydrating patients while they arerecovering.

Besides Uncaria tomentosa, theBrazilian group is currently looking forantidengue properties in solutions ofapproximately 15 other plants.

The research was published inInternational Immunopharmacology inDecember. (Source: SciDev.Net WeeklyUpdate [2–8 March 2009].)

Medicinal value of forskolin India is rich in medicinal plant biodiversityand is one of the 12 megabiodiversity hot-spot regions of the world, having 2.4 percent of the world’s area with 8 percent global diversity. Coleus forskohliiis a medicinal plant well recognized bytraditional users, pharmaceuticalindustries, entrepreneurs and innovativeand progressive growers.

The tuberous roots of Coleus forskohliiare found to be a rich source of forskolin; alabdane diterpenoid activates cyclicadenosine monophosphate or cyclic AMP(cAMP) in the cells. In addition,diterpenoids have been reported to bepresent in these tuberous roots.

Coleus is the only known natural sourceof forskolin.

Because of its versatile pharmacologicaleffects, forskolin is used for the treatmentof eczema (atopic dermatitis), asthma,psoriasis, cardiovascular disorders andhypertension, where the decreasedintracellular cAMP level is believed to be amajor factor in the development of thedisease process.

It is being developed as a drug forglaucoma, congestive heart failures andcertain types of cancers. The drug isclaimed to improve appetite, facilitatedigestion and increase vitality. The crop ispopular owing to its extensive use inpreparing Ayurvedic and Unani medicinesfor curing anaemia, inflammation,

flatulence, dropsy, insomnia andconvulsions. In addition, it possessespositive inotropic, broncho-spasolytic,antithrombotic and platelet aggregationinhibiting activities and has proved toenhance fat loss without loss of musclemass in human beings.

Forskolin is a vasodilator, increases theskin's natural resistance to burning underultraviolet light and promotes nerve repairby increasing cAMP concentrations. It hasbeen shown to be safe and effective andhas great potential as a sports supplement.Forskolin can reduce blood pressure andimprove heart function in people with

cardiomyopathy. It helps in relaxation of thearteries and other smooth muscles. It alsoincreases cerebral blood flow. Thisindicates that it may be helpful in improvingpost-stroke recovery. Inhibition of plateletaggregation (blood clotting) also adds to itsvalue in the treatment of cardiovascularand cerebrovascular disorders. It has beenfound that symptoms of psoriasis havebeen improved through the use of forskolin.(Contributed by: M. Velmurugan, K. Rajamani, P. Hemalatha and C. Harisudan, Tamil Nadu AgriculturalUniversity, Coimbatore – 641 003, India. E-mail: [email protected])

CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL COLEUS(COLEUS FORSKOHLII BRIQ.) IN INDIA

Coleus forskohlii Briq. (syn. Coleusbarbatus Benth.), belonging to theLabiatae family (Lamiaceae), is anancient, perennial aromaticherb with fasciculate tubers.The tuberous roots have beenfound to be a rich source offorskolin; a diterpenoidactivates cyclic adenosinemonophosphate or cyclic AMPin the cells. In addition,minor diterpenoids, i.e.deacetylforskolin, 9 –deoxyforskolin, 1, 9 –deoxyforskolin, 1, 9 –dideoxy-7 –deacetylforskolin andfour other diterpenoidshave been reported to be presentin the tuberous roots of C. forskohlii.

This plant is well known throughout thecountry and is known as Pasan Bhedi inSanskrit, Patharchur in Hindi, Garmalu inGujarati, Maimmul in Marathi, Makkadiberu or Mangani beru in Kannada andKoorkan kilangu in Tamil. The crop hasbeen distributed all over the tropical andsubtropical regions of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Ethiopia. In India, it isfound in the subtropical Himalayanregions from Kumaon to Nepal, Bihar andthe Deccan plateau of South India.

In India, the plant is cultivated inRajasthan, Maharastra, Karnataka andTamil Nadu in an area of about 2 500 ha.The scientific cultivation of the crop isgiven below.

Varieties. Maimmul, Mangani beru andGarmai are some of the popular varietiesin India.Soil and climate. Well-drained red loamysoils are suited for cultivation. Waterstagnation should be avoided. The cropthrives best in areas receiving 70 cmannual rainfall.Propagation and season. The crop ispropagated through terminal cuttings

(10 cm). Commercialplanting is carriedout during June–July.Planting is carriedout at 60 x 45 cmspacing (37 030plants/ha). In low-fertile soils, plantingis done at 60 x 30 cm (55 500plants/ha).

Irrigation is given immediatelyafter planting and subsequently atweekly intervals.Manuring. Incorporate 15 t/ha offarmyard manure (FYM) during finalploughing. Nitrogen, phosphorus andpotassium (NPK) at 30:60:50 kg/ha shouldbe applied in two split doses at 30 and 45days after planting. Apply 10 kg ZnSo4/ha to avoid micronutrient deficiency.Harvest can take place five to six monthsafter planting and must be carried outwithout damaging the tubers.Yield. Fresh tubers: 15–20 t/ha; drytubers: 2 000–2 200 kg/ha.Post-harvest handling. Harvested tubersare cut into small pieces and dried undershade until they reach 8 percentmoisture level.




NATURAL FIBRES

Natural fibres – an overview Natural fibres are greatly elongatedsubstances produced by plants andanimals that can be spun into filaments,thread or rope. Woven, knitted, matted orbonded, they form fabrics that areessential to society.

Like agriculture, textiles have been afundamental part of human life since thedawn of civilization. Fragments of cottonarticles dated from 5000 BC have beenexcavated in Mexico and Pakistan. Accordingto Chinese tradition, the history of silk

began in the twenty-seventh century BC.The oldest wool textile, found in Denmark,dates from 1500 BC, and the oldest woolcarpet, from Siberia, from 500 BC. Fibressuch as jute and coir have been cultivatedsince antiquity.

While the methods used to make fabricshave changed greatly since then, theirfunctions have changed very little. Today,most natural fibres are still used to makeclothing and containers and to insulate,soften and decorate our living spaces.Increasingly, however, traditional textilesare being used for industrial purposes aswell as in components of composite

materials, in medical implants, and geo- andagrotextiles. Animal fibres include wool, hairand secretions, such as silk. (Please seepage 36 for more information on silk.) Plantfibres include seed hairs, such as cotton;stem (or bast) fibres, such as flax and hemp;leaf fibres, such as sisal; and husk fibres,such as coconut. (Source: International Yearof Natural Fibres 2009 Web site;www.naturalfibres2009.org/)

The revival of the most resistant naturalfibre in the world Apart from the non-wood sources of rawmaterials for pulp making, a number of

%

EXAMPLES OF PLANT FIBRES

Abacá (Musa textilis)También llamada cáñamo de Manila, elabacá se extrae de la vaina de las hojasque rodean el tronco de la planta deabacá (Musa textilis), pariente cercanade la banana, nativa de Filipinas yampliamente distribuida en los trópicoshúmedos. Cosechar abacá es laborioso.Cada tallo debe cortarse en tiras, lascuáles son raspadas para remover lapulpa. Luego las fibras se lavan y secan. El abacá es una fibra de hoja, compuestapor células largas y delgadas que formanparte de la estructura de soporte de lahoja. El contenido de lignina está porencima del 15%. El abacá es valoradopor su gran resistencia mecánica,flotabilidad, resistencia al daño por aguasalada, y por el largo de su fibra - más de3 metros. Las mejores clasificaciones delabacá son finas, brillantes, de un colorhabano claro y muy fuertes.

El líder mundial en producción deabacá es Filipinas, en donde unos 90 000pequeños agricultores (encima) cultivanla planta en 130 000 hectáreas. Aunquela planta se cultiva en otros países delAsia sudoriental, el rival más cercano deFilipinas es Ecuador, en dónde el abacáha sido sembrado en muchas fincas y laproducción está cada vez másmecanizada. Usos. Durante el siglo XIX, el abacá fueampliamente usado en aparejos debarcos, y la pulpa era usada para hacersobres resistentes de papel manila.

Hoy, aún se emplea para hacer sogas,

bramantes, cordeles, líneas de pesca yredes, así como tela basta para sacos.También está creciendo el nicho demercado especializado en ropa, cortinas,pantallas y tapicería de abacá.

El papel hecho de la pulpa de abacáes usado para esténciles, para filtros decigarrillos, bolsas de té y piel desalchichas, y también para papel moneda(los billetes del yen japonés contienenhasta un 30% de abacá).

La Mercedes Benz ha usado unamezcla de polipropileno termoplástico ehilaza de abacá en partes del cuerpo delos automóviles. Se estima que laproducción de fibra de abacá utiliza un60% menos de energía que laproducción de fibra de vidrio. Producción y comercio. En el 2007,Filipinas produjo cerca de 60 000toneladas de fibra de abacá, mientrasque Ecuador produjo 10 000. Laproducción mundial está evaluada encerca de 30 millones de USD al año. Casitodo el abacá producido es exportado,principalmente a Europa, Japón y losEstados Unidos de América. Filipinasincrementa sus exportaciones en formade pasta de abacá más que en forma defibra bruta.

Ramie (Boehmeria nivea)Native to East Asia and commonly knownas China grass, ramie (Boehmeria nivea) isa flowering plant of the nettle family. Itsbark has been used for millennia to maketwine and thread, and spun as grass cloth(or "Chinese linen"). It grows to a heightof 3 m. Yields of green plants range from

8 to 20 tonnes/ha, with fibre yields of 1.5tonnes reported.

Ramie fibre is white with a silky lustre,similar to flax in absorbency and densitybut coarser (25–30 microns). One of thestrongest natural fibres, it has lowelasticity and dyes easily. Strands of ramierange up to 190 cm in length, withindividual cells as long as 40 cm.Transfibre fissures make ramie brittle butfavour ventilation.

The ramie plant is grown for fibremainly in China, Brazil, the Lao People’sDemocratic Republic and the Philippines.While it is considered a promising"ecological" fibre for use in textiles, fibreextraction and cleaning are difficult andlabour-intensive. Uses. Coarse ramie fibres are suitable formaking twine, rope and nets. Wet-spun, itproduces a fine yarn with high lustre,suitable for a wide range of garments,ranging from dresses to jeans.

Fabrics of 100 percent ramie arelightweight and silky, similar inappearance to linen. The Koreantraditional costume, the ramie hanbok, isrenowned for its fineness. However, sinceit has low elasticity and resilience, ramie isusually blended with other textile fibres. Itincreases the lustre and strength of cottonfabric and reduces shrinkage in woolblends. It is also blended with silk. Production and commerce. FAO estimatesworld production of ramie green plant at280 000 tonnes in 2005, almost all of itgrown in China. Most of the ramie fibreextracted is used in producing countries,and only a small percentage reaches



31

One hectare of forest can provide about 20 kg of fibre each year and anaverage cash income can amount toUS$930/ha, an income far superior to that obtained by coffee or cattleproducers. Pita is the most valued andsought-after natural fibre on the Mexican market and surpasses the price of linen and silk, with a price as high as US$100/kg. (Source: ElaineMarshall and Cherukat Chandrasekharan.2009. Non-farm income from non-woodforest products. Diversification booklet12. Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division. Rome, FAO.)

P R O D U C T S A N D M A R K E T S

plants provide fibrous substances suitablefor making cloth, ropes and wovenmaterials, including several species ofgrasses (Sterculia villosa, Broussonetiapapyrifera, Agave sissalana, Ceibapendandra, etc.) and palms (Carludovicapalmata and Brahea dulcis). Palms andgrasses are used for weaving baskets,hats, mats and other items in LatinAmerica, Africa and Asia. Bromeliadspecies also provide an important naturalsource of fibre.

Pita (Aechmea magdalenae), a thorny-leaved terrestrial bromeliad,grows naturally in the tropical forests of

southeastern Mexico. It is not easy toharvest or carry, and in order to gather 1 kg of pita fibre, about 300 leaves need tobe collected.

The longer the leaf the better, becauseit means a longer fibre and a bettermarket price. Processing begins byscraping away the leaf pulp, pulling outthe fibre, bleaching it in lemon juice andwashing powder, combing it and finallyrolling it into thread. The fibre is then usedto embroider leather articles, e.g. belts,boots and saddles, by skilled craftspeople,sold principally in Mexico, the UnitedStates of America and Spain.

international markets. The main importersare Japan, Germany, France and theUnited Kingdom.

Jute (Corchorus capsularis et C. olitorius)Extrait de la tige de plantes appartenantaux genres Corchorus capsularis et C.olitorius, le jute est une fibre naturelletrès résistante; il vient en deuxièmeposition, après le coton, en termes devolume de production et d'utilisation.Pendant la révolution industrielle, il aconnu un grand essor dans la fabricationde toile de sac, se substituant au lin etau chanvre cultivés en Europe. Si les sacsconstituent encore de nos jours lamajeure partie des produitsmanufacturés en jute, un grand nombred'articles novateurs à haute valeurajoutée ont vu le jour: revêtements poursols, composants, géotextiles, non-tissés,pâte à papier, textiles techniques,produits chimiques, tissus d'habillement,artisanat et accessoires de mode.

La plante herbacée dont est extrait lejute abonde dans les régions humides(températures comprises entre 24 et 38degrés et précipitations annuelles de 1000 mm au moins). Le Bangladesh et leBengale-Occidental sont les principauxproducteurs mondiaux de jute, suivis deloin par le Myanmar et le Népal. Le juteest produit par de petits paysans. EnInde et au Bangladesh, on estime que 4millions environ de paysans vivent decette culture, assurant la subsistance de20 millions de personnes, et que descentaines de millions de personnestravaillent dans le secteur manufacturier.

Les paysans vendent leur production àdes négociants ou sur le marché local. Lafibre change ainsi plusieurs fois de mainset de catégorie avant d'arriver à l'usineou d'être exportée.

Si la culture du jute est exigeante enmain-d'œuvre, elle est peu gourmandeen engrais et en pesticides. La fibre est leplus souvent récoltée manuellement, lamécanisation n'étant pas adaptée à laculture à petite échelle pratiquée dansles pays en développement. Les tigessont fauchées et couchées sur le champpour les débarrasser des feuilles; au boutde quelques jours, elles sont liées enfaisceaux. On procède ensuite aurouissage, qui consiste à faire flotter lestiges sur un cours d'eau pour les libérerde la pectine et autres substancesmucilagineuses qui les soudent. Lerouissage est terminé – il dure de une àtrois semaines - quand l'enveloppe de latige, qui contient la fibre, se séparefacilement du cœur ligneux. Après avoirextrait la fibre, le plus souventmanuellement, on procède au lavage etau séchage.

La production de jute fluctue au grédes conditions météorologiques et descours. Ces dernières années, elles'échelonnait entre 2,3 et 2,8 millions detonnes, à l'instar de la production delaine. Mais la valeur du jute, nettementinférieure à celle de la laine, est estimée à480 millions de tonnes. L'Inde fournit 60pour cent de la production mondiale et leBangladesh la presque totalité du reste.Ce dernier exporte près de la moitié de saproduction annuelle sous forme de fibre

brute et le restant sous forme de produitsmanufacturés. L'Inde exporte seulement200 000 tons d'articles en jute, le resteétant utilisé sur place.

Les utilisations du jute sont en pleinessor dans le monde entier car le secteurmanufacturier s'intéresse de plus en plusaux matières biodégradablesrespectueuses de l'environnement etpouvant se substituer aux matièressynthétiques. Cependant les producteursde jute et le secteur de transformationn'ont guère innové en matière deproduction et de transformation. Le kénaf, fibre apparentée. Tout commele jute, le kénaf sert à fabriquer descordes, des ficelles et des toilesgrossières, mais il est issu d'une autreplante, Hibiscus cannabinus. En 2007, laproduction atteignait 340 000 tonnes,l'Inde étant le principal producteur.Parmi les utilisations récentes de la fibre,citons le papier journal, les mélanges decultures, les matériaux d'emballage et lesemballages en matériaux composites.(Source: International Year of NaturalFibres 2009 Web site,www.naturalfibres2009.org/)

For more information, please contact:

Brian Moir, International Year of Natural

Fibres Coordination Unit, Trade and

Markets Division, FAO, Viale delle

Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy.

Fax: +39 06 57054495;

e-mail: [email protected])

(Please see page 66 for moreinformation on the International Year ofNatural Fibres.)



32

RATTAN

Villagers from Southeast Asia benefitfrom sustainable rattan harvesting Can the sustainable use of rattan boostcommunities, businesses and theenvironment? Yes, that is the firm belief ofthe World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF),which piloted a community-basedsustainable management and productionmodel project that began in 2006 in the LaoPeople’s Democratic Republic andCambodia and is now engaging Viet Nam.

More than 90 percent of rattan processedin the Mekong subregion comes from naturalforests, but rattan stocks are being depletedat an unsustainable rate, fears WWF.

Rattans are climbing palms belonging tothe palm family, with tough stems, which canbe used for food, shelter and furniture. Asurvey by WWF in 2008 showed that rattan isa major NTFP and one that makes a crucialcontribution (more than 30 percent cash andnon-cash value) to local livelihoods

%


In Sopphouan, a small village ofapproximately 400 inhabitants outside LakXao, in the province of Bolikhamxay, LaoPeople’s Democratic Republic, the WWFrattan project has already brought positiveresults. “Last year our village earned 8 500 000 kip (approximately US$1 000) inadditional income from rattan seedlings andrattan cane. This is an important contributionto the livelihood of farmers who areotherwise wholly dependent on family-basedrice production and other small-scale crops,”says Phantone Keomany, 43 years.

To secure a long-term use of theresource, the villagers have startednurseries and plantations, which theyproudly show to visitors. This bold initiativeentails an entirely new way of thinking andrequires careful long-term planning.Previously, rattan was only harvested in thewild state directly from the forest.

Since 2006, the project has been carriedout in collaboration with forest researchers,other NGOs, government institutions and

with economic support from the global homefurnishing company IKEA. The subsequentphase (2009–2011) entitled “A switch tosustainable harvest rattan production andsupply” was launched on 5 March 2009, withfunding mainly from the European Union andIKEA. “Our goal is that by 2010, 100communities in the Lao People’s DemocraticRepublic, Cambodia and Viet Nam will beengaged in sustainable rattan production andwith 40 percent of the identified small andmedium enterprises (SMEs) actively engagedin cleaner rattan production. This willsupport local economies and help conserveforests,” says the WWF regional rattanprogramme manager.

WWF, with national stakeholders, isengaging with rattan traders and processorsto develop more environmentally andeconomically viable processing practiceswith the aim of becoming more efficient,improving resource usage and reducing rawmaterial wastage along the supply chain.

At the same time, WWF works withnational, regional and international buyers toinfluence the demand for cleaner and moresustainable rattan at fairer prices. In doingthis, they work with entrepreneurs or rattanprocessors and traders, who are the peoplethat buy the raw material, add value byprocessing it and then link up with regionaland international buyers such as IKEA.

Through this approach, WWF is confidentthat incentives will be in place for localcommunities to conserve forest ecosystemswhere rattan is available. (Contributed by:Thibault Ledecq, Chief Technical Advisor,WWF Greater Mekong Programme – LaosCountry Programme, PO Box 7871, House 39, Unit 05, Ban Saylom, Vientiane,Lao People’s Democratic Republic. E-mail:[email protected] [email protected];www.panda.org/greatermekong

NATURAL DYES AND COLOURS

Many forests are rich repositories ofplants producing dyes and pigments thatcan be sustainably harvested forcommercial use and processed locally,thereby supporting rural employmentand development.

Ornamentation of cloth with naturaldyes dates back about 3 000 years, andbecause of the toxic nature of somesynthetic pigments, there has been aresurgence of interest in natural dyes.An advantage of natural dyes lies in thepotential for designers to controlvariations of shade and tones, which isnot possible with synthetic dyes. Dyepigments are derived from tree bark,leaves and wood, including the bark ofakan-asante or yaruba (Anonidiummannii) and the leaves of magnolia(Rothmannia whitefieldii).

Examples of natural dyes includehenna, which is extracted from the driedleaf of Lawsonia inermi and provides adye ranging in colour from black to red;kamala, an orange-yellow dye used fortextiles, obtained from the fruit of thekamala tree (Mallotus philippinensis);and the widely used blue-coloured

indigo dye (Indigofera tinctori),traditionally used for dying a variety oftextiles, including silk and woolgarments.

Research from the forests of Peru hasidentified 56 dye-yielding plants, andthe Vegetable Dye Society in Bangladeshhas identified about 30 dye-yieldingplants for textiles.

Some common natural dyes used forsilk in the Lao People’s DemocraticRepublic include the following.• Pink. Rind of mangosteen fruit

(Garcinia mangostina)• Red/purple. Stick lac, wood of

Caesalpinia sappan• Yellow. Root of berberin (Coscinium

finestratum)• Orange. Seed of annato (Bixa orellana)• Greyish-black. Fruit of ebony

(Diospyros mollis)• Pinkish-grey. Leaf of teak (Tectona

grandis)• Grey. Tuber of Dioscorea bulbifea(Source: Elaine Marshall and CherukatChandrasekharan. 2009. Non-farmincome from non-wood forest products.Diversification booklet 12. RuralInfrastructure and Agro-IndustriesDivision. Rome, FAO.)




Viet Nam: Nghe An exports rattan productsfor the first time The central province of Nghe An, VietNam, will send its first consignment ofrattan products under a recently signedcontract between the Duc Phong companyand the leading Swedish company IKEA.

The Duc Phong company, based in NgheAn, will export three models of rattanlamps, earning a minimum revenue ofVND25 billion in the first year of thecontract and tripling their revenue overthe next five years. The company, whichcurrently needs an additional 4 000workers to complete the contract, isoutsourcing much of the work to localhouseholds. It has conducted extensiveresearch on different kinds of rattanproducts such as tables, lanterns andother interior decorations for marketssuch as Japan, the United States ofAmerica and Europe. As many as 80percent of Duc Phong products have beendesigned by the company, with the restcoming from individual customers.

Duc Phong, which processes millionsof tonnes of rattan per year, also takesthe lead in growing rattan, reducing itsdependence on outside sources. It has so far spent nearly VND100 billionplanting 1 350 ha of rattan in four districts and the company adopts anapproach that combines its owninvestment with the local labour force.Duc Phong is expected to produce 7 tonnes of rattan/ha over the next 30 years, ensuring the sustainability of itsproduction. (Source: Voice of VietnamNews [Viet Nam], 9 March 2009.)

SAFFRON

Saffron cultivation in Afghanistan: alucrative NWFP and a potentialalternative to poppy After the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan,development organizations andmultinational forces are making efforts tofind an alternative crop to replace illicitpoppy cultivation in the country. It isassumed that the dilemma of this war-devastated country has long beencorrelated with the production of poppyitself. Development workers are hopingthat saffron could be a lucrativealternative to poppy.

Popularly known as jafran in the MiddleEast and Asia, saffron is the most valuedand most luxurious spice in the world and

comes from the saffron plant (Crocussativus L.). The flower of the plantcontains three stigmas, which arecollected and dried, becoming the saffronspice. The plant has a corm/rhizome thatis about 3 cm in diameter and weighs up toa maximum of 8 g. Saffron has narrowleaves like grasses with a length of6–10cm and a width of 2–3 mm. Its floweris light purple, with red or white stripes.

The uses of saffron are many. Thesaffron stigma is rich in aroma and usedas a spice, a condiment, an aphrodisiacand a colouring agent.

In dried or powdered forms, stigmasare commonly used as the following.

• A therapeutic plant, excellent forstomach ailments and as anantispasmodic; it helps digestion; andit heals a variety of diseases rangingfrom arthritis to impotence andinfertility. It is also used for curingasthma, coughs and the common cold.Saffron anticancer effects have beenstudied.

• A spice used in cooking for colouringand as a flavouring agent. It is alsoused for making cheese products, inmilk- or cream-based confectioneryand in dairy products such as icecream-flavoured milk.

• A material used in thepharmaceutical, cosmetics andperfume industries.

• A dye used extensively in textileproduction.

Saffron leaves are also used as animalfeed.

% SAFFRON (CROCUS SATIVUS)

Crocus sativus belongs to the familyIridaceae. The flowers of Crocus sativushave trifid orange-coloured stigmas.Saffron is the dried form of thesestigmas. The name saffron is obtainedfrom the Arabic words “sahafarn”,meaning thread and “za’faran”,meaning yellow.

The plant is native to southernEurope and is cultivated in Spain,France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the IslamicRepublic of Iran, India and China.Saffron grows well in cold regions.(Source: MFP News, (19)1, January–March 2009.)

Afghanistan has all the environmentalcriteria appropriate for the production ofsaffron. For best growth and production,saffron requires mild winters with heavysnowfall and hot summers. It grows wellunder temperate and dry climates; itsvegetative growth coincides with coldweather and freezing conditions. Ittolerates a maximum of +45 ºC and aminimum of -18 ºC. The annual rainfallrequirement for saffron is about 300 mm.Maximum water requirement is in March andApril of about 15–20 litres/m2 per irrigationperiod. The plant can be grown in a widerange of soils, with moderate structure andgood infiltration. But for best growth andproduction, the soil should be sandy loam,rich in calcium and with a high content oforganic matter. The soil is prepared inautumn or winter and an application of 8–12 tonnes of well-decomposed animalmanure/acre (0.4 ha) is recommended.

The flowering stage of saffron starts fromOctober and continues for some three weeks.Each flower lives only for 48 hours, which isthe reason why saffron has such a high value.The optimal harvest time is therefore early inthe morning before full sun. A flowercollector can collect as many as 3 000 flowersper hour. The saffron flowers should bestored at temperatures near 0 °C and thelayer of fresh flowers should not exceed 10 cm. Under these conditions, saffronflowers can be kept for up to seven days.

Post-harvest processing gives the bestsaffron spice quality. During this processing,the stigmas are separated from the flowers.The stigmas are bright orange-red and areclearly visible among the lilac petals. It takessome 450 000 stigmas to make up 1 kg ofsaffron spice. Workers, therefore, mustprocess 150 000–170 000 flowers to produce 1 kg. The deep red stigmas are attached to theflowers by pale filaments called styles. These,as well as the yellow stamens, are worthlessas spice. Many merchants prefer to buy onlypure saffron, requiring that the stigmas beseparated from the styles, which has to bedone by hand as long as the material is fresh.In Afghanistan, most saffron is air dried andpacked in airtight and light-protectedcontainers such as tin cans and dark glass.

Farmers cultivate saffron bulbs in late Mayto August and reap the purple flowers in mid-October. The average yield of saffron is 7 kg/ha and a maximum could be 24 kg/ha.The Afghan saffron markets are mostly withinAfghanistan itself, the Islamic Republic ofIran, India, Dubai, Pakistan, the United Statesof America and Europe. Prices of saffron




Programme, BRAC Afghanistan, House 45,Lane 4, Baharistan, Kart e Parwan, Kabul,Afghanistan. E-mail:[email protected]; www.bracafg.org)

Saffron cultivation and use in India In India, the cultivation of saffron is mostlycarried out in Kashmir. However, HimachalPradesh and the upper regions of UttarPradesh are favouring saffron cultivation.

Saffron is extensively used as a spice(especially in Kashmir). Saffron has also beenused as a flavouring and colouring agent andin food, sweets, tobacco and the zardaindustries. It is also used for improving skincomplexions and is a valuable medicinalherb. The saffron pigment is used to stabilizelight-sensitive insoluble drugs. A hair tonicwith saffron extract is extremely effective atpromoting hair growth. Saffron is also used inAyurvedic and Unani medicine. (Source: MFPNews, (19)1, January–March 2009.)

SANDALWOOD

Sandalwood: a critical view ofdevelopments The fact that some sandalwood species areunder threat is an inconvenient truth ignoredby many cosmetic companies and essentialoil traders. Four Santalum (sandalwood)species are present in the IUCN Red List2008, including the extinct Santalumfernandezianum. The more familiarSantalum album L. is one of the remainingthree, assessed as vulnerable in 1998, but amore detailed breakdown of the ecostatus ofindividual Santalum species from variousgeographic locations, with ancillary notes, isavailable on the Cropwatch Web site(www.cropwatch.org).

The shortage of East Indian sandalwood oilhas been caused by the ravages of spike

range from US$1 200 to 1 400/kg in localmarkets (December 2007) and US$1 400 to8 000/kg in the European and Americanmarkets (2006). It has been estimated thatthe net income/ha from saffron is $2 716.

To eradicate opium production in thecountry, the Government of Afghanistan isbeing supported by international donoragencies in terms of technical and financialsupport but the results will only be visiblewhen an alternative income source is inplace. Considering the massive pressurefrom the government and other agencies,farmers tend to refrain from opiumproduction rather than getting interested insaffron production for its high price in thedomestic and international markets. Expertsat the Ministry of Agriculture in Kabul haveadmitted that saffron is compatible with theclimate and soil of the southern, eastern andwestern parts of the country and itscultivation does not require additionalirrigation, which the country lacks.

Donors such as the United Kingdom’sDepartment for International Development(DFID) have funded projects to promotesaffron production in Afghanistan. A handfulof entrepreneurs have also invested in thepackaging, branding and export of Afghan-made saffron to regional and Europeanmarkets. Afghanistan’s western neighbour,the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a leadingsaffron exporter. However, insecurity andnarcotics gangs have hindered governmentefforts to replace poppy with lawful cropssince these groups earn large profits fromillicit poppy cultivation and they oppose andimpede saffron cultivation by forcing farmersto grow poppies.

Saffron quality tests show that Afghansaffron can be one of the best in the world interms of quality. This is attributed to theclimatic conditions of Afghanistan as suitablefor growth and production. In the context ofAfghanistan, saffron has a tremendousopportunity on the domestic andinternational market since demand isincreasing every year. It is hoped that thisspice will soon replace the poppy throughoutthe country for its high market value.

Meanwhile, farmers involved in opiumcultivation should be assisted and promotedto cultivate saffron as their alternativelivelihood. It is time for the United Nations,donor agencies and NGOs to work together inAfghanistan to explore the utilization anddevelopment of this valuable NWFP in thecountry. (Contributed by: MohammadMuktadir Hossain, Sector Specialist[Forestry], Agriculture Development

%Sandalwood

HISTORY OF SAFFRON

The history of saffron is very ancient andesteemed. Historical accounts suggestthat the cultivation of saffron was startedin 1600 BC by the Minoans. Butcultivation is probably older than thatand is believed to have begun inSouthwest Asia. The Minoans probablybrought saffron as a traded item fromthe East as part of their network of seaand land traders who ranged throughoutthe Mediterranean at that time.

Native to Southeast Asia, the crocusspecies produces the valuable reddish-orange colour stamens cherished bycooks around the world to colour andflavour their dishes.

The Persians had spread cultivationof saffron corms throughout the PersianEmpire along the Silk Road routes by500 BC and cultivation in northern Indiaand Kashmir was formally under way.

The Phoenicians dominated theMediterranean trade of saffron spiceduring Greco-Roman times.Subsequently, the Romans broughtsaffron with them to Europe. Saffrongradually spread to North Americathrough the Anabaptists from Easternand Central Europe, who set upprofitable saffron trading from 1730 to1740 with the Spanish settlers in theCaribbean. This trade continued untilthe 1812 war.

Historical accounts of saffroncultivation in India date back to 550 AD.

At present, the major saffron-producing countries in the world areSpain, the Islamic Republic of Iran andIndia.




disease over many decades and, to a lesserextent, by fire, vandalism, animal damageand other factors, on the existing Indiansandalwood forests in Karnataka and TamilNadu, not to mention the ruthlessoverexploitation of this declining resource byillegal distillers, smugglers and corruptofficials. Arguably the overexploitation ofsandalwood only came about because of thepersistent market demand for sandalwoodlogs for incense, wood carving and furnituremaking, to continue the supply ofsandalwood-based attars and, of course, thedemand for sandalwood oil itself (whichsome have estimated at 250 tonnes/year),despite warnings of serious resourcedepletion from eco-aware groups.

A few years back, some aromatherapyprofession officials and certain aromatherapyessential oil trading representatives belittledthe threat to sandalwood, and inferred that ifany blame was to be apportioned at all, itshould be laid at the door of the major user,the fragrance industry. Even now, within theEuropean Union, nationally runaromatherapy vocational courses still featuresandalwood oil for study. The incense tradehas naturally ignored its obligations almostcompletely and, as far as we can tell, manysectors of the conventional perfumery tradehave done the same.

Cropwatch is persuaded that with properpolicies and investments, some sandalwoodsources could be made truly sustainable, andwe believe this may well be the case inVanuatu. However, taking pure East Indiansandalwood oil as a benchmark, the odourprofiles of sandalwood oils from othergeographic locations and/or other speciesare usually different in character, lack finenotes and may be oversweet (as with EastAfrican sandalwood oil) or predominantlywoody-camphoraceous (as with Chinesesandalwood oil), or just plain lacking inimpact and character (as with Indonesiansandalwood oil). From here, the future looksdifficult for sandalwood. (Extracted from:Cropwatch Newsletter, January 2009.)

Southeast Asia smuggling via Nepal inupward swingSiliguri. According to the Sashastra SeemaBal (guards at the Indo-Nepal border) andNepal security agencies, over 1 000 tonnesof red sandalwood have been seized duringthe last year from both sides of the border.Apparently the wood is in high demandbecause it is used to make the butts of guns.

While talking to The Economic Timesabout the possible buyers, a senior

intelligence official specializing in cross-border smuggling prevention said, "Due toless fragrance but equal curving capacityand strength, red sandalwood is preferredfor making butts of firearms. China is one ofthe largest buyers. Now since all attention isfocused on political developments inKathmandu, the grey trade operatives arelikely to increase their activities."

The consignments, generated largely as aresult of illegal Indian felling in Karnataka,are first routed to Nepal through the porousIndo-Nepal border along Uttar Pradesh,Bihar or West Bengal. From there, they getinto China through Tatopani on the ArnikoHighway in North Nepal, the largest Sino-Nepal trading point.

"Arniko Highway has practically beentaken over by red sandalwood smugglers,"said Nepali exporters working in Tatopani."The Governments of India, Nepal andChina should jointly focus on the issue oncommon interest," they added. (Source:The Economic Times [India], 12 May 2009.)

SCLEROCARYA BIRREA

Sclerocarya birrea: a lesser-known NWFPof Africa The contribution of forests and trees to foodsecurity in Africa is vast, diversified andhighly valuable. It ranges from the directproduction of food to the provision of jobs,income generation and support for thesustainability of farming systems. The foodsfrom forests and trees are particularlyessential to improve the nutritional statusof the people by providing vitamins andother elements, which are not found in foodproduced by agriculture.

In spite of the importance and richness offood from forests and trees, progress hasbeen very slow in considering measures andprogrammes to increase the contribution ofwild plants and animals to food productionand food security. A combination ofinitiatives aiming at improved knowledge oflocal and traditional practices, inventoryingand managing resources, and furtherintegrating trees in farming systems couldhave a significant impact on food securityand income generation.

Sclerocarya birrea, which is awild/semidomesticated tree, can be used asa case tree to reveal the potentials of lesser-known but valuable trees. The species iswidely distributed, occurring in 29 differentcountries in Africa from north to south andeast to west: Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Côte

d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso,Ghana, Togo, Benin, the Niger and Nigeria inwestern Africa; Chad and the Sudan inCentral Africa; Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda,Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzaniain eastern Africa; and Angola, southernCongo, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique,Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, SouthAfrica, Lesotho and Swaziland in southernAfrica. In addition, within the past 30 yearsthe tree has been established in plantationsin Israel and Oman.

Across Africa the tree has threesubspecies, namely S. birrea, S. multifoliolata and S. cafra. The UnitedRepublic of Tanzania is the only countrywhere all three subspecies occur, so is themost diverse ecoregion for Sclerocarya.

The tree provides fruits and many otherlocally used NTFPs. In a few countries, thefruits are processed into products that aretraded internationally. The fruits are rich invitamin C, about five times higher than thatof citrus fruits. They are also used to makejuice, jam, jellies and as a cosmetic agent.The fruit pulp is eaten fresh, boiled to athick paste for sweetening porridge, orfermented to make alcoholic drinks of bothlocal and commercial value.

The tree’s leaves and bark havemedicinal properties.

In famine years, the kernel is locallyroasted and eaten. At 96 percent dry matter,the kernel is 57.3 percent fat, 28.3 percentprotein, 6 percent total carbohydrates, 2.9 percent fibre and is rich in phosphorus,magnesium and potassium.

The fruits of Sclerocarya birrea are alsoused to brew the popular Amarula cream inSouth Africa. Amarula is almost exclusively

%

Sclerocarya birrea



36

These yardsticks signify that the eggs atthe research centre are healthy. The mainreason for this success can be attributedto the innovative measures taken byscientists at the centre.

“We provide good feed to the silkwormsdue to which the silkworm gains moreweight. When it converts into pupa, itbecomes big and therefore the moth isalso big, and when the moth is big, it willcertainly produce more eggs,” said Dr R.S.Yadav, a scientist at the Regional OakTasar Research Centre. The centre hasalso been taking special care to minimizeegg losses.


available in luxurious outlets and hotels,sold on average at US$2–5/5 cc volume.This cream thus generates substantialamounts of income from local andinternational markets.

Empirical experiments are still needed todevelop better ways of harnessing thepotential of Sclerocarya birrea. The ultimategoal must be for local people to apply thisknowledge to diversify their income andimprove their livelihoods. (Source: Guardianin IPPMedia.com, 6 January 2009.)

SHEA BUTTER

Fair trade partnershipsOttawa. Knowledge shared throughout themillennia by generations of African womenmeets the twenty-first century, during FairTrade Month. Ten Thousand Villages, a NorthAmerican fair trade dealer and Uniterra, oneof Canada's leading international voluntaryprogrammes, welcome their partners fromBurkina Faso to celebrate Certified FairTrade shea butter. Ms Kourtoumi ChalimAschlet Niangao and Mr Abou Dradin Tagnanrepresent the Union of Producers of SheaProducts of Sissili and Ziro in Burkina Faso,where shea is the third largest export.

Shea, dubbed "the gold of Africanwomen", is well known for its moisturizingand protective properties. Equitably tradedorganic shea turns those benefits into realgold for nearly 3 000 women, who havedoubled their income as a result of thiscollective. Since earning fair tradecertification in 2006, producers have pouredmuch of their earnings back into communityprojects such as literacy groups for women,programmes for children orphaned by HIVand Aids, and the construction of a childcarecentre. These are welcome developments inBurkina Faso, one of the poorest countries inAfrica, ranked at 173 of 177 on the HumanDevelopment Index.

Despite the economic downturn, Canadiansales of fair trade shea products are on therise. Ten new personal care products, preparedwith certified fair trade shea, will be launchedthis month at Ten Thousand Villages' 47 storesthroughout Canada, at festival sales and on itsWeb site. Shea Delapointe, a Quebec-basedfamily business and a Ten Thousand Villagessupplier, imported 9 tonnes of certified fairtrade shea in 2008, expected to double in2009, thanks to fair trade partnershipsbetween Canadian entrepreneurs andAfrican producers. (Source:marketwire.com [Canada], 7 May 2009.)

SILK

Nainital Research Centre, India, achievesworld record in breeding silkworm eggsNainital-based Regional Oak TasarResearch Centre has created a worldrecord in the field of silkworm egg-laying.The scientists and other staff members ofthe research centre are very pleased bythe way their project has shaped up.

The average number of eggs/moth atthe research centre is in the range of 240to 260 as compared with China’s 160–200eggs. The number of eggs/g is 108–110 incomparison with China’s 120 eggs/g.%

SILK

Silk is produced by thesilkworm, Bombyx mori.Fed on mulberry leaves, itproduces liquid silk thathardens into filaments toform its cocoon. The larva isthen killed and heat is used to softenthe hardened filaments so they can beunwound. Single filaments are combinedwith a slight twist into one strand, aprocess known as filature or "silkreeling".

A silk filament is a continuous threadof great tensile strength measuring from500 to 1 500 m in length, with a diameterof 10–13 microns. In woven silk, thetriangular structure of the fibre acts as aprism that refracts light, giving silk clothits highly prized "natural shimmer". It hasgood absorbency, low conductivity anddyes easily.

Silk is produced in more than 20 countries. While the major producersare in Asia, sericulture industries havebeen established in Brazil, Bulgaria, Egyptand Madagascar. Sericulture is labour-intensive. About 1 million workers areemployed in the silk sector in China.Sericulture provides income for 700 000households in India and 20 000 weavingfamilies in Thailand.Uses. Silk's natural beauty and otherproperties – such as comfort in warmweather and warmth during coldermonths – mean that it is much soughtafter for use in high-fashion clothes,lingerie and underwear.

Silk is used in sewingthread for high-quality

articles, particularly silkapparel, and in a range ofhousehold textiles, including

upholstery, wall coverings andrugs and carpets.

It is also being used as asurgical suture – silk does not cause

inflammatory reactions and is absorbedor degraded after wounds heal.

Other promising medical uses are asbiodegradable microtubes for repair ofblood vessels and as moulded inserts forbone, cartilage and teeth reconstruction. Production and commerce. Global silkproduction rose from around 100 000tonnes in 2 000 to 150 000 tonnes in2006, thanks mainly to the growth ofChina's output. China produces about 70 percent of the world's silk, followed byBrazil, India, Thailand and Viet Nam, withminor production in Turkmenistan andUzbekistan. India, Italy and Japan are themain importers of raw silk for processing.The unit price for raw silk is around 20 times that of raw cotton. (Source:International Year of Natural Fibres 2009Web site, www.naturalfibres2009.org/)


Brian Moir, International Year of Natural

Fibres Coordination Unit, Trade and

Markets Division, FAO, Viale delle Terme

di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy. Fax: +39

06 57054495; e-mail: [email protected]

(Please see page 66 for more information

on the International Year of Natural

Fibres.)

%




report's authors, Sandra Altherr of ProWildlife, said it appeared that the extent ofprimate hunting in Latin America washigher than in Africa or Asia.

"While the devastating effects of thebushmeat trade in Africa continues to hitthe headlines, the largely uncontrolledhunting of primates in Central and SouthAmerica has been all but ignored," Altherrtold Spiegel Online. "At an internationallevel there is almost no discussion aboutthis problem. We need to change thisbecause the situation is becoming worse."

The report also found that primatehunting in Latin America, once asubsistence-level activity, is becomingincreasingly commercialized, withtraditional hunting methods being replacedby modern weapons.

The report also claims that the huntingof primates for food rather than habitatloss poses the most serious threat to thesurvival of large primates in Latin Americawithin the next two decades. As the rainforest is cleared away by loggers, newpaths and roads into forest regions allowhunters increasingly easy access toprimate breeding grounds.

Primate hunting is already illegal inmost Latin American countries, but Altherrsaid that the authorities in many areasturned a blind eye to the problem. (Source:Spiegel Online International, 13 April 2009.)

The impact of hunting on the biologicalcommunityHunters focus initially on large animals andcontinue to hunt them even when theirnumbers become low. Such speciescomprise the majority of the mammalianbiomass in undisturbed forests and playkeystone ecological roles. Reduction orloss of such species will have widerimpacts on the forest community, as aresult of the following factors.

India is the second largest producer of silk after China and the largestconsumer of silk in the world. (Source:Thaindian.com, 18 April 2009.)

Silkworm’s chemical attraction tomulberry leaves discovered Tokyo. Japanese scientists say they haveisolated the jasmine-scented chemicalthat attracts silkworms to mulberry leaves – their primary food source. The findings could help silk producersfine-tune the diets of silkworms to getthem to eat more and digest food moreefficiently, a study published in CurrentBiology reported on Friday.

The chemical cis-jasmone emitted insmall quantities by the leaves of themulberry tree triggers a single, highlytuned olfactory receptor in the worms'antennae, said Kazushige Touhara, aprofessor at the University of Tokyo. Cis-jasmone is so powerful that just a tinyamount draws silkworms towards thesource of the smell, he said. Cis-jasmonemight be added to artificial diets toincrease the efficiency of the worms' foodintake. It could also be used to develop asafe form of pest control, attractingunwanted insects also drawn to the scentof cis-jasmone. (Source: United PressInternational, 8 May 2009.)

WILDLIFE AND BUSHMEAT

Primate hunting reaches crisis point in Latin America Monkey numbers in Latin America havefallen dramatically in recent years asprimate hunting reaches unsustainablelevels. Most are used for food, but anincreasing number of souvenirs are alsoproduced using dead monkeys.

The authors of a report published thisweek by the British wildlife charity Care forthe Wild International and the Germanorganization Pro Wildlife claim that thenumber of primates hunted in LatinAmerica could be as high as 10 million ayear. In some parts of the Amazon basin,the numbers of medium- and large-sizeprimates have dropped by a staggering 93.5 percent over the last 20 years.

The report concludes that primatepopulations in 16 of the 22 Latin Americancountries are under threat, particularlylarger species such as woolly, spider,howler and capuchin monkeys. One of the

• Loss of pollinators. Large fruit bats inparticular are extremely importantpollinators of many tropical forest trees.

• Loss of seed predators (e.g. pigs,peccaries, agoutis, large squirrels). Withreduced seed predation, trees with largeseeds are at a competitive advantage overtrees with smaller seeds. In one study inPanama, such trees dominated forestpatches after less than 75 years followingthe depletion of seed-eating animals.

• Loss of seed dispersers (e.g. primates,frugivorous bats, frugivorous birds, forestungulates). Many large animals play aprimary role in seed dispersal; seeds ofup to 75 percent of plant species inAfrican rain forests are dispersed byanimals. Hunting can deplete completeguilds of seed dispersers by removingprimates, large birds and bats. The exactbalance between animal dispersed plantsand vegetative propagation of rain forestplants is still unknown, but the loss ofseed dispersers will undoubtedly affectforest composition, in ways that aredifficult to predict.

• Loss of predators (e.g. large cats,raptors). This can cause unusual anduneven densities of different preyspecies. In turn, proliferation of certainprey species can lead to declines or localextinctions of their animal or plant foodspecies, which changes forestcomposition and decreases overallbiodiversity. In Barro Colorado Island,Panama, the absence of large predatorsled to an increase in mesopredators(coatis). The increased predation by themesopredators on birds’ eggs andfledglings caused declines and localextinctions of many low-nesting birds.

• Loss of food for predators. Hunting ofungulates and primates can reduce thepopulations of predators that depend onthem for prey. In India, hunting can resultin reductions of 90 percent of the preyeaten by tigers. This reduces tigerdensities and also results in their huntingsmaller prey, thereby causing furtherdetrimental effects on the biologicalcommunity. The loss of animals fromforest ecosystems and the resultantdisruption of ecological and ultimatelyevolutionary processes, changes inspecies composition and probablereduction in biological diversity arecollectively known as the “empty forestsyndrome”.

(Source: R. Nasi, D. Brown, D. Wilkie, E. Bennett, C. Tutin, G. van Tol and

%



38

Libreville and Brazzaville to London andNew York. In these cases, wild meat isconsumed as a luxury item to maintain alink to a departed lifestyle and is not astaple source of animal protein.

Scientific data to determine howimportant a role taste and culture play inthe overall demand for wild meat arescarce. Most studies of preference haveoften simply documented that consumersnoted “meat hunger” when their diet iscomposed primarily of starches, or havefocused solely on which species of wildlifeconsumers prefer. They have notestablished that consumers have cleartaste preferences for wild meat relative tothe meat of domesticated animals. In arecent study in Gabon, consumers wereasked to select which of two plates of meatthey preferred. Only poor rural peopleshowed a measurable preference forbushmeat. And, of the 42 subjects whostated a preference for domestic poultry, 78 percent avoided bushmeat when giventhe choice of porcupine or chicken. Overall,results suggest that taste is not theprimary determinant of consumer demandfor wild meat. (Source: R. Nasi, D. Brown,D. Wilkie, E. Bennett, C. Tutin, G. van Toland T. Christophersen. 2008. Conservationand use of wildlife-based resources: thebushmeat crisis. CBD Technical Series 33.50 pp. Bogor, Indonesia, Secretariat of theConvention on Biological Diversity,Montreal, and Center for InternationalForestry Research [CIFOR].)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Secretariat of the Convention on BiologicalDiversity, World Trade Centre, 413 St Jacques,Suite 800, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Y 1N9.Fax: 1 (514) 288 6588; e-mail:[email protected]; www.cbd.int

United States of America imports 1 billionpet animals from the wild between 2000and 2006 Poor regulation of the international wildlifetrade has increased the vulnerability of theUnited States of America to outbreaks ofdisease and alien invasive species, reportresearchers writing in Science.

Analysing Law EnforcementManagement Information System (LEMIS)data gathered by the United States Fish andWildlife Service from 2000 through 2006,Katherine Smith of Brown University andcolleagues found that of the more than 1.5 billion live wildlife animals legallyimported to the United States of America


T. Christophersen. 2008. Conservation anduse of wildlife-based resources: thebushmeat crisis. CBD Technical Series 33. 50 pp. Bogor, Indonesia, Secretariat of theConvention on Biological Diversity, Montreal,and Center for International ForestryResearch [CIFOR].)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Secretariat of the Convention on BiologicalDiversity, World Trade Centre, 413 St Jacques,Suite 800, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Y 1N9.Fax: 1 (514) 288 6588;e-mail:[email protected]; www.cbd.int Frogs important food source

With its famous diversity of frog species,Madagascar has long been targeted bysmugglers for the pet trade. While thisthreat is relatively well understood, lessknown is the domestic market for ediblefrogs. Writing in Tropical ConservationScience, researchers from the University ofAberdeen (United Kingdom) andinstitutions in Madagascar provide aglimpse into this activity.

Richard Jenkins and Malagasy colleaguesconducted a five-month survey of collectorsdelivering frogs to a restaurant in easternMadagascar. They found a thriving trade – 3 233 frogs were delivered to the restaurantduring the period. Income for collectorsselling edible frogs was only slightly lowerper edible frog (US$0.29) than it was forMantella milotympanum ($0.32), a criticallyendangered frog collected for theinternational pet trade, thus providing animportance source of income for froghunters. The researchers are now working todetermine the sustainability of the industry.

The authors conclude by noting thatforest degradation – largely a result ofconversion of agriculture – probablydamages frog habitat, thereby potentiallyimpacting collector livelihoods. (Source:Mongabay.com [Madagascar], 23 March2009.)

The role of taste in determining thedemand for wild meat The role of taste and cultural preference indriving the demand for wild meat isunclear. It is commonly believed thatpeople in tropical forest countries oftenprefer the taste of wild meat over that ofdomestic animals, and that wild meatconsumption is a deeply rooted traditionthat is highly resistant to change. Theseviews are supported by the continuingdemand for wild meat from formerly ruralpeople now living in middle-class urban oreven overseas environments, from Jakarta,

“FOOTBALL FOR THE FORESTS”BUSHMEAT AWARENESS MATCHWILL TAKE PLACE IN 2010

The antibushmeat charity football matchscheduled for June 2009 in Yaoundé,Cameroon has been postponed to 2010.

Given that 2009 is the InternationalYear of the Gorilla, the Great ApesSurvival Project (GRASP) Secretariatannounced that they are planning anantibushmeat charity football match tobe held in Yaoundé between thenational teams of Cameroon andNigeria. It is hoped that the goodexample of the football heroes ofCameroon and Nigeria will have asignificant behavioural impact on theillegal harvesting of bushmeat in theregion. The aim is to broadcast thematch throughout equatorial andsouthern Africa and use any revenuegenerated to support gorillaconservation projects in both countries.The “Football for the Forests” match willalso serve as an awareness-raising pilotproject to determine the possibility offuture matches between great aperange states and to determine possibleinvolvement in 2010’s World Cup inSouth Africa. The GRASP Secretariat isprovided jointly by UNEP and UNESCO.(Source: Nature & Faune, 23(2), 2008.)


Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP)

Partnership Secretariat, United Nations

Environment Programme,

PO Box 30552, Nairobi, 001100 Kenya.

Fax: +254 20 7624249; e-mail:

[email protected]; www.unep.org/grasp



39

during the period, only 14 percent wereclassified to the level of species despitefederal mandates for such labelling. Thelack of accurate reporting makes itimpossible to "accurately assess thediversity of wildlife imported or the riskthey pose as invasive species or hosts ofharmful pathogens", they write.

"If we don't know what animals arecoming in, how do we know which are goingto become invasive species or carrydiseases that could affect livestock, wildlifeor ourselves?" asked Peter Daszak,President of Wildlife Trust and a coauthoron the paper.

"The threat to public health is real. Themajority of emerging diseases come fromwildlife," added Smith, Assistant ResearchProfessor in the Department of Ecology andEvolutionary Biology at Brown Universityand lead author on the paper. "Most ofthese imported animals originate inSoutheast Asia – a region shown to be a hotspot for these emerging diseases."

The researchers found that 92 percent ofimports were designated for commercialpurposes, the majority of which were forthe pet trade. Almost 80 percent ofshipments contained animals from wildpopulations, "the majority of which have nomandatory testing for pathogens before orafter shipment," they note.

The authors call for stronger regulationto improve monitoring of the live wildlifetrade. They note that Congress is currentlydeliberating the Nonnative Wildlife InvasionPrevention Act (HR 669), which wouldtighten regulations on wildlife imports butsay that the proposed legislation does notgo far enough to control what they term"pathogen pollution".

The authors further urge educationprogrammes to make individuals,importers, veterinarians and the petindustry aware of the "dangers of diseasestransmitted from wildlife to humans anddomesticated animals". They also call forcaptive-breeding initiatives to reducepressure on wild populations and reducethe risk of disease introduction. (Source:Mongabay.com, 30 April 2009.)

Great hornbill at stakeHornbills, especially great hornbills, areslowly and steadily vanishing from the stillintact forests of Arunachal Pradesh, India.Hunting has proved to be a far greaterthreat than habitat loss from logging andshifting cultivation.

Great hornbill body parts, especially the

casque and feathers, are an important partof the traditional rituals and customs ofmany tribes. Hunting is deeply ingrained inthe local culture across the state andperhaps across many a tribe in northeastIndia, making the curbing of hunting anexceptionally challenging task. Theyounger generation is slowly forgetting therules of hunting that their ancestorsrevered. (Extracted from: CEPF E-News,January 2009.)

Tree iguanas targeted by hunters as sourceof traditional medicine in the PlurinationalState of Bolivia Harvesting of a Bolivian lizard for itspurported healing powers is leading to itsdepletion, report researchers writing inTropical Conservation Science.

Erika De la Galvez Murillo and Luis F.Pacheco of the Universidad Mayor de SanAndrés found that collection of the Andeantree iguana or "Jararank'o" (Liolaemussignifer), a lizard found on Bolivia's dryaltiplano for use in traditional medicine,reduced the population by nearly half relativeto unharvested sites. They note that thespecies may suffer increased mortality whendens are destroyed during harvesting sincemother lizards – targeted by collectors fortheir size – care for their young.

To improve the sustainability of thepractice the authors suggest that huntersavoid collecting females and destroyingdens. (Source: Mongabay.com [Bolivia], 23 March 2009.) �

WILDLIFE SEIZURES AND PROSECUTIONS

• Investigators have seized about 300wildlife items, including rhinocerosteeth, tortoise shells, snake skins anda crocodile (species not reported)from a collector in what is describedas the biggest haul of illegal wildanimal trophies in westernSwitzerland. The collector is said to have acquired approximately 600 trophies; about 200 items wereapparently imported illegally and 350 were later sold over the Internetand by post.

• In July 2008, forest police ofManzhouli, Inner Mongolia, seized190 bear (CITES I/II) paws and 14 moose Alces alces noses, whichwere to be sent to Harbin,Heilongjiang Province by train.

• In April 2008, two wildlife dealerswere arrested in Douala, LittoralProvince, after being found trying tosell leopard Panthera pardus (CITES I)skins and trophies derived from otherspecies. The arrest was carried out bythe Provincial Delegation of Forestryand Wildlife, in collaboration withthe forces of law and order, thejudiciary and the Last Great ApeOrganization (LAGA), and was partof a nationwide programmelaunched in 2003 by the Governmentof Cameroon, with technicalassistance from LAGA, which aims atthe effective enforcement of thecountry’s 1994 wildlife law. Theenforcement programme targetswealthy dealers rather than villagers.

(Source: TRAFFIC Bulletin, 22(1),October 2008.)

Strength does not come from physicalcapacity. It comes from an indomitablewill.

Mahatma Gandhi

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


40

ARMENIA

Armenia Tree Project works with Yale'sGlobal Institute of Sustainable Forestry The Armenia Tree Project (ATP) recentlycompleted a two-year project to developsustainable forestry training models forArmenia. Through a collaborative effortwith Yale University's Global Institute ofSustainable Forestry, ATP conducted ananalysis of the forests around the village of Margahovit.

"The degradation of forested areas inArmenia necessitates a new and boldapproach to forestry practices," stated ATPExecutive Director Jeff Masarjian. "WithYale's expertise, ATP has been able tocollaborate with forestry officials to bringcutting-edge forestry training to Armenia. Itis our hope that the project will literallyreshape the nation's landscape and ensure asustainable future for its population."

ATP presented a new SustainableForestry Manual to stakeholders inArmenia and developed a seminar trainingmodel to use as a guide. The manual iscurrently being published in easternArmenia, and an English-language versionis available on the ATP Web site.

In addition, ATP assisted the localcommunity of Margahovit in identifyingNTFPs, bringing environmental educationinto the local schools and throughstakeholder meetings that outlined thebenefits and challenges of communityforestry. "An assessment was made ofplants, herbs and other NTFPs that may beharvested for generating alternativeincome for residents living in proximity tothe forests," explained Masarjian.

"The collaboration between ATP and Yalehas been a great success," concluded Dr Oliver, Director of the Yale GlobalInstitute of Sustainable Forestry. ATP iscurrently developing a plan to conductsustainable forestry training seminarsthroughout Armenia. (Source: TheArmenian Reporter [Armenia], 8 April 2009.)

BANGLADESH

Implications of livelihood dependence on NTFPs in Lawachara National Park Nowadays it is indisputable that NTFPsplay a significant and often critical role inthe quality and even survival of life of verylarge numbers of rural poor households inmost tropical developing countries such asBangladesh. In fact, their role andimportance are diverse, helpinghouseholds achieve self-sufficiency, foodsecurity, income generation, accumulationof savings and risk minimization. It hasalso increasingly been recognized that thecollection and use of NTFPs areecologically less destructive than timberharvesting, and development andpromotion of such products could provide asounder basis for sustainable forestmanagement and community upliftment.NTFPs play a role in the householdeconomy of not only the poor, but also therich.

The present study was conducted atLawachara National Park (LNP), located inthe division of Sylhet in northeasternBangladesh. Approximately 167 plantspecies and 276 animal species are foundwithin the park, which covers an area of 1 250 ha. There are 14 villages in andaround LNP: two are located within thepark and the rest in the area surrounding it.The study was conducted in LNP with theaim of investigating and comparing the roleof NTFPs in the livelihoods of thecommunities of two villages: MagurcharaPunji, within LNP and Baligaon, which isadjacent to the park. These villages werechosen because they are both easilyaccessible and depend heavily on forestresources from the park.

The study reveals that the villagers ofMagurchara Punji and Baligaon collected11 categories of NTFPs from LNP: betelleaves; bamboo; cane; fuelwood;mushrooms; wild vegetables, such asbamboo shoots, taro, thankuni (Centellaasiatica); wild fruits such as chapalish(Artocarpus chaplasha), kau (Garciniacowa), jackfruit, cane fruits, bananas,dewa (Artocarpus lacucha); different kindsof medicinal plants; birds, such as horikol(orange-breasted green pigeon) andjungle fowl; animals; and fish. Thevillagers’ income from these NTFPs inLNP is given in the table.

The study illustrates that local peoplemeet their fuelwood demands from theforest either by collecting it themselves, orby purchasing it from the market. TheKhasia communities in the interior villagedepend highly on the park, since their onlysource of cash is betel leaf cultivation onforest lands. All households – except a fewwealthy homes in the village locatedoutside the park – collect bamboo, cane,wild vegetables and medicinal plants fortheir domestic consumption. For Khasiahouseholds in the interior village, thehunting of wild animals and birds is a partof their traditional culture.

These findings suggest that anunderstanding of the role of NTFPs in thelivelihoods of local communities should beincorporated in the formulation ofcomanagement policies for all protectedareas. (Contributed by: Md. Parvez Rana,Department of Forestry andEnvironmental Science, School ofAgriculture and Mineral Sciences,Shahjalal University of Science andTechnology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh. E-mail: [email protected])

%

%

NTFPs Respondents* Income (US$)

Betel leaves 40 (88.89) 857.14–928.57/first three months before winter428.57–500/last three months after winter

Fuelwood 28 (62.22) 2.29–2.43/dayCane 20 (44.44) 2.14–2.29/dayBamboo 15 (33.33) 2–2.29/dayMushrooms 12 (26.67) 28.57–35.71/monthWild vegetables 10 (22.22) 171.43–214.29/yearWild fruits 9 (20.00) 142.86–157.14/yearMedicinal plants 19 (42.22) 185.71–228.57/yearBirds 5 (11.11) 1.43–1.71/dayAnimals 1 (2.22) 2.14–2.43/dayFish 2 (4.44) 1.43–1.71/day

*Note: same respondent earned income from more than one product. Figures in parentheses indicatepercentage of respondents.

Local people’s income from various NTFPs in the Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh



41

A look at a parasitic plant: Cuscuta reflexaRoxb. Cuscuta is a rootless parasitic plant with athread-like herbaceous stem that twineson woody or herbaceous hosts from whichit obtains nutrients by means of haustoria.Leaves are reduced to small functionlessscales. The plant’s English name is dodder;in Bangladesh it is known by a variety ofnames: swarnalata, sunno lata, tarulata,algusi, haldi, algusilata. It belongs to thefamily Cuscutaceae under the genus oneCuscuta, which is enriched with 170species in the tropical and temperate zone.Its distribution is worldwide and includessix genera in Bangladesh: C. reflexa, C. chittagongensis, C. hyalina, C. australis,C. campestris and C. chinensis. Of these, C. reflexa is the most common and widelydistributed in Bangladesh. It grows ontrees, herbs and shrubs as a parasite. Itflowers during January to February andfruits in February to March.

Cuscuta species have been found togrow on many host plants, such as Ziziphusmauritania, Mikania scandens, Eupatoriumodoratum, Ixora sp., Acacia auriculiformis,A. nilotica and Bouganvillea sp. Like othervegetables, dodder is a source of variousnutrient elements, such as carbohydrates,protein and vitamins. Cooking it makes it astasty as other vegetables but, for medicinalpurposes, it needs decoction and theaddition of some other elements.

A test was made for its growth and usages. C. reflexa was grown to spread over the

host, Ixora sp., during 2007 to 2008 insidethe Bangladesh Forest Research Institutecampus. Its green weight was 500–600g/m2; height of the host (Ixora sp.) was81–90 cm, while in the control plot (withoutC. reflexa) it reached a height of 103–200cm. The difference might have occurredthrough the parasitic effect of C. reflexa.Luxuriant growth (C. reflexa) vigour wasobserved during post-monsoon (mid-September to mid-October) when samplingwas done. Its greenish-yellow colourchanges to yellowish-green when itmatures. The stalk colour was pale and thediameter reduced during the droughtperiod (February to April). The diameter ofC. reflexa was 3.1 mm on Ixora. sp. andAcacia auriculiformis, but 3.3 mm onMikania scandens during the optimumgrowth period in September. In the light,the growth vigour of C. reflexa was betterthan on the shaded site.

Dodder is rich in food value, even higherthan many vegetables and fruits. Generally,

tribal people process Cuscuta by boiling itand adding some onion, chilli and salt. Theythen eat it with rice. It is used by variouscommunities in Bangladesh.

Certain women were found to collectCuscuta and were asked why they did it. Somereplied that this information could not bedisclosed to the male, but they told the femaleauthor that Cuscuta species were used forcuring stomach aches, for energy andantifertility purposes. Some of the womenused dodder extract on their heads, believingit would make the head cool and protectagainst hair loss. One scientist at theBangladesh Forest Research Institute advisedthat his late father added a few drops of honeyto the juice of Cuscuta, which he took againstcoughs and for the well-being of the stomach.The plant is also regarded as an alterativepurgative and anthelmintic. In addition, thedecoction of stems is useful in constipation,liver complaints and bilious affections; seedsare taken as a depurative; and the fruits areused to combat fever and coughs.

This species was also found to be used forornamental purposes, as well as to provide

cool shade where neighbours rest and passthe time by chatting or sitting together fordecision-making.

There is scope to look into the growth andyield of the plant, medicinal usages andprocessing as food. (Contributed by: ATMEmdad Hossain, Ph.D., Divisional Officer [Soil]and Shukla Rani Basak, Research Officer,Forest Botany [Taxonomy], Bangladesh ForestResearch Institute [BFRI], PB 273, Chittagong,Bangladesh 1000. Fax: +880-031-681566; e-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

BENIN

Première évaluation de la biodiversité desOdonates, des Cétoines et des Rhopalocèresde la forêt marécageuse de Lokoli (Sud-Bénin)La forêt marécageuse de Lokoli a étéprospectée en 2006 pour établir un premierinventaire des Odonata, Coleoptera cetoniidaeet Lepidoptera rhopalocera: sur 24 espècesd’Odonates recensées, 13 sont nouvelles pourle Bénin, parmi lesquelles Oxythemisphoenicosceles Ris, espèce rare, etCeriagrion citrinum Campion, classée commevulnérable sur la liste rouge de l’UICN etjustifiant à elle seule la protection du site.

Douze espèces de Cétoines ont étérecensées, pour la plupart typiquementforestières; Cyprolais aurata (Westwood) serévèle une espèce typique des forêtsinondées et Grammopyga cincta Kolbe n’estconnue au Bénin que de Lokoli et de la valléede l’Ouémé; sur 75 espèces de Rhopalocères,28 sont nouvelles pour le Bénin et 9seulement sont strictement inféodées à desmilieux forestiers. Eurema hapale Mabille, E. desjardinsii regularis Butler et Acraeaencedana Pierre, espèces peu communes,sont inféodées aux milieux humides. La forêtmarécageuse de Lokoli, unique au Bénin surle plan écologique et contribuant à labiodiversité régionale, devraitimpérativement être élevée au statut deréserve naturelle.(Source: extrait d’un article par SéverinTchibozo, Henri-Pierre Aberlenc, PhilippeRyckewaert et Philippe Le Gall.)

POUR PLUS D’INFORMATIONS, CONTACTER: M. Séverin Tchibozo, Centre de recherchepour la gestion de la biodiversité et duterroir (CERGET), 04 B.P. 0385 Cotonou,Bénin. Télécopie: (+229) 21303084; courriel:[email protected]; www.cerget.org/ ouwww.arccona.com

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

%Authors’ recipe for a tasty meal usingdodder1 kg dodder stems 59–75 ml edible oil50 g chopped onion10–15 green chilli (according to taste)5–10 cardamom seeds10 g carminative cumin seeds(Cuminum cyminum – Jira-Bengali)Turmeric (for colour)Salt Wash the collected thread-likeherbaceous stems and cut into piecesof 1–3 in (2.5–7.6 cm). Boil for 4–5minutes and then make a mould bypasting. Then fry the dodder mould inedible oil with the chopped onion andadd chilli (if used), cardamom, cumin,turmeric and salt. Cook for 2–5minutes. Allow to cool and serve.



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

“District- and gewog-level data are highlyuseful for national planning and policy-making purposes, as well as forresearchers and rural developmentprojects. Data on land suited for agriculturalproduction are vital in a country wherefarming is limited by steep and ruggedmountain terrain, altitude and the highpriority given to forest cover,” states themedia release. “Forest-related data areneeded to determine the quantity of woodbeing harvested for various purposes andthe income generated by farmers from thesale of NWFPs.” (Source: Kuensel Online[Bhutan], 16 March 2009.)

BOLIVIA (PLURINATIONALSTATE OF)

The importance of plant knowledgeHow important is traditional plantknowledge in the Amazon? According to arecent study among the Tsimane' in theAmazonian Plurinational State of Bolivia,each standard deviation of maternalethnobotanical knowledge increases thelikelihood of good child health by morethan 50 percent. And the study raises thequestion: What will be the cost – to theTsimane' and other indigenous peoples – ifsuch ethnobotanical knowledge is lost?

The Tsimane' number about 8 000people who live in approximately 100villages along the Maniqui River and theinterior of the Pilon Lajas region of theBolivian Amazon. Tsimane' villages aresmall, with an average of about 24households linked by kinship andmarriage. At the time of the study, nohousehold had electricity or running waterand half the villages were inaccessible byroad. The Tsimane' have traditionally livedby slash-and-burn agriculture, gathering,hunting and fishing. However, since the1970s, their territory has been encroachedupon by colonist farmers, logging firms,cattle ranchers and oil companies. TheTsimane' now increasingly interact with themarket economy through the sale of goodsand wage labour, primarily on cattleranches, logging camps and farms.

Such integration into the marketeconomy brings about changes inoccupation, preferences, socialorganization, and health and nutritionalstatus. The Tsimane' are now starting tomerge into a culture that places no valueon their indigenous knowledge, especiallytheir ethnobotanical knowledge. Under this

BHUTAN

Boost for bamboo-product makers With a crash course in cane furnituremaking from Guwahati under his belt, ApSangay Wangdi from Thrimshing set out forThimphu not long ago with two freshly builtbamboo chairs and a table – hoping to sellthem all. But he returned home, hisfurniture on the back of a bus, hisdemeanour anything but jaunty.

He never imagined it would turn out thisway. For years, Ap Sangay, 64, had beenselling Kangpar and Thrimshing bambooproducts in Thimphu. He sold bangchungs,ara palangs, quivers, mats, hats, and dalas(bichap) to Thimphu residents. His was amodest business. Ap Sangay found out thatcheaper and better furniture – made ofwood – had broken into his market. It wasnot that he had not been aware of this inthe past. But bamboo products still ruledthe roost. Discovering that wooden oneshad nudged him out of the market was,indeed, a bitter pill to swallow. Bamboofurniture making was his main source ofincome.

But he did not want to switch to woodenproducts. Moreover, Thrimshing Kangparfarmers, from whom he bought bambooproducts, depended on his business doingwell. For them too, bamboo meant money.

The solution was some interesting newdesigns, not to mention marketing skills. Itwas with this realization that 70 peoplejumped at the opportunity to participate ina ten-day bamboo-product developmenttraining, sponsored by the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) and theNetherlands Development Organisation(SNV) recently. They were taught to makenew designs by blending traditionalweaving styles, but using treated materialfor longer product life.

When Kuensel visited their villagesrecently, Dorji Tshomo, 56, was hard atwork on the new designs picked up at the

training. “It involves hard work. However,we have better tools,” she said, displaying aset of tools provided free from the trainingprogramme. A Thrimshing farmer said,however, that they would still continue toproduce traditional products besides thenew ones, which include lampshades,hangers, ladles, tissue paper holders, traysand other utility products.

The Government has assured them ofgood marketing, at least in the beginning.Meanwhile, Ap Sangay has got back thespring in his step and can be seen inThimphu’s market vending his wares.(Source: Kuensel Online [Bhutan], 22February 2009.)

Bamboo demise in BhutanDying bamboo on the hills of Jarey gewogin Lhuentse, northeastern Bhutan, creates a resource crisis for the villagers whodepend on bamboo for roofing and otherdomestic purposes.

Villagers have started penetratingdeeper into the forests, but say there arenot many bamboos around. “Whatever’savailable is very far and difficult totransport,” said a villager. “We’ve startedscaling the other side of Jarey hill in thehope of finding bamboos to reroof ourhouses before the monsoon sets in.”

Elders in the village said that they havenever faced such problems in the past.(Source: Kuensel Online [Bhutan], 10 April2009.)

CountrySTAT-Bhutan The recently launched CountrySTAT-Bhutan is a Web-based system fordisseminating national food andagricultural statistical data together withmetadata for analysis and policy-making.

Developed over the past 18 months withfinancial and technical support from theFAO-Netherlands Partnership Programme(FNPP), Country STAT-Bhutan aims toprovide reliable information on key sectorsof the country’s agriculture-dependenteconomy to relevant stakeholders. Thesystem contains statistical data on landuse, agricultural production (crops,livestock and forests), export and import ofagricultural products, agricultural inputs,commodity prices, farm machinery anddevelopment infrastructure.

CountrySTAT-Bhutan will complementand be compatible with FAO’s FAOSTATdatabase. Data are classified as pernational, dzongkhag and gewog levels, withnational-level data shared with FAOSTAT.

%

%



43C O U N T R Y C O M P A S S

pressure, traditional knowledge ofmedicinal plants is starting to disappear,with little to take its place. Too often, ashere, the global market holds out the offerof Western medicine without providing themeans to gain access to it.

Thomas McDade and William Leonardfrom Northwestern University set out tolearn what impact the loss of traditionalplant knowledge might have on the healthof children. To do this, they assessed thehealth of 330 Tsimane' children, aged fromtwo to ten years old, and tested theirmothers and fathers on both theirknowledge of local plants and their skills atusing them. Local ethnobotanicalknowledge was quantified using fivemeasures: agreement with local experts onplant uses; botanical knowledge; skills inusing plants; total number of plants used;and diversity of plants used. Child healthwas measured using three variables:concentration of C-reactive protein, amarker of infectious burden; skinfoldthickness, a measure of fat stores; andstature, used to calculate height-for-agescores, an indicator of nutritional andhealth status.

The results were striking. For eachmeasure of health, mothers with higherlevels of plant knowledge and use hadhealthier children, independent ofpotentially confounding variables related toeducation, market participation andacculturation.

The Tsimane' ethnomedical traditionmay play a particularly important part inprotecting health because effectivecommercial medicines are expensive anddifficult for the Tsimane' to procure. Ifremedies derived from local plants areeffective in preventing or treating illness,this would contribute not only to lowerlevels of inflammation but also to improvedlinear growth and body fat stores byreducing allocations of energy to fuellingimmunity and fighting infection.

Strikingly, although the authors infer adirect association between maternal plantknowledge and child health, it may be thatthis association is mediated by the childrenthemselves. Tsimane' children spend muchof their time away from parentalsupervision, playing and foraging in smallpeer groups, and the authors report seeingolder children use medicinal plants bothfor themselves and for younger children. Itmay be that plant knowledge – like somuch other cultural knowledge – is passed,not from adults to children, but rather from

older children to younger children. In thepreservation of plant knowledge lies thedestiny of the people. (Source: RedBoliviaInternacional [Bolivia], January 2009.)

BULGARIA

Bulgarian honey trade According to the Bulgarian Bee Union,Bulgaria produces 8 000–11 000 tonnes ofhoney each year. The annual consumptionof honey per person is 0.4–0.5 kg (averageconsumption for Europe is 1.5–2 kg peryear).

Between 5 000 and 8 000 tonnes are soldwithin Bulgaria and 3 000–6 000 tonnes areexported. Every year in Europe 140 000–150 000 tonnes of honey are traded andtherefore Bulgaria accounts for only 1 percent of the European honey trade. Themajor trade partner for Bulgaria isGermany, followed by France, Italy andSpain.

The Bee Union aims to popularize honeyconsumption in Bulgaria because it hasbeen proved that the price on the localBulgarian market is better than for export.(Source: Bees for Development Journal,89, December 2008.)

CAMBODIA

Mondulkiri honey going wild Indigenous Phnong (also referred to asBunong) communities in Krang Thes andPou Chrey communes are operating ahoney enterprise project, a NTFP-basedlivelihood initiative that started in 2007 withsupport from WWF. The project currentlycovers 46 households, all honey collectors,and promotes a sustainable harvestingpractice that respects biodiversity andmaintains the intimate relationship andharmony with the forests.

During their harvest period of March toMay 2008, the communities achieved a

honey collection of 1 000 litres. Of these,400 litres were packaged following hygienicpractices. In June 2008, the brand name“Mondulkiri Wild Honey” kicked off its firstpromotions in ten shops and NGO-basedselling outlets in both Mondulkiri Provinceand Phnom Penh. Many environmental andcommercial events were opportunities tointroduce this new product.

“At the Third Cambodian NationwideTrade Fair held in December last year, thecommunity sold around US$799 worth ofhoney during the four-day event annuallyorganized to promote Khmer products. Thiswas good exposure for the community’shoney and a good opportunity to convey themessage of linking forest conservation tothe livelihoods of the community,” saidAmy Maling, Community ExtensionTechnical Advisor with WWF’s EasternPlains Landscape Project (EPL).

Honey is one of the forest-basedresources that has the potential togenerate income among the Phnongindigenous communities in Mondulkiri.Proper handling and good honey harvestingpractices not only result in higherproduction, but maintain the intimaterelationship and harmony between peopleand the wilderness. Honey bees need theforest to survive and produce honey. Theyrequire large trees for nesting and areimportant agents of pollination for manyplants in the forests.

Besides improving honey productivity,the development of the honey enterprisealso brings change to the local honey tradesituation. Traditionally, fresh wild honey issold only to Mondulkiri’s local buyers whooffer a low and unstable price. In 2007, forexample, honey was sold for 10 000 riel(around US$2.5) per litre. But with theincreased market in the province andcapital of Phnom Penh, the Phnongcollectors sold an average of 18 000 riel(around $4.5)/litre in 2008.

According to Maling, the honey collectorsare now collecting information about thenumber of honeybee nests, a crucial stepfor the management of this important NTFPresource. Trees where they collect honeyare being tagged and mapping of thecollection areas is being carried out.

To promote sustainable use of forestresources, EPL’s community extension teamconducts regular awareness-raising of theimportance of forests among 16 localvillages and encourages them to protectthese natural resources, which can sustaintheir livelihood for generations to come.

%

%




The increased awareness of local peopleabout the environment and theirinvolvement in livelihood activities,conservation and natural resourcesmanagement are a crucial contribution topreserving Cambodia’s unique wildernessof dry forest Eastern Plains, which harboura number of globally important wildlife.(Source: Voices from the forest, 16, March2009.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Asnarith Tep, Senior Communications Officer,WWF Greater Mekong Cambodia CountryProgramme, House 54, Street 352, BoeungKeng Kang I, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Fax: +855 23 211 909; e-mail:[email protected]

Community forests signed over to Kampong Thom villagers Thirty-two Community Forest Agreementswere signed in Kampong Thom Province inlate March, formally handing over themanagement of 15 000 ha of forest land tolocal communities. This is part of a 15-yearsocial land concession that developmentofficials say will reduce exposure todeforestation and offer residents a newsource of income.

Development groups involved in thehandover say forests in the hands of localcommunities have fared better than forestson public land or unregulated private land.

"[Villagers] have the most to gain andthe most to lose from what happens to theforests they depend upon," said Yam Malla,Executive Director of the RegionalCommunity Forestry Training Centre. "Theyare the most willing and most able to investtime, effort and their considerable humanresources to ensure the forest is protectedand well managed."

Ty Sokun, Director General of theForestry Administration, said the KampongThom concession could be the beginning of

a much broader project. He promised atotal of 2 million ha of Cambodian forest tocommunity forestry, although he did notspecify a timeline. Such a plan would put 20 percent of the country's forests into thehands of local communities; currently thefigure stands at just 3 percent. (Source: ThePhnom Penh Post, 31 March 2009.)

“Ecstasy oil” distilleries threaten rainforestsAuthorities, working with conservationists,have raided and closed several “ecstasy oil”distilleries in Cambodia's CardamomMountains. The distilleries posed a threatto the region's rich biological diversity,reports Fauna & Flora International (FFI),the conservation group involved in theoperation.

"The factories had been set up to distill'sassafras oil', produced by boiling theroots and the trunk of the exceptionallyrare Mreah Prew Phnom trees(Cinnamomum parthenoxylon) andexported to neighbouring countries," saidFFI. "The oil is used in the production ofcosmetics, but can also be used as aprecursor chemical in the altogether moresinister process of producing MDMA –more commonly known as ecstasy.”

The distillation process not onlythreatens Mreah Prew Phnom trees, butdamages the surrounding forestecosystem. Producing sassafras oil isillegal in Cambodia. (Source:Mongabay.com [Cambodia], 25 February2009.)

CAMEROON

Cameroon raid nets key poachers and huge bushmeat haulPrompted by concerns about poaching fromWWF, the Cameroon Ministry of Forestry andWildlife organized a major week-longantipoaching operation in the region intandem with the national military. Acombined unit of soldiers, police and gamerangers uncovered more than 1 000 kg ofbushmeat, the remains of which includedseveral protected species: gorillas,elephants and chimpanzees. They alsoconfiscated more than 30 guns from thesuspected poachers.

WWF is now calling on the Ministry ofForestry and Wildlife to push for the swiftprosecution of the 15 suspected poachersarrested to complete last week’sspectacular antipoaching drive properly.

The operation was carried out in targetedvillages with the help of local traditionalrulers and the local population. The teamsalso carried out in-forest and maritimepatrols during which two elephant tusks,three elephant tails and great ape parts wereconfiscated.

“It is critical for both government andother stakeholders to examine the alarmingwildlife decimation in order to forestall whatcould turn out to be a regrettable carnageand irreversible loss of biodiversity,” saysMartin Tchamba, National Director for WWFCameroon. “We need to urgently work out thecauses of the present poaching upsurge anddetermine appropriate actions in order tosafeguard key wildlife species in and aroundthe parks.” (Source: WWF Cameroon, 7 May2009.)

L’impact du braconnage dans les foretstropicales d’Afrique centrale et celles de l’Unité technique opérationnelle (UTO) deDeng Deng au Cameroun en particulier L’UTO de Deng Deng est située dans la régionde l’Est-Cameroun. Les populations qui s’ytrouvent sont inactives à d’autres activitésindigènes; pourtant, il y’a souvent une raretédes produits agricoles, situation rare au seinde telles collectivités rurales d’Afrique avecun sol fertile. Pour ces populations, lebraconnage est la seule source de revenus:d’où la chasse non contrôlée des espècesfauniques; d’après mes enquêtes, lespopulations exerçant l’activité de braconnagedéclarent qu’elles ont des revenus limités; lachasse serait donc leur seul moyen de survie.Notre objectif est d’assurer la gestiondurable des ressources naturelles pour undéveloppement socioéconomique au sein descollectivités villageoises. Dans ce cas précis,faut-il préserver les ressources tout enlaissant les populations dans la pauvreté?

Cependant, l’ampleur du braconnage estdevenue telle que certaines espèces sontdésormais menacées d’extinction. La récolteactuelle de viande de brousse en Afriquecentrale est d’environs un million de tonnespar an, soit une valeur de 4 millions de têtesde bétail. A ce rythme de braconnage, dans50 ans, les forets tropicales du bassin duCongo deviendront silencieuses,conséquence de la perte de la biodiversité etde la rupture des équilibres naturels.Parallèlement, les populations seronttoujours dans la pauvreté.

Résoudre ce problème revient à réaliserdans de telles régions des projets de lapréservation des ressources forestières touten assurant le développement par la mise en

%




œuvre de façon durable des fonctionsenvironnementales, économiques et socialesdes forêts tropicales. (Contribution de:Gwomb Bi Hell Emmanuel, Présidentfondateur du GFCSD, B.P. 33939 Yaoundé,Cameroun. Courriel: [email protected])

Life around Ngovayang Forest Environmental experts have startedimplementing field-level microprojectsaimed at improving the livelihoods of peopleliving in and around the Ngovayang Forest inthe South Region. The initiative to conserveand manage sustainably the biodiversity ofthe Ngovayang Forest was officially launchedin November 2008 at a workshop organizedunder the auspices of the CameroonBiodiversity Conservation Society (CBCS), anaffiliate of BirdLife International. Thelaunching ceremony brought togetherrepresentatives of relevant governmentministries, community-based organizationsand traditional institutions in the area.

The Ngovayang Forest constitutes animportant source of livelihood for the localpeople, derived from the use of NTFPs. Themanagement and sustainable harvest ofthese products necessitate a betterunderstanding of the collection, processingand marketing of the products.

The indigenous people of the area arethe Bagneli and Bakola, living alongsidetheir Bantou neighbours, who often claimownership of all natural resources in theregion.

CBCS has long been carrying out researchactivities in the Ngovayang Forest areageared towards enhancing the livingconditions of the indigenous people whileconserving biodiversity in the region.

The microprojects designed to alleviatepoverty, following research results in thearea, touch on improvement of income-generating activities, sustainableharvesting of NTFPs, creation ofcommunity farms and enhancement skillsin craft work. These projects are intendedto link the livelihood improvement tobiodiversity conservation by strengtheningthe capacity of the indigenous people.

CBCS is in the process of implementinga five-year development and conservationproject on livelihood improvement in thearea. For this initiative to have maximumimpact and benefits for the indigenouspeople and the site support groups,collaboration among, and identification of,the various stakeholders become ofparamount importance. (Source:Cameroon Tribune, 30 March 2009.)

CANADA

Non-timber forest products get their owndirectoryBlueberry wine, fiddleheads, bird-watchingtours, mushrooms, birds-eye woodsculptures and maple butter are just someof the items in a new NTFP directory inAtlantic Canada.

Called From Our Atlantic Woods, thenew directory was put together by severalforestry organizations in New Brunswick,Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island,Newfoundland and Maine and containsmore than 260 items.

The Atlantic team, led by INFOR Inc. inNew Brunswick, has been working closelywith the Buy BCwild team on developing anonline and printed directory similar to thatof Buy BCwild. “We are very happy tocollaborate with the Royal RoadsUniversity’s Centre for Non-TimberResources team on this project, whichmakes it much easier for us to embark onthis initiative and affords a certainconsistency across borders,” explainsJanette Desharnais, Executive Director ofINFOR Inc. “We are constantly discoveringnew and unique NTFPs throughout theregion – and the producers are very happyto hop on board and promote their goodsthrough our directory. It will be a great toolfor people seeking local and naturalproducts from the forest land base.”

The directory is available atwww.FromOurAtlanticWoods.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Janette Desharnais, Executive Director, INFOR Inc., 1350 Regent St, MCFT, Room 223,Fredericton, New Brunswick E3C 2G6, Canada. Fax: +01- 506-454-0652; e-mail: [email protected];www.fromouratlanticwoods.com/en/index.php

The agriculture and agrifood sector inBritish Columbia The agriculture and agrifood sector inBritish Columbia is naturally diverse,producing over 350 products from our richand varied land and aquatic resources.Non-timber forest resources (NTFRs) andwild products are part of the natural bountythat British Columbians enjoy. Since theearly 1950s with the onset of use of woodyflorals harvested from the forestunderstorey, to the diversity of NTFRs thathave appeared regularly in themarketplace, British Columbian FirstNations, harvesters and producers arecontributing at least $600 million per yearto the economy.

NTFR development can representimportant economic opportunities forremote and rural communities, inparticular those affected by mountain pinebeetle, and other resource-dependentregions. First Nations communities have along history with NTFRs and some havespecifically targeted NTFRs as part of theireconomic development plans. Supportingcommunity and cultural values is importantto all British Columbians – thoughtfuladvances and partnerships in appropriateNTFR development can be part ofsustaining healthy communities.

Providing some crossover with NTFRs,the British Columbian Ministry ofAgriculture and Lands supports anagroforestry programme – an integratedsystems approach that encompasses andbalances economic, environmental andsocial values. The programme is driven bypartnerships and identified gaps, needsand interests. Sustainable, ethicaldevelopment of NTFRs and services isessential when capturing the value of theforest understorey – without compromisingcultural or traditional rights, biodiversityand healthy ecosystems.

British Columbians value theirenvironment and their diverse culturalheritage. Consumers everywhere areincreasingly interested in the detailed storybehind a product – who produces it, whereit comes from and how it is produced arenow part of the package. A localsustainability ethic is one of these keypieces. The Ministry of Agriculture andLands is pleased to support the Centre forNon-Timber Resources in its work toprovide key resources for sustainable,conscientious development in thisemerging sector. (Source: Buy BCwild,2008/2009.)

%




FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THEAUTHOR: Ann Eastman, Ph.D., British Columbian Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, PO Box 9120, Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 9E2.E-mail: [email protected]

Wild harvesting may come at a cost The choice to buy something foraged from aCanadian forest instead of importedbroccoli may seem good, but when wildfoods hit the mainstream, the risks ofoverharvesting can threaten the speciesand large-scale industrial processing candiminish the qualities that attracted peoplein the first place.

A few years ago, wild leeks, also knownas ramps (Allium tricoccum), were enjoyedonly by foragers and gourmets who knewthe woodland plant offered a delectableonion flavour with a hint of garlic. This year,the wild relative of the onion is everywhere.But all this attention is not good news for theleek, says Gérald Le Gal, President of theQuebec-based Association for theCommercialization of Forest Mushroomsand owner of Gourmet Sauvage, a companythat sells prepared wild fruits andvegetables. Mr Le Gal does not think anyoneshould be selling ramps. "Don't touch thestuff. It's just too vulnerable," he says.

When you pick a ramp, you take the entireplant, including the bulb. Once the bulb isgone, there is nothing left of the plant; it willnot grow back the next year. The Toronto andRegion Conservation Authority considers it tobe "a species of conservation concern". Andeating a nice-sized bulb could be theequivalent of dining on an old-growth cedar."It's a really, really, slow-growth plant. A bulbcould be 18 to 20 years old," Mr Le Gal says.

In Quebec, the wild leek saw a similarsurge in popularity in the early 1990s. Atfarmers' markets across the province,bottles of pickled wild leek were snappedup by the hundreds, pushing the species tothe brink. Today, in Quebec, it is illegal tosell wild leeks. In an attempt to stopextinction by commercialization, theprovincial government only allows peopleto harvest 50 bulbs a season for personaluse. Chefs are not allowed to cook withthem, and it is forbidden to import themfrom other provinces.

Wild leeks are not the only forest productgrowing in popularity. NorCliff Farms Inc., thecountry's largest supplier of fiddleheads(Matteuccia spp.), has seen a 20 percent risein demand each year for its fresh and frozen

products over the past ten years, says ChiefExecutive Officer Nick Secord. This spring,the company opened a processing plant inQuebec where about 60 000 tonnes offiddleheads roll off the conveyor belt everyday. To satisfy demand, the company trucks infiddleheads foraged from riverbanks andforests in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswickand Nova Scotia, as well as the northeasternUnited States of America, Mr Secord says.

Unlike ramps, harvesting fiddleheadsdoes not endanger the plant – as long asyou do not take too many from the samepatch, says Jonathan Forbes, owner ofForbes Wild Foods. He says pickers shouldonly take three of the seven fronds of eachplant or else risk its survival.

Experts say problems start when peopledo not respect these guidelines. "You've gotpeople who are aware of how to harvestproperly and others who just want to makea buck," says Tim Brigham of the Centrefor Non-Timber Resources at Royal RoadsUniversity on Vancouver Island, a researchcentre dedicated to the sustainable use offorest products.

Mr Brigham believes that it is possiblefor Canadians to harvest wild foodscommercially from nature in ways thatpreserve the ecosystem. He is part of agroup trying to put together a nationalnetwork of sustainable harvesters.

As long as harvesting is donesustainably, wild foods can help to protectnature, Mr Forbes says. "When peoplerealize that the forests provide really goodfood, it gives it an ecological value it didn'thave before. Then they may go easy on theenvironment." (Source: The Globe and Mail[Canada], 21 May 2009.)

Tapping trees for that classic Canadian flavour It has been sweet success for a new breed ofsapsuckers who introduced the maple syrupindustry to Vancouver Island seven years ago.

A study of demand and supply ofmedicinal plants in India carried out by theBoard during 2007-2008 highlightedalarming shortages of some of the plantsused by the Ayurvedic industry.

Ladysmith's Gary Backlund and fiveothers in the Master Woodland Managerprogramme at Vancouver Island Universitydecided to create a West Coast maple syrupindustry in 2002. More than 85 percent ofthe world's maple syrup is produced inCanada and is most commonly made in theeastern provinces of Quebec, Ontario, NewBrunswick and Nova Scotia. In 2007, morethan 40 600 tonnes of Canadian syrup,

valued at $231 million, were sold to 45 different countries.

While the Vancouver Island production is adrop in the ocean compared with the easternindustry, Backlund and his fellow sapsuckersproduced 3 000 litres of sap in their firstseason. Last year, more than 60 000 litres ofsap were collected from bigleaf maples allover Vancouver Island. Backlund and hisdaughter Katherine do not measure theirsuccess in how much money they make fromtheir maple syrup hobby.

Commercial success, however, was on themind of Bram Lucieer of Campbell River, oneof the original six island sap seekers. He didnot make syrup. Instead, he produced a raremaple wine. Lucieer's ambition to sell hisaward-winning maple wine in the nationaland international market was corked whenhe ran into the arduous commercialregulations.

It is a huge disappointment since he isconfident that he tapped into something thathas the potential to make a large profit withhardly any overheads.

"The raw material is virtually free for thetaking. The commercial profit would be huge.It's not like maple syrup where the reductionrate is about 40 (litres of sap) to one (litre ofsyrup). One litre of sap makes one litre ofwine," said Lucieer.

Lucieer says he would be willing to sharehis trade secrets to help others take WestCoast maple wine to the next level. Aplantation of bigleaf maples would be the firststep in making a profitable maple wine ormaple syrup company. (Source: Canada.com[Canada], 23 February 2009.)

CHINA

China introduces traditional medicines intobasic health care programme Beijing. China is trying to incorporate itscenturies-old traditional medicine, mostlybased on herbs, into the national basic healthcare programme.

The State Council, the country's Cabinet,pledged in a circular on Thursday to enable

%




every community and village health servicecentre to provide a traditional medicineservice for citizens. "Traditional medicineshave outstanding advantages. They cost muchless than Western medicines. They will fit inwith the health service in rural areas andcommunities," said Professor Ha Xiaoxianfrom Tianjin University of Traditional ChineseMedicine.

The State Council said that traditionalmedicine hospitals will be on the list ofdesignated hospitals under the country'sbasic health insurance programmes for bothrural and urban residents. In addition, theGovernment welcomes private investors toinvest in hospitals or pharmacies oftraditional medicine. It also encouragesveteran doctors to open their own clinics andallows doctors to work at chemists’ shopsdispensing traditional medicines.

The circular admitted that the country seesmany problems in passing on and renewingthe ancient knowledge of traditionalmedicine. "A lot of valuable knowledge wasnot passed from the older generation to theyounger and some important therapies werelost." The Government plans to registerancient medical books, develop a catalogueand set up a digital database for them. It willalso support research and publishing of thesebooks.

More resources will be spent on theeducation and training of doctors. The centralgovernment will support some key researchinstitutes and colleges. It also encouragesapprenticeships for training doctors as analternative to medical schools, especially inrural areas. For thousands of years, doctorsof traditional Chinese medicine passed ontheir knowledge through apprentices,especially from father to son. Even now manydoctors prefer keeping effective and originalprescriptions as "family secrets" and onlytelling them to people they trust. (Source:Xinhuanet.com [China], 7 May 2009.)

COLOMBIA

La recolección excesiva de productosforestales no madereros La demanda y el consumo de diversosproductos del bosque están provocando suagotamiento a un ritmo alarmante, siendouna de las causas subyacentes de la pérdidade la biodiversidad.

En Colombia, la recolección excesiva,con fines comerciales y ornamentales, devarios grupos de plantas como orquídeas,zamias y palmas, ha supuesto que varias

especies se encuentren en algunacategoría de amenaza. La explotación deorquídeas de los géneros Anguloa, Cattleyay Cycnoches, es un factor que incide en laspoblaciones naturales, llevándolas adiferentes niveles de amenazas. Casossimilares se documentan para variasespecies de zamias, principalmente Z.encephalartoides y Z. wallisii, de las cualesse ha realizado extracción ilegal detubérculos y semillas con finescomerciales, y a nivel de palmas, las quepresentan amenaza por sobreexplotacióndel recurso son la palma estera(Astrocaryum malybo) y las palmas de cera(Ceroxylon sp.), cuyas hojas se extraenpara la elaboración de ramos para laSemana Santa.Fuente: López Camachó, René. 2008.Productos forestales no maderables:importancia e impacto de suaprovechamiento. Revista ColombiaForestal Vol. 11 - diciembre 2008.

PARA MÁS INFORMACIÓN, DIRIGIRSE A: René López Camachó, Universidad DistritalFrancisco José de Caldas, Facultad de MedioAmbiente y Recursos Naturales, Bogotá,Colombia. (Correo electrónico:[email protected])(Please see page 20 for more information on palm fronds.)

ETHIOPIA

EU grants €251 million to supportdevelopment programmesAddis Ababa. Ethiopia signed amultisectoral grant agreement on Thursdayamounting to €251 million with theEuropean Commission to assist itsdevelopment endeavours in the road sector,productive safety net programmes andforest management, including technicalassistance to support implementation of itsdevelopment strategy.

Of this amount, €6 million will be used forthe sustainable management of Ethiopia'sforests in order to improve food security,strengthen the rural economy and reduceenvironmental degradation. It will also beused to improve forest conditions and forest-based livelihoods through building up thecapacity of the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development and the community toscale up and mainstream participatory forestmanagement and NTFP development.(Source: The Africa Monitor in AllAfrica.com[Ethiopia], 30 January 2009.)

GABON

Urban hunters do most harm to apepopulations in Gabon Commercial hunters from towns areexacting a much bigger toll on great apesthan subsistence hunters from smallvillages, according to an analysis of apenest density near human settlements.

The finding that numbers of gorillas andchimpanzees appear to have dwindledtwice as much near towns in Gabon thannear villages supports a focus onconservation efforts that tacklecommercial hunting over those that aim toconvince villagers to give up subsistencehunting, says Hjalmar Kühl at the MaxPlanck Institute for EvolutionaryAnthropology in Leipzig, Germany, whoconducted the study with colleagues.(Source: New Scientist, 3 March 2009.)

GEORGIA

Breakthrough sustainable forest-use planA conservation group in Georgia hasrealized a milestone for the Caucasus hotspot with a landmark management planbalancing sustainability and developmentwhile opening the door for transboundarycooperation along the West LesserCaucasus biodiversity conservationcorridor.

With Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund(CEPF) support and input from allstakeholders, the Association for NatureProtection and Sustainable Development(Mta-Bari) has developed the managementblueprint for the buffer zone surroundingMtirala National Park. Roughly 20 000 ha ofmostly pristine mountain forest fall underthe purview of the document, whichidentifies areas for intervention and lays thegroundwork for careful land use.

“The plan contains needed guidelines forsustainable use of natural resources andgeneration of alternative livelihoods, suchas beekeeping, grape cultivation and

%

%

%

%




small-scale tourism,” explained ZurabManvelidze, Project Coordinator and Mta-Bari chairman. “It is the first of its kind inthe hot spot and should serve as animportant template for work in otherprotected areas of the Caucasus.”

Unique geology, terrain and climatehave made the Caucasus among the mostbiologically diverse regions in thetemperate world. A quarter of its 6 500species of vascular plants are foundnowhere else on Earth – the highest levelof endemism in the temperate zone.However, unsustainable use of forests,poaching and overharvesting of decorativeplants are major threats to the buffer zoneand the park.

Beyond establishing a framework tocounter these threats, the managementplan, which has been approved by theGeorgian Government, has also served as alaunching pad for discussions ontransboundary cooperation with Turkey. ItsJamili Biosphere Reserve is a shortdistance from the Mtirala buffer zone andborders a proposed protected area inGeorgia’s Machakhela region. Closecooperation between the countries wouldstrengthen conservation in the region,while promoting tourism and othereconomic opportunities for communities.(Source: CEPF E-News, March 2009.)

GHANA

Ghana to build shea butter processingplant with Brazilian help The Produce Buying Company (PBC) ofGhana signed a memorandum ofunderstanding (MOU) with Sysgate Ltd ofBrazil to establish a shea nut processingplant in the country. The establishment ofthe plant, which is the brainchild of Vice-President John Mahama, would allow forthe export of shea butter and help Ghanatap into a fast expanding global shea tradeprojected to gross US$500 million/yearwithin the next five years. Theestablishment of the plant would enablePBC to process between 40 and 100 000tonnes of nuts annually.

Vice-President Mahama described theevent as the "first conspicuous step"towards revamping the shea industry andmaking it a driving force in thedevelopment of the savannah area ofGhana. He reported that the shea trade iscrucial in the socio-economic developmentof the northern parts of the country and

promotes improved rural livelihoods forwomen.

Brazilian Ambassador, Mr LuisFernando Serra, tasked the twoorganizations to use the pact as ademonstration that it is through fair andfree trade rather than aid that poverty canbe significantly reduced. Mr Serrapromised to work towards integrating theeconomies of the two countries through thepromotion of trade.

Although the shea crop is widelyavailable in the northern regions of Ghana,the difficulty in harvesting the wild crop andthe lack of processing facilities hascontributed towards the downturn of theindustry. According to the PBC, Sysgatewas chosen because of the company'sexpertise in providing a special technologyto maximize yields from shea processing.(Source: Ghana home page –ghanaweb.com [Ghana], 27 March 2009.)

INDIA

Karaya: an underutilized Indian tree forgum production in tribal areasThe karaya tree (Sterculia urens) yieldsgum karaya, which is an important NTFP incentral Indian tribal areas. The tree wasvery common in the central Indian forests,but has now nearly disappeared from thestates of Gujarat, Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh and Maharashtra throughoverexploitation. The state of AndhraPradesh is at present the major gumproducer.

The karaya tree is native to tropical, dry,deciduous forests, preferring an unusualnatural habitat, occupying hill tops,exposed ridges, rocky crevices, erodedslopes and similar hostile habitats. It isextremely resistant to drought and willgrow on the poorest of dry stony soils. It is

also not grazed by cattle. If incorporatedinto farming systems of drought-proneareas, it has great potential to leverageextra livelihood support for small andmarginal farmers during crisis situations.

This medium-sized deciduous tree isleafless in winter and summer. It flowers inJanuary to March and fruits ripen in April toMay when seed collection is possible.Capsules need to be harvested before theyare too dry otherwise they burst open whilestill on the plant and the seeds arescattered. The seeds are eaten by childrenand monkeys and, therefore, seedcollection may be a problem.

To extract gum from the bark, it isnecessary to damage it. The traditionalpractice of extracting gum from the bark byaxe also harmed the inner wood.Accelerated gum extraction has led to arapid decline in natural stands.

Some problems associated with karayagum collection are:

• the supply of substandard quality gumkaraya lowers prices at all levels;

• gum tapping of karaya requires aspecialized skill and knowledge in order to access the best-quality gumwhile minimizing damage to the tree;

%

%

THE BAIF STRATEGY FOR KARAYADEVELOPMENT

BAIF (formerly known as the BharatiyaAgro Industries Foundation) is currentlyimplementing integrated tribaldevelopment projects in tribal areasacross India and has established theResource Centre for TribalDevelopment (RCTD) to ensure strongtechnical support to the fieldprogramme. RCTD has recentlylaunched a major initiative to promotetree farming of karaya, which isthreatened with extinction in many ofits natural habitats.

The tree, which was a majorlivelihood resource from natural forestsin BAIF’s operational areas, is nownearly extinct. BAIF’s plan is to restorethe lost glory of this resource and nowto reestablish it consciously on privatelyheld marginal lands to avoid anyconflict over tenure of natural trees,and ensure long-term sustainableharvesting practices.




• since the gum is widely used in the foodand pharmaceutical industries, both indomestic and foreign markets,maintaining high-quality standards iscritical; and

• proper scientific processes are criticalin tapping, processing, packing, storingand marketing gum karaya.

Gum karaya is extensively used in the foodindustries as an emulsifier, stabilizer andthickener. It is also used in the pharmaceuticalindustry, as a laxative and in dentureadhesives, and in many other industries suchas petroleum and gas, textiles, paper andpulp, leather and allied products, ammunitionand explosives, electrical appliances,adhesives and cosmetics.

Estimated annual income from the karayatree

• Gum yield from one tapping of one tree:30–50 g

• No. of times a blaze (cut bark) istapped/month: 12

• Gum yield/month from one tree:360–600 g

• Gum yield/year from one tree: 4 320–7 200 kg

• Average rate of gum/kg: InternationalNormalized Ratio (INR) 100

• Possible approximate income from onetree: INR 500.

Opportunities within the karaya gum valuechain

• Other NTFPs are available for a limitedperiod, while gum karaya can beharvested all year round.

• Multiple industrial and householdapplications ensure continuous andstable demand.

• There is potential for developing newvalue-added products.

• Gum karaya is a natural, non-toxic andbiodegradable product and thereforeservices a growing industry.

• Trees are easy to regenerate throughcuttings, are extremely droughttolerant, grow on poor-quality landsand are not browsed. There is greatpotential for increasing the naturalresource through community forestry.

• Technical improvements in post-harvest management, such asintroducing solar driers and qualitycontrol laboratories at the communitylevel, will help increase value.

• The community can be organized intocollective initiatives for alternativemarketing mechanisms.

(Source: Resource Centre for TribalDevelopment Fact Sheet, 1, September2008.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Mr Abhay Gandhe, Programme Organizer, The Resource Centre for Tribal Development(RCTD), BAIF MITTRA Bhavan, opp. NiwasHomes, behind Bodhale Nagar, off Nasik PuneHighway, Nashik 422911, India. E-mail:[email protected] or [email protected]

Ex situ conservation of giloe (Tinosporacordifolia) – a potential tropicalmediclimber in India Tinospora or heart-leaved moonseed(giloe or guduchi in Hindi, Tinosporacordifolia [Willd.] Miers ex Hook. F. & Thoms) is a widely used shrub in folk and Ayurvedic medicine systems.Conservation of this mediclimber speciesis of utmost importance because of itsdepleting natural wealth. Most tropicaland subtropical forests are dominated by this woody climber hanging with itsaerial roots.

The annual demand for giloe was 2 932.6 tonnes in 2004–05, which isincreasing with an annual growth rate of9.1 percent. The shrub is widely used inveterinary folk medicine/Ayurvedicmedicine for its general tonic,antiperiodic, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antiarthritic, antiallergicand antidiabetic properties.

Ex situ conservation of the species can best be achieved through preservationin botanical gardens, herbal gardens and through cultivation. A recent paper by Ankur Sharma and Manmohan J.R. Dobriyal discusses the cultivationaspect – for both its conservation and toensure its sustained supply to thepharmaceutical industries.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Dr Manmohan J.R. Dobriyal, AssistantProfessor (Forestry), Department of ForestProducts and Utilization, College ofHorticulture and Forestry (Maharana PratapUniversity of Agriculture and Technology),Jhalawar 326 001 (Rajasthan), India. E-mail:[email protected]

Ethnic groups crucial to biodiversity With an estimated 10 percent of India’sover 46 000 plant species being eitherextinct or in the endangered categoryowing to ruthless exploitation, scientistssay that the key to conserving plant

diversity lies in the protection of ethniccommunities, which have traditionallylived in the forests.

“The vast majority of important plantsare still conserved by tribal communitiesresiding in the remote forest areas of the different phytogeographic zones ofIndia,” says D.C. Saini, senior scientist and taxonomist at the Birbal SahniInstitute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow.

Living in close association with nature and natural resources, theseindigenous tribes have managed andconserved the biodiversity of theirlocalities. “This vast repository ofknowledge related to plants has beencared for, nourished and conserved by the tribal communities as a commonproperty for thousands of years byexperience, trial and error and it is also being freely transmitted fromgeneration to generation by means of oral communication,” Saini says.

He explains that tribal people are notonly familiar with thousands ofcommercial plant species in theirecosystems but they also have a goodknowledge of the ecological interrelationsof the various components of plantdiversity. Moreover, many plants havebeen conserved in their natural habitatsthanks to the people’s deep knowledge ofbeliefs, faith and taboos. (Source: TheDeccan Herald [India], 3 March 2009.)

ITALY

Italian group defends honour of rarewhite truffle The Alba white truffle association, basedin the heart of Italy’s truffle country, iscampaigning to defend the image of therare fungus as a dispute involving arestaurant bill heads for the courts.

The association is reacting to mediareports that an unnamed top executiverefused to pay a €4 000 (£3 530) bill afterdining on white truffles with five guests atMilan’s Michelin-starred Cracco Peckrestaurant.

Chef Carlo Cracco – author of Whitetruffle utopia – said that his restaurantrefused to accept the anonymousbusinessman’s offer to foot half the bill orthat there was any confusion over theweight or price of the truffles before thediners began eating. Cracco said the partyof six consumed about 300 g of truffle,which cost €10.90 per gram.

%




“They did not want to see the menus.They just said: ‘We want the truffles’,” hesaid, adding that they picked two large onesand were duly informed of the weight. Thediner said the truffle had not been weighed,newspapers reported, without givingdetails as to his identity.

The media attention comes at a timewhen the economic downturn threatensluxury spending and the purveyors of theexpensive truffle are keen to keep theircustomers.

Located in Langhe, the hilly southernarea of the Piedmont region, Alba is themain area for white truffles – the mostprized variety of the underground fungus.The town, which has a population of 30 000,has held an annual truffle fair in autumnfor nearly 80 years.

“We are comfortable with the price therestaurant charged,” said Alberto Cirio,head of the Association for theInternational Fair of the Alba White Truffle,which organizes the annual event. “But wewant to make sure we avoidmisunderstandings in the future.”

Mr Cirio said the association wouldencourage restaurants to agree on a set ofrules to make sure truffles are weighedand grated on the dishes in front of theclients, with the price on display. (Source:The Independent [United Kingdom], 18February 2009.)

KRYGYZSTAN

Increasingly forested but fruit and nuttrees still endangered A new map of Kyrgyzstan reveals that 7 percent of the country is woodland, slightlymore than previously thought. However,experts are warning that 90 percent ofCentral Asia’s fruit and nut trees have beenlost during the past 50 years. According tothe map produced by the Kyrgyz-SwissForestry Support Programme, 1.39 millionha of Kyrgyzstan are forested.

Flora & Fauna International (FFI), aconservation non-profit organization, iscautioning that 44 tree species inKyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,Turkmenistan and Tajikistan are facingextinction. Many of these trees are the wildancestors of domesticated fruit and nuttrees, including walnut, cherry and apricot.

Some 3 percent of the Kyrgyz statebudget is earmarked for environmentalprotection. The lack of funding is widelyacknowledged to "hamper" conservation

and the changing social and economicconditions that drive demand for bushmeatto a level where it now exceeds the rate atwhich hunted wildlife is replaced in theforest.

Finding ways to conserve and protectendangered and threatened wildlifespecies without compromising the healthand welfare of the poor rural and urbanfamilies who are almost entirely dependenton this resource is a challenge that can becredibly met by effecting three proposedpriorities: (i) shift demand to locallyproduced alternatives to bushmeat; (ii) revitalize existing traditional wildlifemanagement practices; and (iii) recognizethe multiple stakeholders with conflictinginterests as leading social actors involvedin bushmeat harvesting, processing andmarketing.

These priorities are suggested as amongthe key elements of a wildlife managementpolicy and strategy that should be designedso as to deal with the threateningbushmeat crisis in Liberia. (Source: Natureand Faune, 23(2), 2008.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACTTHE AUTHOR: Samuel N. Koffa, Ph.D., Senior ResearchScientist and Consultant, Agroforestry,Community Forestry, Plantations Silviculture,Biodiversity Conservation. ELWA, Paynesville,Monrovia, Liberia. E-mail: [email protected](Please also see page 37 for more informationon bushmeat.)

MALAYSIA

Agarwood Research Centre in Melaka Melaka. An agarwood research centre will be set up by the Melaka BiotechnologyCorporation (PBM) to carry out researchon the various uses and development ofthe fragrant wood in the country. PBMChief Executive Officer Professor Dr Ramli Hitam said the research would be used to create a profile of agarwoodand perfume and for marking theagarwood trees. “It is also to find the best technology to produce agarwoodresin," he told Bernama here today.

Recently, Malaysian AgarwoodAssociation President Datuk Seri SyedRazlan Jamalullail had suggested that anAquilaria research centre be set up to carryout a study on agarwood, which is useful inthe making of perfumery and cosmeticproducts, as well as medicine.

%

efforts, the CA-news.org news Web sitereported on 13 May 2009.

Regionally, just 3.9 percent of Tajikistanis forested, Turkmenistan is 8.8 percentwoodland and Uzbekistan is the mostdensely forested, with trees covering 10.1 percent of the country. (Source:EURASIANET.org, 15 May 2009.)

Walnut forests in rural KyrgyzstanAgroforestry is the predominant way of lifein forested parts of southern Kyrgyzstanand walnut forests are a major part of thecultural landscape. Local farmers leaseforest plots from the state and theseprovide a wide range of NTFPs.

NTFPs, including walnuts, wild apples,rosehips and mushrooms provide animportant source of subsistence food;other useful products include firewood, hayand medicinal herbs. Collecting,processing and marketing NTFPs – mostlywalnuts – are also sources of potentiallyhigh and much-needed cash income forlocal households.

The prime role of NTFPs from walnutforests is to contribute to local people’sbasic subsistence needs. However,because of the strong variations in yields,the role of these forests as a reliablesource of income is limited. (Source: id21insights, 77, May 2009.)

LIBERIA

Redefining a wildlife managementstrategy to stem imminent bushmeatcrisis in Liberia Bushmeat is a renewable natural resourcethat remains central to meeting the incomeand food security needs of resource-dependent households in the Central andWest Africa region, as well as other regionsin the developing world. In Liberia, as isvariably true in the region, there areheightened concerns about the impendingloss or reduction of this resource becauseof the harvesting methods used, theovercentralized strategies and policiesgoverning wildlife use and management,

%

%




Dr Ramli Hitam said there were variousspecies of agarwood and that the researchwould be useful to determine which ofthem could produce the most and highest-quality resin. He said that for research anddevelopment purposes, the corporationhad planted agarwood in a 40-ha area inthe state, adding that the ForestryDepartment also had its own agarwoodfarm. (Source: Bernama [Malaysia], 17February 2009.)

MEXICO

Moringa oleifera: La Moringa –Experimentan con planta nutritiva El árbol de moringa podría ser el alimentodel futuro, ya que de esta planta se puedenelaborar diversos alimentos nutritivos,aseguró Leopoldo Martínez Velarde,presidente de la Red de InventoresSinaloenses.

Informó que este árbol regularmentecrece en los cementerios pero que con elapoyo del Instituto Sinaloense deDesarrollo Social se ha logrado tener uncampo experimental de 400 de estosárboles, ubicado en la colonia Loma deRodriguera. "Éste podría ser uncomplemento alimenticio que proporcionea las madres y a los lactantes todos losnutrientes básicos para un sano desarrollo,ya que es un nutriente de rápidoaprovechamiento y sumamenteeconómico".

La hoja verde de la moringa gramo porgramo contiene siete veces más nutrientesy más vitamina C que la naranja, así comomás calcio que la leche y el queso, detalló.Martínez Velarde, quien también explicó

que además con esta planta se puedeproducir aceite de calidad similar al aceitede oliva, así como a través del mismo aceitese puede producir biodiesel y hasta etanol.

«Esto no lo estamos inventando, si noque lo estamos redescubriendo, porque enel mundo el aceite de Moringa secomercializa, por eso digo que nosotros enSinaloa, estamos comenzando a hacer loque otros países ya han desarrollado coneste árbol». (Fuente: Noroeste, México, 1de febrero de 2009.)

Bamboo planting boosted The Mexican Government and the UnitedNations have signed an agreement to boostbamboo planting in the country, its NationalForestry Commission (CONAFOR) said.

Some US$715 000 will be used to establishthe Centre of Bamboo TechnologyDevelopment in the east state of Veracruz aspart of the country's productive reforestationstrategy. The centre will be the fourth largestin the world, after China, India and Cuba, andbamboo produced there will be sent to theUnited States of America, Latin America,Europe and Asia through the Panama Canal.

The project will improve the livelihoods ofrural people in the mountainous area of theHuatusco municipality in Veracruz and helpthem recover lost forest land. (Source:Xinhua [China], 5 January 2009.)

La envasadora y comercializadora de hongos silvestres en Los PueblosMancomunados de Oaxaca, México En México, el conocimiento extenso sobre eluso culinario, las propiedades medicinales yel uso ritual de los hongos silvestres formanparte de la riqueza cultural de laspoblaciones indígenas y rurales. Según losexpertos, de las 140 000 especies presentesen el país, 200 son las que se consumen y 50se consideran medicinales. Según lasestadísticas oficiales, los hongoscomercializados en el mercado nacional einternacional representan entre 450 000 y850 000 USD por año, en beneficio de 3 000hogares rurales.

En el estado de Oaxaca, los hongossilvestres representan un producto forestalno maderero (PFNM) ampliamenteconocido por los indígenas que habitan enlos bosques templados y en particular enla región de la Sierra Norte, y se colectandentro de las áreas de uso común de losejidos y las comunidades indígenas. Endiferentes lugares de este estado (uno delos más pobre del país) se consumen ycomercializan varias especies comestibles

de hongos, como el hongo de pan (Boletusedulis), el duraznito (Cantharelluscibarius), el hongo de huevo (Amanitacaesarea) y un hongo codiciado por losjaponeses: el matsutake (Tricholomamagnivelare).

La organización comunitaria de segundonivel Pueblos Mancomunados constituyeun territorio agrario de 30 000 hectáreasubicado en la Sierra Norte de Oaxaca entre2100 y hasta 3300 msnm. Allí seencuentran ocho pequeñas comunidadesque cuentan con una población de origenzapoteca de 3 500 habitantes. A finales delos años 70, las familias de los PueblosMancomunados iniciaron una lucha socialcon la finalidad de obtener los permisosdel gobierno para realizar su propiomanejo y aprovechamiento comercial delos bosques de pino y pino encino, en unasuperficie de 13 000 hectáreas. En ladécada de 1980, se logró anular laconcesión proporcionada por el gobierno aempresas privadas y estatales queexplotaban los bosques; la comunidadformó entonces su propia empresaforestal. En el 2002, con el apoyo de la ONGMethodus, Pueblos Mancomunadosdiversificó sus negocios con la creación deuna unidad de deshidratado, empacado ycomercialización de frutas y diferentesespecies de hongos silvestres.

La recolección y comercialización enfresco del matsutake a Japón es unaactividad que inició a mediados de los 90con la llegada de los primeroscompradores japoneses a la región. Debidoa los altos precios pagados a losrecolectores (8 a 30 USD/kg), la oferta dehongos matsutake ha perdurado a pesarde la reducción del número decompradores. Con la creación de la unidadde deshidratado de hongos, se abrió paralos recolectores nuevas opciones deingresos, a través del aprovechamiento deespecies más abundantes en los bosques.El boletus, hongo de huevo, duraznito yotras especies son deshidratados,empacados y distribuidos directamente porla empresa comunal a diferentes tiendasde productos gourmet ubicadas en variasciudades del país.

Considerando que la demanda dehongos silvestres en el mercado interno yexterno es aún insuficiente y que laoperación de la empresa requiere procesarciertos volúmenes para garantizar surentabilidad, la envasadora y empacadorade Pueblos Mancomunados tiene cuatroretos principales: (i) lograr la máxima

%

Moringa olifera




valorización de los hongos en el mercadopara poder ofrecer a los recolectores unaremuneración atractiva por sus colectas;(ii) extender las áreas de aprovechamientoa través de asociarse con otrascomunidades de la región y del estado; (iii)promover el buen manejo y la conservaciónde las áreas de producción; y (iv)establecer esquemas de comercializaciónque permitan valorizar la calidad y origendel producto.

Las empresas forestales comunitarias ylas iniciativas privadas vinculadas hanpermitido generar empleos y favorecer laformación de recursos humanos dentro delos Pueblos Mancomunados.

En Oaxaca, los fenómenos migratoriosno se han visto frenados con el desarrollode empresas forestales; sin embargo,estos procesos, iniciados a finales de ladécada de 1980 en varias comunidadesindígenas, están contribuyendo a generarempleos más atractivos para la poblaciónjoven que opta por permanecer en suscomunidades. Para mantenerla en suregión de origen, se requerirá mejorar lainfraestructura social de las comunidadesy desarrollar iniciativas de diferentesíndoles (culturales, educativas odeportivas) que permitan competir con losingresos que genera la migración a losEstados Unidos. De la permanencia de losjóvenes calificados en la comunidaddependerá sin duda el futuro de estaspequeñas empresas forestales, que tantosesfuerzos costaron a las generacionesanteriores. (Fuente: Desarrollo depequeñas y medianas empresas forestalespara la reducción de la pobreza:oportunidades y desafíos en mercadosglobalizantes. Memorias de conferencia.2007. Centro Agronómico Tropical deInvestigación y Enseñanza [CATIE],Turrialba, Costa Rica.)

PARA MÁS INFORMACIÓN, DIRIGIRSE AL AUTORDE ESTE ESTUDIO DE CASO: Fabrice Edouard, Methodus Consultora,Crespo 520 A, Col Centro, Oaxaca, Oax CP68000 México. E-mail: [email protected];www.raises.org

MOZAMBIQUE

Hidden forest Using Google Earth to create an ecologicalmap of the Mozambique highlands,conservationist Julian Bayliss accidentallydiscovered what is now thought to be thelargest piece of mid-altitude rain forest insouthern Africa.

The discovery of 7 000 ha of virgin rainforest in northern Mozambique has causedhuge excitement in the scientificcommunity. “It's extremely rare in this dayand age to make such discoveries,especially in Africa, and to be the firstbiologist to enter such a huge area ofuntouched rain forest – well, it's a dreamcome true for a field-based conservationistsuch as myself, and to be the one whodiscovered it is incredible,” says Bayliss.

The canopies of Mount Mabu have so faryielded five new species of butterfly andtwo species of snake. (Source: TheGuardian Weekly [United Kingdom], 20 February 2009.)

NEPAL

Potential of managing wild mushroom incommunity forests for community benefitA recent paper by A.K. Das et al. is based on astudy conducted to assess the impacts ofmanaging wild mushrooms in communityforests. The study reveals that a smallcommunity forest area of Tibrikot, nearPokhara, alone contains 90 varieties of wildmushrooms, many of which are edible. Theethnic users are the main consumers of wildmushrooms; moreover, they are wellacquainted with identifying characteristics,use values, collection, processing, trade andvalue addition.

There are more than 14 000 communityforests in Nepal covering about one-third ofthe national forest area, benefiting morethan a third of the population. This largeresource base is important and vital formanaging wild mushrooms for communitybenefit. The sustainability of communityforests is very much linked with increasingincome-generating activities associatedwith forests. (Source: International Journalof Forest Usufructs Management, 9(2),July–December 2008.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Professor A.K. Das, Institute of Forestry,Tribhuvan University, PO Box 43, Pokhara,Nepal. E-mail: [email protected]

Economic potential of NTFPs in Nepal:myth or reality? In a recent article in the Journal of Forestand Livelihood, Mani Ram Banjade andNaya Sharma Paudel discussed theworldwide shift in forest policies away froma narrow focus on timber towards anemphasis on NTFPs and problems in Nepalassociated with this shift.

The reasons given for promoting NTFPsagainst timber are the following. 1) Although timber is found in surplus in

many high altitude forests, it isinaccessible for the city marketsbecause of a lack of road networks inmany high mountain areas. In theseplaces, transportation of and trading inhigh-value NTFPs, even in low volume, ismore cost-effective compared withtimber.

2) Harvesting of NTFPs, particularly thoseof herb and shrub origins and also partsof trees such as leaves, flowers, fruitsand exudates, is ecologically lessdestructive as compared with theharvesting of trees themselves.

3) Timber production needs a relativelylong time; it may take decades to get aharvest, whereas NTFPs take less time,i.e. they have a short gestation period.Generally, poor people who aredependent on forests cannot wait forlong periods of time to receive returnsfrom the management of their forests.

4) The poor have better access to NTFPsthan to timber because while timber issold, NTFPs may be collected free ofcharge in most of the community forests.Following the changing global focus,

forest policies in Nepal for the last twodecades have also highlighted NTFPsthrough various policy documents, publicmeetings, party manifestos and otherdocuments. It is now time to examine theireconomic, social and environmentaloutcomes. The original rationales andpromises need to be revisited, because acritical analysis of the current scale ofproduction and management of NTFPsshows that a misplaced optimismregarding the economic potential of NTFPsprevails.

For the purpose of reflection and re-examination, the following questions arepertinent. What has been the role ofvarious organizations in NTFP promotion?To what extent have the benefits of NTFPsbeen realized? To what extent have therationales and promises of NTFPpromotion been achieved? What are the

%

%




challenges so far? Are there any hiddenobjectives for NTFP promotion? Are thereany trade-offs with timber managementand trade?

NTFPs are rationalized as goods forlinking conservation with livelihoods.Government and other agencies areproviding programmes such as research,education (training and other awarenessprogrammes), enterprise development andpoverty reduction, with specific focus onNTFPs and not on timber. Since theGovernment is reluctant to promote timbermanagement, other development agenciesare only left with the option of supportingNTFP development rather than timber.However, because of the constrainingregulations and bureaucratic hurdlessurrounding NTFP trade, both developmentagencies and users are left without anycommercial opportunities to harness NTFPs.

Records of formal trade in NTFPs showthat the optimism in the discourse on NTFPsis not sufficiently grounded. Although theGovernment and other developmentagencies exaggerate NTFPs as a panacea forresource conservation and poverty reduction,this is largely a rhetoric that raises theexpectations of the people. The reality,however, is that the initiatives taken by these

agencies are far from realizing the glorifiedpotentials of NTFPs. The endeavours of theseorganizations are not yet putting adequateefforts into enforcement of policy and theregulatory frameworks are not yetharmonized with nor developed in line withpolicy.

In the field, while promoting discourse onNTFPs, timber management is receiving lessattention. It would have been better ifCommunity Forestry User Groups (CFUGs)could put their energy and resources in bothtimber and NWFP management.Furthermore, it would have been better hadCFUGs accessed the market moreaggressively. In other words, NTFPs shouldbe understood, managed and traded as anadditional product and opportunity fromtimber, rather than amplifying it as asubstitute.

Although NTFPs have a comparativeadvantage in some hilly districts, in manymid-hill areas, and even more so in the Terai,timber management produces far moreincome than NTFPs. The need is to makeconcerted efforts in releasing the barriers ofmarketing and trade in forest products, andsupporting and facilitating individuals andcommunities to harness benefits from forestproducts. It is not helpful to undermine thevalue and potential of NTFPs, but it isimportant to caution the agencies concernedto re-examine their perspectives andpractices so as to get benefits from hiddentreasures such as NTFPs, rather thanromanticizing them through exaggerateddiscourse. NTFP management should beunderstood as complementary to timbermanagement and not as a substitute for thepotential of timber. (Source: Journal ofForest and Livelihood, 7(1), December 2008.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Mani Ram Banjade, Forest Action Nepal,Satdobato, Lalitpur, PO Box 12207,Kathmandu, Nepal. Fax: 977 1 5535190; e-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

NIGERIA

Socio-economic determinants of cultivationof NWFPs in southern NigeriaIn a recent article in Biodiversity andConservation, N.A. Chukwuone examineddeterminates for the success of NWFPcultivation in Nigeria. NWFP cultivation,although a veritable means of ecosystem andbiodiversity conservation and improvednatural resource management, has not beensustained in southern Nigeria (Nigeria’smajor forest region), notwithstanding theunprecedented rate of depletion of theresource in the wild.

For example, efforts in the past to supportcultivation of NWFPs in southern Nigeriaunder a US Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID)-funded Cross RiverState forestry project, especially throughnursery establishment for some ruralcommunities, were not sustained because theinitiative was abandoned by the participants.Hence, to promote cultivation of NWFPs, thisstudy ascertained socio-economic factorsthat influence their cultivation.

A multistage sampling technique was usedin the selection of respondents (households)from two states in southern Nigeria: CrossRiver and Enugu. A sample size of 400households was used for the study. Thefindings show that cultivation of NWFPs waspositively determined by gender, farmingoccupation (especially of female farmers),distance to forests where NWFPs werecollected, proportion of household food fromNWFPs and medium wealth category. Age hada negative effect on cultivation until the age of46, after which the effect became positive.

In addition, household size, gender andfarming occupation of household headspositively influenced the cultivation of NWFPsin plantations as against home gardens, whilegender and farming occupation had a positiveeffect on cultivation of some stands of NWFPsas against home gardens.

Incorporating the findings of this study infuture intervention projects for NWFPcultivation will help sustain the initiative.(Source: Biodiversity and Conservation, 18:339–353, 2009.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACTTHE AUTHOR: N.A. Chukwuone, Centre forEntrepreneurship and DevelopmentResearch and Department of AgriculturalEconomics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka,Enugu, Nigeria. E-mail:[email protected]

%NTFP COLLECTIONS AND SALE INSUSPA CFUG, DOLAKHA

The Suspa Community Forestry UserGroup (CFUG) is rich in NTFPs. Almost 50 percent of the households of theSuspa CFUG are engaged in NTFPcollection, which provides more moneyeach day than the daily wages they canearn in the village. The wage rate in thearea is about Nrs50/day (approximatelyUS$0.75). From the collection of lokta(Daphne bholuwa), a person can earnfrom Nrs125–200/day ($2–3). There areother NTFPs, such as machhino, nigalo,argeli and mushrooms, from whichmany of the middle- and richer classusers are getting better returns.Surprisingly, none of the pooresthouseholds were involved in thecollection of NTFPs. When asked why,one of the women said that she did notknow whether it would fetch a lucrativereturn and did not even know when it isopen to collect.




Desert encroaches on nation at 600 m peryear Current statistics from the Federal Ministryof Environment show that Nigeria losesabout 600 m of its arable land mass yearlyto desert encroachment. A statementissued yesterday by Special Assistant to theMinister of Environment, Mr Rotimi Ajayi,noted that the Minister, Mr John Odey, wasworried by the state of things and chargedthe people to cultivate non-timber foresttrees to combat desertification in thenorthern belt of Nigeria.

“He said that there was a need to changeNigerians’ attitude towards the forest,which could only be done by integrating theneeds of the masses into forestdevelopment plans. “We need to worktowards a policy on alternative energy useby Nigerians. We need to emphasizeNTFPs. This is the only way we can makeour forest management sustainable.”(Source: ForestPolicyResearch.org, 26 January 2009.)

PERU

NGOs, producers partner to ensure a sustainable Brazil nut industry Commercially harvested in the PlurinationalState of Bolivia, Brazil and Peru, the Brazilnut (Bertholletia excelsa) is an important partof the region's economy, producing a largenumber of jobs and a considerable source ofincome for rural communities. In Peru, Brazilnut production is mainly carried out throughconcessions and small businesses thatextend throughout the entire productionchain, from harvesting and processing thenut through selling the final product tointernational exporters.

As part of USAID’s Initiative forConservation in the Andean Amazon (ICAA),the Rainforest Alliance is working withforest concessionaires in Peru's Madre de

Dios department to provide training andtechnical support in sustainable forestmanagement and to strengthen marketsfor NTFPs, such as the Brazil nut.

Brazil nut producers in Madre de Dios –an area known as the "biodiversity capitalof Peru" for its rich and exuberantvegetation – are receiving support in how toconserve and use their natural resourcessustainably while also earning a profit. TheRainforest Alliance and its local partner,Comercio Alternativo de Productos NoTradicionales y Desarrollo para LatinoAmérica Perú (Candela Perú), are workingtogether to train more than 60 Brazil nutproducers in how to meet the certificationrequirements of the Forest StewardshipCouncil (FSC) for their harvested nuts.

Candela Perú was founded in 1989 withthe goal of finding forest resources thatcould provide the residents of Madre deDios with a steady income while notdamaging the biodiversity-richenvironment, thus assuaging many of thesocial and economic problems in the area.The organization currently works with 280Brazil nut producers to process and exportthe nuts to international markets, mainlythe United States of America and Europe.

Candela Perú’s organic productionprogramme involves 171 Brazil nutproducers, including members of theGrupo Recolectores Orgánicos de NuezAmazónica de Perú (RONAP), based inMadre de Dios. Nearly 70 of RONAP’s Brazilnut producers have achieved Fair Tradecertification, making it easier for them tomeet the requirements necessary toachieve FSC certification through theRainforest Alliance's SmartWoodcertification programme – the world'sleading (FSC) certifier of forest lands.

Daniel Navarro, a director at Candela Perúcomments: "It is extremely important to us tobe involved in the whole production process,but in particular with harvesters who areusually at a disadvantage when they try toaccess markets – they are our best partnersand the true guardians of the forest in Madrede Dios." Candela is not only interested indeveloping the commercial side of Brazil nutproduction, but it also wants to find"alternatives that will ensure theconservation and long-term sustainability ofthis incredibly biodiverse region by improvingthe quality of life for local residents," he adds.

Navarro believes that certification is a keytool to improve the Brazil nut productionprocess and maintain the high level of qualitythat is needed to obtain a niche position in

international markets and therefore increasethe income of Brazil nut harvesters. Heendorses SmartWood certification because ofits comprehensive approach that takes intoaccount social, environmental, economic andquality issues. Additionally, many of FSC’scriteria are in line with the mission ofCandela Perú. "Trees that are left standinggenerate the income needed to improve thequality of life of the harvesters in Madre deDios," he states.

Katherine Pierront, manager of theRainforest Alliance's Sustainable ForestryDivision in South America, explains, "Ourgoal is to use this model and replicate theexperience in other regions in Peru and withother products."

To date, the total of certified forests inMadre de Dios is 210 280 ha, of which 179 894 ha are Rainforest Alliance/FSC-certified. Through similar partnershipsbetween the Rainforest Alliance andorganizations such as Cesvi Perú and theAsociación para la Conservación de la CuencaAmazónica, this number will continue to growand help to ensure the conservation of Peru's"biodiversity capital". (Extracted from: Eco-Index [Peru], March 2009.)

Peru gets US$120 million to protect 55 million ha of Amazon rain forest The Japanese Government will loan PeruUS$120 million to protect 55 million ha ofAmazon rain forest over the next ten years,reports El Comercio. The loan, to bedistributed in three phases starting next year,has an interest rate of 0.10 percent, payableover 40 years.

Antonio Brack, Peru's Minister of theEnvironment, said the loan will be used toestablish permanent forest reserves,including indigenous territories. Brackestimated the initiative would avoid emissionsof 20 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Peru – home to the fourth largest extent oftropical rain forests after Brazil, the Congoand Indonesia – has historically had one ofthe lowest annual deforestation rates in theAmazon basin, but forest loss has beenincreasing in recent years as a result ofillegal logging, mining, agriculture andexpansion of road networks, including thepaving of a highway that provides access to aremote and biologically rich region in thesoutheastern part of the country. In 2005 –the most recent year for which data areavailable – at least 150 000 ha of forest werelost, while a similar area was degradedthrough logging and other activities. (Source:Mongabay.com, 13 May 2009.)

%




Dos millones de plantones de camu camuLa producción de más de diez millones dealevinos (larvas) de diversas especies depeces para consumo humano destinadas aser la gran despensa alimentaria frente a losproblemas del hambre que se avecinan en elfuturo, así como también de dos millones deplantones de camu camu (Myrciaria dubia),son parte de los principales proyectos que seestán ejecutando y que impulsan eldesarrollo de la Amazonía en el Perú.

Así lo se reveló el doctor Luis CamposBaca, presidente del Instituto deInvestigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana(IIAP), en el foro Nuevos Desafíos para elDesarrollo Sostenible de la AmazoníaPeruana que se realizó en el Congreso de laRepública. La reunión fue organizada ante lapreocupación sobre el futuro de esta vastaregión del planeta que, según estudioscientíficos, se encuentra amenazada por elavance de la acción del hombre y por elirreversible calentamiento global.

A esa importante cita participaronrepresentantes de instituciones científicas,expertos, autoridades regionales, todosligados al desarrollo de esta región, y en ellano sólo se denunciaron los graves problemasde deforestación, invasiones, caza y pescaindiscriminada, etc. sino que también seplantearon propuestas y proyectos destinadosa enfrentar estos problemas.

Campos Baca añadió que la producción decamu camu en la Amazonía, un fruto nativo yde extraordinarias propiedades alimenticias ymedicinales, tiene un potencial deexportación que será concretado en un futuro próximo. (Fuente: El Comercio [Perú], 4 de febrero de 2009.)

REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Stratégie et plan d’action national pour ledéveloppement du secteur des PFNLLes différents climats du Congo sontfavorables au développement de la diversitébiologique, plus particulièrement desressources naturelles forestièresimportantes pour le bien-être despopulations rurales et citadines. Parmi cesressources, le bois d’œuvre n’est accessiblequ’aux sociétés industrielles privées et,dans une certaine mesure, aux sociétésétatiques. Cependant les produits forestiersnon ligneux (PFNL) sont les produits lesplus accessibles aux populations.

Les PFNL sont multiples et variés enAfrique centrale en général et au Congo enparticulier. La majorité de la population

congolaise, et plus particulièrement lapopulation rurale, utilise ces ressources auquotidien pour satisfaire leurs besoins desubsistance et également comme source derevenus et d’emplois. Pour ces populations(rurale et citadine), les PFNL constituent unesource importante de nourriture, de plantesmédicinales, ornementales, d’énergie, dematériaux de construction, d’équipements depêche, de biens et d’ustensiles. A ce titre, lesPFNL contribuent tant à la sécuritéalimentaire qu’à la réduction de la pauvreté.

Malgré l’importance socioéconomique desPFNL, ces produits sont encore très peuvalorisés au Congo. Cette sous-valorisationest la conséquence d’un manque deconnaissances appropriées du rôle que jouentces produits dans l’économie du ménage et lasécurité alimentaire dans le pays. Parailleurs, l’absence de stratégie dedéveloppement de ces produits empêche leurexploitation optimale par les différentescouches sociales concernées.

La gestion des PFNL relève de la Directionde la valorisation des ressources forestières(DVRF), notamment du service en charge desPFNL dans cette Direction qui ne contrôle queles stocks des PFNL généralementalimentaires qui rentrent dans les granges.Nombreux de ces PFNL échappent aucontrôle de cette direction. Le cadre légal etinstitutionnel est peu développé. La politiquepourrait valoriser les PFNL à travers desstratégies sous-régionales et nationalestelles que le Plan de convergence de laCOMIFAC, le PSFE , le PNSA et le DSRP.

Etant donné l’importance socioéconomique des PFNL, la FAO à travers leprojet GCP/RAF/398/GER appuie l’élaborationde politiques et de stratégies nationales etsous régionales pour le développement dusecteur PFNL en Afrique centrale. Dans cecontexte, le projet apporte un appui techniqueau Ministère en charge des forêts de laRépublique du Congo afin de faciliter ledéveloppement d’une stratégie nationale/pland’action pour le développement du secteurPFNL dans le pays.

Pour matérialiser la vision et la stratégie,le chronogramme de la réalisation desactivités de chaque axe stratégique estproposé. Ce plan d’action a été élaboré dansun processus participatif par lesreprésentants de tous les acteurs présents àl’Atelier national d’élaboration et d’adoptionde la stratégie et du plan d’action pour ledéveloppement du secteur des produits. Il estconçu et proposé en vue de servir de pilierpour le développement du secteur des PFNL.Il doit déboucher sur un engagement de la

part de tous les partenaires pour conduire àcourt et moyen termes aux changementsfondamentaux et répondre efficacement àtoutes les attentes.

La présente stratégie de développementdu secteur des PFNL constitue un cadre demise en œuvre du Plan d’action à court etmoyen termes. C’est une stratégie quiaboutit à un Plan d’action ambitieux qui, unefois mis en œuvre, favorisera ledéveloppement du secteur des PFNL par lacréation des PME et PMI. Les instruments demise en œuvre du Plan d’action sont laDirection de la valorisation des ressourcesforestières (DVRF) du Ministère del’économie forestière (MEF), les diversministères représentés dans le Groupe detravail sur les PFNL et les programmes depolitique économique du pays.

La réussite de la mise en œuvre de cettestratégie dépendra fortement del’engagement politique de l’Etat et desbailleurs de fonds à consentir les effortsnécessaires dans le financement desdossiers de projets d’investissement. Lesproducteurs, les commerçants et tous lesacteurs doivent œuvrer pour faire sortir cesecteur de sa situation informelle.

La réalisation des activités prévues dansles différents axes stratégiques contribuera àla sécurité alimentaire et à la réduction de lapauvreté. (Source: Stratégie et Plan d’actionnational pour le développement du secteurdes produits forestiers non ligneux enRépublique du Congo par Félix Koubouana.Août 2008. Projet GCP/RAF/398/GERRenforcement de la sécurité alimentaire enAfrique Centrale à travers la gestion etl’utilisation durable des produits forestiersnon ligneux.)

POUR PLUS D’INFORMATIONS: Visitez le sitewww.fao.org/forestry/media/16168/1/0/

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Gorosoe sap: prized elixir from the forestsof the Republic of Korea At this time of year, villagers climb the hillsaround Hadong, Republic of Korea, to collecta treasured elixir – sap from the maple treeknown as gorosoe (Acer truncatum, alsoknown as painted maple). Unlike NorthAmericans, who collect maple sap to boildown into syrup, Korean villagers and theirgrowing number of customers prefer the sapitself, which they credit with a wide range ofhealth benefits.

%

%




In this they are not alone. Some people inJapan and northern China drink maple sap,and birch sap has its fans in the RussianFederation and other parts of northernEurope. But no one surpasses people in theRepublic of Korea in their enthusiasm forsap, which they can consume in prodigiousquantities. "The right way is to drink anentire mal [20 litres, or about 5 gallons] atonce," said Yeo Man Yong, a 72-year-oldfarmer in Hadong. "That's what we do. Andthat's what gorosoe lovers from the outsidedo when they visit our village."

Drinking gorosoe has long been aspringtime ritual for villagers in theserugged hills, for whom the rising of the sapin the maples is the first sign of the newseason. Some villagers even use the sap,which tastes like vaguely sweet, weak greentea, in place of water in cooking.

In the past decade, thanks in part to thebottling industry and marketingcampaigns by local governments, gorosoesap has become popular with urbandwellers as well.

Gorosoe sap sells for about 2 500 won, orUS$1.60/litre. Hadong produces 1.2 millionlitres of sap a year from its wild maples.Although most sap harvesters here are teaor persimmon farmers who gather sap onthe side for extra income, some enterprisingvillagers have begun planting thousands ofmaple trees as a primary business venture.

Promotional pamphlets advertise thesap's purported benefits: it is good, they say,for everything from stomach aches to highblood pressure and diabetes.

Most of these claims have yet to besubstantiated, said Kang Ha Young, aresearcher at the Korea Forest ResearchInstitute. "But one thing we have found is thatthe sap is rich in minerals, such as calcium,and is good, for example, for people withosteoporosis," Kang said. "Somehow, ourancestors knew what they were doing whenthey named it 'tree good for the bones’.”

Now that sap-gathering is becomingmore commercial, some environmentalistshave criticized tree tapping as "cruel". Kangsays that careful tapping is harmless. Toensure this, the national forest authoritiesrecently began requiring licences from sapcollectors and regulating the number ofholes they can bore into each tree.

Gorosoe farmers, who were doing a briskbusiness selling sap to visitors frommakeshift stands, acknowledged the needfor restraint. “The trees donate their blood tous," said Yang Heung Do, 51. "If you donatetoo much blood, you get weak. So we drill

only one to three holes per tree, dependingon its size." (Source: The InternationalHerald Tribune [United States of America],24 February 2009.)

Use of forest resources In a recent paper by Yeo-Chang Youn, thepatterns of forest resource use in theRepublic of Korea were overviewed togetherwith the forest resource availability to forestusers and in relation to the socio-economicconditions of local people. In the Republic ofKorea, forest income comes more fromNTFPs and forest ecosystem services thanfrom timber. The relationship between theavailability of forest resources and theincome of residents in mountainous villageswas addressed with a statistical analysis ofresults of household surveys conducted inGangwon-do Province.

The result indicates that the mereexistence of forest resources and relatedcultural heritages is not enough for localcommunities to obtain income from forestland. Proper arrangements for localcommunities in accessing forest resourcesand knowledge of making use of theresources are required to make therelationship constructive for people'slivelihood. A joint management agreementbetween forest communities and the forestowner serves both parties for sustainableforest management in the Republic of Korea,as seen in the case of maple sap collectionwithin Seoul National University forests. Thetraditional knowledge held by local residentsis of value for income generation for forest-dependent communities and is consideredan integral part of sustainable forestmanagement, as seen in the case of nativehoney beekeeping near protected forestareas managed by the national forestauthority. However, traditional culturalvalues may be positive or negative forecologically sound forest management, asseen in the pest management policy of theGovernment of the Republic of Korea, whichwas formulated based on cultural valuesrather than on considerations of ecosystemhealth. (Source: Forest Ecology andManagement, 257(10): 2027–2034, April2009.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THEAUTHOR: Yeo-Chang Youn, Institute of Forestry and ForestProducts, Seoul National University, San 56-1, Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea. Fax: +82-2-873-3560; e-mail: [email protected]

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Russian governor says pickingmushrooms and berries can beat crisis Moscow. The Governor of the Sverdlovskregion in the Urals of the Russian Federation,Eduard Rossel, has called on residents to pickmushrooms and berries to get through thefinancial crisis. "We need to resume pickingberries and mushrooms. One businessmanpicked 180 tonnes of mushrooms, processedthem and sold them abroad. We can gatherthem and feed ourselves and others," Rosselsaid. "So we have three directions of work –the picking of wild berries and mushrooms,the development of the village and cleaningup," the Novy region Web site quoted Rosselas saying.

It is common in the Russian Federation tosee people selling produce they have pickedat the roadside or on the fringes of regularmarkets. (Source: RIANOVOSTI, 10 March2009.)

SRI LANKA

Relief essential to cinnamon industryThe Export Development Board (EDB) hasproposed a low-interest loan repaymentscheme to support the cinnamon industry,which is facing a major crisis resulting fromthe global financial meltdown. EDBproposed a 12 percent interest scheme forsmallholders, who comprise over 80 percentof the country’s cinnamon industry, which isthe fourth largest foreign income earner.

The Chairman of EDB said that the boardwill initially bear 90 percent of the cost of themachinery used for value addition forcinnamon and thereafter will bear 60 percent of the cost. Around 5 percent ofthe annual export income from thecinnamon industry will be allocated as anincentive for those who have been exportingcinnamon since last year.

Cinnamon producers said that they areunable to sell their produce because of the

%

%




sharp reduction in prices, which werearound Rs800–900/kg for fine grades. Priceshave gone down to around Rs350–400.Smallholders are finding it difficult to meettheir daily expenses and pay the peelers andother workers. Buyers have cancelled ordelayed orders until the world crisis eases.

Experts said that over 400 000 peopledepending on the cinnamon industry wouldlose their livelihoods if speedy measures arenot taken to support the industry. The UnitedUnion of Cinnamon Producers said that if theGovernment fails to address the issue thesepeople will have no alternative but to take tothe streets.

The cinnamon industry has called uponthe Government to commence a minimumprice support scheme for producers,institute a low-interest repayment scheme,grant a subsidy for fertilizers and provideincentives for exporters.

Sri Lanka has been exporting cinnamonsince the colonial era and the Ceyloncinnamon brand is known as the best allover the world. (Source: The SundayObserver, 18 January 2009.)

Branding and marketing of cinnamon andother spices The Export Development and InternationalTrade Minister of Sri Lanka, Professor G.L.Peiris, met representatives of companies inthe spice sector to discuss a wide range ofissues related to strengthening their tradeperformance. One of the main issuesdiscussed was the concept of branding andits usefulness in relation to the marketing ofcinnamon and other products. ProfessorPeiris explained to industry representativesthe measures that had been taken by hisministry in this area.

Cabinet approval has been granted to theExport Development Board to holdownership of the Ceylon cinnamon brand. Ithas also been decided to appoint threecommittees regarding scientificidentification, logo design and preparation ofrules and regulations and certificationprocedure of a brand launching programme.(Source: The Daily News [Sri Lanka], 12 May2009.)

SUDAN

Honey – a product of value in southernSudan Bees for Development has been workingwith Dr Jacob Mogga, an apiculturist fromthe Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Agricultural Recovery Programme, to surveyfour counties in southern Sudan. The aim is tounderstand the importance of honey sellingfor rural communities and to analyse thepotential for developing a successful honeyindustry in the region.

The survey revealed the importance ofhoney within the communities. Owning manyhives is considered prestigious and reflectsthe fact that honey is highly valued for itssocial, cultural and economic benefits. Honeyis used for marriage ceremonies, as gifts, formedicine and as payment for labour and inexchange for goods. The nutritional benefitsof honey are appreciated and beekeepersreported that their families consume 10–25 percent of all honey harvested. Sincethe advent of the cash economy, honey isincreasingly valued as a cash commodity andsold to traders and lorry drivers who knowthere is a large demand for honey beyond theimmediate area.

During the survey, Dr Mogga visited fourcommunities in four counties. In three ofthem, honey was considered the mostimportant source of cash. In many societies,beekeeping is seen as a sideline activity and itis not always the case that beekeepers rankhoney as their main source of income. Thisresult is therefore significant.

Honey hunting is still common, butbeekeeping is more important. In all theareas visited, beekeepers described leavingbrood and unripe honeycombs, and theyexplained how they tried not to disturb thequeen when harvesting. When beekeepersreport yields of honey harvested, they tend tocombine the volumes they harvest frombeekeeping and honey hunting. The resultsshow that honey is valued as a source ofincome and that beekeeping is an importantfarm activity.

One purpose of the study was tounderstand the potential for beekeeping asthe basis of a successful industry. Therefore,Dr Mogga and the Bees for Developmentteam considered the honey also from acommercial perspective. Local peopleappreciated that honey was a commodity withsignificant potential, citing the clear demandfor Sudanese honey outside the local area.Lorry drivers from Kenya and Uganda arealways quick to buy, and traders recognizethe demand for honey also in northern Sudan.Transport costs are very high in the areabecause the war has devastated the roadnetwork, but honey is considered more cost-effective to transport than many otheragricultural crops such as maize andsorghum, because of its high value per

volume. It is non-perishable and needs littlefurther processing, thus increasing itsmarketability.

There are great challenges: no organizedmarketing channels exist and this means thatduring the honey harvest season, traders willbargain hard to pay low prices. This is a causeof frustration for beekeepers. The lack ofadequate storage containers is a constraintfor trade. A beekeeper who has filled allavailable jerry cans cannot harvest more untilthe honey is sold. Traders have the samelimitations. Building a higher-value industrywill require selling into markets with differentquality expectations, and current harvestingand handling methods are not consistent withthese markets.

Bees for Development plans to workfurther with Dr Mogga to address some ofthese problems. Our focus will be to helpbeekeepers overcome the constraintsassociated with storage and bulking, as wellas training beekeepers in improvedharvesting and handling processes. Asdevelopment planners create a vision for astreamlined, commercial honey industry, it isimportant not to lose sight of the currentbenefits of beekeeping. Rural communitiesvalued honey for its economic benefits longbefore supermarkets were invented. Beeshave played an important role in preventingthese war-torn communities from evengreater depths of suffering, by providing foodand a tradable commodity. The beekeepersfrom Bogori explained that a tribal fight in2006 resulted in the loss of their cattle.Against this loss, the resilience of beekeepingemerged – it remains and continues to givebenefits, much appreciated by thecommunities of southern Sudan.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Janet Lowore and Nicola Bradbear, Bees forDevelopment, PO Box 105, Monmouth, NP25 9AA, United Kingdom. E-mail:[email protected]

Biodiversity in the Sudan’s forests: its impacton the diversity of NWFPs Given below is the executive summary of abook by Talaat Dafalla Abdel Magid that waspublished in Arabic in 2001. This is the firsttime it has been translated into English.The book is intended to promote andencourage public education and raiseawareness on the importance of the diversityof Sudanese flora. It will also satisfy theneeds of different target groups working inthe field of natural resources, as well aspolicy-makers.

%




The overall objective of the study was toanalyse the literature, and authenticate anddisseminate information related to theimportance of the diversity of NWFPs andtheir contribution to food security, fodder,traditional medicine and the nationaleconomy. It is an attempt to enrich theexisting knowledge on NWFPs in the Sudanand elsewhere in Africa.

The methodology adopted included anextensive survey of relevant literature fromlocal government departments, NGOs, andregional and international agencies involvedin forest biological diversity. This wassupplemented by the author’s experience andshort field visits to some states. The studycould not have been written without the greathelp of FAO’s Wood and Non-Wood ProductsUtilization Branch.

The book is structured into nine chapters.Chapter One. Biodiversity, includesinformation on (a) the forest ecosystem; (b) the Sudan country study on biologicaldiversity developed by the Higher Council ofEnvironment and Natural Resources; (c) diversity of forest trees and shrubs in theSudan; (d) plant studies in the Sudan, whichinclude published and non-published studieson regional flora; and (e) the Sudan’s currentforest reserves, area and status of forests aswell as the different types of forests.Chapter Two. Forest foods, includes (a) mangrove forest ecosystems; (b) dompalm forests and their contribution to foodsecurity and as emergency food duringfamine periods; (c) forest food contribution tohuman and animal diets; and (d) the nutritiveand food values of the following species:Mangifera indica L., Moringa oleifera Lam.,Ziziphus mauritania Lam., Tamarindus indicaL., Balanites aegyptiaca L., Adansonia digitataL., Boscia senegalensis (Pers.) Lam. ex Poir.,Carica papaya L., Prosopis juliflora (Swartz.)DC, Vitellaria paradoxa (Gaertn. F.) andPhoenix dactylifera L. Chapter Three. The contribution of forests intraditional medicine, includes studies ofmedicinal values of trees and shrubs used byrural as well as urban dwellers. The followingare examples of trees used by healers andvillagers to treat a multitude of diseases:Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Del., Acaciatortilis (Forsk.) Hayne, Adansonia digitata,Azadirachta indica A. Juss., Balanitesaegyptiaca, Bridelia micrantha, Calotropisprocera (Ait.), Capparis decidua (Forsk.),Chlorophora excelsa, Entada abyssinica,Khaya senegalensis (Desr.) A. Juss., Kigeliaafricana (Lam.) Benth., Sclerocarya birrea(A. Rich.) Hochst., Eucalypts, Ziziphus spina-

christi (L.) Willd., Salvadora persica L.,Vitellaria paradoxa, Hyoscyamus muticus L.,Grewia tenax (Forsk.) Fiori and Ficussycomorus L.Chapter Four. Forests and wildlife, includes(a) the current status of wildlife in the Sudan;(b) the contribution of wildlife in the nationaleconomy; (c) ecological distribution ofwildlife; and (d) the consumption of bushmeatin some African forests.Chapter Five. Contribution of forest resourcesin animal diets, discusses the contribution offorests as grazing habitat for livestock. Thestudy focuses on Rawashda and Wadkabuforests in eastern Sudan.Chapter Six. Trees and bees, includes (a) thepotential value of honey produced from forestareas and its impact in food security; (b) treesthat produce good nectar in the Sudan; and (c) a review of studies and projects related tothe development of beekeeping in the Sudan.Chapter Seven. NWFPs of the Sudan’sforests, includes (a) review of previousstudies related to NWFPs in the Sudan; (b) international trade in NWFPs and traderestrictions; (c) gum arabic and other gums,including factors contributing to the declineof gum production and export; (d) productionrelationships of other gums and statistics oflocal trade in NWFPs; and (e) NWFPs inlocal, regional and international policies andregulation of forestry and the environment(68 conventions, protocols, laws and ordershave been cited).Chapter Eight. Human activities leading todeterioration of forests and biologicaldiversity, provides an in-depth analysis of thefactors contributing to the destruction offorest resources and biodiversity loss. Chapter Nine. Conclusions andrecommendations, includes (a) an overviewon forest biodiversity and its contribution tofood production and security in the Sudan andelsewhere in Africa; and (b) the importantcontribution of NWFPs and services providedby trees in different ecological zones of theSudan and other African countries.

The study aims to bring to the attentionof scientists and researchers the role ofNWFPs and services provided by trees,which is often ignored or underestimatedby policy-makers, finance authorities,planners and extension services, and offersa number of recommendations related tothe conservation and sustainable use offorest resources. (Source: Englishsummary of Biodiversity in forests: itsimpact on the diversity of Non-Wood ForestProducts (published only in Arabic by theForests National Corporation, 2001.)

(Contributed by: Dr Talaat Dafalla AbdelMagid, Associate Professor, Upper NileUniversity, Faculty of Forestry and RangeSciences, c/o Forests National Corporation,PO Box 658, Khartoum, Sudan. E-mail: [email protected]

TUNISIA

Jendouba region provides 90 percent ofTunisia’s cork production With some 70 000 quintals produced eachyear – about 90 percent of Tunisia's overallcork production – the Jendouba Governorateis the country's main provider of cork. Theregion (Kroumiria and Mogod heights), whichis known for its vast expanses of cork oakforest (45 000 ha), also boasts one of the bestecosystem protection plans in theMediterranean region.

The cork sector in Jendouba employssome 4 800 people and provides 150 000workdays/year. Most of the harvested cork isprocessed at the Tabarka cork factory innorthern Tunisia.

Ninety percent of Tunisia's cork productionis exported to several European countries,especially Portugal.

It usually takes a cycle of ten years for a35-year-old cork oak to regenerate itsprecious skin, hence the need to set up aneffective conservation system.

Cork exports account for 50 percent ofTunisia's total forestry production; the rest isprovided by wood, fodder and essential oils,as well as a wide variety of mushrooms.(Source: allafrica.com/stories/200902230788.html [Tunisia], 21 February 2009.)

UNITED KINGDOM

Wild harvest reaps big rewards in foragingrush Wild harvesting has quietly becomesomething of a green gold rush. In woods andforests across the United Kingdom, wildgarlic is being harvested for soup makers,wood sorrel gathered for Michelin-starred

%

%




increasingly vanishing, not only because theyare in high demand for primary health care,but also because they cater for several otherpurposes such as trade, food, timber,firewood and building poles. Land clearing(for agriculture, settlements and otherdevelopments) and accidental and deliberatefires also contribute to loss of these species.

Msuya and Kideghesho conclude byunderscoring the role of traditionalmanagement practices in enhancing theconservation of biodiversity and as a tool forensuring primary health care in ruralcommunities. (Source: Mongabay.com[United Republic of Tanzania], 23 March2009.)

Forests in the United Republic of Tanzaniaunder threatThe United Republic of Tanzania is facing aserious threat from deforestation amidreports that the country is losing an averageof 420 000 ha of forests annually throughrampant tree felling.

The Minister for Natural Resources andTourism, Ms Shamsa Mwangunga, saidyesterday that the situation posed a seriousthreat to the country’s economicdevelopment. Mwangunga made therevelations in Dar-es-Salaam while launchingthe National Forest Resources Monitoringand Assessment project.

On the same occasion, Finland'sambassador to the United Republic ofTanzania, Mr Juhani Toivonen, said the rate atwhich deforestation is taking place in thecountry was "alarming". He urged theGovernment to seek ways of protectingnatural forests, adding that the launchedproject would provide a basis for interventionmeasures. "It [the project] will provide thenecessary tools to identify the means to stopforest degradation at regional, district andvillage levels, and promote sustainable use offorest resources," he said.

FAO has been selected to coordinate theimplementation of the project, working incollaboration with the Forest and BeekeepingDivision of the Forestry Ministry.

Dr Louise Setshwaelo, FAO’s countryrepresentative, said: "The project will providevaluable information on forest resources andhow to improve their management. Itsymbolizes the key role that forest resourcemonitoring and assessment play in providingrelevant and timely information," she added.

The new US$3.07 million (TSh3.9 billion)project is being funded by the Government ofFinland. (Source: The Citizen Daily [UnitedRepublic of Tanzania], 13 May 2009.)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

USDA issues final rule governing NTFPsThe United States Department of Agriculture(USDA) is issuing a final rule governing thedisposal of special forest products and forestbotanical products from National ForestSystem land. The final rule was published inthe Federal Register on 29 December 2008;the directives will become effective 28 January 2009.

Special forest products are productscollected from National Forest System landsand include, but are not limited to, mosses,fungi (including mushrooms), bryophytes,liverworts, roots, bulbs, berries, seeds,wildflowers, forbs, sedges, grasses, nuts,ferns, tree sap, boughs, bark cones, burls,transplants, pine straw, Christmas trees,firewood, posts and poles, shingle and shakebolts, mine props, rails, bow staves and fencematerial.

Forest botanical products are naturallyoccurring and a subset of special forestproducts but exclude timber products suchas, but not limited to, Christmas trees,firewood and fence materials.

These regulations will allow the ForestService to manage its special forest productsprogramme better: (i) through commercialharvest and sale; (ii) through free use; and (iii) through implementing a pilot programmeto charge, collect and retain fees for forestbotanical products, pursuant to the pilotprogramme law under Public Law 108–108,Title III, Section 335, 117 Stat. 1312 (16 U.S.C.528 Note).

The rule addresses fees, bidding,sustainability and other issues withcommercial harvest and sale of special forestproducts and forest botanical products. Thenew rule reflects existing procedures andpractices.

In the past, the Forest Service has used itstimber sale regulations and certain parts ofthe Forest Service Manual and Handbook tosell special forest products. Public demandfor both timber and non-timber special forestproducts has increased. Current regulationsdo not adequately address the selling ofNTFPs. Given the growing demand and theneed to ensure sustainability, the ForestService feels that it is impractical to continueto rely on timber sale regulations for specialforest products. Therefore, the agency hasdeveloped regulations that specifically applyto special forest products.

Historically, the Forest Service has grantedlimited free use of special forest products to

chefs and spruce needles picked to infusehandmade chocolates.

Harvesting "wild food" – the seasonalsalad leaves, nuts, fruit and fungi that growabundantly across the United Kingdom – hasled to a new industry in professional foragingfor restaurants and a sharp surge in publicinterest.

People are harvesting, for free, nearly 200 ingredients throughout the year, fromcommon crops such as hazelnuts, bramblesand wild strawberries to dozens of differentfungi, through to specialist crops such as elmand lime leaves, or sweet cicely. Chefs arenow paying up to £50/kg for wood sorrel, withits sharp lemony tang, and £40/kg for elusivemorel mushrooms, hand-picked from theforest floor.

In Scotland alone, where the wild foodmovement is thought to be strongest, theForestry Commission estimates that wildharvesting, including harvesting lichens andmosses for natural remedies andhorticulture, is worth as much as £21 million/year. Roger Coppock, the ForestryCommission's Head of Business PolicyDevelopment, said one recent surveysuggested that well over a million people inScotland had foraged at least once in the pasttwo years. The rapid growth of wild harvesting– by as much as 38 percent since 2001 – hasled the Commission to launch a campaign topromote wild foods with a code of goodpractice, to ensure that the increasingnumber of foragers harvest carefully and,where needed, with the landowner'spermission.

Wild harvesting is no longer a nichecottage industry. (Source: guardian.co.uk, 27April 2009.)

UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

Traditional practices contribute toconservation of medicinal plants Traditional practices contribute to theconservation of medicinal plants in the WestUsambara Mountains, United Republic ofTanzania, report Tuli S. Msuya and Jafari R.Kideghesho in the March issue of the open-access journal Tropical Conservation Science.

These practices include domestication;beliefs on sacredness of trees; beliefs onsacred forests; respect of cultural forests;protection of plants at burial sites; selectiveharvesting; secrecy; collection of dead woodfor firewood; and use of energy-savingtraditional stoves. But medicinal plants are

%

%




Falsifying records to get honey illegally intothe United States of America is a commonpractice, said a former Shanghai honeyshipper. "In Hai Phong [Viet Nam], the Chinesehoney became Vietnamese and in Pusan[Republic of Korea] the papers were changedto say it came from the Russian Federation,"said the former shipper, who asked not to beidentified. (Source: Seattle PI [United States ofAmerica], 30 December 2008.)

VIET NAM

Nearly 4 000 new medicinal plants foundHo Chi Minh City. Scientists have identified 3 948 species of plants and mushrooms inViet Nam that have medicinal and nutritionalvalue, a conference announced. The Ministryof Health and the Ministry of Science andTechnology of Viet Nam held the conferencein the northern Vinh Phuc Province last weekto review the past 20 years of medicinalherbs research in Viet Nam. Of the totalnumber of species, there are 52 species ofseaweed, 22 mushrooms, four kinds of mossand 3 870 species of higher plants

In the past 20 years, research has mostlybeen carried out in botanical gardens,national parks and natural preservationzones. From 2009 to 2019, governmentagencies will focus on preserving rareplants that are at risk of extinction.(Source: Viet Nam News, 12, May 2009.)

ZAMBIA

Zambia plans to increase honey production Over 20 000 bee farmers in Zambia areexpected to double their annual productiononce the country's "Beekeeping and HoneyPolicy" is in place. Bee farmers earnslightly more than US$3 000 for a tonne ofhoney or beeswax on the internationalmarket. The Center for InternationalForestry Research (CIFOR) is collaboratingwith African governments to come up withpolicies to guide the production, packagingand marketing of honey-related products.The Zambian Government believes thatraising bees will help pull hundreds, if notthousands, out of poverty.

Honey and beeswax are among thecountry's major non-traditional productsthat are exported to the United Republic ofTanzania, South Africa, Germany, theLibyan Arab Jamahariya, the UnitedKingdom, Botswana, Japan, Canada andthe United States of America.

Dr Crispen Marunda is CIFOR's regionalcoordinator for eastern and southernAfrica. He says the present-day beekeepingindustry is loosely organized and that thereare no legal or legislative structures tomonitor or control it.

Marunda explains that monitoringmechanisms will help farmers and theGovernment to negotiate fair prices andmarkets for honey-related products. Hesays an official policy will have ameaningful effect on forest communitiesthat raise bees and related products.

"By coming up with a beekeeping industrypolicy, the Government will have a structurein terms of how it can support the differentinstitutions that are producing, exporting orbuying honey. [The beekeeping policy] willalso assist some communities into somekind of beekeeping communities. Thecommunities can have an institution at alocal level, they can market their honey as agroup, they can lobby for better prices, theycan export their honey as a group ratherthan them working as individuals," he says.

Another project supported by USAID isalso trying to develop Zambia's honeysector. It involves support for the ZambiaAgribusiness Technical Assistance Centre(ZATAC), which provides assistance to theSmallholder Export Organic Honey Projectin Mwinilunga, 500 km from Lusaka.

A USAID report indicates that ZATAC'sapproach of providing marketing, technicaland financial linkages between producersand agribusinesses is slowly paying off.Approximately 3 000 honey farmers havebeen trained to harvest, handle and packagecertified organic honey for export. Thetraining is expected to help the farmers takeadvantage of new export opportunities underthe United States-backed African Growthand Opportunity Act (AGOA) and new tradeinitiatives of the European Union.

There are reportedly about 20 000beekeepers in Zambia, producing anaverage 600 tonnes of marketed honeyannually. Seventy percent of Zambia'sbeekeepers – both women and men – arelocated in the northwest. (Source: VOANews [Zambia], 7 April 2009.) �

individuals and tribes with treaty and otherreserved rights. In addition to honouring thetreaty and reserved rights retained by tribes,the Forest Service is committed to meetingtheir trust responsibilities with tribes. Thisrule continues to recognize these rights andresponsibilities. It allows for and encouragesthe use of memorandums of understandingand memorandums of agreement withregional and local Forest Service offices tomaintain traditional cultural practices andculturally important places.

Traditional gatherers who may not bemembers of federally recognized tribes willhave full access to special forest productsas they have in the past. Permits will berequired, however.

The rule establishes a pilot programmefor disposing of forest botanical productsfrom National Forest System lands. TheForest Service’s treatment of forestbotanical products and special forestproducts differs only in the segregation offees and different “personal use” and “freeuse” practices. The pilot programme allowslimited free use of forest botanical productsand establishes a “personal use harvestlevel” for each product. If an individual’sgathering is below the “personal harvest uselevel,” he or she does not have to pay fees.(Source: USDA, 9 January 2009.)

Honey launderingThe international honey trade has becomeincreasingly rife with crime and intrigue. Inthe United States of America, where beecolonies are dying off and demand forimported honey is soaring, honey tradersare resorting to elaborate schemes tododge tariffs and health safeguards inorder to dump cheap honey on the market.

Large shipments of contaminated honeyare frequently laundered in other countries –an illegal practice called "transhipping" – inorder to avoid United States import fees,protective tariffs or taxes imposed on foreignproducts that are in place to preventundercutting domestic prices. In a series ofshipments in the past year, numerous tonnesof honey produced in China passed throughthe ports of Tacoma and Long Beach,California, after being fraudulently marked asa tariff-free product of the Russian Federation.

Viet Nam is now the No. 2 honey exporterto the United States of America, second onlyto Canada. But Vietnamese honey officialssay that a great deal of Chinese honey isbeing transhipped through their country,citing 24 containers that arrived in LosAngeles earlier this month.

%

%

A man may fall many times but he won'tbe a failure until he says someonepushed him.

Elmer G. Letterman



61E C O N O O K

bioresources. The Minister also said thatthe loss of biodiversity was accompanied bythe loss of indigenous knowledge as theelders, who were the custodians ofindigenous knowledge, die without havingpassed their knowledge on to the youngergeneration. (Source: The Daily Champion[Nigeria], 2 March 2009.)

FOREST ELEPHANTS AND THEIR ROLE IN“PLANTING” TREES IN THE CONGO

A new study finds that forest elephants maybe responsible for planting more trees in theCongo than any other species or genus.Conducting a thorough survey of seeddispersal by forest elephants, Dr StephenBlake, formerly of the Wildlife ConservationSociety (WCS) and now of the Max PlanckInstitute for Ornithology, and his team foundthat forest elephants consume more than 96species of plant seeds and can carry theseeds as far as 57 km from their parent tree.(Source: Mongabay.com, 9 April 2009 in Nature and Faune, 23(2).

FORESTS MOVE RAIN:STUDY REVOLUTIONIZESMETEOROLOGY

A new paper in Bioscience by Douglas Sheiland Daniel Murdiyarso reintroduces arevolutionary theory that turns modernmeteorology on its head. They posit thatforests – and their capacity for condensation– are actually the main driver of winds ratherthan temperature. While this model haswidespread implications for numeroussciences, none of them are larger than theimportance of conserving forests, which are shown to be crucial to “pumping”precipitation from one place to another. Thetheory explains, among other mysteries, whydeforestation around coastal regions tendsto lead to drying in the interior.

AFRICA: MINISTERTASKS CONTINENT ON BIORESOURCESDEVELOPMENT

Lagos. The Nigerian Minister of Scienceand Technology, Dr Alhassan Zaku, hascalled on Africa to develop its bioresourcesto harness the continent's abundantnatural products for economicdevelopment. Zaku, represented byProfessor Peter Onwualu, the DirectorGeneral of the Raw Materials Research andDevelopment Council, made the callrecently in Abuja at a three-day herbal andnatural products exhibition tagged"HerbFest 2009". HerbFest was organizedby the Nigeria Natural MedicineDevelopment Agency (NNMDA) incollaboration with the International Centrefor Ethnomedicine and the DrugDevelopment and BioresourcesDevelopment and ConservationProgramme.

The Minister urged participants at theexhibition to tap Africa's biodiversity toencourage the development of thecontinent. He said Africa had sufferedeconomic losses through illegal andunauthorized collection and use of its

According to Sheil and Murdiyarso’spaper, conventional theories not only do notexplain the connection between forests andrainfall, but they have yet to explain fully theactual production of rain across regions. Ifone employs only the conventional theorythat "precipitation should decreaseexponentially with distance from theoceans", all the continents would look likediminishing green spirals from space, withthe landscape turning browner and drier closer to the centre.

The new theory claims that “areas able tomaintain high levels of atmosphericcondensation draw in air and moisture fromelsewhere”. What regions maintain highlevels of atmospheric condensation? Quitesimply the answer is forests, with rainforests maintaining greater quantities thantemperate forests, but both are important.(Source: Mongabay.com, 1 April 2009.)

PLANT WORKSHOPWINDS UP WITH RESOLVETO CREATE A REGIONALNETWORK

Indigenous San and Nama plantspecialists gathered at Dqae Qare Sanguest farm in the Central Kalahari Desert(4–9 March 2009) to share experiences andneeds in relation to sustainable cultivationand conservation of precious plants.

The workshop focused on sharinginformation and experiences withsustaining both plant biodiversity and theintergenerational transmission of plantknowledge. All delegates expressed agrave concern that indigenous knowledgeof plants is not being transmitted to youngpeople, and that regional governments arenot empowering local communities toconserve precious natural resources.

The workshop resolved to create aregional network to help educateindigenous people about policies,methods and practices to harvest andconserve plant biodiversity sustainably.Indigenous delegates recognized that they need to be speaking to theirgovernments on a more regular basis in order to develop commitment toecosystems approaches to governanceand conservation. They also felt that there was a lot to learn in terms of access and benefit sharing, intellectual property rights and good harvestingpractices. (Source: IPACC [Africa], 10 March 2009.)

%

%%

%

UNEP-WCMC LAUNCH NEW CARBONAND BIODIVERSITY ATLAS

The new Carbon and Biodiversity Atlasshows that areas high in both carbonand biodiversity do exist and can beidentified by relatively simple mappingtools. Prioritizing such areas could givethe double benefit of reducingemissions from land-use change whileconserving biodiversity.

The atlas can be downloaded fromthe United Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP) Web site as ascreen-friendly version or as a printableversion. It is also available as hard copyor as a CD-ROM upon request.


Barney Dickson, UNEP-WCMC, 219

Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 0DL,

United Kingdom. Fax: +44 (0) 1223 277136;

e-mail: [email protected];

www.unep-wcmc.org/latenews/index.

cfm#st172



62

food and livelihood security in southernAfrica where the value of day-to-day wildresource consumption is around US$800million per year, according to the recentMillennium Ecosystem Assessment. InZimbabwe, some poor households rely onwild fruit species as an alternative tocultivated grain for a quarter of all dryseason meals. In Botswana, theagropastoral Tswana use 126 plant speciesand 100 animal species as sources of foodby adaptively responding to the availabilityof different types of wild foods across thelandscape.

Diverse portfolios of activities based onthe contributions of agriculturalbiodiversity (e.g. crop cultivation, harvestof wild plant species, herding, fishing,hunting, whole ecosystem management)help sustain rural livelihoods because theyimprove their long-term resilience in theface of environmental change, adversetrends or shocks. In general, increaseddiversity promotes more flexibility becauseit allows greater possibilities forsubstitution between opportunities thatare in decline and those that areincreasing. In this context, localorganizations play a key role incoordinating such community-basedadaptive responses to change. (Source:Michel Pimbert. 2009. Towards foodsovereignty: reclaiming autonomous foodsystems. London, United Kingdom, IIED.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Michel Pimbert, Director, SustainableAgriculture, Biodiversity and LivelihoodsProgramme, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), 3 Endsleigh Street, London WC1H 0DD, United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected] �

TRANSBOUNDARY RAINFOREST PARK IN WESTAFRICA: A SYMBOL OFPEACE AND STABILITY

The Presidents of Sierra Leone and Liberiatoday met in the Gola Forest, Sierra Leone,to announce the establishment of a newTransboundary Peace Park, to protect oneof the largest remaining blocks of intactforest in the Upper Guinea area of WestAfrica. The Peace Park unites the GolaForest Reserve in Sierra Leone (75 000 ha)and the Lofa and Foya Forest Reserves inLiberia (80 000 and 100 000 ha,respectively), with additional forest toprovide corridors for the movement ofwildlife between them.

The local communities in Sierra Leone,through their traditional chiefs andMembers of Parliament, have expressedboth their support for the conservation ofthe Gola Forest and its designation as anational park.

The Upper Guinea forest ecosystem,which extends from Guinea to Togo, is oneof the world’s most biodiversity-richecosystems. However, centuries of humanactivities have led to the loss of more than70 percent of the overall forest cover, whichwas initially estimated at 420 000 km2. Theremaining forest is highly fragmented,restricting habitats to isolated patches andthreatening the unique flora and fauna.

The forests provide very importantecological services locally, nationally andregionally, including wood and NTFPs,medicinal plants, continuous provision ofwater, protection against soil erosion,climatic conditions conducive toagricultural production and climate changemitigation. They are also internationallyimportant for carbon sequestration. Bothgovernments have expressed interest incarbon trading and in the REDD (ReducingEmissions from Deforestation and ForestDegradation in Developing Countries)process. The Peace Park will provide thepotential to raise tens of millions of dollarsover forthcoming decades, ensuringsustained funding for protected areamanagement and community development.

The establishment of the Peace Park willensure that the long-term conservation ofthe forests, their biodiversity and globalcarbon storage benefits are secured throughnational and international partnerships forimproved forest governance across theSierra Leone-Liberia border. (Source:BirdLife International, 15 May 2009.)

WILD FOODBIODIVERSITY

Wild food biodiversity can reduce risk andmitigate impacts of natural disasters andlong-term environmental change. Many adaptive responses to environmentalchange draw on the huge pool ofbiodiversity available. At the local level,food providers and their organizationsharness diversity within and betweenspecies to adapt to environmental changein their fields, forests, wetlands,rangelands and landscapes. Many differenttypes of agricultural biodiversity(“cultivated”, “reared” or “wild”) are usedby different people at different times and indifferent places. The resilience of foodsystems depends on such creative use ofbiological diversity by local organizations ofproducers to minimize risk and realize newopportunities created by dynamic change.

For example, indigenous farmingcommunities in the Andes havedomesticated over 70 species of cultivatedcrops and generated a huge diversity ofgenetically distinct landraces within thesecrop species. Their chacras (fields markedoff for cultivation) exist in an environmentcharacterized by criteria used as indicatorsto decide which crop varieties to sow indifferent soil microenvironments in therisk-prone drylands.

Many other examples show that small-scale producers and their institutionscontinuously adapt to their dynamicenvironments by deploying a mosaic ofplant and animal genetic diversity, bothwithin microenvironments and acrosslandscapes. Moreover, many rural people,regardless of their type of land use(pastoral, swidden or continuous cropping),deliberately incorporate wild resources intotheir livelihood strategies in order to adaptto environmental change.

In northeast Thailand, for example, 50 percent of all foods consumed are wildfoods from paddy fields, including fish,snakes, insects, mushrooms, fruit andnutritious vegetables that are available indifferent seasons and diversemicroenvironments. Up to 24 percent of theScottish (United Kingdom) populationcollect NTFPs for household use on aregular basis. Some Aboriginal groups incentral Australia and the James Bay Creein Canada are foraging more for wild foodstoday than they did 20 years ago.

Much of the harvest of wild plants andanimals significantly contributes to local

E C O N O O K

% %



63

Finland/FAO provide €14 million for datacollection and management skills” Finland and FAO signed a €14 millionpartnership agreement to improve forest datacollection and analysis as well asmanagement skills in selected developingcountries for sustainable forest management.

The aim of the four-year programme is tohelp developing country governments protecttheir forest resources, build sustainableforest livelihoods and provide governmentswith the knowledge to mitigate and adapt toclimate change.

The selection process for the three to sixcountries that will pilot the “Sustainableforest management in a changing climate”programme is under way and should beconcluded in the coming weeks.

“FAO is very grateful to the FinnishGovernment for having the foresight to realizejust how important this work is and forproviding the financial, technical and politicalsupport to carry it out,” said Jan Heino,Assistant Director-General of FAO’s ForestryDepartment. “It is vital that we strengthen the

I N T E R N A T I O N A L A C T I O N

availability of labour, skill levels and localsocial, economic and ecological conditions.

A number of countries, for example theUnited States of America and the Republic ofKorea, have included forestry in theireconomic stimulus plans. Similarly,afforestation is an important component ofIndia’s rural employment guaranteeprogramme. According to FAO, the globalpotential is at least 10 million new jobsthrough national investments.

At the same time, improved forestmanagement and new tree planting couldsignificantly reduce the downward trend inforest cover reported by many countries. Thiswould help to reduce carbon emissions fromland-use change and could potentially have alarger positive impact on climate change thanany other initiative currently being planned orconsidered by world leaders. (Source: FAONewsroom, 10 March 2009.)

FAO%FORESTRY DEPARTMENT

WORLD’S HUNGRY EXCEEDS THE ONE BILLION PEOPLE MARK

World hunger is projected to reach ahistoric high in 2009 with 1 020 millionpeople going hungry every day,according to new estimates published byFAO.

The most recent increase in hunger isnot the consequence of poor globalharvests but is caused by the worldeconomic crisis that has resulted inlower incomes and increasedunemployment. This has reduced accessto food by the poor, the United Nationsagency said.

"A dangerous mix of the globaleconomic slowdown combined withstubbornly high food prices in manycountries has pushed some 100 millionmore people than last year into chronichunger and poverty," said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf. "The silenthunger crisis – affecting one sixth of allof humanity – poses a serious risk for

world peace and security. We urgentlyneed to forge a broad consensus on thetotal and rapid eradication of hunger inthe world and to take the necessaryactions."

Hunger has been slowly but steadilyon the rise for the past decade, anddrawing on analysis by the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture, FAO projectsthat the number of hungry people lastyear (915 million) is expected to grow byabout 11 percent this year. The numberof hungry people increased between1995–97 and 2004–06 in all regionsexcept Latin America and the Caribbean.

Almost all of the world'sundernourished live in developingcountries. In Asia and the Pacific, anestimated 642 million people aresuffering from chronic hunger; in sub-Saharan Africa 265 million; in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean 53 million;in the Near East and North Africa 42 million; and in developed countries15 million in total.

The urban poor will probably facethe most severe problems in coping withthe global recession, because lowerexport demand and reduced foreigndirect investment are more likely to hiturban jobs harder. But rural areas willnot be spared.

The economic crisis also comes on theheel of the food and fuel crisis of2006–08. While food prices in worldmarkets declined over the past months,domestic prices in developing countriescame down more slowly. They remainedon average 24 percent higher in realterms by the end of 2008 compared with2006. For poor consumers, who spend upto 60 percent of their incomes on staplefoods, this means a strong reduction intheir effective purchasing power. Itshould also be noted that while theydeclined, international food commodityprices are still 24 percent higher than in2006 and 33 percent higher than in2005. (Source: FAO Newsroom, 19 June2009.)

information base for sustainable forestmanagement so that developing countries areable to manage their trees and forests basedon timely and reliable information,” he said.(Source: FAO Newsroom, 27 March 2009.)

Forests and the global economy: 10 million new jobs Ten million new “green jobs” can be createdby investing in sustainable forestmanagement, according to FAO. “As morejobs are lost due to the current economicdownturn, sustainable forest managementcould become a means of creating millions ofgreen jobs, thus helping to reduce povertyand improve the environment,” said JanHeino, Assistant Director-General of FAO’sForestry Department. Since forests and treesare vital storehouses of carbon, such aninvestment could also make a majorcontribution to climate change mitigation andadaptation efforts, he added.

Increased investment in forestry couldprovide jobs in forest management,agroforestry and farm forestry, improved firemanagement, development and managementof trails and recreation sites, expansion ofurban green spaces, restoring degradedforests and planting new ones. Activities canbe tailored to local circumstances, including



64 I N T E R N A T I O N A L A C T I O N

EU-funded project GCP/RAF/408/EC“Mobilization and capacity building forsmall- and medium-scale enterprisesinvolved in the production andcommercialization of non-wood forestproducts (NWFPs) in Central Africa” On 11 June 2009, the Director of Forests ofthe Cameroonian Ministry of Forestry andWildlife, Mr Samuel Ebia Ndongo, and theDirector of Cooperation and Projects ofANAFOR (the National Agency for ForestrySupport), Mr Schadrack Ondoua, and theirteams, accepted the “NationalManagement Plan for Prunus africana’’presented by representatives of CIFOR, theGerman Agency for Technical Cooperation(GTZ) and TRAFFIC.

Prunus africana is a tree native toAfrican montane tropical forests, occurringin 22 countries. The hard wood hasmultiple uses, particularly for themedicinal properties of its bark, which isthe basis of pharmaceutical treatment forprostate problems, which affect between 5 and 15 percent of men aged over 65 inthe United States of America and Europe.

Cameroon has been one of the majorexporters of Prunus africana worldwidesince the 1970s with 48 percent (onaverage 2 000 tonnes yearly) of grossexports since trade records commenced in1995. A combination of growing demandand unsustainable harvesting has led tothe species being included in Appendix II ofthe Convention on International Trade inEndangered Species of Wild Fauna andFlora (CITES). CITES is an internationalagreement between governments thataims to ensure that international trade inwild animals and plants does not threatentheir survival. All imports of Prunusafricana to the European Union, the largestmarket for Cameroon, are currentlysuspended, until a national plan can beprovided that shows how sustainableexploitation and trade can be managed andmonitored. This has led to stocks held bypharmaceuticals companies that producethe drugs dropping to very low levels and anegative impact on the livelihood of small-scale harvesters, farmers and enterprisesin Cameroon.

The plan has been the product of overtwo years of work conducted by CIFOR,FAO, the Netherlands DevelopmentOrganisation (SNV) and the WorldAgroforestry Centre (ICRAF) as part of theEU-funded project GCP/RAF/408/EC:“Mobilisation et renforcement descapacités des petites et moyennes

entreprises impliquées dans les filièresdes produits forestiers non-ligneux enAfrique Centrale” and by GTZ as part of theProPSFE (Programme d'appui auProgramme sectoriel forêt etenvironnement). The CameroonianMinister of Forestry and Wildlife made aspecific request to FAO in October 2008 forthe project to support the development of amanagement plan. FAO requested CIFORto elaborate such a plan. The authoritiesaccepting the plan, which includedrepresentatives of the Cameroonian CITESManagement Authority (the Ministry ofForestry and Wildlife) and the ScientificAuthority (the National ForestryDevelopment Agency), indicated theirintent to appropriate the plan and presentit at the next CITES meeting in Geneva on15 July, prior to its official adoption. Theplan will also be presented at the FirstPan-African Workshop on Access andBenefit Sharing (ABS) and Forests from 22 to 25 June 2009, in Nairobi, Kenya.

The plan presents a pragmatic approachto sustainable exploitation of Prunusafricana, setting out the institutional,technical, legal and operationalprocedures for management andharvesting of Prunus africana in Cameroonin the short and long term. It wasconceived and developed using aparticipatory approach to ensure a broadconsensus of the many stakeholders, bothnational and international, involved in thePrunus africana chain. This includednumerous meetings and consultationsorganized by SNV and CIFOR with thegovernment, economic operators and theprivate sector, community forestinstitutions, nature and conservationorganizations, development agencies andresearch and scientific institutions.

The plan combines published literatureand unpublished data, indigenousknowledge, a market chain baseline studyand inventory data on Prunus africana inCameroon from CIFOR, a regulatory andpolicy study by GTZ, and a report ondomestication and harvesting by ICRAF.(Contributed by: Verina Ingram, Scientist,Center for International Forestry Research(CIFOR), c/o IITA Humid Forest EcoregionalCentre, BP 2008, Yaoundé, Cameroon. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected];www.cifor.cgiar.org)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE: www.fao.org/forestry/43055/en/

FAO IN THE FIELD

FOREST CONSERVATION RECEIVESUS$200 000 FROM FAO

Kampala. Uganda has received a US$200 000 (U Sh430 million) grant fromFAO to implement forestry conservationactivities between 2009 and 2012.

The grant will finance the secondphase of the National Forest ProgrammeFacility. Uganda is one of the 70 countriessupported by the FAO National ForestProgramme (NFP). Phase one coveredWakiso, Mukono, Mubende, Luweero,Hoima and Masindi districts. Theprogramme is implemented through apartnership between the Uganda ForestryWorking Group, the Government and anetwork of forest conservationists acrossthe country. (Source: The New Vision[Uganda], 9 April 2009.)

Nature & FauneNature & Faune is a peer-reviewedinternational bilingual (English and French)publication of the FAO Regional Office forAfrica. Its aim is to disseminate informationand promote the exchange of experienceson wildlife, protected area managementand the sustainable use and conservationof natural resources in Africa.

The latest issue, 23(2), highlighted the“Success stories in management of wildlifeand nature in Africa”. The theme of the nextissue will be “The relevance of mangroveforest to African fisheries, wildlife andwater resources”.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Mrs Ada Ndeso-Atanga, Nature & Faune, RAFTNatural resources – Fisheries – Forestry, FAORegional Office for Africa, PO Box GP 1628, Accra,Ghana. Fax: (+233-21) 7010943 or(+233-21) 668 427; e-mail: [email protected] [email protected]; www.fao.org/africa/publications/nature-and-faune-magazine/



65

THE XIII WORLDFORESTRY CONGRESS(WFC2009)

An updateThe XIII World Forestry Congress, which willtake place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from18 to 25 October 2009, will address the role offorests in a changing environment. Increasingpressure on forests, climate change, globaldeforestation and the challenge of ecologicalintegrity, economic development and socialequity need innovative thinking and strategiesto conserve and manage forests at the local,regional and global levels. Renowned expertsfrom all over the world, from variousorganizations and communities connectedwith forests, including academics, producers,environmentalists, indigenous and ruralcommunities, forest managers, governmentexperts and policy-makers, will be invited todiscuss and seek solutions to keep forests ina vital balance.

The congress will encompass a week ofpresentations, discussions, round tables,parallel events and exhibitions, focusing onthe following main issues: (a) Forests andbiodiversity; (b) Production fordevelopment; (c) Forest in the service ofpeople; (d) Caring for our forests;

(e) Developing opportunities; (f) Organizingsustainable forest management; and (g) People and forests in harmony.

A large Forestry Fair will be held in tandemwith the congress. Various publicorganizations and private enterprisesconnected with forestry and related sectorswill exhibit. In the two weeks following thecongress, study and recreational tours will beoffered to introduce participants to thecountry’s varied forests and landscapes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Mr Olman Serrano (Associate Secretary General)or Francesca Felicani Robles (Legal Consultant-Assistant), XIII World Forestry Congress, FAOForestry Department, Viale delle Terme diCaracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy. Fax: +39 06 57055137;e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected];www.wfc2009.org/ or www.cfm2009.org

CENTER FORINTERNATIONALFORESTRY RESEARCH(CIFOR)

CIFOR's strategy 2008–2018. Making adifference for forests and peopleCIFOR has a new strategy that focuses itsresources on critical global issuesinfluencing the world’s tropical forests andthe people who depend on them. “Forests arenow receiving a level of attention that wehaven’t seen for many years, if ever, andthere’s no doubt that climate change is amajor reason for this,” said Andrew Bennett,Chair of CIFOR’s Board of Trustees. “So,CIFOR must ensure it represents the bestinterests of tropical forests and the peoplewho depend on them, and informs the globalclimate debate with relevant, thorough andup-to-date research.”

The new strategy will see:• governance, livelihoods and

environmental services remain as CIFOR’skey programme areas, but with a greateremphasis on interdisciplinary research;

• CIFOR continue to engage in diverse,collaborative partnerships, but withgreater relevance and purpose; and

• CIFOR continue to communicate itsresearch findings in a tailored and targetedmanner, but with greater deployment ofelectronic and interactive channels.

At the end of the priority-setting process,six research domains were selected forinclusion in CIFOR’s future research agenda:(1) Enhancing the role of forests in mitigatingclimate change; (2) Enhancing the role offorests in adapting to climate change; (3) Improving livelihoods through smallholderand community forestry; (4) Managing trade-offs between conservation and developmenton the landscape scale; (5) Managing theimpacts of globalized trade and investmenton forests and forest communities; and (6) Sustainably managing tropical productionforests.

CIFOR will continue to base itself in Bogor,Indonesia, and to concentrate its research onthe Amazon basin, the Congo basin, drylandAfrica and Southeast Asia.

“Forests are being hailed as a potentialsolution to the global climate crisis,” saidFrances Seymour, CIFOR Director General.“Huge sums of money are being projected toconserve tropical forests – sums that couldfinally invert the political and economicpriorities that drive deforestation. But carbonsequestration is not the only reason whyforests are important. Forests harbour over


% %

WORKSHOP ON BUSHMEAT

The Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) Secretariat, together with CIFOR,FAO and the International Council forGame and Wildlife Conservation (CIC)will organize a workshop on thesustainable use of bushmeat, from 15 to17 October, in Buenos Aires, Argentina(www.cbd.int/ts). The meeting isorganized in conjunction with the XIIIWorld Forestry Congress (WFC) andworkshop results will be presented atWFC plenary session 1.6. "Wildlifeassociated with forests".

The purpose of the meeting, pursuantto decision IX/5 of the Conference of theParties at its ninth meeting, is to supportParties in their efforts to implementfurther the CBD programme of work onforest biodiversity. The unsustainablehunting and trade of bushmeat, andtheir impacts on non-target species, havebeen identified es issue to be addressedas a matter of priority.

The meeting will build on previousefforts of the CBD Liaison Group on Non-Timber Forest Products includingbushmeat, which developed andpublished recommendations for theconservation and sustainable use ofwildlife-based resources(UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/13/INF/9 and CBDTechnical Series 33, available in Englishand French at www.cbd.int/ts).Specifically, the meeting will focus onthe situation of bushmeat hunting intropical moist forests, with the aim ofdiscussing and consolidating further theabove-mentioned recommendations. Themeeting will be held in English andparticipation is by invitation only.


Caroline Belair, Secretariat of the

Convention on Biological Diversity, World

Trade Centre, 413 St Jacques, Suite 800,

Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Y 1N9. Fax:

1 (514) 288 6588; e-mail: [email protected]

or [email protected]; www.cbd.int



66

half of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity;they sustain the livelihoods of over a billionpeople worldwide; and they provide a wholerange of other ecosystem services, includingwater filtration, soil stabilization and the rawingredients for much of the world’smedicine,” added Seymour.

“With this new strategy, we’ve tried to findthe right balance. To respond to theopportunities presented by thisunprecedented focus on forests, withoutlosing sight of our core purpose, which is toadvance human well-being, environmentalconservation and equity.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: CIFOR headquarters, PO 0113 BOCBD, Bogor 16000, Indonesia. E-mail: [email protected];www.cifor.cgiar.org or www.cifor.cgiar.org/strategy

CIFOR’s visionWe envision a world where:

• forests are high on the political agenda;• people recognize the value of forests for

maintaining livelihoods and ecosystems;• decisions that influence forests and the

people who depend on them are based onsolid science and principles of goodgovernance, and reflect the perspectivesof developing countries and forest people.

CIFOR’s landscape mosaics projectAs more of the world’s forests rapidlydisappear and become increasinglyfragmented, conservation efforts havefocused on establishing protected areas toconserve these key ecosystems that supporta diverse array of flora and fauna. Morerecently, conservationists and scientists haveobserved that protected areas are necessarybut not sufficient for the conservation ofbiodiversity. In this context, the role ofmultifunctional landscape mosaics includingand surrounding protected areas has becomeincreasingly important for conservation.

These landscapes include everything fromagricultural land, agroforests andsettlements to patches of remaining forestdotting the terrain. What has shaped, andcontinues to shape, these mosaics arehuman activities, most commonly

communities that are driven by their needs tosustain their livelihoods often in the face ofpoverty. These landscapes are also affectedby government laws and policies regardingland management and biodiversityconservation, which determine how and forwhat these lands can be used.

The evolution of these mosaics,therefore, needs to be understood from adynamic point of view, considering all theelements that shape them in a certainlength of time. This requires effective toolsto monitor the changes in biodiversity andlivelihoods in these mosaics, which are inor near to protected areas.

It is because of the need to develop anintegrated strategy to address thesecomplex and often conflicting ecologicaland social dynamics that CIFOR and theWorld Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)launched the Biodiversity Platform in 2006.In June 2007, the Biodiversity Platformlaunched its inaugural project, “Integratinglivelihoods and multiple biodiversity valuesin landscape mosaics”, in five tropicalcountries with high levels of biodiversity:the United Republic of Tanzania, southwestCameroon, Sumatra (Indonesia), thenorthern Lao People’s Democratic Republicand eastern Madagascar.

The project focuses on informing andfacilitating a negotiation process on land-userights allocation. To support and inform thisprocess, the project is conducting a series ofresearch activities to collect and analysesocio-economic and biophysical data, andto investigate the potential for rewardmechanisms for environmental services.(Source: CIFOR News, 46, November 2008.)

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF NATURAL FIBRES(IYNF) 2009

An updateFact sheetsA set of fact sheets in PDF for low-costprinting have been developed, which youare encouraged to print and distribute toany interested audience. Please note thatall the PDF files of all our informationproducts, in all languages, have now beenunprotected, as some people have hadproblems adapting them to differentprinting formats.

These new versions are available fordownload from the IYNF-2009 Web site:English: www.naturalfibres2009.org/en/iynf/media.html

French: www.naturalfibres2009.org/fr/aifn/ressources.htmlSpanish: www.naturalfibres2009.org/es/aifn/recursos.htmlPosterAn IYNF-2009 poster (13.5 x 40 in [34.3 x101.6 cm]) has been produced in English.The poster can be downloaded from theIYNF-2009 Web site at: www.naturalfibres2009.org/en/iynf/media.htmlNewsletterTo subscribe to the IYNF-2009 newsletter,send an e-mail to [email protected],leave the subject line blank, and put the textsubscribe IYNF-2009-L in the body of themessage.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Brian Moir, Trade and Markets Division, FAO,Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome,Italy. E-mail: [email protected];www.naturalfibres2009.org/

When is a fibre natural?The International Year of Natural Fibres(IYNF) celebrates fibres produced by plantsand animals. It does not include modernmanufactured artificial and syntheticfibres such as rayon, nylon, acrylic andpolyester. Tree fibres are not covered byIYNF, but will be one focus of theInternational Year of Forests in 2011. �


%

NATURAL FIBRES 2009 CONFERENCE

The Natural Fibres 2009 Conference,organized by the Institute of Materials,Minerals and Mining, will be held from14 to 15 December 2009 in London,United Kingdom, to celebrate theInternational Year of Natural Fibres.This conference will focuspredominantly on the industrialapplications of natural fibres andincludes presentations on fibreextraction, fibre processing,biocomposites, geotextiles, biomimeticmaterials, animal fibres, natural fibresfor the developing world and more.


Dawn Bonfield, Institute of Materials,

Minerals and Mining, 1 Carlton House

Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG, United

Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected];

www.iom3.org/events/fibres

The guest author for this issue of Non-Wood News is CIFOR scientist MsPatricia Shanley. Her interesting articlecan be found on page 3.

R E C E N T A N D F O R T H C O M I N G E V E N T S


67

SHEA 2009: OPTIMIZINGTHE GLOBAL VALUECHAIN – SECONDINTERNATIONAL SHEACONFERENCEOUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO25–27 MARCH 2009

Between 2004 and 2008 the shea industryhas effectively doubled. How will wecontinue that growth while addressing keychallenges? Firms from more than 12 African countries joined experts,international buyers and regional serviceproviders to explore fundamental andcutting-edge issues in the shea industry.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Vanessa Adams (Director) or Dr Peter Lovett(Shea Butter Technical Advisor), West AfricaTrade Hub, 4th Street, Kuku Hill, Osu, Accra,Ghana. E-mail: [email protected];www.watradehub.com or www.globalshea.org/

FOREST TENURE,GOVERNANCE ANDENTERPRISE: NEWOPPORTUNITIES FORLIVELIHOODS ANDWEALTH IN CENTRALAND WEST AFRICA YAOUNDÉ, CAMEROON25–29 MAY 2009

Organized by the International TropicalTimber Organization (ITTO), Rights andResources Initiative (RRI), FAO and theCameroon Ministry of Forests and Wildlife,this conference aimed to catalyse new andbroader actions on securing tenure rights inCentral and West Africa for implementationby governments, civil society organizationsand local communities with the support ofinternational institutions and fundingagencies. This will involve establishing goalsand developing agendas for newinterventions and reforms.

Participants shared experiences insecuring tenure rights, including therelationship between tenure reform andother goals such as improving livelihoods,securing investment, spurring on small-scale enterprises and addressing climatechange. The new initiatives emanating fromthis conference will help strengthen theimpact of other key efforts, particularly onforest law enforcement and governanceand voluntary partnership agreements thatare being launched in Africa, all of which

point to the necessity and urgency ofclarifying rights.

Agenda items included: experience withextraction and management of NTFPs; therole and perspective of forest communitiesin the forest reform process; and a round-table discussion on the role of tenure andgovernance in climate change mitigationand adaptation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Eduardo Mansur (ITTO Reforestation and ForestManagement [RFM]), International Tropical TimberOrganization, International OrganizationsCentre, 5th Floor, Pacifico-Yokohama 1-1-1, Minato-Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, 220-0012 Japan.Fax: 81-45-223-1111; e-mail: [email protected];www.itto.int/en/workshop_detail/id=44270000

LOCALIZING PRODUCTS: A SUSTAINABLEAPPROACH FOR NATURALAND CULTURALDIVERSITY IN THE SOUTH?PARIS, FRANCE9–11 JUNE 2009

This International Symposium wasorganized by UNESCO/Mab, IRD, CIRAD,MNHN, in collaboration with FRB, FFEM,AFD and IDDRI to explore the links betweenbiological and cultural diversity, and theprocesses designed to enhance the value oflocal specialities in South countries.

Many presentations on the agenda coveredthe marketing of NWFPs, including:

• constructing the identity of products(names, image, typicality, reputation);

• valuing local products in the frame ofconservation politics;

• valuing local products and potentialimpacts on biodiversity; and

• social and territorial changes linked tothe valorization of local products.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Emmanuelle Gerard, Maison de l'UNESCO, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75007 Paris, France. E-mail: [email protected];www.mnhn.fr/colloque/localiserlesproduits/index_va.php or www.sfak.slu.se/ShowPage.cfm?OrgenhetSida_ID=10300

INDIGENOUS PLANT USEFORUM 2009 ANNUALCONFERENCE STELLENBOSCH, SOUTH AFRICA6–9 JULY 2009

The 12th annual Indigenous Plant UseForum (IPUF) conference had as its theme“Exploration and commercialization:opportunities and challenges”.

As in the past, several short symposiawere held, including: Fynbos plants;Conservation and cultivation; Indigenousknowledge; Ethnoveterinary medicine;Honeybush symposium; Biological activity;Indigenous foods; Natural products fromFynbos; Fibres and crafts; and SouthAfrican standards and control.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Bernard de Villiers, IPUF Secretariat,Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology,University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524,Auckland Park, 2006 South Africa. Fax: +27 (0) 11 559 2411; e-mail: [email protected];www.uj.ac.za/ipuf/IPUFannualconference/tabid/16318/Default.aspx

INTERNATIONALTRAINING WORKSHOPON NON-TIMBER-FOREST-PRODUCTSINDUSTRIAL ANDCOMMERCIALDEVELOPMENT ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, CHINA27 AUGUST–16 SEPTEMBER 2009

China is well known for its long history of large-scale production and completesupply chains of NTFPs. For example, Chinanow produces 70 percent of the world’sedible fungi. The NTFP development ofChina is an organic combination ofsustainable resource cultivation, highlyefficient industrial processing, a smoothmarketing network and a constructiveinstitutional culture. NTFPs and theirproduction have become one of thesupporting poles of the economicdevelopment in China’s forest areas.

The objectives of this training workshopare to share with participants theexperiences and technologies of China inthe development and utilization of non-timber forest resources, sustainabledevelopment, management of forests, andthe production, utilization and marketingtechnologies of NTFPs.

%

%

%

%

%



68

Courses will include:• sustainable management and

development of NTFPs;• NTFPs in China and their development,

industrialization andcommercialization;

• "company + farmers" – the best modelfor NTFP industrialization;

• the main experiences in thesustainable development of China'sbamboo sector and bamboo-processing technologies;

• development of intangible resources inthe forest;

• the development model of ecotourismand leisure industry in Lin'an and Anji,Zhejiang Province – a model that ledlocal farmers towards wealth;

• the cultivation and processingtechnologies of wild medicinal plantsand edible/medicinal fungi;

• the comprehensive development offorest biochemical products;

• the development of wild vegetables,fruits and nuts;

• the impact of NTFPs on povertyalleviation and rural sustainabledevelopment in the forest area;

• the role of governments in promotingNTFPs; and

• industrial cooperation and NGOsforming the links among companies,markets and farmers.

The workshop will give an introduction tothe NTFP development experience ofChina, especially on the aspects ofindustrialization and commercialization.The field visit will provide opportunities tosee the most developed and largest-scalebamboo industry in China in Anji county,and the largest bamboo shoot and hickoryproduction base in Lin'an city.

Participants will also be able to see thedevelopment and utilization of localmedicinal plants, the cultivation of edibleand medicinal fungi, and China's biggesthoney industry base in Tonglu. There willalso be the chance to visit one of the mostbeautiful cities in China, Hangzhou, andChina’s most beautiful mountain, the YellowMountain, and its surrounding areas, whichhave developed various kinds of NTFPs.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Zhu Zhaohua or Jin Wei, International Networkfor Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), 8 Fu Tong DongDa Jie, Wang Jing Area, Chao Yang District,Beijing 100102, China. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]; www.inbar.int/show.asp?BoardID=171&NewsID=519

THE 41ST APIMONDIACONGRESS: THE BEE,THE SENTINEL OF THEENVIRONMENT MONTPELLIER, FRANCE15–20 SEPTEMBER 2009

Beekeepers, technicians, scientists,suppliers and the media should activelyparticipate in this congress. The high-quality scientific programme willconcentrate on the work of internationalresearchers, and includes activity areasand demonstrations in the heart of theApiExpo exhibition.

Beyond the spectrum of knowledgeabout bees and their products, the biologyof the bee, its farming, its role in thepollination of plants and as the sentinel ofthe environment, the 2009 edition willhighlight a truly worrying phenomenonfound everywhere in the world: beemortality.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Apimondia 2009, Sup Agro, 2 Place Pierre Viala,34060 Montpellier Cedex 1, France. Fax: +33 (0)4 99 61 29 68; e-mail:[email protected]

VIII WORLD BAMBOOCONGRESS THAILAND2009: BAMBOO, THEENVIRONMENT ANDCLIMATE CHANGE BANGKOK, THAILAND16–18 SEPTEMBER 2009

The VIII World Bamboo Congress will focuson the role of bamboo in rural, economic,industrial and environmental development.The congress will include the followingtopics: architecture, engineering and socialhousing; protection and construction;community and economic development;industrial aspects; products – design andtechnologies; plantation development andmanagement; resources, standards andpolicy; biological aspects; ecology andenvironmental concerns; and horticultureand landscape design.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Mr Kamesh Salam, President WBO andConference Secretary, Director, Cane andBamboo Technology Centre, Zoo-NargangiRoad, Narikal Basti, Guwahati 781024, Assam,India. E-mail: [email protected];www.worldbamboocongress.org

2ND INTERNATIONALCONFERENCE ONTHATCHED BUILDINGS“PINOLERE 2009”TENERIFE, CANARY ISLANDS2–5 OCTOBER 2009

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Rafael C. Gómez León, Coordinador delCongreso, Calle Germinal nº 36, Pinolere, LaOrotava, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain 38310.E-mail: [email protected];www.congresoconstruccionescubiertavegetal.org or www.pinolere.org

INBAR-UBFDBINTERNATIONALTRAINING WORKSHOP ON “BAMBOO AS AMODERN CONSTRUCTIONMATERIAL” DEHRA DUN, INDIA5–14 OCTOBER 2009

The International Network for Bamboo andRattan (INBAR) and the Uttaranchal Bambooand Fibre Development Board (UBFDB) arejointly organizing this international trainingworkshop.

Since time immemorial, bamboo hascontributed to the construction of housesand various other structures all over theworld. It has strength, flexibility andversatility and therefore it is a suitablematerial for every component of the housewhen treated and used properly. Bamboo isused preferentially to other materials forhousing because of its intrinsic propertiesthat have been traditionally utilized. A firmscientific and engineering foundation hasbeen given to this traditional understanding,resulting in the qualification of bamboo as asound structural and engineering material.Bamboo houses dot the rural landscape inmany developing countries of Asia, LatinAmerica and Africa and bamboo is intimatelyassociated with the livelihoods and traditionsof several million people. The properties ofbamboo combined with its availability andease of use make it an ideal candidate forhousing the rural and urban poor. It isestimated that more than one billion peoplein the world live in bamboo houses.

Bamboo plays a significant role in thecreation of employment and income-generation activities in an ecologicallysustainable manner. Its use for housing notonly meets safety-related needs essential in

%

%

%

%



69

seismically active zones, but also offershighly viable solutions for both rural andurban areas, using renewable resources.Furthermore, by deploying local resources interms of labour and material, bamboo-based housing can help develop the localeconomy, provide employment and furtherenvironmental protection. The traditionalskill capital of the local community is alsoutilized, resulting in the generation ofemployment and creation of income-generation opportunities in rural areas. Asan excellent building material, bamboo isrelatively inexpensive, easy to work with andreadily available in most of the countrieswhere it grows; its role in house constructionhas been substantial.

This workshop aims to impart knowledgeand skill sets to those involved in the bamboosector, in housing and other structuraldevelopments, with the objective of trainingpeople who are knowledgeable in thenuances of bamboo-based housing tobecome more expert in building bamboohouses. The workshop provides theoreticaland practical training, in particular.

The topics covered in the training willinclude: species selection; foundations;roofs; walls; treatment methodologies;harvesting methods; bamboo connections;bamboo stitching with other constructionmaterial; and design and structuralapplications, including seismicconsiderations for bamboo houses.

Registration closes on 15 September 2009.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Mr T.P. Subramony, Regional Coordinator (SouthAsia), INBAR, South Asia Regional Office, A-408,Defence Colony, New Delhi 110 024, India. Fax:+91-11-2433 4804; e-mail: [email protected];www.inbar.int or http://www.ubfdb.org

PLANT CONSERVATIONFOR THE NEXT DECADE. ACELEBRATION OF KEW'S250TH ANNIVERSARY KEW, RICHMOND, UNITED KINGDOM12–16 OCTOBER 2009

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is hostingthis celebratory scientific conference. Theprogramme will include three days ofscientific sessions, showcasing Kew'sconservation research and inviting leadinginternational research scientists to presentpapers in six sessions: Plant conservation:policies and politics; Plant conservation:management and restoration; Plant

conservation and human cultures; Plantconservation and agriculture; Frontiers ofplant conservation technology; and Plantconservation: what can we afford to lose?

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Plant Conservation Conference, Royal BotanicGardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB,United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected];www.kew.org/science/anniversary-conference

XIII WORLD FORESTRYCONGRESS BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA18–25 OCTOBER 2009

(Please see page 65 for full information onthis event.)

DECENTRALIZATION,POWER AND TENURERIGHTS OF FOREST-DEPENDENT PEOPLEGUJARAT, INDIA 27–28 OCTOBER 2009

The aim of this symposium is to sharerecent research experiences and to reviewstate-of-the-art approaches related todecentralization policies and local forestinstitutions; the power and political positionof forest-dependent indigenous peoples,pastoralists and tribals; and the legislativerecognition of forest tenure rights.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Harnath Jagawat, Director, NM Sadguru Water and Development Foundation, PB 71,Dahod 389151, Gujarat, India. E-mail: [email protected];www.forestrynepal.org/event/4149

THE 11TH INTERNATIONALSOCIETY FORETHNOPHARMACOLOGYCONGRESS AND 1ST

SPANISH-PORTUGUESESYMPOSIUM ONETHNOBIOLOGYLA MANCHA, ALBACETE, SPAIN20–25 SEPTEMBER 2010

Several generations of ethnopharmacologicalresearchers with diverse backgrounds andinterests have shaped the field ofethnopharmacology and today it certainly is adiverse and flourishing area of academic and

applied research. While some decades ago thefocus was on “traditional knowledge”, there isnow an increasing focus on the dynamics ofknowledge. Additionally, a greater awarenesshas developed as to how crucial the protectionand sustainable use of biodiversity are, andabout the intrinsic link between biological andcultural diversity. Ideas taken from traditionalknowledge systems continue to be animportant source of inspiration in drugdevelopment and, at the same time, “new”food supplements and herbal remedies from“traditional societies” are entering the marketat an ever-increasing rate.

The congress, themed “Continuity and change in ethnopharmacology:transdisciplinary science for our future”, willaddress the above dynamics and will offer aunique opportunity to presentethnopharmacological work and to discussthe wider implications of the research beingcarried out in this field.

The congress includes the following topics:• ethnopharmacology and biocultural

diversity;• circum-Mediterranean

ethnopharmacology/ethnobotany and itsexchange with the Americas;

• from traditional remedies to modernmedicines – phytochemical,pharmacological and clinical studies;

• NGOs and their role inethnopharmacology;

• the interface between history andethnopharmacology;

• the interface of medicine and foodplants.

The congress will be celebrated jointlywith the first Spanish-PortugueseSymposium on Ethnobiology.

Both the congress and symposium arebeing coorganized by ISE (InternationalSociety of Ethnopharmacology) and theUniversidad de Castilla-La Mancha.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Professor Michael Heinrich, Resident, ISE(2008–2010), Centre for Pharmacognosy andPhytotherapy, School of Pharmacy, University ofLondon, 29/32 Brunswick Square, London WC1N1AX, United Kingdom. Fax: (+44) 20 77535844; e-mail: [email protected] �

%

%

%

%

P U B L I C A T I O N S O F I N T E R E S T


70

Republic of). Following the publication ofthe first edition in June 2007, a number ofentrepreneurs in Europe and the UnitedStates of America are working to importsustainable Amazon products mentionedin the book. The book contributes to theinternational marketing of sustainableproducts from the Amazon and thus toforest conservation, poverty alleviation andthe growth of a sustainable forest economyin the region. It is a valuable source ofinformation on sustainable forestmanagement practised within theAmazon. Available in English, Portuguese,Spanish and Dutch through:www.amazonyourbusiness.nl

Butler, R.A. & Laurance, W.F. 2009. Is oil palmthe next emerging threat to the Amazon?Trop. Conserv. Sci., 2(1): 1–10.

Christensen, G.A., Campbell, S.J. & Fried, J.S.2008. California's forest resources,2001–2005: five-year Forest Inventory andAnalysis report. General Technical Report.PNW-GTR-763. Pacific NorthwestResearch Station, United StatesDepartment of Agriculture (USDA)Forest Service.

Chukwuone, N.A. 2009. Socio-economicdeterminants of cultivation of non-woodforest products in southern Nigeria.Biodivers. Conserv., 18(2).

Chun, Young Woo & Tak, Kwang-Il. 2009.Songgye, a traditional knowledge systemfor sustainable forest management in theChoson Dynasty of Korea. Forest Ecologyand Management, 257(10): 2022–2026.

Griscom, H.P., Griscom, B.W. & Ashton, M.S.2009. Forest regeneration from pasture inthe dry tropics of Panama: effects of cattle,exotic grass and forested riparia. Restor.Ecol., 17(1): 117–126.

Grønhaug, Tom Erik, Silje Glæserud, MonaSkogsrud, Ngolo Ballo, Sekou Bah, DrissaDiallo & Berit Smestad Paulsen. 2008.Ethnopharmacological survey of sixmedicinal plants from Mali, West Africa.Ethnobiol. Ethnomed., 4: 26.

Guimarães, L.G.L. 2008. Yield evaluation ofboth the essential oil and the maincomponent of Eucalyptus citriodoraHook. leaves harvested in differentseasons in the municipalities of MinasGerais State, Brazil. Botucatu, Brazil,

Argumedo, A. & Stenner, T. 2008. AssociationANDES: conserving indigenous bioculturalheritage. Gatekeeper, 137a.

Avocc.vou-Ayisso, C., Sinsin, B.,Adcbgbidi, A., Dossou, G. & Van Damme,P. 2009. Sustainable use of non-timberforest products: impact of fruitharvesting on Pentadesma butyracearegeneration and financial analysis of itsproducts trade in Benin. Forest Ecologyand Management, 257(9): 1930–1938.

Ba NGai, Nguyen, Nguyen Quang Tan,Sunderlin, W.D. & Yurdi Yasmi. 2009.Forestry and poverty data in Viet Nam:status, gaps and potential uses. Viet Nam.Regional Community Forestry TrainingCenter for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC),Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) andViet Nam Forestry University.

Bifarin, J.O., Ajibola, M.E. & Fadiyimu, A.A.2008. Analysis of marketing bushmeat inIdanre local government area of Ondo state,Nigeria. Tropag & Rural database.Academic Journals. African J. AgriculturalRes., 3(10): 667–671. 12 refs.

Brosi, B.J. 2009. The effects of forestfragmentation on euglossine beecommunities (Hymenoptera: Apidae:Euglossini). Biol. Conserv., 142(2): 414–423.

Brouwer, M. 2008. Amazon your business.Second ed. Bunnik, Netherlands,Meindert Brouwer Partner inCommunications.Amazon your business is the first guide tosustainable products from the rain forestsand rivers of Amazon countries. Countriescovered include Bolivia (Plurinational Stateof), Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana,Peru, Suriname and Venezuela (Bolivarian

Fundação do Instituto de Biociências.Revista Brasileira de PlantasMedicinais, 10(1).

Guschanski, K., Vigilant, L., McNeilage, A.,Gray, M., Kagoda, E. & Robbins, M.M. 2009.Counting elusive animals: comparing fieldand genetic census of the entire mountaingorilla population of Bwindi ImpenetrableNational Park, Uganda. Biol. Conserv.,142(2): 290–300.

Hamilton, A.C. (ed.). 2008. Medicinal plants inconservation and development: casestudies and lessons learnt. Salisbury,United Kingdom, Plantlife International.

He, Jun, Zhou, Zhimei, Weyerhaeuser, H. &Xu, Jianchu. 2009. Participatory technologydevelopment for incorporating non-timberforest products into forest restoration inYunnan, southwest China. Forest Ecologyand Management, 257(10): 2010–2016.

Hurley, P.T., Halfacre, A.C., Levine, N.S. &Burke, M.K. 2008. Finding a “disappearing”nontimber forest resource: using groundedvisualization to explore urbanizationimpacts on sweetgrass basketmaking inGreater Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.The Professional Geographer, 60(4):556–578.

id21. 2009. Are NTFPs a way out of poverty?id21 insights 77. Brighton, United Kingdom,Institute of Development Studies at theUniversity of Sussex. May.(Please see page 50 for more information.)

Ingram, V., Awono, A., Schure, J. & Ndam,N. 2009. National Management Plan forPrunus africana in Cameroon. Yaoundé,CIFOR. 156 pp.(Please also see page 64 for moreinformation.)

Jenkins, R.K.B., AndriamananaRabearivelo, Chan Tak Chan Wai MineAndre, Roma Randrianavelona &Christian Randrianantoandro, J. 2009.The harvest of endemic amphibians forfood in eastern Madagascar. TropicalConserv. Sci., 2(1): 25–33.

Jones, R. 2008. Bee-seiged – bees in warfare.United Kingdom, Bees for Development. It is often stated that bees have been usedin warfare and in this book Ray Jones hasendeavoured to document some of themany odd ways in which bees have been



71

exploited. For example, in 400 BC the Greekhistorian Xenophan related that 10 000mercenaries were forced to retreat aftereating unripe honeycomb produced fromRhododendron ponticum and Azaleaponticum nectar, containing toxins thatcaused them to suffer vomiting anddiarrhoea and made them unable to stand.Other bee products are discussed inchapters that include “Beeswax, magical,malicious and medicinal” and “Pollen: beefood or chemical agent?” Jones’ book is anentertaining source of many obscure andunusual anecdotes about bees and theirproducts.

Lakshmi, S. & Beena, J. 2009. Advances inmedical treatment with plant-basednatural products. Recent Progress inMedicinal Plants, 24(1): 171–197.

Lian Pin Koh & Wilcove, D.S. 2009. Oil palm:disinformation enables deforestation.Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 24: 67–68.

López Camachó, R. 2008. Productosforestales no maderables: importancia eimpacto de su aprovechamiento. RevistaColombia Forestal, 11. December. (Please see page 47 for more information.)

López-Feldman, A. & Wilen, J.E. 2008.Poverty and spatial dimensions of non-timber forest extraction. Environment andDevelopment Economics, 13(5).

Matsushima, K., Minami, M. & Nemoto, K.2008. Usage of edible wild plants in Bhutan.Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture,Shinshu University, 45(1/2): 49–54. 18 refs.

Mulliken, T. 2009. The role of CITES incontrolling the international trade in forestproducts: implications for sustainableforest management. NWFP WorkingDocument 7. Rome, FAO.

Mulyoutami, Elok, Rismawan, Ratna & Joshi,Laxman. 2009. Local knowledge andmanagement of simpukng (forest gardens)among the Dayak people in EastKalimantan, Indonesia. Forest Ecology andManagement, 257(10): 2054–2061.

Murray-Smith, C., Brummitt, N.A.,Oliveira-Filho, A.T., Bachman, S., Moat,J., Lughadha, E.M. & Lucas, E.J. 2009.Plant diversity hotspots in the Atlanticcoastal forests of Brazil. Conserv. Biol.,23(1): 151–163.

Msuya, Tuli S. & Kideghesho, J.R. 2009.The role of traditional managementpractices in enhancing sustainable useand conservation of medicinal plants inthe West Usambara Mountains,Tanzania. Tropical Conserv. Sci., 2(1):88–105.

Nantha, H.S. & Tisdell, C. 2009. Theorangutan-oil palm conflict: economicconstraints and opportunities forconservation. Biodivers. Conserv., 18(2):487–502.

Nasi, R., Brown, D., Wilkie, D., Bennett, E.,Tutin, C., van Tol, G. & Christophersen,T. 2008. Conservation and use ofwildlife-based resources: the bushmeatcrisis. CBD Technical Series 33.Montreal, Canada, Secretariat of theConvention on Biological Diversity. 50 pp. (Please see page 37 and 38 for moreinformation.)

Newton, A.C., Marshall, E., Schreckenberg,K., Golicher, D., te Velde D.W., Edouard,F. & Arancibia, E. 2006. Use of a Bayesianbelief network to predict the impacts ofcommercializing non-timber forestproducts on livelihoods. Ecology andSociety, 11(2): 24. Download from www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss2/art24/

Nhancale, B.A., Mananze, S.E., Dista, N.F.,Nhantumbo, I. & Macqueen, D.J. 2009.Small and medium forest enterprises inMozambique. London, United Kingdom,International Institute for Environmentand Development (IIED).

Niederhofer, H. 2009. Panax ginseng mayimprove some symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. J. DietarySupplements, 6(1): 22–27. (abstract)

Nyaupane, G.P. & Chhetri, N. 2009.Vulnerability to climate change ofnature-based tourism in the NepaleseHimalayas. Tourism Geographies, 11(1):95–119.

Ocampo, R. & Balick, M.J. 2009. Plants ofsemillas sagradas: an ethnomedicinalgarden in Costa Rica. Finca Luna NuevaExtractos de Costa Rica, S.A.

Pattanaik, C., Prasad, S.N. & Reddy, C.S.2009. Need for conservation ofbiodiversity in Araku Valley, AndhraPradesh. Curr. Sci., 96(1): 11–12.

Pei, Shengji, Zhang, Guoxue & Huai, Huyin.2009. Application of traditionalknowledge in forest management:ethnobotanical indicators of sustainableforest use. Forest Ecology andManagement, 257(10): 2017–2021. April.

Pimbert, M. 2009. Towards foodsovereignty: reclaiming autonomousfood systems. London, United Kingdom,International Institute for Environmentand Development (IIED). 70 pp. (Please see page 62 for moreinformation.)

Pradeep Chaudhry, Srivastava, R.L.,Pramod Kumar, Arvind Apte & Rao, N.S.2008. Role of non-timber forest productsin sustaining rural livelihoods: a casestudy from biggest state of India. Int. J.Forest Usufructs Management, 9(2).

Rayan, D.M. & Mohamad, S.W. 2009. Theimportance of selectively logged forestsfor tiger Panthera tigris conservation: apopulation density estimate inPeninsular Malaysia. Oryx, 43(1): 48–51.

Rayburn, A.P. & Schulte, L.A. 2009.Integrating historic and contemporarydata to delineate potential remnantnatural woodlands within midwesternagricultural landscapes. Nat. Areas J.,29(1): 4–14.

Robbins, P., Emery, M. & Rice, J.L. 2008.Gathering in Thoreau's backyard:nontimber forest product harvesting aspractice. Area, 40(2): 265–277.

Sanford, M.P. 2009. Valuating mangroveecosystems as coastal protection inpost-tsunami South Asia. Nat. Areas J.,29(1): 91–95.

Senthilkumar, N., Barthakur, N.D. & Rao,M.L. 2008. Bioprospecting withreference to medicinal insects and tribesin India: an overview. Indian Forester,134(12): 1575–1591. The tribes of northeast India have beenusing several insect-based traditionaldrugs to cure various diseases. Over 500species of insects are used as medicineto cure both common and complicatedailments in the northeast from timeimmemorial. Some valuable informationregarding traditional medicinal uses ofcommon insects by folk doctors hasbeen summarized.




72 P U B L I C A T I O N S O F I N T E R E S T

Setty, R.S., Kamal Bawa, Ticktin, T. & Gowda,C.M. 2008. Evaluation of a participatoryresource monitoring system for nontimberforest products: the case of amla(Phyllanthus spp.) fruit harvest by Soligas inSouth India. Ecology and Society, 13(2).

Sheil, D. & Murdiyarso, D. 2009. How forestsattract rain: an examination of a newhypothesis. Bioscience, 59(4).(Please see page 61 for more information.)

Silva, M.P.P. & Pôrto, K.C. 2009. Effect offragmentation on the community structureof epixylic bryophytes in Atlantic Forestremnants in the Northeast of Brazil.Biodivers. Conserv., 18(2): 317–337.

Sunderland, T.C.H., Balinga, M.P.B., Asaha, S.& Malleson, R. 2008 The utilization andmanagement of African rattans: constraintsto sustainable supply through cultivation.Forests, trees and livelihoods, 18(4):337–353.

Sunderlin, W.D., Hatcher, J. & Liddle, M. 2008.From exclusion to ownership? Challengesand opportunities in advancing foresttenure reform. Washington DC, UnitedStates of America, Rights and ResourcesInitiative.(Please see page 23 for more information.)

Tarawneh, K.A., Omar, S., Twissi, O.A.,Khleifat, K.M., Al-Mustafa, A. & Al-Sharafa,K. 2008. Antifungal and antioxidant effectsof extracts of some medicinal plant speciesgrowing in South Jordan. Bull. Fac. Agric.,59(3): 241–248. 27 refs.

Theo, A., Masebe, T., Suzuki, Y., Kikuchi, H.,Wada, S., Obi, C.L., Bessong, P.O., Usuzawa,M., Oshima, Y. & Hattori, T. 2009.Peltophorum africanum, a traditionalSouth African medicinal plant, containsan anti HIV-1 constituent, betulinic acid.Tohoku J. Experimental Medicine,217(2): 93–99. 38 refs.

Topp-Jørgensen, E., Nielsen, M.R., Marshall,A. & Pedersen, U. 2009. Mammaliandensity in response to different levels ofbushmeat hunting in the UdzungwaMountains, Tanzania. Trop. Conserv. Sci.,2(1): 70–87.

UNEP, FAO, UN Forum on Forests (UNFF).2009. Vital Forest Graphics. Nairobi, Kenya,UNEP. Download from www.grida.no/_res/site/file/publications/vital_forest_graphics.pdf

Urban, J., Kokoska, L., Langrova, I. &Matejkova, J. 2008. In vitro anthelminticeffects of medicinal plants used in CzechRepublic. Pharmaceutical Biol.,46(10–11): 808–813.

Van Sam, H., Baas, P. & Keßler, P.J.A. 2008.Traditional medicinal plants in Ben EnNational Park, Vietnam. Blumea, 53(3):569–601.

Varghese, A. & Ticktin, T. 2008. Regionalvariation in non-timber forest productharvest strategies, trade and ecologicalimpacts: the case of black dammar(Canarium strictum Roxb.) use andconservation in the Nilgiri BiosphereReserve, India. Ecology and Society, 13(2).

Wunder, S., Börner, J., Rügnitz Tito, M. &Pereira, L. 2008. Pagamentos por serviçosambientais: perspectivas para a AmazôniaLegal. Série Estudos 10. Download fromwww.amazonia.org.br/guia/detalhes.cfm?id=302089&tipo=6&cat_id=44&subcat_id=186

Youn, Y.-C. 2009. Use of forest resources,traditional forest-related knowledge andlivelihood of forest dependent communities:cases in South Korea. Forest Ecology andManagement, 257(10): 2027–2034.

NEW PUBLICATIONS FROMFAO’S NON-WOOD FOREST

PRODUCTS SERIES

Non-Wood Forest Products seriesBees and their role in forest livelihoods.A guide to the services provided by beesand the sustainable harvesting,processing and marketing of theirproductsThis volume – no. 19 in our NWFPseries – provides basic informationabout managing wild bees and on theuse of their products. It identifies anddescribes major bee species and theirimportance for nature conservation andfor sustaining the livelihoods of ruralpeople. Bee products are considered atboth subsistence and commerciallevels, and particular attention is givento the potential for further developmentof managing wild bee species indeveloping countries. The role of beesfor pollination of crops and the impactof managing bees on forestry andfarming are presented. Wildbeekeeping techniques, honeyproduction and marketing, and theinternational trade in bee products aredescribed with further references andsources of additional information given.Using this publication, readers willunderstand better the complexities andopportunities for developing apicultureby rural livelihoods.

Copies of this publication can bepurchased from FAO’s Sales andMarketing Group at: [email protected]. An electronic versionwill shortly be available from FAO’sNWFP home page:www.fao.org/forestry/site/6367/en

NWFP Working Documents FAO’s NWFP Working Document series hasa new volume – No. 7. The role of CITES incontrolling the international trade in forestproducts: implications for sustainableforest management.

Forests, and forest products, arefundamental to the health and well-beingof the vast majority of the world’s humanpopulation. Technological innovations, andspecifically improvements in the globaltransport infrastructure, combined withhuman migration have increased the useand availability of forest products evenfurther. However, this use is not without acost – the populations of many wild specieshave declined as a result of harvest forinternational trade, some to the point thatentire species are threatened withextinction.

In order to address international tradethreats to wild species, governments



73

farmers and local communities in low- andmiddle-income countries – about rurallivelihood opportunities resulting from NWFPactivities. It provides an overview of the uses ofNWFPs (section 2); insight into thecomplementary contribution that they canmake to sustainable livelihoods (section 3); anoverview of NWFP trade (section 4); strategiesfor successful NWFP trade and livelihoods(section 5); and support and services that canhelp promote NWFPs as a livelihood source(section 6). It provides advice as to how theright support and services can help promoteNWFPs as a successful livelihood option.Sources of additional information andtechnical support for any follow-up areidentified at the end of the bookMarshall, E. & Chandrasekharan, C. 2009.Non-farm income from non-wood forestproducts. Diversification booklet 12. RuralInfrastructure and Agro-Industries Division.Rome, FAO.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Rural Infrastructure and Agro-IndustriesDivision, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla,00153 Rome, Italy. E-mail: [email protected] (Please also see pages 30 and 73 for moreinformation.)

Medicinas étnicas y tradicionales ¿Quién sabe que en Afganistán la medicinapashtún adopta todavía la cañafistula comolaxante y la semilla de anís para curar lasindigestiones? ¿Y qué los curanderos de laAmazonia usan, con óptimos resultados, lauña de gato, planta curandera, en contra dela artritis, las hemorroides y las lesionescutáneas? ¿O qué la dieta espacial de losastronautas americanos comprende tambiénla maca, la quínoa y la kiwicha, especiesherbáceas y alimentos tradicionales delmundo andino? Todo esto podría llamarsemedicina alternativa o herboristería, pero esmás apropiado llamarlo medicina popular.Estas prácticas curativas en épocas y zonasdiferentes han substituido o integrado lamedicina moderna y convencional. Estáreconocido que la técnica médica modernano puede ignorar otras experiencias comoestas, de las cuales – en todo caso – ellamisma desciende directamente, bajomuchos aspectos.

Esto es lo que afirma Giorgio V. Brandolini,ingeniero agrónomo de Bergamo ydivulgador cultural, quien ha viajado en unosde los rincones más remotos del mundo,también por cuenta de organizacionesinternacionales, en particular en Suraméricay en el Oriente Medio, donde ha recogido de

State of the World’s Forests 2009What will be the impact on forests of futureeconomic development, globalized trade andincreases in the world’s population? The2009 edition of the biennial State of theWorld’s Forests looks forward, with thetheme “Society, forests and forestry:adapting for the future”. Part 1 summarizesthe outlook for forests and forestry in eachregion, based on FAO’s periodic regionalforest sector outlook studies. Past trendsand projected demographic, economic,institutional and technological changes areexamined to outline the scenario to 2030.Part 2 considers how forestry will have toadapt for the future, focusing on: the globaloutlook for wood products demand;mechanisms for meeting the demand forenvironmental services of forests; changesin forest sector institutions; anddevelopments in science and technology.This volume will serve as a source ofinformation to support forest-related policyand research. It is hoped that it will alsostimulate creative thinking and debate toenhance the future of the world’s forests.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Ms Andrea Perlis, Forestry Department, FAO,Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy.E-mail: [email protected]:www.fao.org/ (Please also see pages 18-20 formore information.)

Non-farm income from non-wood forestproductsThe aim of this booklet is to raise awareness –among people and organizations that provideadvisory business and technical supportservices to resource-poor small-scale


los pueblos indígenas informaciones sobrelas hierbas y remedios para curar lasenfermedades. Algunas plantas son todavíautilizadas y parecen ser muy eficaces. Unagran cantidad de información ha sido reunidaen el libro, Medicine etniche e tradizionali(Macro edizioni, 416 páginas, € 14.50), de útilconsulta no sólo para los interesados en lascuras alternativas, sino también para loscuriosos de las hábitos y maneras de vivir delos pueblos que viven en zonas de las quepoco se habla, y que guardan tradiciones yusos que vale la pena conocer. Lacatalogación de apasionado científico ybotánico de las hierbas y plantasmedicinales, con relativos nombrescientíficos y usos, y la detallada explicaciónde los usos medicinales, son acompañadaspor curiosas narraciones históricas.

Por ejemplo, una de ellas se refiere a lamedicina clásica de los árabes, origen defundamentales escuelas médicas, conAvicena, quien escribió los cinco libros delCanon de la medicina, o Albucazis, el másgrande cirujano árabe. Y el celebreParacelso quien, bien que intensamentededicado a la fármaco-química en plenosiglo XVI, estaba invadido por una visiónpanteísta de lo creado, que atribuía unadimensión espiritual a los fenómenosnaturales, ejercitando la práctica de lasignatura, filosofía que afirma que Dioshabría puesto unos signos en las plantas, delos cuales derivan sus capacidades de curarlas enfermedades. Al fin, descubrimos quela granadilla era usada como febrífugo opara lenificar las úlceras, que en la Edadmedia se difundió desde Persia a todo elMediterráneo, y que de ella deriva el nombrede la ciudad andaluza de Granada.

Brandolini, Giorgio V. 2008. Medicineetniche e tradizionali. Macro edizioni. 416páginas. ISBN: 8-8750-7867-X; ISBN-13:9788875078676

PARA MÁS INFORMACIÓN, DIRIGIRSE A: Giorgio V. Brandolini, Orizzonte terra, 30 Via Mazzini, I-24 128 Bérgamo, Italia.Teléfono/fax: +39 035 219142; correoelectrónico: [email protected] [email protected] �

OTHER RECENT PUBLICATIONS

It matters not how a man dies, but howhe lives. The act of dying is not ofimportance, it lasts so short a time.

Samuel Johnson

established the Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species of Wild Faunaand Flora (CITES). CITES entered into forcein 1975 and has over 160 membergovernments (Parties). This report exploresthe role and impact of CITES on the trade inforest products and sustainable forestmanagement throughout its 30-yearhistory, with an emphasis on plant, andspecifically timber, species.

An electronic version of this documentwill be available shortly from our NWFPhome page. Hard copies are available freeof charge from FAO’s NWFP Programme atthe address on the first page or by sendingan e-mail to [email protected].



74

Agroforestería Ecológica: Temas de Actualización (2008 y 2009)www.agroforesteriaecologica.com

Amazon Centre for EnvironmentalEducation and Research (ACEER)www.wcupa.edu/aceer/

Crops for the Futurewww.cropsforthefuture.org/

Databases

New interactive database on indicators ofsustainable forest management in EuropeThe Timber and Forestry Programme of theUnited Nations Economic Commission forEurope (UNECE) and FAO have released anew Web-based resource tool designed bythe international community to enableresearchers, policy-makers, practitionersand the general public to access data onEurope’s forests. The database is acomprehensive research tool based on thereport State of Europe’s Forests 2007, andincludes data that have not been publishedto date.

These data are presented alongsideother statistical data from different parts ofthe UNECE work programme. TheUNECE/FAO Timber Section encouragesthe international community to takeadvantage of this resource and to makesuggestions for further improvement. http://w3.unece.org/pxweb/Dialog/

Threatened aromatic plants www.cropwatch.org/Threatened%20Aromatic%20Species%20v1.09.pdf

Forum UNESCO University and HeritageWeb sitehttp://universityandheritage.net/eng/index.html

Sustainable Development ListServeSD-L is a free and moderated communitycommunications tool for knowledge-sharing on sustainable development. It is agrassroots, peer to peer service meant toadvance understanding and application ofthe SD framework by allowing subscribersto post announcements related tocontributions and activities with a strongfocus on sustainable development. SD-L isan excellent way to circulate cutting-edgeinformation on meetings, policydevelopments, publications and newinitiatives, as well as keep abreast of thelatest sustainable development-relatedissues and events. SD-L offers users achance to publicize and coordinate theirefforts better through virtual knowledgeexchange.

FOR ASSISTANCE OR FURTHER INFORMATION,PLEASE CONTACT: [email protected]; www.iisd.ca/SD-L

Research and Media Networkhttp://researchandmedia.ning.com/

Traditional Knowledge Digital Librarywww.tkdl.res.in/tkdl/langdefault/common/home.asp?GL=Eng

Newsletters/e-zines

British Columbia’s Buy BCwild Initiative e-zineBritish Columbia’s “Buy BCwild Initiative”has recently launched the Buy BCwild e-Newsletter: “A future beneath the trees”.The newsletter is a triannual publicationand is released in April, August andDecember. The first issue is availableonline.http://buybcwild.com/newsletter-a-future-beneath-trees

Coleopterists online newsletterA new online newsletter for coleopteristshas just been published as a pdf document.The first issue contains an article on theorange ladybird in Cheshire, UnitedKingdom. The newsletter can bedownloaded from the following site:http://www.record-lrc.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=8

First forest carbon newsletterhttp://ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/newsletter/fc_02.12.09.html

The National NTFP Network of Canada e-zineThe NTFP Network of Canada has recentlylaunched an electronic NTFP newsletter.This quarterly publication is available onlineand features news, events, research andother NTFP-related activities from acrossCanada. It contains articles written in bothFrench and English.www.ntfpnetwork.ca/en/node/89

NWFP Directory for Atlantic Canada andMainewww.FromOurAtlanticWoods.com

Photovoices: empowering people throughphotographywww.photovoicesinternational.org/index.html

Platform for agrobiodiversity researchwww.agrobiodiversityplatform.org/wp_main/

Portals

Forest carbon portal, ecosystemmarketplace's newest servicewww.forestcarbonportal.com/n

Information portal: negotiations related tothe International Regime on Access andBenefit Sharing www.cbd.int/abs/ir/

W E B S I T E S

FAO’S NWFP HOME PAGE

Please help us make our Web site arich resource by continuing to send us([email protected]) your NWFPWeb sites and citations of anypublications that we are missing, aswell as any research that you wouldlike to share.www.fao.org/forestry/site/6367/en

NWFP-DIGEST-L

The Digest is a free monthly e-bulletinproduced by FAO’s NWFP Programmeand covers all aspects of non-woodforest products. Past issues can befound on FAO’s NWFP home page atwww.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en

You can take part in contributing tothe continued success of thisnewsletter by sharing with the NWFPcommunity any news that you mayhave regarding research, events,publications and projects. Kindly sendsuch information to [email protected].

To subscribe: send an e-mail to:[email protected], with themessage: subscribe NWFP-Digest-L; orthrough the NWFP Programme’s homepage atwww.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en �



75

putting me in contact with people whocould benefit from receiving Non-WoodNews; or by going to great lengths to sendme the photos for the back cover. This issueis particularly rich, with contributions onyour research/activities coming from allaround the world – from Afghanistan to theSudan, from Hungary to Peru, and manymore in between.

It is truly a great pleasure to be the editorof Non-Wood News – and a great privilege tocorrespond with so many of you. Thank youfor your continued support.(Tina Etherington, [email protected]) �

R E A D E R S ’ R E S P O N S E

Comments received

Reader from the PhilippinesNon-Wood News is of great help and avaluable source of information to ourresearchers and staff. (Forest ProductsResearch and Development Institute,Philippines)

Reader from the United KingdomIn these days of information overload, I findmyself looking at things arriving via e-mailor in the post and thinking "I just don't havethe time to look at this". But NOT whenNon-Wood News arrives! I received it thismorning, and will look forward to settlingdown for a proper read. Once again, thanksfor providing this excellent service.

Reader from the Lao People’s DemocraticRepublicI have received the last NWFP newsletterand it’s a really great work you are doing.

Reader from IndonesiaI read the latest issue of Non-Wood Newsfrom cover to cover with great interest. It is an invaluable service you offer bygathering so much diverse, relevant and fascinating information together on NWFPs.

Contributions to this issue – a specialthank youI would like to thank all of you who havecontributed to this issue – whether bysending me your articles, books andnewsletters; by providing me with links; by

CONTRIBUTIONS TO NON-WOOD NEWS

Subscription to Non-Wood News is freeof charge. Please send an e-mail to[[email protected]] if you wouldlike to receive a copy and be added toour mailing list.

A strong characteristic of Non-WoodNews is that it is open to contributionsfrom readers. Should you have anyinteresting material on any aspect ofNWFPs that could be of benefit to allour readers, please do not hesitate tosubmit it. Articles are welcomed inEnglish, French and Spanish and shouldbe between 200–500 words.

The deadline for contributions forNon-Wood News 20 is 31 October 2009.


Tina Etherington at the address on the

front page or by e-mail to non-wood-

[email protected]

To be a success, I must contribute to thewelfare of others, to put in another way,to be all I can be, I need to help you beall you can be.

John Maxwell

COMMENTS FROM AN INTERN

“Think global, act local,” this is theomnipresent motto in my hometown(Eugene, Oregon, USA). As a resultEugene always buzzes with the activityof new local initiatives, from urbanfarming to restoring traditional NWFPharvesting. However, we can easilyoverlook the benefits local communitiesreceive when people act globally. Non-Wood News is one such example ofglobal action resulting in direct benefitsfor local communities all over the world.

By contributing to and readingNon-Wood News and the NWFP-Digest,people can learn from and share

experiences, knowledge and support.This builds solidarity and enhances thepotential for local initiatives to besuccessful. Acting locally is critical, butwithout a global community exchangingknowledge and experience, local actionwill never become what it could be. Non-Wood News provides a platform for thisglobal exchange, enabling productivelocal initiatives. It has been my pleasureto be part of this community, locally andglobally. (Adam DeHeer)

Adam DeHeer has been working as anintern with FAO's NWFP Programmesince late February 2009. His assignmentwith us finishes in August.

PRINTED ON ECOLOGICAL PAPER I0987E/1/08.09/5000

© D

avid

Wilk

ie©

Tom

Das

pit/

flic

kr

© E

lizab

eth

L. B

enne

tt

Bushmeat: a source of protein and trade

Bushmeat is a major source of protein for forest-dependent communities. It is also an important source ofincome through trade in local, national and international markets. However, the illegal bushmeat trade has

led to wildlife being hunted in an unsustainable manner. This has resulted in the "bushmeat crisis", withmany species becoming endangered.