non-woodenjoy this volume and will continue to contribute to future issues. NON-WOOD NEWS is compiled and coordinated by Tina Etherington, Forest Products Service of the FAO Forest

EDITORIAL

CONTENTS

3 Guest article% Forest apiculture

5 Special Features% NWFPs in the Pacific Islands

• A new bamboo initiative in the FijiIslands

• Canarium indicum and C. harveyi(canarium nut)

• Domesticating traditional trees ofthe Pacific

• Medicinal plant use in Fiji• Keeping tapa art alive• Overview of NWFP trade in Papua

New Guinea and its contribution tolivelihoods

• Pandanus tectorius (pandanus)• Papua New Guinea Forestry

Regulation and NWFPs• Sago palm (Metroxylon spp.)• The crippling of the lucrative kava

export industry in the Pacific Islandcountries

% History of NWFPs• The forgotten heritage• Ancient and traditional uses of noni

(Morinda citrifolia)• Old glory• Entomofagia humana• The vegetable fibre industry in the

Canary Islands• History of NWFP use in Canada

17 News and Notes% Amazon chic % Bioprospecting/benefit-sharing or

biopiracy?• Boreal forest may be home to new

medicines

The editorial for this issue of Non-Wood News has been written by MaximLobovikov, Chief of the Forest Products Service.

Non-wood forest products play a vital part in the livelihoods of many millions ofpeople worldwide and are becoming increasingly important as a result ofpopulation growth, logging restrictions and environmental and health concerns.It is a paradox, therefore, that NWFP information – especially statistics on NWFPs– is still scarce, scattered and insufficient. Better and more consistent data areurgently needed for NWFP policy research and development.

Through Non-Wood News, FAO has been instrumental in highlighting themany facets of the world of NWFPs – from their role in food security andtraditional medicines for the poor, to their growing importance in the multimilliondollar pharmaceutical and cosmetic business. Since its first issue in 1993, Non-Wood News has been collecting, systematizing and disseminating valuableinformation and data from around the world. The bulletin consequently serves asan excellent source of information and research ideas. Since it has always covereda broad range of products and issues, Non-Wood News has been able to monitorsuccessfully global NWFP development trends, putting the subject into ahistorical perspective.

This 16th issue highlights some of these historical aspects in a SpecialFeature, “History of NWFPs”, with articles ranging from “The forgotten heritage”and “Old glory”, to others that demonstrate how NWFPs were useful andimportant for people in ancient times, and are still so today (e.g. edible insects,Morinda citrifolia). This traditional knowledge is an essential component of theNWFP world and has been underlined not only in “History of NWFPs”, but alsoin “NWFPs in the Pacific Islands” (the first Special Feature in this issue), wherewe have highlighted the many different traditional uses of the trees of the PacificIslands.

Non-Wood News is distinctive not only for its broad coverage of products andissues over a long period of time, but also for its readers and their willingness tocontribute to its success by sharing their knowledge of their NWFP world, as isamply demonstrated in this issue. In addition, many authors have againgenerously permitted us to use extracts from their books.

Finally, we bring news that will sadden the forestry community: the death inSeptember 2007 of Cherukat Chandrasekharan, the founder of Non-Wood News.Please see our obituary for him in this issue.

It is our intention to continue what Chandra started in 1993 – to bring to ourreaders the multifaceted and fascinating world of NWFPs. We hope that you willenjoy this volume and will continue to contribute to future issues.

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 Regina Hansda; language editing by Roberta Mitchell,Josiane Bonomi 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 andSpanish and 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 otherreaders, kindly send it, before before 15 April 2008, 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.orgAll Internet links cited were checked on 2 December 2007. Articles express the views of their authors, notnecessarily those of FAO. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do notimply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations (FAO) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerningthe delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

An information bullet in on Non-Wood Forest Productsnon-woodnon-wood 16ISSN

1020-3435

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8

• Africa must patent traditionalmedicines

• Drug companies looting SouthAfrica’s bounty of medicinal plants

• Namibian Government to actagainst plant pirates

% Can trees grow on Mars?% Certification des PFNL en Afrique

Centrale% Chewing sticks% Dried flower making: a potential

cottage industry% Home gardens% Les PFNL alimentaires en Afrique

Centrale% Mediterranean forests: regional

diversity sets the scene% Moss plays important roles% Non-profit organizations and NGOs

• Global Forestry Conclave andSustainable Development,Cameroon

• Primary Environmental CareAssociation, Uganda

• Resource Centre for DevelopmentAlternatives, Pakistan

• Trees for Life% Science for the poor% The role of NWFPs in poverty

reduction% Weaving with NWFPs

• Bamboo-fibre goods to set newfashion trends

• Grassroots support for raffiagrowers in the United Republic ofTanzania

• Medicinal plants used in organicclothing line

• Promoting the use of the “bayong”in the Philippines

• Stripped of a natural fibre• Woven bamboo products and crafts

26 Products and Markets% Açai, Acrocomia totai, Aquilaria,

Bamboo, Butterflies, Cork, Guaraná,Honey, Medicinal plants and herbs,Moringa oleifera, Myrica gale, Nuts,Silk, Spices, Truffles, Wildlife

41 Country Compass% Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia,

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil,Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon,Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic,Egypt, Finland, India, Kenya,Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar,Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritanie,Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua,Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru,Philippines, Republic of Korea, SouthAfrica, Uganda, United Republic of

Tanzania, United States of America,Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Zambia

62 Econook% Africa’s dry forests% Amazon rain forest at risk from

initiative to connect South Americaneconomies

% Coalition for Rainforest Nations% Environmental certification and its role

in the economic growth of Amazonia % Mining and deforestation% Picking berries protects rain forests

best, study shows% Putting a monetary value on

biodiversity% The 2010 Biodiversity Indicator

Partnership

65 International Action% FAO, INBAR, indigenous issues

69 Recent Events

71 Forthcoming Events

73 Publications of Interest

78 Web Sites

79 Obituary – C. Chandrasekharan

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 tocover this vast array of animal and plantproducts, also includes small wood andfuelwood. 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.

SUBSCRIBING AND CONTRIBUTING TO NON-WOOD NEWS

Subscription to Non-Wood News is free of charge. Please send an e-mail to ([email protected]) if you would like to receive a copy and be added to our mailing list.

A strong characteristic of Non-Wood News is that it is open to contributions from readers.Should you have any interesting material on any aspect of NWFPs that could be of benefit to allour readers, please do not hesitate to submit it. Articles are welcomed in English, French andSpanish and should be between 200 and 500 words. The deadline for contributions for Non-WoodNews 17 is 15 April 2008.

For more information, please contact Tina Etherington at the address on the front page or bye-mail to [email protected]

NON-WOOD NEWS No. 16 January 2008

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


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example, in October 2007 the WorldConservation Union (IUCN) reported thatour closest living relatives – the world’sapes, monkeys, lemurs and otherprimates – face unprecedented threatfrom the destruction of tropical forests,wildlife trade and commercial bushmeathunting, with 29 percent of all speciesnow in danger of extinction. For theprotection of forest mammals, tourism,with all its associated costs, has so farbeen the only way found to enable localpeople to gain financially from thepresence of rare mammals.

Yet tropical forests are significant alsoas the last strongholds for healthypopulations of bee races and species. Forthese species, it is feasible for people tocreate worthwhile income without harm tobee populations. There are good examplesof this, such as the North West BeeProducts of Zambia, a cooperative ownedby more than 6 500 beekeepers who live inthe miombo woodlands of northwestZambia and whose honey and beeswax areexported to the European Union.

Beekeeping may be one of the best,wholly sustainable ways for local peopleto create income from forests, andthereby to be concerned for theirprotection. Nevertheless, beekeepers arestill sometimes banned from forests,losing their rights of access. Why is this?Where forests are being protected, itsometimes happens that beekeepers arebanned from access, in the widely heldbelief that “beekeepers start forest fires”.But is this true? It may be that this beliefarises from the use of smoke to subduebees during the honey harvest and, insome areas, beekeepers camp in theforest at the time of the harvest. However,beekeepers know that trees are thehabitat and food source of their bees and,when interviewed, always insist that they

FOREST APICULTURE

Trees and bees. Their names sound welltogether, and so they should, for trees andbees are interdependent and have beenperfecting their relationship over the last50 million years, literally millions of yearsbefore humans appeared on the scene.When they did, early civilizationsdeveloped skills to harvest honey andbeeswax from bees, and forest dwellershave continued harvesting from the storesof different bee species found worldwide.

All forest ecosystems containindigenous species and races of bees, andsome now contain introduced honey beespecies such as the African honey beespresent in forests of South and CentralAmerica. Not all bee species can beexploited by people for honey and wax, butthere is always one or more honey bee orstingless bee species that may be utilized.The main products harvested from beesare honey and beeswax. Less commonlyharvested products include pollen andpropolis, while bee venom and royal jellyare specialized products harvested only ina few countries where industrialized,intensive beekeeping industries areestablished. The world beekeepingindustry trades around 1.2 million tonnesof honey per annum, with about half ofthis exported to the world market bycountries such as Argentina, China andMexico. This is a globalized industry,using just one type of honey bee(European races of Apis mellifera),together with standardized technologythat well suits this particular bee.

By contrast, beekeeping in forests is afar more variable type of extensive activity.Depending on the species of bees utilized,beekeepers may have a large number ofhives distributed throughout the forest orthey may practise honey hunting, i.e. theharvesting of honey from wild nests of

bees. The latter is the most commonapicultural activity of Asian forests, wheresome honey bee species nest in singlecombs in the open, since they cannot bekept inside a manufactured hive. Ingeneral, people practising forest-basedbeekeeping or honey hunting may becharacterized as poor, usually living inremote areas, poorly represented andwith few sources of cash income.

The main value (although it cannot bequantified in financial terms) of bees forforests is not the products of honey andbeeswax, but rather a service –pollination. Complex interdependency hasevolved whereby flowering plants dependupon bees to bring about pollination andthereby the production of viable seeds.The bees in turn depend upon the plantsfor their food and habitat. A tree does notneed bees simply for its own reproduction(although for many plant species bees arevital), but for maintenance andregeneration of the whole system withinwhich the tree exists. The more species offruits and seeds generated within asystem, the greater its diversity and thericher its life-carrying capacity. Trees andbees represent harmonious symbiosis: itis essential that this symbiosis beprotected and, even without the promiseof honey and beeswax we ought to betaking steps to protect bee communities.

For we are concerned about the futureof honey bees. In 2007, the mediahighlighted news that beekeepersthroughout the United States of Americawere experiencing a dramatic spate ofsudden honeybee colony losses. As oftenhappens, this created media exaggerationranging from “Bee AIDS” to the extinctionof human beings as a consequence of theloss of honey bees. The condition – nownamed Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)has been familiar to beekeepers in Europeduring the last ten years or so. No singlecause has been identified; rather it isbelieved that the collapse of coloniesarises as a result of the various honey beepathogens that are now widely distributed(for example, the predatory mite Varroadestructor) and the viruses they carry,combined with the stress caused to beesby intensive, industrialized beekeeping.The bee stocks used by the globalbeekeeping industry are by now infestedwith a number of pathogens that arespread almost worldwide.

Tropical forests are valued as a habitatfor the remaining mammal species; for

%

are forest guardians rather thanarsonists. Yet the myth remains thatbeekeepers start fires. Perhaps officialshold on to this rumour, for which theyhave no evidence, for it is easier to pinblame on beekeepers (who are often poorand remote), rather than admit to thepresence of poachers and other non-identifiable forest visitors.

As a NWFP-generating activity,apiculture is different from others,involving more than simple collection ofthe product, since the beekeepers, byproviding containers for bees to nestinside (hives), are involved to some extentwith ownership and management of thespecies to be harvested. Apiculture doesnot fit easily into the sectoral divides ofrural development, spanning as it doesforestry, horticulture, agriculture,environment, animal husbandry andentomology, without fitting precisely intoany single one of these sectors. Similarproblems confront the classification ofbee products because honey is a food,whereas beeswax is listed among non-food waxes and oils. Indeed, beekeepersthemselves are in different times andplaces categorized as farmers, huntersand gatherers, cattle keepers, or ruraldwellers, with beekeeping remaininghidden as an important skill and part oftheir lives.

Small-scale beekeeping can contributesignificantly to livelihood security and yetthe practice of beekeeping is underplayedin both policy and planning. The fact thatbeekeeping is usually a sideline activity(albeit one of several activities that add upto a resilient livelihood), may be onereason why it receives scant attention.Another may be that in recent years manybeekeeping interventions have notachieved the results anticipated. At Beesfor Development, we believe that this isbecause projects too often endeavour totransfer the knowledge and technologythat form part of the global beekeepingindustry to forest-based beekeeping. Forexample, while tropical African bees lookrather like European honey bees (andindeed are the same species), theirbiology and behaviour are very different.Equipment designed for beekeeping intemperate climates does not work well forbees in tropical Africa and for people whohave limited access to external resources.The equipment used in globalizedbeekeeping is often referred to by themisnomer of “modern” (even though

frame hives were invented in 1851) andmany well-meaning projects endeavour toencourage forest beekeepers to transferto “modern” equipment, erroneouslyexpecting this to lead automatically toincreased production and sales of honey.We are interested in seeing more valueplaced on existing, local and successfulmethods for forest beekeeping, with muchgreater emphasis given to creatinglinkages for marketing the products ofthis endeavour, and such that they arewell differentiated from those of industrialbeekeeping. With the need to find ways forpeople to create sustainable incomes frombees, we are interested in pursuingresearch to find the true measures of thevalues of forest beekeeping for localcommunities and the best ways to enablethem to realize this value. The importanceof the sustainable use of tree resources isnow accepted but the tremendous scopefor the sustainable utilization of beeresources is still poorly appreciated.

Please do contact us if you have anyinformation to share.(Contributed by: Dr Nicola Bradbear, Bees for Development, Troy, MonmouthNP25 4AB, United Kingdom. E-mail:[email protected];www.beesfordevelopment.org; Bees forDevelopment Trust UK Charity 1078803.) �

Dr Nicola Bradbear is the founder andDirector of Bees for Development, aUnited Kingdom charity formed in 1993.She is a world expert on apiculture, withextensive knowledge of bee operations inthe forests of Africa, Asia, CentralAmerica and Europe.

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


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TEN EXCELLENT REASONS FORBEEKEEPING

1. Pollination. Bees pollinate floweringplants – this activity is vital for life onearth. Adequate pollination leads togood-quality seeds and fruits, and isessential for maintaining biodiversity.

2. Useful products. Honey is valued by allsocieties as a healthy food or medicine.Beeswax is used in cosmetics andcandles and has many other uses. Pollenand propolis may also be harvestedfrom bees.

3. Land use. Bees visit flowers anywhere,so wild cultivated and protected areasall have value for beekeeping.Beekeeping does not use up land thatcould be used for crops.

4. Low cost. Beekeeping can be very lowcost. Hives and other equipment can bemade locally and bees are freelyavailable. Bees do not depend upon thebeekeeper for food.

5. Income generation. Where beekeepershave good market access, beekeepingeasily generates a profit.

6. Sustainable. Beekeeping is non-extractive and sustainable. Beekeepersare friends of the natural environment,willing to collaborate to conserveforests and vegetation where bees liveand forage.

7. Benefits for several sectors. Wherethere are beekeeping activities, otherpeople in the community generateincome by making equipment, fromselling bee products and makingsecondary products.

8. Comparative advantage. In areas ofdeveloping countries where there areabundant natural resources and healthybee populations, there are goodpossibilities for marketing organic-certified honey.

9. Resilient income. Beekeeping is resilientwhen disasters happen. Displacedcommunities can make hives and gainbenefit in a relatively short time. It isnot necessary for beekeepers to ownland or to be settled permanently.

10. Gender and age inclusive. Bees can bekept by women and men of all ages.Bees do not need daily care and can beattended to as other work allows.

Source: Bees for Development

NWFPS IN THE PACIFICISLANDS

A new bamboo initiative in the Fiji IslandsBamboo, mainly Bambusa vulgaris, growsnaturally in the Fiji Islands, especially in thewetter parts. It has been used mainly forrafts for transporting agricultural productsdown river and for plaited bamboo walls forhouses. However, with improvements in roadsystems and the use of timber and cementfor houses, bamboo is now restricted tominor uses.

Nevertheless, with the need for Fiji’s ruralcommunities to enhance their livelihoodsthrough participation in income-generatingprojects utilizing natural resources, attentionis now focused on the possible contributionof non-wood forest products, includingbamboo, to this endeavour. Bamboo is alogical candidate because of its relativeabundance, accessibility, low cost, and thefact that it is a very well known raw materialfor numerous products tradedinternationally.

Various attempts were made by theGovernment of Fiji in the past to try toenhance the use of local bamboo for incomegeneration by rural communities, with thesupport of the Chinese Government and theUnited Nations Development Programme(UNDP). Initiatives entailed the introductionof Chinese bamboo weaving and furniture-making experts to teach selected youthsfrom bamboo-owning communities thenecessary skills to be able to obtain productsthat could earn them an income. The mainobjective was to build the capacity of theseyouths so that they would be able to return totheir communities and establish their ownbamboo income-generating operations. Yet,while some success was achieved in the areaof technology transfer, the project wasregarded as a failure because none of theyouths trained were able to start up theirown business after the project ended. Anumber of factors, including, but not limitedto, issues relating to inadequate projectdesign and the susceptibility of local bambooto insect infestations, were identified as thereasons for the failure.

This article is a brief description of a newinitiative in Fiji, Bitukau Enterprises, to revivethe use of local bamboo to make furnitureand woven products for the enhancedlivelihoods of rural communities.

Bitukau EnterprisesBitukau Enterprises, unlike the previousgovernment-initiated bamboo project, is the

brainchild of a local indigenousentrepreneur. In 2000, this entrepreneursaw the potential of bamboo to contribute tothe improvement of livelihoods in Fiji’s ruralcommunities. He invested his own moneyand labour to start a small enterprise in hiscommunity in Vusuya, Nausori, located onthe southeastern side of Viti Levu, thelargest of the Fiji Islands. Vusuya is amultiethnic community with a totalpopulation of approximately 300, of whichyouths make up 60 percent.

In 2003 the entrepreneur, at his ownexpense, travelled to China to participate ina bamboo training course and also built asmall workshop with some basic tools tostart the enterprise. But this initialinvestment was insufficient for his operationto progress since the skills required to startmanufacturing marketable products toprovide him with the income he sodesperately craved were absent. His trainingin China was a good starting-point but itwas not enough. He also needed workingcapital to purchase materials and to paypeople to assist him in his operations.

Although Bitukau’s progress up to nowhas been slow and difficult, it is regarded asa potential model and, if it becomessuccessful, will be replicated in other ruralcommunities of the Fiji Islands as well as inother Pacific Island countries where there isa sufficient supply of bamboo.

External supportThe bamboo business being pursued byBitukau Enterprises is new for Fiji. This,together with the failure of the previousbamboo project, means that obtainingfinance for development of the enterprisehas been extremely difficult, if not almostimpossible. Consequently, the entrepreneurhas had to pursue alternative sources ofsupport outside the traditional commercialones.

In response to his request for assistanceand in view of the enormous potential ofbamboo to contribute to the enhancement ofthe livelihoods of rural communities, the

Governments of Fiji and Indonesia and theLand Resources Division of the Secretariatof the Pacific Community (SPC LRD) areproviding limited funding and technicalsupport. The support includes two short-term expert trainers from Indonesia, whohave trained the youths in basic weavingand furniture-making skills and indesigning. A total of 14 youths have so farbeen trained and, with these skills, theenterprise is beginning to make furnitureand woven products that are beingintroduced on the domestic market.

But while some interest has been shownby potential local buyers, it is apparent thata great deal of effort is still needed toimprove the quality of products and toreduce costs. In this regard, two of theyouths from the enterprise are now inIndonesia for a 12-month workingassignment, again with the support of theGovernments of Fiji and Indonesia and theSPC LRD. The objective is to enhance theirskills further so as to be able to contributepositively to the enterprise’s performance ata higher level, in terms of improvingproductivity and the quality of its products.Eventually, the two youths will also trainothers in Vusuya, thereby establishing acritical mass of skilled people in thecommunity.

Raw materialsBamboo currently used by the enterprise ismostly the naturally growing Bambusavulgaris, which belongs to communities withtraditional ties to the entrepreneur. Theseare being sourced at present without anypayment to the resource owners. This,however, will change once BitukauEnterprises breaks through the market andbegins to earn income. Paying landownersfor bamboo from their land will mean furtherspreading of the benefits derived from theenterprise.

Bambusa vulgaris is known for its highstarch content, making it highly susceptibleto insect infestation, a problem that wascited as one of the causes of failure of theprevious bamboo project. The bamboo usedby the enterprise is currently diptreated withchemicals, which is both expensive andunsafe under rural applications. In order toavoid using these chemicals, more suitablespecies of bamboo, coupled with appropriatepost-harvest techniques, are beinginvestigated. In 2000, an initiative by SPCLRD supported the introduction fromAustralia of selected species of bambooconsidered to be more suitable for

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


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Canarium indicum and C. harveyi(canarium nut)Canarium nut is one of Melanesia’s mostuseful multipurpose trees, providing food(nuts), timber and oil. The nuts constitute animportant seasonal food and appear to havebeen important in the diet of New Guineansfor at least 6 000 years. Considerableselection by local peoples of individual treeswith desired fruit characters has takenplace in the Solomon Islands and inVanuatu. These selections have been madeon the basis of kernel size and taste, ease ofopening, thin pericarp, oil content and,rarely, taste of the flesh and productivity.

In the Solomon Islands, canarium nut isconsidered by villagers to be the mostimportant fruit- or nut-producing species infive of six provinces surveyed, namely,Makira, Malaita, Isabel, Choiseul andWestern. It is also considered to be one ofthe most important timber species,providing cash income in Makira and MalaitaProvinces and, to a lesser extent, inChoiseul Province. Moreover, it is the majorindigenous tree species that villagers plant,tend or transplant in the Solomon Islands.Other traditional uses include theproduction of wood for canoes and forwooden articles such as bowls, collection ofa resin for light or for canoe caulk and intraditional medicines, mainly involvingpreparations from the bark. Nowadays,within its natural range, canarium nut iscommonly cultivated for its edible nuts. Thenuts are of considerable sustenance andcommercial importance, including sale inlocal markets, processing and export.

The kernels are an important seasonalfood in Melanesia. They are nutritious andhave a high protein content (8–14 percent).They are consumed either fresh, roasted orsmoked and may be eaten as a snack orincorporated into various cooked dishes.(Source: extracted from Traditional trees ofPacific Islands, ed. Craig R. Elevitch, 2006.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHORS OF THIS CHAPTER: Lex Thomson, Research Director, PacificAustralia Reforestation Company, 65 ReynardStreet, Coburg, Victoria 3058, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]; and Barry Evans, SPRIG Marketing Specialist, 30 Berry St, Sherwood, QLD 4075, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]

Domesticating traditional trees of the Pacific Information about traditionally important treespecies of the Pacific is crucial for efforts

aimed at developing sustainable, improvedand integrated farming systems in Pacificnations. Studies are currently under way toenhance domestication of some top-priorityspecies among these traditional trees,including cutnut (Barringtonia procera),Tahitian chestnut (Inocarpus fagifer),canarium nut (Canarium indicum), andsandalwood (Santalum spp.).

Domestication offers enormousopportunities to run “traditional trees” intocash crops with traditional values. Typically,a high degree of variation is found in traitsthat can be captured in new cultivars toenhance yield and a range of qualityattributes. Once selected for superiormarket-oriented qualities, simple vegetativepropagation techniques can be used tomass-produce elite tree cultivars.

Domesticating traditional trees is bestimplemented through partnerships betweenscientists and local communities, a processcalled participatory domestication. Thisprocess allows communities to adopt rapidlythe new techniques, to be the beneficiariesof their own efforts and, most important, toretain the rights to their traditionalknowledge. It also ensures that the interestsof the people are foremost in the process.This kind of initiative is easily implementedusing appropriate low-technology that isreadily learned.

Early results from participatorydomestication programmes in Africaindicate that local participants haveimproved livelihoods, higher incomes and

construction, as well as for edible shoots.These are now in a number of trial plots inthe country and the challenge is to producethe required planting materials from theintroduced species for planting by farmers.Some work needs to be initiated in order todetermine the best post-harvest handlingpractices to reduce the risks of insectinfestation on the bamboo products.

Community participationAlthough Bitukau Enterprises is the result ofa private initiative, community support andparticipation have been vital to its progressso far, both in the area of material supply (atpresent sourced for free) and in theproduction of bamboo items. Continuingsupport from bamboo owners in this regardwill be extremely important for the survivalof the enterprise at this critical stage.

On the production side, the enterprise hassourced its workers from a number offamilies in the community close to itsworkshop. These workers are not being paidbut in return are being trained at no cost atthe enterprise’s facilities. The idea is to trainthe workers at the workshop and, at thecompletion of their training, they will go backto their families and from there they willproduce items to be ordered by theenterprise. Under this arrangement, theenterprise undertakes training, marketing,quality control and overall coordination. It ishoped that benefits will be equitably sharedamong the various interest groups, includingthe suppliers of raw materials, producers ofbamboo items and the enterprise itself.

ConclusionBamboo has the potential to improve thelivelihoods of rural communities in the FijiIslands. The partnership between a localentrepreneur, Bitukau Enterprises, theGovernments of the Fiji Islands andIndonesia, and the SPC LRD is workingtowards bringing this potential to reality.

However, a number of important lessonsare being learned in the process, whichneed to be considered seriously by anyonewishing to venture into a similar line ofbusiness.

Bitukau Enterprises, despite its currentshortcomings, is being looked at as apotential model for other rural communitiesin the Fiji Islands as well as in other PacificIsland countries. (Contributed by: SairusiBulai, Forests and Trees Programme, LandResources Division, Secretariat of thePacific Community, Private Mail Bag, Suva,Fiji. E-mail: [email protected])

TRADITIONAL TREES OF THE PACIFIC

The geographically isolated islands of thePacific are homes to people who haveused their trees for material survival, aswell as to provide the essential ecologicalfunctions of soil enrichment, erosioncontrol, watershed stability, coastalprotection and wildlife habitat.

These trees have become “traditional”by virtue of being intertwined with theculture and the day-to-day lives ofindigenous peoples, for whom theyprovide edible fruits, nuts, leaves and oilsand serve as sources of medicine, fibre,fuel, gum, resin, aromatics, timber andwood for numerous valuable products ofeveryday importance.



7

more sustainable farming systems, as wellas new opportunities for commercializingand adding value to the products from anew generation of cash crops.

Extrapolation from this successsuggests that if new tree crops can bedeveloped by communities throughout thePacific and integrated into their traditionalfarming systems, there can be verysignificant benefits for Pacific islandersand their islands. (Source: extracted fromthe foreword by Roger R.B. Leakey ofTraditional trees of Pacific Islands, ed.Craig R. Elevitch, 2006.)

Medicinal plant use in FijiThe following table provides information on

the plants commonly used in Fiji byWAINIMATE (the Women’s Association forNatural Medicinal Therapy) to treat variousailments, especially infections of differentnatures.

Local name Scientific name General description of the plants Uses and method of application

1. Botebotekoro Ageratum Coarse herb up to 1 m tall. Flowers minute, whitish to pale Juice or sometimes leaves are directly appliedconyzoides blue, borne in sunflower-like heads. Now growing widely to infected wounds. Also used for eye infections,

in the South Pacific, originally brought as an ornamental diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis, intestinal worms,plant from the Americas filariasis, wounds and cuts, besides other ailments

2. Vulokaka Vitex Small tree up to 5 m tall. Flowers relatively small, Used for mouth infections, as antihelminthic and trifolia bilateral, purple. Fruit a small globose, 4-seeded capsule. in stomach pains

Grows widely throughout the Pacific and tropical region as far as South Africa

3. Uci Euodia Shrub to small tree up to 6 m tall. Small, white fragrant Bark used for treating jaundicehortensis flowers. Fruit a 4-parted brown dehiscent follicle, with single

seed in each segment. Native to New Guinea, now widely distributed in the South Pacific

4. Kaukamea Vernonia Up to 60 cm high, this herb is found throughout Southeast Juice from plant is used to treat cuts from rustycinerea Asia. White to purple-tinged flowers, borne in small heads knives, fish poisoning, stingrays and stonefish

5. Tarawau Dracontomelon Large tree, up to 20 m tall. Flattish branches, pinnate leaves, Decoction of leaves is used for the treatment of vitiense small whitish flowers, tough edible yellow fruits venereal ulcers, boils in ear and earache. Liquid

pressed from the bark is used to treat inflammation and filariasis

6. Wa bosucu Mikania Perennial scrambling or climbing vine. White, minute flower Used for insect bites and various skin irritationsmicrantha borne in densely packed heads resembling sunflower. Fruit a

small achene with white bristles that aid in wind dispersal of seeds. Common weed of pastures, roadsides. Native to tropical America but widely distributed throughout South Pacific and tropical Asia

7. Mokosoi Cananga Tree up to 20 m tall. Flowers very fragrant with six large pale Has known antifungal, antibacterial, antipruritic, odorata green to yellowish petals. Cultivated or naturalized in forests, antiyeast and amoebicidal activity

slopes, etc. Native to Indo-Malesia

8. Dawa Pometia Tree up to 20 m tall with buttressed trunk. Flowers minute, Known to have antiprotozoal and antimicrobialpinnata regular, 5-parted, whitish except for red stamens. Fruit red, activity. Used for diarrhoea, coughs, fever, mouth

juicy, whitish pulp with single seed. Widely planted and infectionsnaturalized throughout the South Pacific

9. Kalabucidamu Acalypha Shrub, 2–5 m tall with hairy branchlets. Found widely in the Used for a wide range of respiratory ailments. wilkesiana South Pacific The decoction of leaves is used to treat gastritis

and lymphatoid swelling

10. Cevucevu Physalis Herb up to 1 m tall. Found commonly in the South Pacific Leaf juices are used as antipyretic and alsoangulata region. White flower; fruit a green to yellowish berry with applied on boils, ulcers and wounds. Juice also

numerous small seeds used to facilitate childbirth

Source: Kishore, K., Rao, D., Lal, R., Aalbersberg, B. & Pryor, J. 2007, in press. Standardization of an antimicrobial assay for Pacific Island natural products. (The authorsare from the Fiji School of Medicine and the University of the South Pacific.)

THE ROUNDTABLE FOR NATURECONSERVATION

The Roundtable for Nature Conservationis the largest cross-sectoral coalition ofdonors, non-governmental organizations(NGOs), regional organizations andnational governments working in natureconservation in the Pacific.

For more information, please visit:

www.sprep.org/roundtable/



8

starch remains a staple food for manypeople and communities in PNG; it hasfound wide uses in many traditional foodsand products and strongly features in thecountry’s food security issues. It alsogenerates a great deal of money from thelocal domestic market.

Regional trade remains an importantaspect of NWFP economy in PNG.Eaglewood is one of the most highly pricedcommodities in the Asia-Pacific Region andhas been extensively traded. The currentdiscovery of natural stands of eaglewood inPNG has led to the extension of that trade,which has impacted the rural economy.

Other NWFPs traded internationally arerattan, butterflies, sandalwood andorchids.

The economic importance of NWFPs inthe livelihoods of forest-dwellers shouldnot be underestimated, with peoplehistorically depending entirely on them forfood, shelter, clothes, medicine, etc.Eaglewood and sandalwood, however, haveno recorded traditional use apart from theirpresent economic uses. Rural populationscurrently use NWFPs as a means towardsdevelopment and poverty alleviation.

In 1992 a total ban was imposed on wildorchids and the domestication of wildflowers is being encouraged by theNational Botanical Gardens in PortMoresby and Lae Botanical Gardens. Wildorchids and flowers are very importantincome-generating opportunities forvillage communities; they are often sold inlocal markets and are grown to attractother NWFPs, such as insects andbutterflies, which in turn attract tourists.

Socially, NWFPs play a crucial role inreducing social tensions within ruralhouseholds by providing cash incomes tocover basic needs such as shelter, food,clothes, school and medical fees andtransportation. Nuts such as karuka from aPandanus species and canarium and okarinuts can be of great social significance.Most NWFPs are traded within the informalsector where there is no properdocumentation or recorded figures toindicate the actual trading.

Eaglewood and sandalwood are two ofthese emerging commercialized NWFPs inPNG with poorly documented productionand trade. However, suchcommercialization and the regulations thatgovern them have had major impacts (bothpositive and negative) on the sustainabilityof production, as well as on the benefitsthat accrue to stakeholders. One possible

most of her clients usually place their orderswith her but, if they are not enough, she takesher wares to sell at the Suva flea market.

Vakaola is a good example of howindividuals without much of an education canrely on skills such as making tapa as a meansto financial independence. (Source: FijiTimes, 23 August 2007.)

Overview of NWFP trade in Papua NewGuinea and its contribution to livelihoods Effective NWFP policies, regulations andmanagement strategies are needed for theeconomic, nutritional and cultural well-being of the people. The development ofworkable regulatory frameworks to reduceillegal and unregulated trade, whilemaximizing the sustainable managementpotential of NWFPs, is urgently needed.Forest economics are not just about treesand their products but also include bothflora and fauna and the entire collectiveecosystem itself, especially for the tourismindustry, but also for research. Industrialforestry has had terrible social andenvironmental effects in many parts ofPapua New Guinea (PNG) and there is areal need for an alternative industryfocusing on NWFPs.

Rattan, sandalwood and eaglewood areleading examples of internationallymarketed resources in PNG. There is animmediate need for management andpolicy guidelines to manage these NWFPssustainably so that the people can benefiteconomically.

NWFPs have an economic value for ruralpeople, which means that theirdevelopment and improved trade will helpalleviate poverty in these areas.Domestication of plant species thatproduce NWFPs should involve scientistsand farmers so that improved silviculturalmethods developed by scientists will beused by local farmers. Both eaglewood andsandalwood species are appropriate fordomestication and are currently beingtested at the Papua New Guinea ForestResearch Institute (PNGFRI), with positiveresults, which will improve geneticselection, leading to incentives for marketexpansion.

There are many NWFPs in PNG that aretraded at local, national, regional and/orinternational levels. For instance, rattanand sago (among other forest products)have cultural significance, used asclothing, shelter and food sources. Sago isexploited for stem starch and is both asubsistence and commercial product. Sago

Keeping tapa art aliveKesaia Vakaola is among the limited numberof women in Fiji who are adept at makingmasi, the traditional Fijian cloth producedfrom the bark of the mulberry tree. Shenow teaches other women the skills at theVeiqaravi ecumenical community trainingcentre in New Town, Nasinu.

The consistent thudding of wood againstwood is the only sound to emerge from thisurban setting, as women concentrate ontheir individual tapa pieces. Beating thebark of the mulberry tree is probably themost integral part of the whole tapa-making process, which takes about three tofive days at best. The activities provided atthe centre are aimed at empoweringwomen through acquired skills while alsogiving them some spiritual guidance.

“I have been making good money fromtapa, roughly about $130 a week from thesales,” said Vakaola. She said that as asmall girl growing up in her village ofKorotolu, she picked up the skill from olderwomen. “I used to see my grandmother,mother and aunties beating (tapa) everymorning until the afternoon.”

Vakaola usually derives much of themulberry bark from the village of Viwa inYasawa, where mulberries grow prominently.The Veiqaravi training centre is encouragingtrainees to plant their own mulberry trees intheir backyard or garden. This is considered agood investment because it is usually sixmonths or more before the bark can beenharvested, which is a relatively short time fora good cash crop, according to Vakaola. Thetrainees have also been taught how to boil thebark of the dogo or mangrove plant to makethe dye used to paint tapa. Vakaola said that

MORE JOBS FROM PINE IN FIJI

The interim government has forecastedthat the pine industry will provideemployment to rural communities.Interim Finance Minister MahendraChaudhry said contract employment inthe industry was expected to increase by70 percent. He said it would be possiblewhen the Fiji Pine Limited diversified intonew ventures such as pine resin tappingoperations. “This will create employmentopportunities for rural communities, inparticular rural women,” he said.(Source: Fiji Times, 25 November 2007.)



9

reason for this is that there have been noeffective mechanisms to ensuresustainable production, equitable trade andto show clearly the possibility of a win-winsituation for traders, local producingcommunities and resource conservation.This has rendered fair trade dialoguedifficult. A win-win situation is one in whichthe sustainable supply of raw materials aswell as better prices commensurate withthe efforts and end value of the productsare assured.

A recent paper commissioned by FAO’sNWFP Programme under the NorwayPartnership Programme (NPP) “Forests forSustainable Livelihoods”(FNOP/INT/004/NOR) analyses how trade-related instruments have influenced thecommercialization and livelihoodcontributions of eaglewood andsandalwood in PNG, and also suggests howpositive impacts can be enhanced ornegative impacts minimized.Sandalwoodand eaglewood are important NWFPs inPNG, producing substantial amounts ofmoney and having economic potential.Consequently, if properly managed theycould help to improve people’s livingstandards. (Source: extracted fromNational analysis of trade-relatedinstruments influencing trade insandalwood (Santalum macgregorii F.Muell) and eaglewood (Acquilaria andGyrinops ledermannii spp.): applicationsand impacts on poverty alleviation andsustainable forest management in PapuaNew Guinea. Unpublished FAO case study,available only in pdf format atwww.fao.org/forestry/site/ 40716/en)

Pandanus tectorius (pandanus)Pandanus is one of the Pacific’s mustuseful plants and is featured prominently inMicronesian and Polynesian creationmythology, cosmogony, proverbs, riddles,songs, chants and sayings.

Pandanus (P. tectorius) is a large shrubor small tree of immense cultural, healthand economic importance in the Pacific,second only to coconut on atolls. Differentparts of the pandanus plant are used toprovide a myriad of end productsthroughout the Pacific Islands, especiallyon atolls.

Pandanus fruits are a staple food inparts of Micronesia including the MarshallIslands, the Federated States of Micronesiaand Kiribati providing up to 50 percent ofenergy intake. They are also widelyconsumed in Tokelau and Tuvalu. In some

places the consumption of pandanus hasdecreased in recent decades as a result ofthe availability of imported foods. Forexample, it was formerly a major staplefood in Nauru. In Micronesia adults maycommonly consume 20 fresh keys(phalanges) or about 1 kg of fruit per day.

The fruit pulp is preserved in severaldifferent ways. A paste, which is comparedwith dates in taste, texture and appearance,is made by boiling and baking the keys,followed by extracting, processing, anddrying the pulp. Cultivars with largeamounts of pulp are preferred and the tastediffers among cultivars. Fresh pandanus isan important source of vitamin C.Preserved pandanus pulp mixed withcoconut cream makes a tasty, sweet fooditem. Pandanus can also be made into flourthat is consumed in different ways, usuallyprepared as a drink

In the atoll islands of the Central Pacific,the fruits are often sold fresh in localmarkets, and preserved food items areoccasionally sold.

The main commercial products frompandanus are woven products, often of highvalue. Individual mats may be worth morethan US$500 in Tonga, Fiji and Hawai’i. InTonga, mats made from thin strips ofleaves with intricate designs (fala) areimportant gifts and indicators of wealth.Simpler designs using wider strips (lotahaand papa) are used as everyday floor mats.Ta’ovala mats are worn around the waist.

In the Ha’apai Group, 80 percent ofwomen are involved in handicraftproduction, mainly using pandanus andsome paper mulberry (Broussonetiapapyrifera). Most traditional handicraftsmade from pandanus are produced forhome use, as gifts, or are informallyexchanged for other products, includingother handicrafts. Because thecommodities are locally produced, non-perishable and can be processed a numberof ways, there is a wide range ofopportunities for producers and processorsto enter into the handicraft marketingchain at any stage.

Pandanus is an important income-generating plant in the Ha’apai Group, andthe islands are well known as producers ofall types of mats known as fakaha’apai andsalusalu.

In Tonga, producers and sellers reportthat prices of pandanus products arerelatively stable, indicating that supply ismatching demand. (Source: extractedfrom: Traditional trees of Pacific Islands,ed. Craig R. Elevitch, 2006.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACTTHE LEAD AUTHOR OF THIS CHAPTER: Lex Thomson, Research Director, PacificAustralia Reforestation Company, 65 ReynardStreet, Coburg, Victoria 3058, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]

Papua New Guinea Forestry Regulationand NWFPs In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the forestrysector contributes significantly to theeconomy: in 2001, it contributed US$334million to PNG’s gross domestic product(GDP), which was about 76 percent of its total.

Although the contribution ispredominantly from the logging industry,NWFPs do play some role in the localeconomy, with 13 tonnes of sandalwood onaverage being exported each year. This isevident in the Forestry Regulation 1998(consolidated in subsequent amendmentsof 2001 and 2003), where mentions ofNWFPs include the following. Forest industry activities, i.e. anycommercial activities within Papua NewGuinea directly connected with:

• harvesting or processing of timber orrattan;

• buying unprocessed timber or rattanfor processing or export;

• selling or, on behalf of another personor other persons, arranging orprocuring the sale or purchase of

Pandanus leaves are used to weavetraditional floor mats in many Pacificcountries, as well as in the constructionof traditional houses (thatch for wallsand roofing). A roof made frompandanus leaves is said to last about 15years, while one of coconut leaves maylast for only three years.

timber or rattan (whether unprocessedor processed but not includingmanufactured items made from timberor rattan materials), by a person wherethe timber or rattan harvest,processed, purchased, sold orarranged or procured to be purchasedor sold, by that person in a calendaryear exceeds i) 500 m3 in volume; or ii)in the case of sandalwood or rattan 20 000 kina in market value.

Declaration of reserved trees. TheMinistry in-charge of forestry may, bynotice in the National Gazette, declare anytrees or members of any species or classof trees to be reserved trees. NWFPs suchas agarwood and sandalwood fall underthe reserved species. (Contributed by:Regina Hansda, Flat 101, Teak Block,Sushant Estate, Sector 52, Gurgaon-122002, Haryana-India. E-mail:[email protected])

Sago palm (Metroxylon spp.)The various species of Metroxylon(Metroxylon amicarum, M. paulcoxii, M.sagu, M. salomonense, M. vitiense and M.warburgii) have important cultural valuesthroughout many parts of the Pacific andSoutheast Asia. The two primary uses are

for the production of edible starch and

durable leaf thatch. Several secondaryuses have also been recorded, but theseare not comparable in economicimportance with the primary uses. M. saguis a staple food crop in the Sepik and Gulfprovinces of lowland Papua New Guinea,where most of the sago grows in wilduncultivated stands.

Among the Asmat of Papua New Guinea,felling of the palm and harvesting of thesago starch are accompanied by ritual. Inhouse construction, sago leaves are usedfor roof thatch and wall siding, and thewood is used for floorboards and rafters. Inthe Solomon Islands, the thatch is known tolast five years or longer.

The decaying trunks of the sago palmare a source of sago palm beetle grubs(Rhynchophorus ferrugineus/ bilineatus),an excellent source of protein.



10

EDIBLE STARCH

Metroxylon starch may be eaten as rawchunks of pith or as baked pieces ofpith. Whole logs have been baked andtaken as sea provisions on long canoevoyages.

Each of the species is currently orwas previously used as a source ofedible starch, with the possibleexception of M. vitiense. The mostintensive use as a food source has beenin the western Solomon Islands andBougainville. Throughout the rest ofthe range of distribution, the starchwas eaten as a famine food, althoughthis is questionable in Fiji and in atleast one culture in the easternSolomon Islands.

Production and use of sago starchvary somewhat from location tolocation. The production of sago fromM. paulcoxii and M. warburgii isprobably a recently introduced conceptin Samoa. No starch has been observedfrom M. paulcoxii. Although starchproduction from M. amicarum isknown, it is very rare since the treesare much more highly valued forthatch. At present, many cultures havevirtually abandoned the production ofsago starch, in favour of other starchcrops such as sweet potato, taro,cassava (manihot) or imported rice.

LEAF THATCH

Leaves are highly valued for thatch forroofs and house walls in many islands ofthe Pacific. In Pohnpei, roofs are calledoahs, the Pohnpeian word for M. amicarum, as the leaves are used forthatch. The thatch is applied in layers,with each sheet tied to the rafters bycoconut sennit or vines. Walls may alsobe constructed from the same thatchsheets.

In northern Vanuatu, where both M. warburgii and M. salomonense arepresent, thatch from each species is usedfor different constructions. M. warburgiisheets are used for roofing, whereas M. salomonense sheets are used for wallsiding. In Samoa, older informantsindicated that the leaves of M. paulcoxiiwere not useful for thatch but that M.warburgii is considered to be a superiorthatch. Younger Samoan informants didnot seem to be aware of the differencebetween species and appeared toharvest the leaves indiscriminately.

The leaflets (basic thatch materials)of M. amicarum and M. warburgiicontain highly modified and enlargedsubhypodermal bundles of fibres. Theseexplain the enduring quality of thatchmade from these species. As humanshave selected these species, they haveprobably also selected for increased fibreproduction and have selectively plantedcultivated trees with better leafqualities.

SAGO GRUBS

Papua New Guinea is known for itsnutty flavoured sago grubs(Rhynchophorus ferrugineus papuanusor R. bilineatus), beetle larvae thatinhabit dead sago palm trees and arehonoured at annual festivals.(http://nationalzoo.si.edu/publications/zoogoer/2005/4/edibleinsects.cfm)

In other parts of the Pacific, M. warburgiiand M. amicarum are viewed as emergencyfood and are rarely or no longer eaten bypeople, although they are used for thatchand animal feed. Various parts of the plantare used for traditional medicines, toys andother miscellaneous items. (Source:extracted from Traditional trees of PacificIslands, ed. Craig R. Elevitch, 2006.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACTTHE LEAD AUTHOR OF THIS CHAPTER: Will McClatchey, University of Hawai’i at Manoa,Botany Department, St John 405, 3190 Maile Way, Honolulu, Hawai’i 96822, United States of America. Tel.: 808-956-6704; fax: 808-956-3923;www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/mcclatchey/

Metroxylon sagu (sago)



11

VANUATU DEFENDS ITS FAMOUSKAVA DRINK

Vanuatu is battling to defend thereputation of its national drink, a bitterpeppery concoction called kava, which isfamous for its medicinal, stress-relievingproperties. Since 2000, kava has beenbanned by many European countries,following claims that the herbal remedycan cause severe liver damage. NowAustralia has imposed tight new importrestrictions because of concerns that it isbeing abused in some Aboriginalcommunities.

But in Vanuatu, kava drinkingremains an essential evening ritual, asthe roots of the Piper methysticumplant are washed, chopped, mashed(ideally with a stick of dry coral) andstrained into coconut cups. Manypeople on these remote islands believethat kava has been unjustlydemonized. They claim that the herb –once widely available globally in pillform as a natural treatment for stressand anxiety, and known as kava kava –was encroaching on the turf ofinternational pharmaceuticalcompanies. Now Vanuatu’s case hasbeen strengthened by a new reportfrom WHO that appears to rule out alink between kava and liver damage.

Despite the new restrictions imposedby Australia, kava traders in the Pacificare now hoping to revive their exportindustry, which has been badly damagedby these bans. (Source: BBC News[United Kingdom], 18 July 2007.)

The crippling of the lucrative kava exportindustry in the Pacific Island countries History. Kava kava (Piper methysticum) is amember of the pepper family. Its roots havebeen used for centuries in the Pacific Islandcountries (PICs), Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa andPapua New Guinea, for the preparation of aceremonial and social drink. In westerncountries kava has been mostly sold as adietary supplement and in pharmaceuticalpreparations for patients suffering fromanxiety, stress, nervousness and insomnia. Kava production. Kava is one of thoseNWFPs cultivated on a large scale, but wildsources continue to meet the marketdemand. Most of the PICs grow it; however,the archipelago of Vanuatu, the islands ofPentecost, Santo, Tanna, Epi, Ambae, Tongoaand Maewo are the primary kava-growingareas. In Vanuatu, kava production is lessthan that of copra (coconut) and cocoa, butthe cash value to small subsistence Vanuatukava farmers is significant. Trade and export. During the late 1990s,kava was one of the top ten best-sellingherbs globally. A boom in 1998 witnessed asurge in sales to an estimated US$50million. Only some 100 000 kg were shippedto Europe during the whole of 1996,compared with 50 000 kg of dried rootsshipped every week from Fiji alone in 1998.In 1997, kava extract was sold for $100/kg byprocessing companies to manufacturers,compared with $250–300/kg in 1998, a 300percent rise in price. Trade ban in western countries. Thegrowing kava export industry in the PICsreceived a devastating setback in 2002 whencountries in the European Union, led byGermany, imposed bans on kava products,withdrawing licences for all productscontaining kava and/or kava’s activeingredient (kavalactone). This was mainlybecause of the alleged links between kavaextract and liver damage. Other countriessuch as the United Kingdom, the UnitedStates of America, Canada, Australia, NewZealand and Singapore also imposed a banon the import and use of kava extract.Post-ban impacts and initiatives. As a resultof the ban, livelihoods of thousands ofhouseholds across the PICs were impacted.Phytopharm, the Germany-based consultingfirm on botanical research carried out an in-depth investigation into European Unionmember states’ market restrictions on kavaproducts at the behest of the Centre for theDevelopment of Enterprise (an ACP [Africa,Caribbean and Pacific]/EU joint institutioncreated in the framework of the Cotonou

Agreement for promotion of small-scaleenterprises among these nations) andPRO€INVEST (an EU-ACP partnershipprogramme developed and undertaken bythe European Commission on behalf of theACP countries).

The International Kava Executive Council(IKEC) consisting of members from both thePICs and the EU was constituted inNovember 2003 in response to this tradedisaster. The findings of the report weredeliberated in the International KavaConference 2004 organized by IKEC in Fiji,wherein participation from stakeholderrepresentatives, scientists, healthauthorities and academics from 16countries, including the Pacific ACP and EUstates, took place. The outcomes of thisconference led to the drafting and adoptionof a resolution in 2004, which included thefollowing.

• The efficacy and safety of kava in thetreatment of conditions of nervousanxiety, stress and restlessness wereproved through more than 20 clinicaltrials involving more than 10 000patients. Of 82 reported cases of livertoxicity attributed to kava, only aboutfour could be substantiated, highlightingthat the incidence rate is one case in 50million kava extract users.

• Toxicity studies on kava suggest ahypothesis that the causal factors to thereported cases may be related to thevariety of kava utilized (manyindiscriminate kava varieties wereexported and used in the tablet industry,including even wild or false kava, sincepeople were quick to exploit the highprices in the absence of any kind ofquality control both between Pacificcountries and export to Europe and theUnited States), and also possibly theextraction method used.

• The World Health Organization (WHO)was asked to work on kava safetyevaluations.

Current status. WHO, in association with theNatural Standard Research Collaborationcarried out an assessment of the risk ofhepatotoxicity with kava products. Thisprovides safety and regulatory information,analytical results and clinicalrecommendations, as well as conclusionsand recommendations by the Committeeappointed to handle the inquiry. Recentnews briefings suggest a possible review ofthe kava import ban by the countriesconcerned as a result of the outcomes of theWHO report.

Lessons learned. The story of kavaillustrates the value of understandingtraditional uses of NWFPs; the significanceof considering safety issues in herbalpreparations; the need for introducing andenforcing quality standards and regulationsto ensure that quality raw materials areused in the pharmaceutical, food andcosmetic industry; and the role of third partymediation.

IKEC’s Web site (www.ikec.org) provides acomprehensive overview of this issue.(Contributed by: Regina Hansda, Flat 101,Teak Block, Sushant Estate, Sector 52,Gurgaon-122002, Haryana, India. E-mail:[email protected])



12

HISTORY OF NWFPS

The forgotten heritage There is growing awareness on the part ofinternational forest science and policy asregards the significance and relevance oflocal and indigenous knowledge aboutforests and traditional possibilities ofutilization, as well as the need to takeaccount of this knowledge in thedevelopment of political strategies that aimat sustainable forest management. Theprotection, documentation and utilization offorest-related, tradition-based knowledgeare the focus of numerous politicaldiscussions held within national, regionaland international organizations and fora.Countries in the European region andelsewhere have in recent years increasedtheir attention towards the cultural heritagevalues in forests (e.g. Vienna Declaration andVienna Resolution 2003 adopted at theFourth Ministerial Conference on theProtection of Forests in Europe).

Over thousands of years a diversity offorest management practices has shapedEuropean landscapes, affecting density,structure and species composition of forestsand woodlands, according to technicalknowledge, environmental conditions andthe role played by forests in time and space.Traditional knowledge has greatlycontributed, providing multiple goods andservices, food, raw material, energy sources,livelihood security and quality of life anddeveloping management practices that haveincreased the biodiversity and quality ofwoodlands. Over the last decades the retreatof agriculture, socio-economic development,market changes, the replacement ofrenewable raw materials and modernforestry have deeply changed the relationshipbetween society and forest resources,interrupting the transmission of traditional

forest-related knowledge betweengenerations. Thus, the demand for traditionalproducts has decreased and former well-known techniques and uses are only partlyrecognized and have largely fallen intooblivion.

The gap between orally transferred forest-related knowledge and forest science can bebridged to a certain extent by forestry-relatedliterature dating back to theeighteenth/nineteenth century. Althoughmost of the authors (forest scientists andforesters) focused primarily on theproduction of highly valuable timber, theywere aware that their scientific knowledgewas based on traditional knowledge. This isthe reason why they collected and publishedoral information about the various uses oftrees and their different parts, such as bark,sap, leaves, blossoms and seeds. Thesebooks are of great importance for today’ssociety because they provide informationabout different products and the recipes andskills necessary to produce and use them.Thus attention can be drawn to the fact that,in addition to wood, a wide variety of productscan be derived from forest trees, with manytraditional processing techniques known inpractice only in rare cases and that havefallen into oblivion to a great extent.

The example of juniper may illustrate theimportance of specific tree species for dailylife and how they are used by local people.The wood of this species can be used for themanufacture of cups, plates, fuelwood andmedicine. The roots, particularly from maleshrubs, and the wood and berries produce apleasant smoke. Roots can also serve as amedicine against fever and other diseases.Resin can be collected from the bark andused also as incense; needles might be usedfor smoking. The fruits can be the basis forthe production of local brandy, medicineagainst various diseases and for oil. In thesepublications traditional knowledge ispreserved, which has been handed downorally from generation to generation, thatotherwise would have been lost. For a longtime, some of these products have beenreferred to – in a mostly discrediting manner– as “by-products”, e.g. tree saps, which areof interest in pharmacy and food technologyor in the chemical industry even today.

One of the most interesting authors of thattime is Peter Reber, who described in a verycomprehensive way the common uses offorest trees, shrubs and herbs at thebeginning of the nineteenth century (Reber,P. 1831. Handbuch des Waldbaues und derWaldbenutzung. Jos. Lindauer’sche

Buchhandlung München). However, aconsiderable number of contemporary –mainly German - forest scientists haveacknowledged the traditional multiple usesof woodlands.

Reber addresses the multiple productsderiving from specific tree species anddescribes in detail not only the technical usesof wood but also the multiple uses of leaves,bark, sap, fruits and seeds. Thus differentparts of the trees can be used for differentpurposes such as bark for tanning, dyeing,medicine, bast for weaving and ropes, or sapfor the production of turpentine, resin, pitch,tar, soot, oil sugar, wine, brandy, vinegar andmedicine. The leaves of various trees canserve as food for human beings as well as forfodder (green or dried) for cattle, goats andsheep and as fertilizer, but can also be usedfor tanning and dyeing. Multiple uses of fruitsare also mentioned, such as food for humanbeings (green, dried, cooked), for fodder forhusbandry and game, for tanning and dyeing,for beverages (syrup, coffee, brandy) and formedicine and oil. Just in the making of oil,more than 13 different raw materials arementioned as the basis for production (suchas seeds from beech, hazel, lime tree, horsechestnut, alder, spruce, fir, pine, larch;leaves from alder; buds from poplar andhorse chestnut; and blossoms from rosesand birch). Reber also pays attention to theimportance and uses of diverse plants,herbs, grasses, mosses and lichens growingin the woodland. Other particular productsare perfumes deriving from juniper(produced from wood, roots, berries andneedles), larch (blossoms, needles), rose(leaves, blossoms), willow (blossoms) andspruce (bark). Different parts of trees arealso highly valued because of their healingeffect against diseases (mainly against fever)such as berries, fruits, leaves, branches,bark, seeds and wood (i.e. juniper and birch).

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13

Active substances for pharmaceuticaland cosmetic products are still beingobtained from forest trees but, apart fromwell-established usages, new fields of useand products can also be created. Woodcomposites hold a huge, in many respectsstill unused, potential; for example, theycan provide the basis for packagingmaterials, foils, paints and many more. Atpresent, forest management systemsbased on traditional forest-relatedknowledge and often small-scaleenterprises are not sufficiently recognizedby researchers, managers and policy-makers. However, the experience of thepast half century reveals a variety ofrelationships between science andtraditional knowledge, in which the generaltrend has been from disapproval towardsappreciation. (Contributed by: Prof.Elisabeth Johann, Oberdorfl 9, StMargareten 9173, Austria. E-mail:[email protected])

Ancient and traditional uses of noni(Morinda citrifolia) Noni has probably been used by humansfor at least 5 000 years and perhaps muchlonger. It belongs to a large plant group(genus) called Morinda.

Morinda species comprise a useful andwidely distributed group of tropical trees,shrubs and vines. There are about 80species, most originating from Borneo,New Guinea, northern Australia and NewCaledonia. At least 20 species havesignificant economic and traditional valueas a source of medicine, food, dyes orwood. Several species, including noni, havebuoyant seeds that can float in saltwaterfor months and still remain viable uponlanding on a remote coast.

These Morinda species becameessential components of many tropicalcoastal and forest ecosystems, as well asserving important functions in a number of

ancient indigenous societies. In fact,ancient societies turned to noni and otherplants for many of their needs, rangingfrom the mundane to the life-sustainingand spiritual.

Proof of noni’s status as a criticallyimportant plant can be found in the storiesof ancient Polynesians, who considered it tobe important enough to take it intentionallyto new lands in the Pacific and plant it neartheir settlements.

Many of the following ancient andtraditional uses of noni are still in useamong indigenous peoples throughout thetropics.Fire. Fire is one the most basic anduniversal human needs. Tropical societiesused noni wood as fuelwood for cookingfires.Tools. The ability to make tools frommaterials in the environment enabled manyancient societies to flourish. Every societycan use convenient and renewable sourcesof high-quality woods to make tools and toconstruct buildings. Noni wood was used tomake canoe paddles, digging implementsand other hand tools. It was also used infashioning weapons such as axe handles.First aid. Preventing sickness and loss oflife helps to keep a society strong. Nonileaves and fruits were used as immediatefirst aid treatments for cuts, bruises, burnsand broken bones. Noni served a dual roleof helping to promote healing and to relievepain.Curative or advanced medicine. Societiesall over the world have a long-establishedhealing tradition of using noni as one oftheir most important medicinal plants. Thespecific medical uses of the plant, whatplant parts are used, and how they are usedvary among tropical societies. Theimportance of the plant also varies amongsocieties. Nevertheless, the plant is sowidely used for medicine that this may beconsidered its most important function. Asa medicine, healers often mixed noni withother herbs. Healers commonly combinedherbs in specific amounts and mixtures toeffect more complete cures of complexproblems. Herbal treatments together withspiritual healing or god supplicationactivities were probably more commonthan using herbs such as noni alone.Clothing/fabrics. Fabrics are essential tosocieties for clothing and other purposes.Virtually all societies dye their fabrics insome way. Very important red and yellowdyes for tapa cloth were made from noni bymany indigenous societies.

TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Traditional knowledge is a combinationof ancient indigenous practices andtechniques, locally adapted anddistinctive in a territory or community. Itis passed on through generations,packaged in folk songs, stories, dances,poetry, carvings and paintings. Thisknowledge has greatly contributed, andstill does, to the world’s natural andcultural heritage by sustaining theproduction of multiple goods andservices that enhance livelihood securityand quality of life. Traditionalknowledge, cultural values and historicalperspective have gained an increasinglyimportant role in shaping policiestowards achieving the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) of alleviatingpoverty and ensuring economic, socialand environmental sustainability.

Traditional knowledge has been usedfor managing the utilization of manynatural resources, such as water, soil andforests, and for organizing rural andurban communities. Traditional Forest-Related Knowledge (TFRK) has long beenknown to have important implicationsfor forest management and conservationof forest biodiversity, as well as foridentification of valuable geneticresources.

The political commitments onincreasing awareness of the role of TFRKand practices in the protection oflandscapes and conservation ofbiological diversity were reaffirmed bymany of the member states of theUnited Nations Forum on Forests. Duringits Sixth Session in 2006, countriesagreed to four Global Objectives onForests aimed at enhancing sustainableforest management (SFM) and thecontributions of forests to theachievements of the MDGs. Theincreasing emphasis on SFM, whichincludes ecological, social, cultural,spiritual and economic sustainability, hasprompted increasing emphasis onconsidering all relevant knowledgeabout forest ecosystems and the impactof forest management options in thedevelopment of forest policies andoperational practices. (Source: APAFRIBrief, 19 June 2007.)

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Fodder. Most societies utilize animals forfood, transportation or work. Noni fruitsand leaves are a good supplement for thediet of ruminating animals.Human food. Island or seafaring societiesin the tropics are faced with destructivehurricanes and tidal waves. Thesecalamitous events can destroy most of theplant life near or on the coastline. Famineoften follows such events and until thevegetation can recover, people needsomething to eat. Noni fruit and leavesfilled this role as a “famine food” plant.They were not particularly delicious ornutritious but could sustain life. (Source:extracted from Nelson, S.C. & Elevitch, C.R.2006. Noni: the complete guide forconsumers and growers. Holualoa,Hawa’ii, Permanent Agriculture Resources.www.nonithecompleteguide.com).

Old gloryFor millennia, people have thrived onproducts harvested from forests and formost of recorded history people havevalued the forest not so much for wood butfor other products. Ancient writings fromChina, Egypt and India record a widevariety of products derived from forestflora and fauna.

The early humans in their nomadicphase of existence lived as hunters andgatherers, living in caves and makeshiftshelters. Domestication of plants andanimals started with the beginning ofsettled agriculture. Systems of agricultureand medicine developed in different partsof the world, independent of each other.

Some 3 000 years BC, the Chineseemperor Shen Nung wrote down what isbelieved to be the earliest recorded use ofplants as medicine. He noted thatchalmugra oil, an extract from the fruit ofHydnocarpus spp. was an efficienttreatment against leprosy. The ancientclassical Ayurvedic texts Charaka Samhita,Susruth Samhita and Ashtanga HrdayaSamhita mention a large number ofmedicinal plants for curing differentailments. Hippocrates, the father ofmodern medicine, wrote the book Materiamedica, which discusses some 400medicinal formulae using herbs such asmint, sage, rosemary and verbena as wellas opium.

It is estimated that 35 000 to 70 000plant species have at one time or otherbeen used in various cultures formedicinal purposes. Indian traditionalmedicines are known to use 7 000 species;

traditional Chinese medicines use some 5 000 species.

NWFPs were probably the earliesttraded goods. In 1992, a team of amateurarchaeologists discovered the Atlantis ofthe sands, the lost city of Ubar – thefabulous city in the sunken Arabian desert,which was linked to the trade offrankincense, obtained from the sap of thetrees (Boswellia and Commiphora species)growing in the Dhufar mountains of Oman,which was traded on far-reaching routesfrom Rome to China.

NWFPs have been traded over longdistances for many centuries, while woodproducts have only become majorinternational commodities comparativelyrecently. The ancient Egyptians, forexample, imported gum arabic from theSudan and used it for the preparation ofcolours for painting and for mummifying. Itwas such an important article of commercein the fourteenth century that it had a taximposed on it. Other traded productsincluded natural cosmetics, dyes, spicesand food additives. Belladonna (Atropabelladonna) was used by Italian women tobrighten their eyes. A drop of the plantextract widens the pupil and the Italiansnamed it belladonna (beautiful woman).Today it is used in medicine. For example,one of its active substances, atropine, isused in tablet and injection forms tostimulate the nervous system.

The geopolitics of today have beeninfluenced by the past trade in NWFPs – ofspices, cosmetics, food preservatives andsilks. The influence of trade in NWFPscontinued up to the industrial revolution inthe west, when the economy of scale slowlyeased out the small-scale production ofNWFPs.

The pre-eminence of wood (togetherwith woodland management as against

forest ecosystem management) began withthe opening of colonies. Wood was used forvarious purposes such as ship building,packaging commercial products (e.g. teachests), mining, infrastructuredevelopment, the establishment of wood-based industries and urbanization.

The trend started in the 1700s stillcontinues. Increase in population, incomelevels and standards of living have resultedin an ever-increasing demand for wood.Extensive areas of forest lands have beencleared for agriculture, horticulture andother uses since population growth has ledto an explosion in need for food, water,clothing, education, waste disposal, healthcare and employment. The two world warsalso impacted on forests. Inadequateprotection and management, frequentforest fires, heavy overgrazing, shiftingcultivation, wasteful harvesting, excessivefuelwood collection, misuse of rights andprivileges and illegal activities exacerbatedthe situation. Spiralling deforestation hasbecome a worldwide phenomenon,especially affecting the developingcountries.

The assault on forests in the past wasmade easier because of theundervaluation of forest benefits. Mostvaluations are based on the monetaryvalues of marketed or marketable forestproducts and services and this omits thereal value of unpriced goods and services.NWFPs mostly fall in this category. Yetthese goods and services make up thegreater part of the socio-economic valuesof forests. Their omission automaticallyleads to gross undervaluation.

A recent study indicated that, in India,against the estimated contribution of forestbenefits valued at US$43.8 billion, theofficially accounted contribution of forestryto national income in 1993 was only anequivalent of $2.9 billion, representing 1.2percent of the GNP of India. Most of thosemissing in the official figures were relatedto forest grazing, green fodder, medicinalplants, forest foods, non-woodconstruction materials (e.g. thatch grassand bamboo) and some other NWFPs,amounting to a value of about $28 billion.

All along, the timber orientation of theforestry profession and the bias ofplanners in favour of large-scaleenterprises have left NWFPs at adisadvantage. Production, at best, wasconsidered incidental or subsidiary. Thishas resulted in NWFPs being left out ofmanagement prescriptions and preference

Atropa belladonna



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given to comparatively easier timbermanagement.

Except for management operations ofsome commercially important NWFPs,such as bamboo, rattan, pine resin, beedileaves, kutch and katha and sandalwoodoil, others were lumped together as minorproducts and collection rights wereauctioned off for lump-sum consideration.Apart from this, there were some isolatedand disjointed activities on non-woodspecies introduction and domestication(e.g. Pyrethrum). There have also beensystematic studies on several NWFPspecies, without commercial objectives.(Source: extracted from a key note addressdelivered by C. Chandrasekharan at theNational Seminar on SustainableManagement of Non-Timber ForestProducts of Western and Eastern Ghatsheld in Thiruvananthapuram on 25 May2000.)

Entomofagia humana La entomofagia es el consumo de insectoscomo alimento. Los orígenes de laentomofagia humana son muy antiguos. Esprácticamente seguro que todos losantecesores en la evolución de nuestraespecie consumían, en mayor o menormedida, insectos.

Desde tiempos prehistóricos tenemosreferencias del consumo de insectos en laalimentación humana. En la Cueva de LaAraña en Bicorp (Valencia), que es una delas más antiguas, se representa larecolección de la miel (y probablementetambién de larvas de abeja, ya que seextraían los panales completos). Estaspinturas rupestres tienen unos 8 000 añosde antigüedad, sin embargo actualmentealgunas tribus africanas extraen la miel (yconsumen las larvas) de forma parecida.

De la cultura asiria, una de las másimportantes del mundo antiguo, tenemosel testimonio del aprovechamiento de unabundante recurso natural – lossaltamontes y, eventualmente, las plagasde langosta – como alimento. En un relievedel muro de un palacio de Ninive (actualIraq) del año 700 a. C. se representa a dosesclavos que llevan a un banquetenumerosos saltamontes ensartados.

Los antiguos griegos y romanos comíaninsectos habitualmente y existennumerosos testimonios históricos de estacostumbre. En la antigua Grecia lossaltamontes o langostas eranconsiderados un manjar para las clasespopulares, las cigarras, en cambio, por su

alto precio estaban reservadas para la altasociedad.

En Europa casi desapareció lacostumbre de comer insectos en épocasposteriores al imperio romano. Aunque un80 por ciento de la población mundial comeinsectos habitualmente (y no sólo pornecesidad, sino también por placer), enEuropa, Estados Unidos, Canadá y otrospaíses occidentales, la mayor parte de lapoblación sigue siendo reacia a practicar laentomofagia.

México es actualmente el mayor centrode entomofagia mundial. En ningún paísdel mundo se consume una variedad tanasombrosa de insectos, muchos de elloscon una gran tradición histórica. En Méxicose comen los saltamontes (conocidos allícomo chapulines), los gusanos rojo yblanco (larvas de lepidópteros) que viven enel ágave o maguey, las larvas de hormigaso escamoles, hormigas odre, larvas deabejas y avispas y muchísimos otrosinsectos. El total de especies consumidasen México excede las 250, pero lo másextraordinario no es el número de especiessino el gran porcentaje de la población quehabitualmente consume insectos y ladiversidad y riqueza del recetario, ya que lagastronomía mexicana se ha enriquecidonotablemente con el mestizaje entre lascocinas española e indígena. (Fuente:Entomofagia. Alimentación con insectospor Juan Lizama. Ediciones El Nibelungo.)

PARA MÁS INFORMACIÓN, DIRIGIRSE A: Juan Carlos Lizama Velasco, Dirección Generalde Agricultura, Oficina Española de VariedadesVegetales, Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, Alfonso XII 62, 2º planta, 28104 Madrid, España. Correo electrónico: [email protected]

The vegetable fibre industry in the CanaryIslandsKnowledge about the vegetable fibreindustry in the Canary Islands comes fromthree main sources of information:archaeology, ethnography andethnohistory. Thanks to archaeology, animportant part of our prehistoric past canbe reconstructed. Because of the particularclimatic conditions of the Canaryarchipelago, many objects made ofvegetable fibres have survived up to today.

The world of nature that surrounded theaborigines supplied them with the primematerials for their industry. Developmentsin the use of rush, palm and bulrush were aresult of the abundance of prime materials,the needs of the aborigines and thetechnical knowledge they possessed.

Rush (Holoschoenus vulgaris Link) is aCyperacea plant that grows abundantly inmarshy areas, on the banks of ponds andstreams. It can be used to bind mats, ropes,chairs, and so on. The natives used thisfibre in the elaboration of their clothing, todistinguish those of different social statusand those of authority. Archaeological findsare proof of its use in the aborigines’ worldwith the existence of mats employed inshrouds for the dead, clothing and differentcords.

The bulrush is a similar plant to the rush.Archaeological finds offer evidence that itwas used to a lesser degree than the rush.

The date palm (Phoenix canariensis) is aspecies exclusive to the Canary Islands.Palm trees frequently grew on the lowerslopes and coastal plains of the largerislands of the archipelago. At one timeextensive palm groves covered the bedsand sides of the barrancos (ravines).

The island of Grand Canary had animportant vegetable fibre industry. Thebasic materials were rush, bulrush andpalm. These three elements are those usedby Don Juan Ramírez Pérez, who isconsidered the only artisan making clothand objects of vegetable fibre following thetechniques used by the native Canaryislanders. (Source: El Pajar, II Época, No.22, August 2006.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Rafael C. Gómez León, Asociación “Pinolere.Proyecto Cultural”, Revista “El PAJAR.Cuaderno de Etnografía Canaria”. Urbanización Viña Los Frailes. Calle Aceviño, 28,38300 La Orotava. Tenerife. Islas Canarias. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]; www.pinolere.org



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History of NWFP use in CanadaIn North America, the relationship betweenpeople and plants began thousands ofyears ago as the First Nation peoplesdeveloped their skills and knowledge andmade their way south of the treeline. Ineastern Canada, for example, not only werethe forests a source of materials for fueland shelter but also of food and medicine.Over 170 plant species have beendocumented as food sources. Almost all ofthe parts of plants were used: fruits, nuts,seeds, roots, bulbs, rhizomes, buds,flowers, shoots, leaves, inner bark and sap.Over 50 species were used as beverages.

The early colonists brought theirknowledge of European herbals with themto the New World. Seeds of old world plantswere brought and planted in their gardensand used as edibles and medicinals.

The federal governmental forest agency– The Canadian Forest Service (CFS) – wasfounded in 1899. The CFS has long beenengaged in studying and demonstratingsustainable forest management practices.In 1933, the CFS established the AcadiaResearch Forest (ARF), near Fredericton,New Brunswick. This 9 000 ha forest was

the second in a series of research forestsestablished by the Canadian Governmentand “serves as a living laboratory for theAtlantic Forestry Centre”.

ARF has been a leader in the researchand development of NTFPs, for example inits early work in Christmas tree culture andmanagement and the recent cultivationexperiments of ground hemlock TaxusCanadensis Marsh. (Source: Harvestbeneath the trees: botanical non-timberforest products by Deannie Sullivan-Fraser.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Deannie S. Fraser, 61 B Hazelhurst St,Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada B2Y 3N1. E-mail: [email protected] �

SHARING KNOWLEDGE

First Nation people often shared theirknowledge of useful plants with thepioneers. The explorer Jacques Cartierhad both his ships ice bound in thewinter of 1635–36 at Stadacona, nearthe present Quebec City. During thatwinter he lost about 75 men fromscurvy. In the spring, Cartier happenedto see a group of First Nations; amongthem was Don Agauya who Cartier hadnoticed the previous autumn displayingthe same symptoms as those that tookthe lives of his men. Cartier questionedhim as to how he had recovered.Agauya sent some women in his groupto collect the bark and boughs of acertain tree. He instructed Cartier howto make a tea from these and, as aresult, all those who were ill recovered.Unfortunately, the tree was neverdescribed and has been the cause ofinteresting debates.

NWFP EXPLOITATION: LATEX FROMTHE CONGO UNDER KING LEOPOLDOF BELGIUM’S RULE IN THENINETEENTH CENTURY

Native communities in the Domaineprivé (almost two-thirds of the Congothat was the exclusive private propertyof the state, in turn the exclusiveprivate property of King Leopold) werenot merely forbidden by law to sellitems to anyone but the state: theywere required to provide state officialswith set quotas of rubber and ivory ata fixed, government-mandated price.

The rubber came from wild vines inthe jungle, unlike the rubber fromBrazil that was tapped from trees. Toextract the rubber, instead of tappingthe vines, the natives would slash themand lather their bodies with the rubberlatex. When the latex hardened, itwould be scraped off the skin in apainful manner, as it took off thenatives’ hair with it.

This killing of the vines made it evenharder to locate sources of rubber astime went on, but the government wasrelentless in raising the quotas. (Source:Answers.com; Congo Free State historyof the Democratic Republic of theCongo. Early history, migration andstates (to 1867);www.answers.com/topic/congo-free-state-1)

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AMAZON CHIC

The latest in luxury is buried deep inBrazil’s Amazon rain forest whereentrepreneurs are carving out amultimillion-dollar global market ineverything from designer fish-scalerunning shoes made from giant Amazonriver fish to seed jewellery and shampoosand bath oils made from exotic fruits suchas cupuaçu and açaí.

In Brazil alone, Natura, a direct salescompany that markets cosmetics based onAmazon oils and essences, controls 23percent of the market share in a country of185 million people. Last year, sales ofBrazilian cosmetics, much of them basedon Amazon products, topped US$484million, up more than 150 percent from2001, according to the Brazilian Toiletry,Perfumery and Cosmetics Association.Companies such as Natura are nowstarting to make their products available inNorth America and Europe. Natura hasalready made important inroads in theworld’s cosmetics Mecca, France.

Another company, Amazônia Natural,markets a range of hair products madefrom the guaraná berry, a naturalstimulant indigenous to the Amazon regionthat acts as an astringent and is said toprevent baldness. The company also sellsbath oils and creams made with passionfruit, which is marketed in Brazil as arelaxant. Other skin and hair care linesproduced by both Amazônia Natural andNatura draw on the hydrating powers ofcupuaçu, an Amazonian fruit whose oily

BIOPROSPECTING/BENEFIT-SHARING OR BIOPIRACY?

Boreal forest may be home to newmedicinesIs the boreal forest the new Amazon rainforest? That’s what the Great Lakes ForestryCentre (GLFC) and Northern Ontario Schoolof Medicine (NOSM) are trying to find out.Long a source of the anticancer compoundknown as paclitaxel, the boreal forest is nowbeing mined for other biological chemicalsthat could help humanity. “Most research inthe past, in regard to drug discoveries, tookplace in the Amazon and South America.Recently, we have been looking at resourcesin our own backyard,” said GLFC researchscientist Mamdouh Abou-Zaid.

GLFC is collaborating with NOSM tolaunch the Boreal Bioprospecting Initiative.Bioprospecting is the search foreconomically valuable biological molecules,organisms or genetic materials using NTFPssuch as trees, mushrooms, herbs andshrubs that could lead to nutritional ormedical therapies.

Based on Abou-Zaid’s considerableknowledge of disease-preventing antioxidantcompounds derived from forests and NTFPs,NOSM approached him to be the project’sresearch director. The core of the BorealBioprospecting Initiative will be his extensivelibrary of about 1 000 natural product crudeplant extracts and 800 purified compounds,many of which are novel natural productswith antioxidant properties to prevent andhalt damage from diseases triggered byoveractive internal defence reactions in ourbodies. In that library could be the key to newtherapies for victims of cancer, stroke,Parkinson’s disease and the like.

Abou-Zaid already has a few leads, suchas the antioxidant properties present inmaple syrup.

It has also been found that northernplants differ from their neighbours to thesouth in a significant way. With many morepredators such as insects and plant-eatinganimals in South America, plant life therehas evolved to develop a “wide range ofcompounds in low concentrations,” he said.“The boreal forest plant, with its shortergrowing season, focuses on producing a highconcentration of specific compounds.”

At this stage, paclitaxel (which ismarketed under the brand name Taxol)remains Northern Ontario’s greatestpharmacological export. In cooperation withan Ottawa-based company, Ensyn

seeds are used in the manufacture of skincreams, and açaí, a purple berry renownedfor its rich antioxidant powers. Açaí, whichis being heralded as a wonder food, is soldas a deep purple frozen slush at healthfood stores throughout North America andEurope. The berry, whose chemicalproperties are still the subject of scientificresearch, has been found to help combatpremature ageing and has ten times moreantioxidants than red grapes.

The Rio de Janeiro-based jewellerydesigner Maria Oiticica was born in theAmazon region. Several years ago, shebegan to design sophisticated jewelleryusing seeds from rain forest berries andnuts, and the leathery scales from giantAmazon river fish. Osklen, another high-end Brazilian retailer that recently openedits first North American store in New York,is also using fish scales in a collection ofshoes and handbags. Like Osklen, Oiticica’sunique designs are featured in fashionmagazines around the world. Chunky ringsand bracelets made with silver and dyedjarina and açaí seeds in a riot of brightcolours retail at stores in London and inNorth America. Oiticica’s accessoriesrange in price from about $20 for a braceletwith woven palm fronds to several hundreddollars for bracelets and necklaces madewith dyed fish scales and sterling silver.

Like most of the companies that marketAmazon products, Oiticica works with localIndian tribes. She currently runs aprogramme for native women who have lefttheir Amazon tribes to seek work in citiessuch as Manaus and Belém, only to findthemselves living in abject poverty. Oiticicahas set up a workshop for the women, andpays them to prepare the seeds and palmleaves that she uses in her jewelleryproduction. “We take from the forest,” saysOiticica, whose raw materials in her so-called “biojewels” are mostly seeds thathave already fallen from the trees. “But weall have a responsibility to give back.”(Source: Macleans.ca [Canada], 8 October2007.)

“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)

%

%



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Technologies, Abou-Zaid has applied for aninternational patent to extract paclitaxelmore efficiently from the needles and twigsof eastern yew. The method they havedeveloped is called byrolysis, which in itssimplest terms means exposing the plant toa few seconds of heat to release the taxanesinto an oil.

The impetus is both economic andenvironmental. Abou-Zaid estimates thatjust 2 percent of chemical-rich plantmaterial is currently utilized from anavailable 10 percent, moreover using “harshsolvents”.

NOSM has funding applications in variousagencies to create the infrastructure toprocess and bring the raw material from theboreal forest to the marketplace, whilemaintaining intellectual property rights innorthern Ontario.

In September, Member of ProvincialParliament (MPP) David Orazietti announceda Northern Ontario Heritage FundCorporation $1.1-million funding to createNOSM’s Biomaterial Collection Assemblyand Central Processing and AnalyticalFacility at Algoma University College (AUC) inSault Ste. Marie. The AUC site will collectplant samples from surrounding forests andidentify the chemicals they contain. Thoseconsidered likely to have medicinalproperties will be forwarded to researchersat both of the medical schools campuses, inSudbury and in Thunder Bay. (Source: SaultStar [Canada], 12 June 2007 and 8September 2007.)

Africa must patent traditional medicinesAfrican medical practitioners have beenurged to use their intellectual property rightsin order to patent and protect traditionalmedicines and indigenous knowledge. SouthAfrican Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang made this call on Monday, at theAfrica Regional Consultative Meeting onPublic Health, Innovation and IntellectualProperty.

The two-day meeting is part of WHO’sinitiative to develop a global strategy andplan of action aimed at enhancing needs-driven, essential health research anddevelopment that are relevant to diseasesdisproportionately affecting developingcountries. The high prices of medicine, theMinister said, makes it imperative that Africatakes a common position on issues of fairtrade with regard to medicines affectingpublic health; the consultative meetingsought to consolidate Africa’s position on thismatter. The meeting was attended by

representatives of at least 16 Africancountries and experts from various local andinternational organizations, including WHO.

In April this year, South Africa establishedthe Medicinal Plant Incubator Project (MPIP)to protect its indigenous plants. This will beachieved by ensuring that those who need touse these plants do not pluck plant speciesin an uncontrolled manner from the wild. Theindigenous plants will be grown in a nurseryenvironment, be well cared for and be sold totraditional healers and others who have ause for them.

The project has, as one of its primaryobjectives, a duty to ensure preservation,propagation and recording of plants, andinforming the public how to manageethnobotany. This is a critical task especiallyconsidering the local and internationalpressure arising from competing land useand sheer arrogance from some quarters, inrelation to biodiversity.

WHO estimates that between 70 and 80percent of the populations of developingcountries rely on traditional medicines. Over30 000 of South Africa’s plant species aresaid to be utilized as medicines and about350 of these are still commonly used andtraded as medicinal plants.

It is estimated that almost 20 000 tonnesof medicinal plants are used by at least 27million consumers each year. In Gauteng,numerous species are harvested,particularly from the province’s grasslands,which are already under pressure for landdemand for housing and agriculture.

The success of this project will ensurethat consumers have easier access toculturally acceptable and affordablemedicine that promotes their physical andspiritual well-being. Other benefits of theproject will include access by healers to aregular supply of plants that are importantfor treating some ailments, therebypromoting their businesses. A wider range ofplants will also be available for healers todispense and for consumers to purchase.(Source: BuaNews [Tshwane], 8 October 2007.)

Drug companies looting South Africa’sbounty of medicinal plantsThe government has stepped in to save atiny South African plant from extinction afterhundreds of tonnes were harvested forforeign drug companies, one of which haspatented its use to fight HIV/AIDS.

Traditional healers, who have used theplant for centuries, are now trying to winback the patent which they claim is rightfullytheirs.

The matter has become so heated thatthe Eastern Cape government has bannedall further harvesting of the plantPelargonium – part of the geranium family –until further notice. But illegal harvesting ofpelargonium, also known as umckaloaboand klawerbossie, continues in the hillsaround Grahamstown and Alicedale and hasled to dozens of arrests, according toEastern Cape researchers.

Now the Department of EnvironmentalAffairs has decided to review allbioprospecting projects to make sure theyconform to new regulations that protect thecommercial rights of traditional healers.

The pelargonium tug of war will bediscussed next week in Canada at a specialUnited Nations working group meeting onbiopiracy and biodiversity.

Pelargonium is one of dozens of SouthAfrican plants being targeted by drugcompanies eager to develop new medicines.Other plants successfully targeted in recentyears include Sutherlandia and hoodia,succulent plants used by San communitiesto suppress appetite and thirst on longhunting journeys. (Source: The Times[Johannesburg], 7 October 2007 [in BIO-IPR].)

Namibian Government to act against plantpiratesThe Government will set up a specialcommittee to combat unlawful exploitationand trade of biological products, whichinclude plants such as hoodia and devil’sclaw, and marula nuts. Namibia needs toguard against unlawful exploitation andbiopiracy, but has no such policies and lawsin place, Cabinet noted during its latestmeeting.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourismis drafting a law on Access to BiologicalResources and Associated TraditionalKnowledge, which Cabinet expects to befinalized before the end of this year.

Trading in these products, which oftenmeans exploitation for financial gainwithout including indigenous people who



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have centuries-old knowledge of the use ofsuch plants, requires regulation to avoidexploitation.

Bioprospecting contracts lay down therules of benefit-sharing betweenresearchers and countries, and can bringroyalties to less developed countries. Thefairness of these contracts has been asubject of debate.

“Cabinet gave approval for theestablishment of an Interim BioprospectingCommittee to coordinate Government’sapproach on biotrade and bioprospectingaccording to terms of reference still to beproposed,” the latest Cabinet briefing paperstated.

Namibia has a large genetic diversity inplants and animals that has potential forcommercial development. Biotrade has thepotential to generate significant economicbenefits to Namibia if properly controlled.

Cabinet noted that “in the absence of aregulatory framework, Namibia stands tolose millions of dollars in potential revenuesfrom renewable plant, animal, fungal andmicrobial resources, if these are exploitedby international pharmaceutical, medicinaland agrochemical interests without soundbenefit-sharing arrangements”. (Source:The Namibian, 20 August 2007.)

CAN TREES GROW ON MARS?

Mexico City. Scientists are using the pine-forested slopes of a Mexican volcano as a testbed to see whether trees can grow on aheated-up Mars, part of a vision of makingthe chilly and barren red planet habitable forhumans one day. Planetary scientists at theNational Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA) and Mexicanuniversities believe that if they can warmMars using heat-trapping gases, raise the airpressure and start photosynthesis, theycould create an atmosphere that wouldsupport oxygen-breathing life forms.

Getting trees to grow would be a crucialstep. The scientists’ quest has taken them tothe snow-capped Pico de Orizaba – adormant volcano and Mexico’s tallestmountain – to examine trees growing at ahigher altitude than anywhere else on Earth.

The scientists are studying what makestrees refuse to grow above a certain point,where temperatures drop and the airbecomes thinner, to see how easily theycould grow on Mars. (Source: IndependentOnline [South Africa], 16 July 2007.)

CERTIFICATION DES PFNLEN AFRIQUE CENTRALE

Une récente étude de la FAO a été menéesur les perspectives de la certification desproduits forestiers non ligneux (PFNL) enAfrique centrale, en général, et dans lespays membres de la Commission des forêtsde l’Afrique centrale (COMIFAC), enparticulier. Sur la base d’une revuebibliographique et des discussions avec lesdifférentes parties prenantes, l’étude arévélé des points importants relatifs à lacertification des PFNL.

En ce qui concerne l’état des lieux enAfrique centrale, aucun PFNL n’est encorecertifié. Cet état des choses est dû à denombreux problèmes représentant déjàautant de contraintes à la certification desPFNL en Afrique centrale. Ces contraintessont entre autres:

• Les PFNL sont souventrécoltés/collectés pour la subsistance,exception faite de quelques produitstelles les écorces de Annickiachlorantha, Gracnia cola, Prunusafricana, Pausinystalia yohimbe, lesfeuilles de Gnetum spp., deMarantacées (Thaumatocucus danielii),les amandes de Ricinodendronheudelotii et Irvingia gabonensis en cequi concerne les végétaux, et lesperroquets (Psittacus erithacus) chezles animaux.

• Dans la plupart des pays sinon tous, lebois a toujours été considéré commeproduit forestier principal tandis queles PFNL ont longtemps été désignéscomme produits secondaires. A ce titre,le commerce des PFNL se faitrégulièrement dans le secteur informelà une échelle souvent locale etnationale et, dans quelques cas,régionale et internationale.

Pour ces raisons, et bien d’autres, lacertification des PFNL devient alorsproblématique. En effet, la certification,procédure par laquelle une tierce partie

donne une assurance/label commercialeécrite attestant qu’un produit, un processusou un service est conforme à des normesspécifiques sur la base d’un audit conduitsuivant des procédures agréées, supposel’évaluation d’une gestion et, parconséquent, des coûts pour la mise enplace du système de ladite gestion et pourson évaluation. Elle suppose aussi etsurtout que le produit possède unecertaine/grande valeur commerciale pourpouvoir couvrir les coûts de gestion etdégager des bénéfices. A ce titre, lacertification des PFNL dont la production sefait sans véritable système de gestion, etdont la commercialisation estgénéralement informelle et pour lasubsistance, devient pratiquement difficileà mettre en ?uvre pour ne pas dire sansobjet pour l’Afrique centrale.

Toutefois, lorsque l’on considère qu’unPFNL fait partie intégrante d’unécosystème qui est la forêt, on peut alorsenvisager une alternative pour lacertification des PFNL en Afrique centrale:on certifie la gestion de la forêt où le PFNLest récolté, puis la traçabilité de ce dernier,pour vérifier que toutes les étapes de saproduction et de sa transformationrespectent des normes élaborées suivantdes procédures agréées. Cette approchereprésente une potentialité importante, onpourrait même dire la plus importante dansle processus de certification des PFNL enAfrique centrale. On pourrait alorsencourager la certification des Unités degestion: Unités forestières d’aménagement(UFA), Permis forestiers associés (PAF),Périmètres d’exploitation forestière (PEF),Unités forestières d’exploitation (UFE),Forêts communautaires et Forêtscommunales (FC). Le gestionnaire de laforêt supporte les coûts de gestion tandisque l’exploitant des PFNL supporte lescoûts liés à l’évaluation de la traçabilité desses produits. Une autre opportunité pour lacertification des PFNL en Afrique centraleest le développement de plus en pluscroissant d’outils politiques et cadresinstitutionnels de promotion de gestionforestière durable dans cette région.

Enfin, l’étude a défini des critèresd’éligibilité des PFNL à la certification.Ainsi, les PFNL possèdent un potentiel decertification lorsqu’ils: a) ont accès à unmarché international avec une demandesignificative; b) sont l’objet d’unecommercialisation importante avec unevaleur ajoutée; c) font l’objet d’une collecteorganisée dans une filière bien structurée;

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d) ont un cycle de production bien connu etmaîtrisé pour une meilleure planificationdes récoltes et une bonne satisfaction de lademande:cet aspect suppose uneproduction régulière avec une périodicitébien connue; et e) ont une haute valeurpour la conservation (hvc).

Certains PFNL peuvent satisfaire lesexigences énumérées ci-dessus. Il s’agit,chez les végétaux:

• des feuilles de Gnetum spp. et deMarantacées;

• des écorces diverses comme celles deAnnickia clorantha, Garcinia cola,Prunus africana et Pausinystaliayohimbe;

• des fruits, graines et amandes divers,entre autres ceux de Irvingiagabonensis et Ricinodendronheudelotii;

• des encens, résines et exsudats diverscomme l’encens de Canariumschweinfurthii et la gomme arabique;

• de l’huile des amandes par exemplel’huile des amandes de Allanblackiaspp, Baillonella toxisperma et Vittelariaparadoxa.

Chez les animaux, ce sont les perroquets(Psittacus erithacus), les escargots et autresmollusques, ainsi que les trophées denombreuses espèces telles que l’éléphant, lebongo, l’éland de derby et le buffleparticulièrement convoitées dans lesmarchés des pays développés. (Source: Lesperspectives de la certification des produitsforestiers non ligneux en Afrique centrale.Produits forestiers non ligneux. Documentde travail N° 4, FAO, 2006.)

CHEWING STICKS

Across Africa south of the Sahara, manypeople go about their daily business with asmall stick or twig protruding from theirmouths, which they chew or use to scrubtheir teeth. Cut from wild trees and shrubsin the bush, this is the African toothbrush.Its users swear it is much more natural,effective – and cheaper – than the prettilypackaged but pricey dental products onsale in pharmacies and supermarkets.

In Senegal, the chewing stick is calledsothiou, which means “to clean” in thelocal Wolof language. In East Africa, thestick is called mswaki, the Swahili word fortoothbrush.

Their users say the sticks are alsomedicinal, providing not just dental hygienebut also curing a variety of other ills. Dental

experts agree that they appear to clean teethwell and some upmarket health stores in theUnited States have been selling chewingsticks as a natural form of dental care.

Traders in Dakar and other Senegalesecities sell neat bundles of the pencil-sizedsticks – usually about 6 inches (15.2 cm) long– on the pavement, offering a variety ofdifferent types of wood at different prices.

If chewed, most of the twigs fray into finerstrands, which have the effect of “flossing”between the teeth or, if rubbed up and down,can scrub tooth enamel clean as well as anytoothbrush. But they can taste bittercompared with commercial toothpastes.

The World Health Organization hasencouraged the use of chewing sticks as analternative source of oral hygiene in poorcountries where many cannot affordcommercial dental products. While amanufactured toothbrush can cost upwardsof CFAF300 (60 cents), a chewing stick costsonly CFAF25 or 50. (Source: Conserve Africa,18 June 2007.)

DRIED FLOWER MAKING: A POTENTIAL COTTAGEINDUSTRY

Himachal Pradesh (India) is endowed witha wide variety of flora and fauna. Its forestsand valleys harbour several plant speciesthat are ideal for making dried flowers.

Dried flower making is an upcomingindustry. Dried flowers need less care andare virtually everlasting. They can bepainted, coloured or dyed and various floralproducts, such as cards, pictures, wallhangings, arrangements, potpourris andpomanders, can be prepared from them.

Examples include the following.• The beautiful reddish leaves of Pistacia

khinjuk, leaves of various types of fernssuch as Cheilanthes albomarginata,

Atyrium spp., Christella dentata,Woodwardia unigemmata, flowers ofClematis gouriana, Reinwardtia indicaand different grasses can be used formaking cards, calendars and wallpictures.

• The turgid leaves of Quercus sp., Ilexdipyrena, Cycas sp., flowers of Verbenaerinoides and fruits of Dioscorea sp.,Hedera canariensis, Mallotusphilippensis, cones of Cunninghamialanceolata and hips of Rosa brunonii,R. webbiana and ferns such asPolystichum spp. and Pteridiumaquilinum can be used for makingbouquets, dried flower arrangementsand potpourris.

At present, only tree cones and a few fernsare being sold. Dried flower products aresold at very high prices and there is greatpotential for setting up cottage industries. Itis imperative, therefore, to preserve andcultivate such native species, not only fortheir aesthetic importance but also torestore the ecological balance. With itsvaried climatic condition, the region createsa congenial environment for cultivating manyother ornamental plants that would besuitable for dried flowers, e.g. Molucella,Helichrysum, Limonium and Nigella.(Source: MFP News, XVII(3), 2007.)

HOME GARDENS

Home gardens worldwide are integrated intofamily life. Living space, boundaries andmaterials are integrated into gardens. Treesprovide shade and shelter under their canopyand their roots stabilize soil around thehome.

Multipurpose plants, such as seabuckthorn in cold areas, Leucaena glauca intropical areas and even cassava, are plantedas living fences to provide crop protection,privacy, firewood, materials, food and animalfodder. For example, a living fence of cassavaprovides a boundary to keep out wanderinglivestock, but also holds a food reserve in itsstarchy roots ready for an unexpected foodshortage.

In Asia, parents traditionally plant a neemtree (Melia azadirach) in their home gardenfor every child born in their family, so thatwhen they are adults there is timber for themto build their own house. Oil from leaves andseeds of the neem is a natural pesticide andthe tree is now planted in African homegardens. (Source: Livelihoods grow ingardens. FAO Diversification booklet 2, 2004.)

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LES PFNL ALIMENTAIRESEN AFRIQUE CENTRALE

En Afrique Centrale, il existe une grandevariété de PFNL. Les plus importants sont

le gibier, les plantes comestibles, lesplantes médicinales et les rotins. Letableau nous présente les PFNL essentielsen fonction des différents pays d’AfriqueCentrale.

Ces produits jouent un rôle significatifdans l’existence des communautés localesde cette région car, ils leur fournissent dela nourriture et des revenus. La récolte, latransformation et le commerce relèventessentiellement du secteur informel sibien que l’on ne dispose d’aucuneinformation digne de foi à propos du rôlede ces différents produits sur l’économierurale.

Les PFNL alimentaires peuvent êtrerepartis en deux grands groupes: les PFNLalimentaires d’origine végétale et lesPFNL alimentaires d’origine animale.

Les PFNL alimentaires d’origine végétaleLes plantes alimentaires font partie desprincipaux PFNL dans chaque pays decette sous-région. Ils sont consomméscomme aliment de base ou plat principal,aliment d’appoint, liant, condiments oucomme aromates, excitants ouaphrodisiaques, «amusegueules ».

De nombreuses espèces sont utiliséespour une ou plusieurs de ces partiesutiles, mais seules les plus importants(c’est-à-dire ceux qui sontéconomiquement rentables), sontcommercialisés au niveau national etinternational. Parmi ces derniers, nousavons:

• les fruits d’Irvingia gabonensis(mangue sauvage); Dacryodes edulis(safou); Cola acuminata (kola); Elaeis

guineensis (palmier à huile);• les légumes-feuilles de Gnetum

africanum et Gnetum buchholzianum(okok/eru);

• les écorces de Garcinia lucida;• les racines et les tubercules, à l’instar

de Dioscorea sp. (Igname sauvage);• les sèves de Raphia sp. (Vin de raphia)

et d’Elaeis guineensis (Vin de palme);• les exsudats de Baillonella toxisperma

(Huile de moabi).

Les PFNL alimentaires d’origine animaleEn général, dans la zone d’AfriqueCentrale, les PFNL d’origine animale ontune moindre importance comparés à ceuxd’origine végétale; néanmoins ils occupentune place indiscutable dans l’alimentationcar ils constituent la principale source deprotéine.

Il existe plusieurs types de PFNLd’origine animale qui sont consommésdans la sousrégion d’Afrique Centrale. Lesprincipaux sont les suivants: le gibier(mammifères terrestres et aquatiques), lesinsectes (chenilles, larves de hanneton, lescriquets, les termites) et les produitsapicoles (miel), les escargots géants, lespoissons, les oiseaux et les reptiles. Legibier est le produit d’origine animale leplus important de cette région, suivi parles produits apicoles et les animauxvivants et les insectes comestibles(chenilles, termites).

(Source : Gestion des ressources naturellesfournissant les produits forestiers nonligneux alimentaires en Afrique Centrale.Produits forestiers non ligneux Documentde travail N° 5, FAO, 2007.)

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Pays Principaux PFNL

Burundi Gibier, animaux vivants, plantes médicinales

Cameroun Plantes comestibles (fruits, noix, feuilles) ; plantes médicinales, rotin, gibier

République Centrafricaine Gibier, plantes comestibles, plantes médicinales

Guinée Equatoriale Plantes médicinales, plantes comestibles, rotin, gibier

Gabon Plantes comestibles, osier, gibier

République du Congo Plantes comestibles (fruits, champignons, légumes); plantes médicinales ; miel, gibier, plantes ornementales, matériaux de construction

République Démocratique du Congo Plantes comestibles, gibier

Rwanda Plantes comestibles (fruits); plantes médicinales, miel, animaux vivants.

São Tomé et Principe Plantes médicinales

Dans la zone d’Afrique Centrale, denombreuses catégories d’insectes sontconsommées. Parmi ces insectes, ondistingue:Les larves de Hanneton qui sedéveloppent dans les troncs d’Elaeisguineensis et de Raphia monbuttorumen décomposition, les pétioles despalmes de Raphia hookeri sur pieds.Nous avons par exempleRhynchophorus phoenicis, qui est trèsapprécié au Cameroun. Ces larves sontrécoltées toute l’année; mais danscertaines localités, les autoritésdélimitent les périodes de récolte.Les chenilles sont consommées aussibien par les populations urbaines quepar celles rurales des pays d’AfriqueCentrale. Les espèces consomméesappartiennent à diverses familles entreautres: Agaristidae, Attacidae,Bombycidae, Noctuidae, Nymphalidae,etc. Au Cameroun et en RépubliqueCentrafricaine, l’on constate une nettepréférence pour les Attacidae. Elles senourrissent des feuilles de différentesespèces: Bridelia ferruginea, B.micrantha, Erythrophleum suaveolens,Entandrophragma spp., Petersianthusmacrocarpus, Triplochyton scleroxylon,Trema orientalis. En général, on récolteles chenilles pendant la petite saisonsèche, durant les mois de juillet et aoûtet parfois septembre.Les criquets apparaissent surtout endébut des saisons sèches, surtout dansla zone du Cameroun. Elles sont aussiconsommées par les populationscamerounaises. Deux espèces sontcommunément appréciées auCameroun, aussi bien dans les grandesvilles que dans les zones rurales: lecriquet puant et la sauterelle verte.

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MOSS PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLES

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. That the diminutivemoss plays an important role in retainingwater in catchment areas comes as asignificant discovery to researchers in thefield of bryology (the study of bryophytes –commonly known as mosses), especiallysince it has always been assumed that treeswere more important in slowing water fromrunoff when it rains, which in turn helps toprevent floods. According to research carriedout in Genting Highlands, just 1 m2 (2–3cmthick) of a particular moss found there canstore one tonne of water for a week.

Prof. Mohamed Abdul Majid of theInstitute of Biological Sciences, University ofMalaya, said that the destruction of forestsalso meant that the moss growing onbranches would be destroyed. Speakingduring the five-day World Conference ofBryology here, Prof. Mohamed said thatthere were numerous other uses formosses that were only now being explored.He added that Mount Kinabalu, in Sabah,probably contained the most diversenumber of mosses in the world with morethan 1 000 species present.

International Association of BryologistsPresident Prof. Janice M. Glime said thatmosses have been found to containanticancer and antibacterial properties.One of the mosses that had anticancerproperties was found in the CameronHighlands. “This is why it is important toresearch it. It is a largely untapped fieldand we still don’t know enough aboutmosses and their potential in medicine,”Prof. Glime said. She added that somecountries have used mosses for insulation,air-conditioning or purely aestheticpurposes, while in Australia and parts ofAmerica, the use of mosses in horticultureor to provide fuel has depleted the amountpresent in forests prompting the need forharvesting guidelines. (Source: MalaysiaStar, 23 July 2007.)

NON-PROFITORGANIZATIONS AND NGOS

Global Forestry Conclave and SustainableDevelopment, CameroonThe Global Forestry Conclave andSustainable Development (GFCSD)(Partenaire à la gestion durable desressources naturelles) is an NGO working

MEDITERRANEANFORESTS: REGIONALDIVERSITY SETS THESCENE

Mediterranean forests play a key role in thelives and the welfare of the local people,not only for the goods and services theyprovide, but also for the challenges theypose for conservation and management.

Mediterranean flora is extremely richwith around 25 000 vascular plant species,widely distributed throughout the diverseecosystems of the region. Climatic,geomorphic and anthropogenic factorshave resulted in a mosaic-type landscapeof a variety of forest types that cover anarea of 73 million ha, or about 8.5 percentof the region’s area. However, purelyMediterranean forests and maquis coverabout 56 million ha, i.e. 7.5 percent of thetotal land.

Mediterranean forest ecosystemsprovide multiple wood and NWFPs andservices that are crucial for the socio-economic development of rural areas aswell as for the welfare of the urban areas ofthe Mediterranean region. In this context,Mediterranean forests require specialattention for the following reasons.

• They constitute a unique world naturalheritage and play a key role in thewelfare of urban and ruralMediterranean societies. The goodsand services that they produce are verydiverse (multifunctionality) and have agreat market (many NWFPs) and non-market value (externalities).

• They represent an exceptional richnessin terms of biodiversity.

• They are very vulnerable to numerousfactors: forest fires, overexploitation,degradation and desertification.

• Their conservation and managementaffect the availability of soil and waterresources, the latter being a keystrategic resource for Mediterraneansocieties.

• As a transitional zone, their future isseriously endangered by climatechange.

The situation of Mediterranean forestsdiffers clearly from the northern rim to thesouthern and eastern subregion. In thenorthern part, the socio-economic changesof the past decades, triggered by theurbanization of society and better livingstandards, have increased the relevance ofthe ecological, recreational and landscapefunctions of Mediterranean forests. But

these externalities do not always providerevenues for forest owners. Forestmanagement lacks more human resourcesand profitability than ever before. As forestshave become of low interest for theirowners, forest lands are abandoned ratherthan cultivated or maintained. This, in turn,increases the risk of natural hazards suchas forest fires, pests and diseases.

On the other hand, in the southern andeastern Mediterranean subregions, thecurrent socio-economic conditions makeforests, maquis and rangelands and theirproducts (firewood, grass, aromatic andmedicinal plants, etc.) relevant primaryresources for the livelihood of localcommunities. In addition, forestenvironmental functions (fight againstdesertification, regulation of themicroclimate, regulating water resources,etc.) are crucial for the sustainabledevelopment of society as a whole.

The harsh and unpredictable climate,the current socio-economic conditions andthe unique and long-lasting history ofhuman-forest-landscape interactionrequire the development of our knowledgefor better conservation and sustainablemanagement of Mediterranean forests.(Source: “Regional diversity sets thescene” by Marc Palahí, EFIMED,Yves Birot,Chairman of EFIMED Advisory Group,Aristotelis C. Papageorgiou, DemokritosUniversity of Thrace, Greece [in EuropeanForest Institute, Mediterranean RegionalOffice, EFI news, June 2007].

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Dr Marc Palahí, European Forest Institute,Mediterranean Regional Office (EFIMED),Passeig Lluis Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona,Spain. Fax: +34 93 2683768; e-mail:[email protected]

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on natural resource management that wasformed through a coalition of threeCameroonian environmental workinggroups: wildlife management, agroforestryand fishing management, and forest landsecosystems research.

The NGO’s name resulted from the factthat the three original working groups hadthe same objective, namely a developmentpriority of sustainable management ofnatural resources and environmentalprotection.

Among its activities, GFCSD encouragesthe promotion of community forestprojects based on NWFP conservation andsustainable management by the creationof agroforests in our sites. GFCSD also hasa special programme of traditional forestproducts’ use with various indigenousforest peoples, which will contribute toparticipatory learning action and is veryimportant for sensibilization.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: M. Gwomb Bi Hell Emmanuel and M. TabeJoseph Ako, Global Forestry Conclave andSustainable Development (GFCSD), PO Box 8002, Yaoundé, Cameroon. E-mail: [email protected]

Primary Environmental Care Association,UgandaPrimary Environmental Care Association(PECA) is an NGO based in Kampala,Uganda. We empower communities tomeet their needs while conserving theenvironment. Currently we are teachingcommunities how to collect herbs from thewild in a sustainable way. We are alsoplanning to set up a centre for indigenousknowledge and will collect, document,research and disseminate the knowledgein a participatory manner. We are seekingfunding for this.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Mr Lakuma Opiro, Chairman, PECA, PO Box23250, Kampala, Uganda. Fax: 256 41 345597; e-mail: [email protected]

Resource Centre for DevelopmentAlternatives, PakistanThe Resource Centre for DevelopmentAlternatives (RCDA) is a smallmultidisciplinary information and resourcecentre established to meet the organicdevelopment needs of the country. Thisnon-profit educational organization wasstarted in 1992 and formally registered in1998. RCDA works to promote a vision of

holistic development through education,training, awareness raising, counselling,linkages and information networking.

RCDA's educational areas – based onholistic approaches only – cover allaspects of ecological agriculture, naturalhealth care, alternative technology,environment, alternative education andadvancement of women. It collects all therelevant educational and resourcematerials (i.e. books, manuals,periodicals, directories and audiovisuals)from around the world for its resourcelibrary, which it is seeking to expand.Please contact RCDA if you can help in anyway.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Mrs Amatul Wadood Nazli, Cofounder andChairperson, Resource Centre for DevelopmentAlternatives (Regd), Faraz House, D-237,Ghazikot Township, Mansehra 21300, NWFP,Pakistan. E-mail:[email protected]

Trees for LifeTrees for Life is a non-profit, people-to-peoplemovement that helpsplant fruit trees indeveloping countries.These trees provide alow-cost, self-renewingsource of food for manypeople and protect the environment. Ourprogrammes include three elements:education, health and environment.

Volunteers in the villages are trained byTrees for Life and provided with essentialsupport for programmes that respond tothe needs of their communities. Throughtheir own efforts and labour, the villagersreap the benefits. Trees for Life provideshope, not handouts. Each person thusempowered pledges to help at least twomore people.

Since the inception of Trees for Life in1984, more than 3 million people havehelped plant tens of millions of fruit treesin countries such as India, Guatemala,Haiti and Brazil.

Trees for Life also produces an onlinescientific journal – Trees for Life Journal –that focuses on traditional knowledge andscientific studies of beneficial plants. Thejournal provides a forum on beneficialtrees and plants and brings togetherinternational articles about traditionalmedicine, small-scale field studies andscientific evidence regarding natural

remedies and medicinal plants that couldbenefit humanity. The journal is available atwww.tfljournal.org/

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Balbir Mathur, President, Trees for Life, 3006 W. St Louis, Wichita, KS 67203-5129, UnitedStates of America. Fax: +1-316-945-0909;e-mail: [email protected];treesforlife.org/treesforlife.asp

SCIENCE FOR THE POOR

In the lower Tocantins region of Brazil, oneAmazonian woman questioned whyscientists publish principally for eliteaudiences. Her experience suggests that theimpact may be enhanced by also sharingdata with people who depend upon forestgoods.

Having defended her family homesteadnear the city of Cameta against loggers inthe late 1980s, Glória Gaia becameinterested in strengthening the informationbase of other villagers so that they would notlose their forests for meagre sums. Shechallenged scientists to defy norms such asextracting data without giving back to ruralvillagers and publishing primarily for theprivileged. Working with researchers, shehelped them to publish an illustrated manualof the ecology, economics, management andcultural importance of key Amazonian forestspecies. With and without funds or a formalproject, she travelled by foot and boat toremote villages to disseminate the book.Using data, stories and song, she broughtcautionary messages to villages about theimpacts of logging on livelihoods.

She also brought locally useful processingtechniques regarding medicinal plants, fruitand tree oils. Her holistic teachingschallenged traditional forestry to include themanagement of fruits, fibres and medicines.A new version of the book, requested by theGovernment of Brazil, contains thecontributions of 90 leading Brazilian andinternational scientists and local people.Glória Gaia’s story raises the followingquestions. Who is science for and how canscience reach disenfranchised populations?Lessons for scientists and practitioners fromGlória’s story include: broadening the rangeof products from research to reach localpeople; complementing local ecologicalknowledge with scientific data; sharingprecautionary data demonstrating trends;and involving women and marginalizedpeople in the research and outreach process.

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(Source: Shanley, P. 2006. Science for thepoor: how one woman challengedresearchers, ranchers, and loggers inAmazonia. Ecology and Society, 11(2): 28[online]. www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss2/art28/)

THE ROLE OF NWFPSIN POVERTY REDUCTION

NWFPs play a crucial role in meeting thesubsistence needs of a large part of theworld’s population who live in or nearforests. They provide shelter, food andmedicines on a daily basis as well as in timesof crisis. For poor households, NWFPs arerarely the primary source of revenue, but cansupplement income or lessen unexpectedhardships such as the loss of crops. As longas people rely on these products for theirbasic survival and nutrition, care must betaken to prevent the resource from shrinkingor being degraded.

NWFPs are also important in terms of theirpotential to improve livelihoods through thesale of surplus products. In these instances,increasing forest areas or processing rawmaterials to add value could significantlyenhance returns – making plant-basedessential oils or manufacturing lotions andcreams from shea butter – for example. Fair

trade organizations can increase the amountof income that poor people earn as well, forexample, by encouraging producercooperatives to offer reasonable prices tosuppliers, by providing good workingconditions and by reducing the number ofintermediaries in market transactions.(Source: extracted from Better forestry, lesspoverty: a practitioner’s guide. FAO ForestryPaper 149. 2006. Rome, FAO. www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0645e/a0645e00.HTM)

WEAVING WITH NWFPS

Bamboo fibre goods to set new fashiontrendsBecause of the global focus thatenvironmental issues have received, bamboo-fibre products have caught the fancy ofconsumers, who are considering their manyecofriendly advantages. Experts havepredicted that bamboo-fibre products will setnew fashion trends for 2008/2009 autumn-winter clothing such as scarves, ties andoutdoor sportswear.

There are many local clothing, textiles andfabric enterprises that produce bamboo-fibreproducts. One such success story is that ofHebei Jigao Chemical Fiber Co. Ltd, whoseproducts made of bamboo-fibre have becomepopular both in the domestic as well as theoverseas markets. Currently, Hebei Jigao’sproducts occupy over 90 percent of China’sbamboo-fibre market. Despite high prices,bamboo-fibre products sell very well: aleisure suit made from bamboo-fibrematerial costs 40 000 yuan in Japan and evenin China, bamboo-fibre clothes are sold forhundreds of yuan. (Source: Fibre2fashionNews Desk [China], 20 August 2007.)

Grassroots support for raffia growers in theUnited Republic of Tanzania Weaving lengths of fibrous palm leaves, thewomen of Tanzania’s Nou forest are busierthan ever. Situated in the Manyara region ofthe country’s temperate northeast part, over200 000 people depend on the forest whichfor generations has provided them with food,water and a valued raw material – raffia(Raphia).

Raffia is part of daily life in the forest,where an abundant water supply and fertilesoils provide favourable growing conditions.The versatile palm has multiple uses: raffiaculms (stems) are commonly used assupporting beams in buildings and the leavesmake effective roof covering. There is also along-standing tradition of raffia use in textiles

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In order for practitioners to assist poorpeople to overcome obstacles tocollect, consume and sell NWFPs, theyneed to:• discuss the importance of NWFPs with

users and identify the type ofcontributions that they make tolivelihoods, recognizing thathouseholds rely on these products tovarying degrees, depending on theextent of their poverty andvulnerability;

• find out which groups gather whichNWFPs, how they access them, andwhether they use them for personalconsumption, trade or both;

• be aware of traditional practicesregarding harvesting and collection,including traditional norms of access;

• determine which households canafford to invest in commercialactivities and whether this option ismore appropriate than otherpotential sources of income forvulnerable groups;

• identify opportunities and constraintsrelated to access, collection and tradeof NWFPs.Once practitioners obtain this

information, they can start working

with community leaders, users andother stakeholders to:• compile an inventory as a first step in

formulating or revising managementplans and practices that reflect localneeds and promote sustainable use;

• form local associations/cooperativesand develop cottage industries orcommunity-based enterprises ifcommercialization of particularproducts appears viable;

• choose sites that have the potentialto yield maximum benefits such asthose where plants that are used formedicinal purposes could be grown inhome gardens for households toconsume or sell;

• document knowledge on andexperiences with cultivating medicinalplants and disseminate thisinformation in local languages toinform village residents which ones touse for what illnesses and how to setup this type of home garden;

• lobby authorities to give priority tolocal residents or communities whenissuing permits to collect NWFPs, basedon management agreements thatregulate, monitor and controlharvesting levels.

HOW NWFPS CAN BETTER CONTRIBUTE TO LIVELIHOODS AND POVERTY REDUCTION

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– baskets, mats, hats and rope can be wovenfrom the flexible fronds. These goods wereproduced primarily for use within the villagesbut are now sold locally and abroad,generating much-needed income.Previouslythe situation was very different when acombination of rapid population growth andthe need for productive agricultural landdevastated large areas of the forest.Overharvesting and unsustainable methodsof collecting raffia also contributed to thedestruction of parts of the state-owned forest,threatening the village’s water supplies anddepleting most of the raffia. Faced with apotential environmental catastrophe, theTanzanian Government banned the collectionof raffia from the forest.

With the help of two NGOs, the ban hasbeen revoked and forest communities arenow weaving their way to a brighter future.FARM-Africa Tanzania and SOS SahelEthiopia established the Nou Joint ForestManagement (JFM) project, a participatoryforest management scheme, bringingvillagers and the government together tomanage the forest sustainably.

As a result raffia production has beendomesticated, with large quantities nowgrown in homesteads on the forest perimeter.Areas of the forest have been replanted andthe crop is also grown in swampy areas toavoid clearing more land. Furthermore,villagers no longer uproot the raffia duringharvesting but leave the roots intact to allowplants to regenerate.

While the men of the villages harvest andcollect the raffia, the women weave. In 2005,also as part of the Nou JFM project, raffiaweavers’ groups were established to helpvillagers improve the quality of their productsand identify new market opportunities. As aresult, demand has been increasing in localand foreign markets.

Although many women from the Nouforest have been weaving with raffia sincechildhood, the weavers’ groups have helpedchange their fortunes. Typical is PaulinaHotay. “Before joining this project I made lessthan TSh2 000 (US$1.50) per month,” shesaid. “Now I make TSh15 000 per monththrough raffia.” (Source: The NewAgriculturist Web site, viewed 8 October 2007;www.new-ag.info/07/05/focuson/focuson3.php)

Medicinal plants used in organic clothing lineThreads for Life, the first Ayurvedic apparelcompany in the United States of America,successfully launched its first collection inCalifornia. Infused with over 25 medicinalplants and herbs to help address both serious

and everyday ailments, each garment is 100percent organic and woven by hand.

Based on the 5 000 year-old medicinalscience of Ayurveda, each Threads for Lifegarment is infused by hand with uniqueformulas to address various emotional andphysical health challenges. Through thetransdermal process of fibre to skin contact,the herbs and plants are diffused into thepores of skin to restore vitality and balance forhealing and optimum health. (Source: DailyGreen [United States of America], 16 August2007.)

Promoting the use of the “bayong” in thePhilippines Apalit, Pampanga. The wife of PampangaRepresentative Juan Miguel Arroyo and thespouses of 20 of the province’s mayors havespearheaded an effort to promote the use of“bayong” (native bags), instead of plastic bags,as one way to protect the planet from pollution.On Sunday they began distribution of at least200 000 pieces of bayong or hand-woven rattanor buri bags throughout the province.

Television host and environment advocateChristine Bersola-Babao joined the launch atthe public market, giving also a short talk onhow plastic bags, if not reused or disposed ofproperly, hurt nature and people. “I startedusing bayong when I was in high school. It’smy personal little way of helping MotherEarth.” Bersola-Babao told the crowd ofabout 400 women who lined up to get theirfree bayong. (Source: Inquirer.net [thePhilippines], 16 September 2007.)

Stripped of a natural fibreEvery year during the Mah Meri’s HariMoyang (Ancestors’ Day), the Orang Asliwould proudly wear beautiful bark clothingcalled teghap, enhanced with sashes andheadbands woven from nipah palm leaves.However, trees have become such scarcecommodities in Malaysia that even the OrangAsli can barely afford to use the bark.

“We wear our traditional bark clothingas a form of identity,” explains Julida anak

Uju, 38, from Sungai Bumbun Orang AsliVillage, one of five villages in Carey Island.She had had to wade in knee-deep mud toharvest the nipah leaves for her costume,which takes a full day to weave into thesongkho (plaited headband), selipang(sash) and dendan (skirt). The beige anddark green colours are obtained byinterweaving young and mature leaves. “Wealso wear the costume for dances and itgives us a sense of pride in our traditionsand customs. But due to the scarcity ofterap trees, we can barely produce theclothing for our children.”

She shows us the terap tree (Artocarpuselasticus, belonging to the mulberry familyMaraceae) from where she obtains the bark.The sapling stood forlornly in a grove of palmoil trees. Like the nyireh batu wood, whichmen use for their magnificent carvings, thesenative plants are increasingly rare because ofscarcity of land.

Bark is among nature’s most versatilematerials used by indigenous people forgenerations. Beaten bark clothing is foundacross tropical regions, mainly in the tropicalPacific Islands, Southeast Asia and parts ofAfrica and South America.

In Malaysia, the Mah Meri continues usingbark clothing, but are these distinctivegarments on their way to extinction? Julidasays that they are very careful when washingthe clothing so as not to tear them. “We don’tknow how long they can last and we can’tmake new ones.” (Source: Malaysia Star, 17June 2007.)

Woven bamboo products and craftsBamboo crafts and woven mats aretraditional products in China, India, Malaysia,the Philippines and Thailand. The techniquehas been known for several thousand years.These diverse products have become anindispensable part of daily life, literature and art.

There are nearly 20 categories of wovenbamboo products in Asia, including fruitbaskets, trays, bottles, jars, boxes, cases,bowls, fans, screens, curtains, cushions,lampshades and lanterns. (Source: Worldbamboo resources. A thematic study preparedin the framework of the Global ForestResources Assessment 2005. Non-WoodForest Products 18. Rome, FAO. 2007.) �

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. Albert Einstein

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


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cooperatives. Our buyer will inspect theberries and buy the best ones. He thentakes them off and on that day places themin warm water for about an hour; he willthen mash them through the first sieve, atwhich point the stones are removed. Theyare then mashed through a smaller sieve tobreak up the fibre inside the berries. A pulpis formed which is packed and shipped infrozen containers over to the UnitedKingdom,” says Ronan.

The frozen pulp is then sold on to juicebars, smoothie bars, health shops andsupermarkets.

Greenpeace champion the açaí berrybecause although they are aware that awide range of sustainable and effectiveinitiatives are needed to prevent thecontinuing destruction of the Amazon, theyaccept it as an important environment stepforward as the berry is derived from a non-timber forest product within the Amazonrain forest and it gives the people asustainable way of maintaining theirlivelihoods. (Source: FreshPlaza [theNetherlands], 18 June 2007.)

ACROCOMIA TOTAI

El cocotero, mbocayá o nuez del Paraguay(Acrocomia totai) es una planta de lafamilia de las arecáceas, nativa delParaguay. El aceite de la semilla y la pulpase utilizan en la alimentación y en lafabricación de jabones.

A. totai es una palmera de entre 15 y 20m de altura, con uno o, en raras ocasiones,varios estípites de unos 20 a 30 cm dediámetro, cubierto de una corteza lisa yoscura, dotada de espinas fuertes y rectas.El sistema radicular es extenso y profundo.Muestra hojas palmadas, en forma deabanico, con el raquis duro y espinoso. Elfruto es una drupa globosa. No requiere deun clima cálido o húmedo para

AÇAÍ

Brazilian super food going down a stormin the United KingdomA Brazilian berry straight from the Amazonrain forest called açaí (Euterpe oleracea)has quickly become the world’s numberone most powerful and nutritious foodaccording to many environmentalorganizations and leading doctors.

A staple part of the Brazilian diet wherethey consume millions per day, already abig hit in the United States of America witha band of celebrity worshippers, andalthough still very new to the UnitedKingdom market it is fast becoming knownas the “next big thing”.

For many people, the açaí berry isprobably still unknown. But if you have evervisited the new wave of juice bars now onmany high streets, you may have had somein your smoothie or health drink and noteven realized it.

Packed full of antioxidants, high inomega 6 and omega 9 oils, a rich source ofprotein and dietary fibre to name just a fewof the benefits, this is probably why the açaíberry is such a huge success.

Operating from the United Kingdom,Sublime Food Ltd has been importing anddistributing frozen fruit from Brazil for thepast three years. Ronan O’Meara, itsdirector, explains: “The açaí berry has beenconsumed by the indigenous people of theAmazon since time began; the berry is thesize of a large blueberry, purple almostdark black in colour. It grows wild in theAmazon rain forest, which is the only placeon earth where it grows. It has three timesmore antioxidants than blueberries andpomegranates. Antioxidants are vitalbecause they mop up free radicals whichcan cause cancer and cell damage.”

With his brother living and running ajuice bar in Brazil for the past nine years,these two brothers have formed a uniqueinternational partnership where they are atthe forefront of importing the açaí berry tothe United Kingdom. “Once the berries arein season there are huge quantities; anarea about half the size of Switzerland iscompletely covered in açaí trees. Berriesare picked by small teams, often husbandand wife that look after areas that areunique to them. One member of the teamwill climb up the tree, cut the branch orpull the berries off and drop them to theperson waiting below who will put theminto baskets. The baskets are then takendown the river to the local buyers, often

desarrollarse. Crece en diferentes tipos desuelo, aunque parece preferir los arenosos,bien drenados, aún en zonas de altitud,pero no crece en suelos anegados.

Los aceites de la semilla y la pulpa seemplean en la fabricación de jabones,llamados de coco. La pulpa es comestible,de ella se extrae un aceite ligero y con sufermentación se elabora un licor de saboragradable. El interior del tronco se muelepara obtener una harina muy fina y sabrosay el cogollo se consume como palmito.

Las hojas de A. totai se usan comoforraje para el ganado; tras unamaceración, se extrae de ellas una fibraútil en la confección de sogas, redes, etc.

El fruto sólo se industrializa en elParaguay y es completamenteaprovechable, se compone de 15 a 20 porciento de cáscara (alimento de ganado,combustible de hornos). La pulpacomprende el 30 al 40 por ciento del pesodel fruto y su tenor oleico varía desde un 20hasta un 36 por ciento (expeller utilizado enalimentación de animales). El exocarpiocompone el 30-40 por ciento de la fruta(combustible de calderas, materia primapara carbón de alta calidad). Un 7 a un 12por ciento lo compone la almendra, que esoleosa en un 50-60 por ciento (expellercomestible para animales y sereshumanos).

En cuanto a producción de aceitesvegetales, esta especie nativa que posee elParaguay, es la segunda en rendimientopor hectárea en el mundo entero, sólosuperada por la palma africana. Losaceites de pulpa y almendra de coco tienenla ventaja de ser aceites de fácil conversióna biodiesel. (Aportación hecha por: MauraIsabel Díaz Lezcano, Escuela TécnicaSuperior de Ingenieros de Montes,Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, CiudadUniversitaria, 28040, Madrid, España.Correo electrónico: [email protected])

AQUILARIA

Oudh – the sweet smell of tradition Oudh is considered a supreme fragrance inthe Gulf countries. In Bahrain, it is burnedas a mark of respect and hospitality and isa traditional gesture of welcoming andhonouring guests. In fact, oudh isconsidered an important feature at mostsocial occasions.

Oudh, which simply means wood inArabic, has an extraordinary pedigree. Alsoknown as aloes and agarwood, oudh is

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found in the forests of Southeast Asia andis an aromatic resin found in certainspecies of Aquilaria and Gyrinops trees.The resin is produced by the tree as animmune response to a fungus –Phialophora parasitica – that invades thetree and over many years spreads throughit. It is believed that it takes as long as 300years for the fungus to spread through thebark of the tree. Unlike the otherwise palewood of the tree, infected sections are darkand extremely heavy. In fact, the Chineseand Japanese terms for oudh translate as“the wood that sinks in water”.

The best grade of oudh is hard, nearlyblack and very heavy. In general, oudhbecomes inferior as it becomes lighter intone, flecked with diminishing amounts ofresin. The only reliable way to test forquality is to burn a small bit and evaluatethe complexity and richness of thesmouldering wood.

Oudh is cut, sliced, polished and burnedover coal in traditional incense burnerscalled mabakhir. Chips of this fragrantwood are a prized, almost pricelesscommodity and burning it is one of theregion’s most distinctive traditions.

In most Gulf countries it is customary topass the hand-held charcoal brazier ormabkharah of smouldering oudh at socialgatherings. Oudh is burned oversmouldering bits of coal in the cup that isnormally lined with sheet metal. In somehomes oudh is burned in an electricmabkharah instead of over coal forconvenience. The mabkharah is alwayspassed counterclockwise and people waftthe smoke over themselves to perfumetheir clothes.

The tradition of burning oudh has notwaned even among young Bahrainis whounderstand and appreciate the culturalsignificance of this age-old custom. Indianoudh is a favoured choice with mostBahrainis but because of its high priceCambodian oudh burns in most Bahrainihomes. On average, a middle-incomeBahraini home would spend up to BD50 onoudh per month whereas the well-heeledwould spend up to BD150 per month onpurchasing oudh for daily use. Onekilogram of oudh normally costs betweenBD2 000 and BD8 000 or more, dependingon the variety

The voracious demand for oudh isoutstripping supply, thus making this sweetincense more precious than gold.

The agarwood harvesting countriesstretch across Asia: Malaysia, Indonesia,

Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Java, VietNam and India. There are more than 2 000varieties of oudh in the world. Traditionally,India was one of the largest producers;however, Assam, once the source of themost valued oudh, has now exhausted itswild stocks and supplies the market onlyfrom plantations. In Viet Nam, agarwoodtrees are commercially extinct in the wildand in Thailand almost no trees remainoutside the national park.

Oudh comes in different forms fromwood chips to powder mixed with oil andshaped into round balls. While it is burnedin mabakhir for fragrance, oudh oil ordehn-al-oudh is packaged in a bottle as apersonal fragrance. Oudh-basedfragrances are just as treasured acommodity as oudh.

Traditionally, brides use oudhfragrances on their wedding day as theyhave an individuality that is missing ininternational brands, but they are alsomore expensive. Oudh gives a powerfulscent that lasts for 24 hours.

According to Malik Al Oudh, a companythat supplies and distributes oudh in SaudiArabia, half a tola (approximately 11.7 g) ofdehn-al-oudh from India can costanywhere between BD300 and BD600depending on the richness and maturity ofthe oil. Eyad Saud, sales manager at SaudiArabia’s Arabian oudh company inBahrain’s Seef Mall says, “One tola ofCambodian oudh costs anywhere betweenBD6 and BD32. This is one of the cheaperand swift-selling varieties here in Bahrain.”

Considering the steep price of a smallvial of oudh fragrance, it is no wonder thatwearing such fragrances is restricted tospecial events. All oudh shops, whetherthey are small kiosks peppered in themajor malls in Bahrain or large specialityshops, carry ornately packed oudhfragrances in exquisite bottles that are atestament to the fact that the tradition ofusing this age-old prestigious fragrancelives on. (Source: Gulf Weekly [Bahrain], 19September 2007.)

DVD ON GAHARU

Gaharu or eaglewood, an importantnon-timber forest product, is a well-known source of high-quality incense. Itis formed when damaged Aquilaria treesproduce a fragrant protective resin thatgradually hardens and turns into blacklumps. Because of its high market price(up to US$2 000/kg), the substance issought out by many. Systematic huntingfor the species starts from Sumatra,Kalimantan and Papua New Guinea. Thehigh market pressure has led touncontrolled, destructive andunsustainable exploitation of thespecies, threatening its existence.

A recent film raises the alarm on howthese market demands are threateningthe very existence of eaglewood. It looksat its unique sustainable harvestingsystem as practised by the Punan ofMalinau, East Kalimantan. Not only dothey have traditional regulations forland use and forest protection, but thePunan are also actively engaged in usingAquilaria for reforestation.

Rehabilitating this precious resourceis making inroads in the nationalconsciousness. The private sector stressesthe need to balance gaharu exploitationwith cultivation. Meanwhile, researchon inoculation methods in order toenhance garahu production is wellunder way.

For more information, please contact:

Ms Aloisa Zamora-Santos, Information

Management Officer, Non-Timber Forest

Products Exchange Programme for South

and Southeast Asia (NTFP-EP), 92-A

Masikap Extension, Barangay Central,

Diliman, Quezon City 1101, the Philippines.

Fax: +63 2 4262757; e-mail:

[email protected]; www.ntfp.org



28

BAMBOO

Bamboo as a plant and a resource Bamboo belongs to the Gramineae familyand has about 90 genera with over 1 200species. Bamboo flowers rarely and inirregular cycles, which are not yet clearlyunderstood. Thus taxonomists do notalways agree on the identification ofbamboo species and genera, but moderngenetic analysis may shed new light onbamboo taxonomy.

Bamboo is naturally distributed in thetropical and subtropical belt betweenapproximately 46° north and 47° southlatitude, and is commonly found in Africa,Asia and Central and South America. Somespecies may also grow successfully in mildtemperate zones in Europe and NorthAmerica. Bamboo is an extremely diverseplant, which easily adapts to differentclimatic and soil conditions. Dwarf bamboospecies grow to only a few centimetres,while medium-sized bamboo species mayreach a few metres and giant bamboospecies grow to about 30 m, with a diameterof up to 30 cm. Bamboo stems are generallyhard and vigorous and the plant can surviveand recover after severe calamities,catastrophes and damage. Young bambooshoots were the first sign of new plant lifeafter the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima andNagasaki in Japan.

Bamboo shoots and culms grow from thedense root rhizome system. There are twomain categories of rhizomes: monopodialand sympodial. Monopodial rhizomes growhorizontally, often at a surprising rate, andthus their nickname of “runners”. Therhizome buds develop either upwards,generating a culm, or horizontally, with anew tract of the rhizomal net. Monopodialbamboos generate an open clump withculms distant from each other and can beinvasive. They are usually found intemperate regions and include the generaPhyllostachys and Pleioblastus. Sympodialrhizomes are short and thick, and the culmsabove ground are close together in acompact clump, which expands evenlyaround its circumference. Their naturalhabitat is tropical regions and they are notinvasive. The main genus is Bambusa.

Bamboo has received increasingattention over the last two decades for itseconomic and environmental values. InAfrica, Asia and Latin America, it is closelyassociated with indigenous culture andknowledge and is widely used for housing,forestry, agroforestry, agricultural activities

and utensils. In countries undergoingeconomic development, traditional bambooculture gradually disappears. However,industrial development of bamboo isoffering a new opportunity for youngergenerations to retain and continuedeveloping cultural traditions related to thecultivation, harvesting and use of bamboo.

The physical and environmentalproperties of bamboo make it anexceptional economic resource for a widerange of uses and for poverty reduction. Itgrows quickly and can be harvestedannually without depletion and deteriorationof the soil. Bamboo can grow on marginalland not suitable for agriculture or forestry,or as an agroforestry crop. It has a relativelylight weight, because the culms are hollow,and unlike wood can be easily harvested andtransported without specialized equipmentor vehicles. It splits easily for weaving and isthus easy to handle also for women.Bamboo is often cultivated outside theforest on farms, where it is more easilymanaged. Processing normally does notrequire highly skilled labour or specialqualifications and can be started by poorrural communities at a minimal cost. Forthe same reason, it can offer income-earning opportunities for handicappedpeople.

Bamboo use and trade have been growingrapidly in recent years. Bamboo is becomingpopular as an excellent substitute for wood inproducing pulp, paper, board and charcoal. Itis widely used in construction, either in itsnatural form or as a reconstituted material(laminated boards and panels). In addition,bamboo shoots have become a popularvegetable, with Asian cuisine spreadingquickly around the globe. (Source: Worldbamboo resources. A thematic studyprepared in the framework of the GlobalForest Resources Assessment 2005. Rome,FAO. 2007.)

Bamboo bicycles in Ghana Accra, Ghana. The Bamboo and RattanDevelopment Programme under thePresident’s Special Initiative Programme(PSI) has introduced bamboo in themanufacture of bicycles for ruralcommunities. The programme is aimed atraising awareness about the use andbenefits of bamboo and rattan in povertyalleviation and socio-economicdevelopment of rural communities.

This initiative was made known during ameeting on Tuesday organized by theForestry Service Division in collaborationwith the Earth Institute (EI) at ColumbiaUniversity in the United States of Americaon how to use bamboo in the manufacture ofbicycles in Ghana. Three research scientistsfrom the United States – Dr David T. Ho, DrJohn Mutter and Dr Craig Calfee – are tospend ten days in the country todemonstrate how to use bamboo in makinga bicycle.

Dr Ho said that the bicycle, made tocarry a load of 100 kg, was designed forfarmers in rural communities forsustainable transportation. He said financewas the main problem facing the project,adding that there should be a fund thatwould take up two-thirds of the cost ofproduction so that local people could affordthe bicycles. (Source: Joy Online [Ghana],26 June 2007.)

Bamboo for housing construction A book describing the methods of usingbamboo for construction of houses,authored by Lionel Jayanetti and PaullFollat, was released recently at theauditorium of the National EngineeringResearch and Development Centre (NERD),Ja-ela, Sri Lanka.

A model house built using all-bamboomaterials was also formally opened.

The Deputy Minister of Science andTechnology said that since bamboocultivation is not widespread, there will bea new industry in the Sri Lankan market.“Prices of material in the constructionindustry are soaring, hence bamboo will bean ideal alternative for building materials,especially in the hotel trade. It is high timefor us to start cultivation.”

The Science and Technology Minister,Prof. Tissa Vitarana said that this would bea good start not only in the buildingconstruction industry, but also for makingfurniture so that forest devastation may beprevented. (Source: TRADA International;[email protected])

% Contribution of world bamboo resources by continent



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Bamboo chip-based particleboarddeveloped Pressed particleboard created from a blendof plastic chips and bamboo has beeninvented by the Kagawa Prefecture SangyoGijutsu Industrial Technology Centre inJapan. Suitable for application inconstruction, a particleboard that is made of70 percent bamboo chip material accordingto weight has the same strength attributes astypical wood-based products. The releasedate of the product has not been announcedand studies are in progress to find outwhether the size and shape of the chips haveany relevance to strength. (Source: MalaysianTimber Industry Board [in Friday Offcuts, 21September 2007].)

Animal species associated with bamboo The association of animal species withbamboo has been explored in a number ofstudies. The best-known animals dependenton bamboo are the giant panda (Ailuropodamelanoleuca) and red panda (Ailurusfulgens). Their diet consists almostexclusively of bamboo shoots and leaves.Several other mammals and birds live in asymbiotic relation with bamboo forests. Thesouthern bamboo rat (Kannabateomysamblyonyx) lives in groves of Guadua andsome introduced bamboo species. Bambooflowering and seeding lead periodically to anexplosion of the rodent population, resultingin famine and social cataclysms in variousparts of the world. Local populations innortheast India suffer particularly from therat outbreaks triggered by bamboo flowering.The dynamics of the rat populationfluctuations have still not been well explored.

Interestingly, the majority of bamboo-dependent birds and mammals are endemicto the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. Atleast 27 species of birds are considered to be

associated with bamboo in the forest. Somespecies live almost entirely in large bamboostands. Others may migrate to otherecosystems, but may depend on bamboo forfeeding and breeding. Most of the birdspecies feed on bamboo nodes, internodesand the insects on foliage. Some species feedextensively on bamboo seeds and do notreside in bamboo forests during non-seedingperiods.

Studies of bird association in the AmazonBasin show that 25 of approximately 440 birdspecies (about 6 percent) live in Guaduabamboo thickets. The degree of dependenceon bamboo varies among bamboo-dependent species; they may depend on it forfeeding, breeding, shelter and protectionfrom predators. Depletion of bambooecosystems threatens species biodiversity: ithas been observed that birds and mammalsare less abundant than before in the AtlanticForest. (Source: World bamboo resources. Athematic study prepared in the framework ofthe Global Forest Resources Assessment2005. Rome, FAO. 2007.)

BUTTERFLIES

East Africa feels the butterfly effect Beating the air with her homemade net,Aicha Ali chases a swirling black andturquoise butterfly. Far from indulging in afrivolous pastime, this Kenyan mother isearning crucial family income. ArabukoSokoke on the Kenyan coast is known for itsrare species of butterflies, which adevelopment project called Kipepeo(butterfly in Swahili) is helping export toexhibits and museums in Europe and NorthAmerica.

Forest dwellers in the neighbouringUnited Republic of Tanzania have alsobenefited from such butterfly-farminginitiatives, which not only increase the localcommunity’s economic wealth but also helpprotect the environment.

“I need the forest to feed the butterflies,”Aicha explains.

Only a few years ago, she and most of the100 000 villagers living around ArabukoSokoke “had a negative perception of theforest”, says Kenyan scientist MariaFungomeli. They saw it as little more than arefuge for the monkeys and elephantsattacking their farms and a hostile growththat should be cut down to harvest timber,says Fungomeli, assistant director at theKipepeo project.

Deforestation is threatening what is thelargest block of coastal forest remaining inEast Africa as well as the rare animalspecies it shelters.

But what conservationists call “thebutterfly effect” has started to pay off, bothfor Arabuko Sokoke and its inhabitants.About 800 families now live thanks to thesale of butterflies. Flying handkerchiefs,emperor swallowtails and African bluetigers are some of the rare species collectedat Kipepeo, fetching between US$1 and $3 apiece for visiting tourists. One villager nowearns between $15 and $23 a month fromhis work with Kipepeo, double what he usedto make selling timber. Another villager isequally adamant about the changesbutterfly farming have brought to herlifestyle. “We did go hungry now and then,but now we can meet the needs of thechildren: medical care, school fees,uniforms,” she says, sorting pupae at theproject’s collection centre.

Kipepeo, launched in 1993 with fundsfrom the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme, buys only pupae. The villagerstherefore have to breed the butterflies aftercapturing them. George Jefwa closed his

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RODENTS RAVAGE VILLAGES IN MIZORAM, INDIA

Thousands of rats have destroyed ricefields in Mizoram, India, fuelling fearsof a famine in the region. According tothe Mizoram Agriculture Minister, atleast 177 villages have been ravaged byarmies of rats in the state this year.About 70 villages that bore the brunthave now nothing left to harvest. Atleast 65 villages have lost half theirharvest while 42 villages haveexperienced low-intensity destruction.Mizoram, with about 1 million people,is dependent on agriculture. Rice andvegetables are the dominant crops.

Reports of rats destroying farmlandsfollow vast forests of bamboo burstinginto flower in many parts of the state.When bamboo flowering takes place,the rat population shoots up, leadingto an invasion of granaries and paddyfields. The Mizoram government haswarned that a famine is going to hitthe mountainous state.

The phenomenon of bambooflowering occurs every 48 years.(Source: NEWSPost India, 25 September2007.)



30

shop down a few years ago to build hisbutterfly “farm”: a large, netted woodencage teeming with multicolouredbutterflies. He has learned to identifydozens of different types of butterflies andmoths and regularly collects their eggsfrom the cage. He then places them in aplastic box for five days and drops the newlymorphed caterpillars on plants, where theyfeed before the penultimate stage of theirtransformation into pupae ready for export.

In Tanzania’s Usumbura mountains,butterflies are also revolutionizing localtraditions. Farmers who had been earning ameagre living producing cash crops such ascoffee and bananas are now reaping therewards of butterfly farming, says theTanzania Forest Conservation Group. Thecommunity will earn $50 000 in 2007 fromthe project, the group said in a recentstatement. “The forests are better protectednow. The community knows that the basepopulations of butterflies and host plantsmust be conserved if the enterprise is tocontinue,” the statement said. “A recentsurvey found much higher conservationawareness among butterfly farmerscompared with those not involved in theventure.”

Kenya’s Kipepeo project has been sosuccessful with the local population that it isstruggling to find buyers for the thousandsof pupae collected in Arabuko Sokoke. “Weget 200 000 pupae a year. But we marketonly 25 percent of them,” says Fungomeli.She explains that gaining new markets iscrucial to keep the project alive and bring onboard those villagers who are still choppingdown the forest’s endangered tropical trees.(Source: Mail and Guardian Online [Kenya],29 July 2007.)

CORK

Plastic, not axes, threatens cork forests Tempio Pausania, Sardinia. If you buy abottle of wine with a metal screw top or aplastic cork, you may be dooming theworld’s cork forests. That is the view ofenvironmentalists and cork producers whohave joined forces to protect cork oaks – and

the unique habitat they provide – fromcompetition in the wine trade.

Alternative “corks” are ever morecommon, as synthetic and aluminium wineclosures have grabbed a 20 percent share ofthe market, up from just 2 percent in 2000,according to wine industry consultantStephane Rein of Rein Consulting. She saysthat could increase to 35 percent by the endof the decade.

“Silicone corks are not a problem forquality wines that will always use cork,”said Battista Giannottu, an agronomist whoworks with a consortium representingSardinia’s cork producers. “But the massmarket, which is 80 percent of the total,might. That’s not just an economic problembut an environmental one.”

The Quercus suber, or cork oak, whichgrows on both the European and Africansides of the Mediterranean, provides theraw material for practically all the 20 billionwine corks used every year. The way cork isharvested – shaved off the sides of trees –means that forests continue to thrive as theygive up their valuable bark.

In Sardinia, the only region in Italy thatproduces cork, the forests are a haven forwild boar, a species of hawk native to theisland and Sardinian deer. The highlyendangered Iberian lynx roams the corkforests of Spain and Portugal, which is theglobal leader in cork production; in NorthAfrica the forests provide a habitat forBarbary deer.

A cork oak must be at least 30 years oldbefore the first harvest and, even then, thegnarled, porous “virgin cork” is not goodenough to make wine stoppers. It will takeanother ten years for the bark to grow backand be good enough to make corks. Thatmeans a poor rate of return compared withother trees that might be planted in suchareas, such as the fast-growing eucalyptuswhich competes with cork oaks for land. “Itisn’t a tree which gives a lot of one thing – itgives a little of a lot of things,” said NoraBerrahmouni of the World Wide Fund forNature (WWF), an environmental groupworking to protect cork forest habitats.

The undergrowth is a patchwork offragrant shrubs, including ones thatproduce the myrtle, a berry gathered tomake Sardinia’s mirto liqueur – an extrasource of forest income.

More than 80 percent of the world’s corkproduction is used for bottle stoppers. Therest is used for building materials and initems such as fishing tackle and badmintonshuttlecocks.

The best-quality cork – which is the leastporous and has no cracks or flaws – makesthe best grade of stopper sold at a premiumfor wines made to be matured in the bottle.Lower grades are used for cheaper wines:cork granules are agglomerated with a typeof glue to make the dense champagne corksthat must withstand the pressure ofsparkling wine. Offcuts are glued to plasticdiscs to make the type of stoppers found insome sherry bottles.

As well as being cheaper alternatives,plastic and metal do not pose the same riskof “corking” the wine – when a chemicalcalled TCA is present in the stopper andgives the wine a “mouldy” odour.

But cork producers andenvironmentalists are fighting back. Aimingto cash in on the demand for “green”products, they have started to produce corkscertified as environmentally friendly underthe Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)scheme, an “ecolabel” system alreadywidespread for timber products. Backers ofthe FSC scheme hope that “green” winebuyers will prefer a bottle with the FSClabel. Cork makers hope that it canguarantee their future by differentiatingtheir traditional product from the upstarts.(Source: ENN Daily News, 6 August 2007.)

GUARANÁ

Guaraná fights cancer and global warming Scientists from the University of São Paulo(USP), Brazil, have discovered that guaranáfrom Amazonia, sold on a large scale by thestate of Amazonas from production in Maués(268 km from Manaus), is effective in fightingcancer. The study was published in thejournal, Ciência Hoje, by the Brazilian Societyfor the Advancement of Science (SBPC).

The researcher responsible isveterinarian Heidge Fukumasu, who hasworked on research in tumour regressionthrough ingestion of guaraná since hegraduated from university. Now, with adoctorate from USP and a member of a solidresearch team, the scientist highlighted thatthe decrease in cancer cells occurs in a typeof breast cancer called Ehrlich tumour.

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Fukumasu still does not know thesubstance within guaraná that acts todecrease cancer cell levels. Nevertheless,according to data from the journal,experiments are under way to find out.

Another important study that wasrecently announced was on thedevelopment of cloned guaraná seedlingsthat are more resistant and offer greateryields, aiding both in exportation of theproduct to the national and internationalmarkets as well as reducing deforestation.The experiment by the BrazilianAgricultural Research Corporation(Embrapa), which also investigates theeffects of guaraná, has its lines of researchdirected more towards cloning seedlings toincrease effectiveness of seeds and reducedeforestation in Amazonia. This year, fivenew clones of guaraná have been launchedin Manaus, helping to reduce the total areadeforested in the state for planting guaranáby as much as 90 percent.

Among other variables, the researchstudies the cause and effect relationship ofcloning guaraná plants and felling theforest, and is being conducted byagronomist Firmino José do NascimentoFilho. He stresses that reduceddeforestation is also one of the majoradvantages of clones in relation totraditional seed-bred plants. This is so,says Nascimento Filho, because of the lowenvironmental impact that results from theuse of guaraná clones. (Source: AmazonasEm Tempo, 24 August 2007.)

HONEY

Setting manuka standards A New Zealand honey health sciencecompany and a German university havejoined forces in a bid to set industrystandards for the use of manuka honeyproducts to heal wounds, overcomestomach and skin problems, and potentiallyin the fight against cancer. The move comesin the wake of the discovery by theuniversity’s researchers of the compoundresponsible for manuka honey’santibacterial activity.

Te Awamutu-based Manuka Health NewZealand Ltd and the Technical University ofDresden have formed a partnership toestablish a process to certify levels of thecompound in manuka honey. Announcingthe partnership today, Manuka Health chiefexecutive Kerry Paul said that theuniversity’s Institute of Food Chemistry was

the first to identify the compoundmethylglyoxal (MGO) and prove its highlevels in some New Zealand manukahoneys.

Mr Paul said that the discovery thathoney’s antibacterial ability was directlyrelated to MGO levels was highly significantfor the industry. “We have known for sometime that manuka honey has this property.The term Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) isused to describe this honey’s consistentlyreliable antibacterial effect and UMF hasbeen trademarked by the Active ManukaHoney Association. But we haven’t knownuntil the German discovery what thecompound is that is responsible. The nextstep is to put a standards process in placewith the industry which independentlycertifies MGO levels in honey-based healthproducts.”

Manuka honey was already well knownfor its reliable antibacterial activity, makingit highly effective for overcominggastrointestinal and skin health problemsand improving healing of wounds. However,with the identification of MGO, furtherapplications for manuka honey arepossible, including use as a potentialtumorcidal agent to fight cancer.

A research team led by Prof. ThomasHenle, head of the Institute of FoodChemistry at Dresden, tested more than 80honeys from around the world and foundMGO levels as high as 700 mg/kg in someNew Zealand manuka honeys, more than70 times higher than ordinary honey.Previous research had shown the highestconcentrations in any food or drink wereabout 100 mg/kg in cocoa and coffee.During their research, Prof. Henle’s teamdeveloped assays for measuring MGO inhoney.

Mr Paul said that medical researchershad found MGO had the potential to actspecifically against malignant cells in thebody and has a significant curative effect ona wide range of cancers in animals. Currentresearch on humans shows MGO results incomplete remission in about 40 percent ofmalignancies, with partial remission in afurther 40 percent. More studies are underway to improve treatment techniques.

A Japanese cancer researcher at aGerman university hospital announced lastmonth the results of a study showingManuka Health’s Bio30 propolis extractsuppressed NF1 neurofibromatosis, a typeof tumour affecting one in 3 000 people.(Source: Manuka Health press release[New Zealand], 2 July 2007.)

MEDICINAL PLANTS AND HERBS

Poultry farmers in Uganda take on herbsto control diseases Farmers have embraced medicinal plants intreating poultry diseases. Research carriedout by Makerere University in central andeastern Uganda revealed that about 80percent of poultry farmers know how to usemedicinal plants to treat these diseases.

Prof. Bukenya Ziraba from the MakerereUniversity Department of Botany said theresearch that was carried out in Mbale,Rakai and Mbarara districts shows thatmany farmers are using medicinal plants totreat coughs, diarrhoea, swollen eyes,mites, worms and lice, as well as Newcastleprophylaxis and coccidiosis. Research foundthat medicinal plant species such asCapsicum frutescens (kamulali) andCannabis sativa (enjaga) were used in all thethree districts, while Nicotiana tobaccum(taaba), Aloe sp. (lukaka), Vernoniaamygdalina (omubirizi) and Tagets mihuta(kawunyira) species were used in Rakai andMbarara.

Ziraba says the most common way ofpreparing the medicine is by crushing theplant material, adding water andadministering the concoction orally. Somefarmers prefer to give chickens themedicine by hand, while others put it in acontainer and leave the chickens to drink itwhen they are thirsty. He says that usingmedicinal plants saves farmers lossescaused by outbreaks of diseases. “Sincesome of the farmers cannot afford to buymodern poultry drugs, medicinal plantswork as a substitute,” he says.

Ziraba presented the research during asymposium on drugs discovery from Africanflora, organized recently by the NaturalResearch Network for Eastern and CentralAfrica. (Source: New Vision [Kampala], 14August 2007.)

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Artemisia annua. Artemisinin“promising”as leishmaniasis treatment The antimalarial drug artemisinin showspromise as a treatment for leishmaniasis,according to Indian researchers, whoseresearch was published in the Septemberissue of the Journal of MedicalMicrobiology.

Visceral leishmaniasis – also known askala-azar – is caused by the Leishmaniaparasite and transmitted to humansthrough biting insects such as sand flies.The parasite lowers immunity and causespersistent fever, anaemia, liver and spleenenlargement, and is lethal if left untreated.It infects 500 000 people worldwide,according to WHO. There is no vaccine forthe disease and there are signs ofincreasing resistance to the few effectivedrug treatments.

Researchers evaluated the efficacy ofartemisinin against the Leishmaniadonovani parasite. They found that the drugkills the parasite at both stages of itsgrowth, particularly the disease-causingamastigote form of the parasite. The studyalso indicated that artemisinin was saferthan the existing antileishmanial drugpentamidine, which can cause diabetes,and miltefosine, which has been linked tobirth defects.

Lead researcher Mitali Chatterjee, fromthe India-based Institute of PostgraduateMedical Education and Research, said thatthe advantage of artemisinin is that it isalready a licensed drug, so toxicity studieshave already been completed.

Swapan Jana, secretary of the India-based NGO Society for SocialPharmacology, said the prospect of usingartemisinin was “very encouraging, givenleishmaniasis is endemic in India andexisting antileishmanial drugs show side-effects”.

But Neena Valecha, deputy director ofthe National Institute of Malaria Researchin India, warned that any expanded use ofartemisinin must not affect malaria

management. “We have to consider thatartemisinin is the valuable drug for acuteillnesses like malaria,” Valecha said.(Source: SciDev.Net, 1 October 2007.)

Fighting poverty with herbs and medicinalplants Scientists from all over the world haverecently begun deliberations on the role ofherbal, medicinal and aromatic plants(HMAPs) in improving the livelihoods of therural poor. Addressing researchersattending the three-day regional expertworkshop held at the International Centerfor Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas(ICARDA), in Aleppo, Syrian Arab Republic,Dr Mona Bishay, director of the Near Eastand North Africa (NENA) division of theInternational Fund for AgriculturalDevelopment (IFAD) said that severalobstacles hinder the full exploitation of thepotential of HMAPs in reducing poverty andimproving the livelihoods of rural people inthe region: poor local technology;inadequate business and entrepreneurialskills and awareness on qualityrequirements; limited knowledge on theproperties of HMAPs beyond traditionalknowledge; and limited access tointellectual property rights.

Underscoring the need to analyse andfind means to address the obstacles,Bishay said that the most importanthandicap was the inability of the collectorsand growers of such plants to takeadvantage of potential markets, because oflack of access to resources; inadequateextension and training services; lack ofimproved technology and business skills;and insufficient marketing information andlocal organizational skills that could enablethem to take advantage of emergingmarket opportunities.

Dr Mahmoud Solh, Director-General ofICARDA, said it was regrettable thatindigenous knowledge on HMAPs was notbacked up with adequate use of moderntechnology, despite the fact that folkmedicine still serves 80 percent of theworld’s rural population. “The HMAP sectorfaces various challenges and constraints,such as overexploitation of naturallyoccurring species; fragmented approachesand projects that address only limitedaspects of selected HMAP value chains;lack of quality control standards of locallyproduced HMAPs and products; and poordistribution of benefits in value chains,”said Solh. “Our partners in nationalagricultural research and extension

systems possess rich knowledge onHMAPs and this gives us a greatopportunity to add valuable new crops toour joint knowledge of ecogeography andfarming systems in the NENA region,” saidSolh, elaborating ICARDA’s role in researchon HMAPs.

According to Solh, tremendous room forgrowth and export opportunities exists ifquality products are available that cancompete with other suppliers. New scienceand technology can be deployed tounderstand potential new uses forprocessing, transforming and adding valueto natural products – with the purpose ofgenerating income for poor farmers.(Source: Yemen Observer, 17 July 2007.)

Desarrollo y conservación de ipeca(Psychotria ipecacuanha) (Brotero) Stokesen Costa Rica La raicilla, nombre vernáculo en Costa Ricade la ipeca (Psychotria ipecacuanha) familiaRubiaceae, es una planta nativa de Américausada económicamente por la industriafarmacológica mundial. La distribuciónnatural se extiende desde la planicieoriental de Nicaragua pasa por el sur através de Centroamérica (Costa Rica yPanamá) y el norte de Sudamérica, hastaBrasil (Estado de Rondonia y Matto Grosso).

Constituye desde el siglo 20 el productoforestal no maderero (PFNM) de mayorimportancia económica de lasexportaciones de cultivos no tradicionalescon categoría de planta medicinal de CostaRica. Su cosecha comenzó a partir depoblaciones silvestres en la Región HuetarNorte, Costa Rica, a partir de la década de1950 y constituye el primer cultivocomercial implementado para coberturadel bosque.

La ipeca es una planta herbácea, con untallo semileñoso, delgado y retorcido, entre20 y 30 cm de largo. El rizoma es tuberoso yposee una envoltura áspera, de 0,5 a 1 cmde grosor y de 15 a 17 cm de longitud.

El producto comercial es la raíz, quedespués de su deshidratación presenta uncolor grisáceo, un particular olor a moho ytiene la característica de presentar anillosen su superficie. La importancia económicaen la industria farmacológica yhomeopática se debe a la presencia dealcaloides isoquinolínicos, como la emetina,cefaelina, psicotrina, éter metílico depsicotrina y emetamina, con usosmedicinales como emético paracontrarrestar la disentería amebiana, comoexpectorante. Las poblaciones silvestres

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varían ampliamente en el contenido dealcaloides totales, de acuerdo con la época;en Panamá, por ejemplo se registranresultados medios entre 1,657 y 3,536 porciento.

Las poblaciones cultivadas tienen laventaja de producir mayor cantidad dealcaloides y una biomasa de raíz seca enpromedio de 2,3 toneladas por hectárea.

En un estudio realizado por el CIPRONA(Centro de Investigación de ProductosNaturales) de la Universidad de Costa Ricasobre el contenido de alcaloides totales depoblaciones cultivadas mayores a 2 añosde cultivo por medio de estolones, selograron resultados en promedio de 2,65por ciento de alcaloides totales, con 1,92por ciento de emetina y 0,72 por ciento decefaelina.

El tiempo para ejecutar la cosecha de laipeca varía de 3 a 4 años, aumentando losrendimientos en biomasa y el contenido dealcaloides totales, en Costa Ricacomúnmente se cosecha entre 2,6 hasta 3años.

En estudio realizado por el CentroInternacional de Investigación Forestal(CIFOR) en el año 2000 sobre la situaciónde desarrollo de la ipeca como estudio decaso de un producto no maderero delbosque (PNMB) en Costa Rica se determinóla existencia de un área de 45 hectáreas decultivo y una cosecha potencial de 103toneladas de raíz seca, situación que enesa fecha mantenía precios bajos, 7dólares EE.UU. por kilo de raízdeshidratada, precio reportado en lasestadísticas nacionales, por lo tanto elprecio pagado al agricultor fue menor, loque determinó un desinterés por el cultivo.

Es importante resaltar la producción delaño 2000 y compararla con la producciónhistórica exportable de Costa Rica, unpromedio de 20 toneladas por año (1961 a1985), situación que se vio aumentada porel interés por parte de los agricultores yempresarios en el cultivo gracias a losincentivos gubernamentales para eldesarrollo de cultivos no tradicionales, loque provocó exportaciones entre 115 y 180toneladas entre 1989 y 1996 Esta situaciónprovocó anomalías y se descubrierondistorsiones por parte de las compañíasexportadoras en las cifras sobreexportaciones de la raíz de ipeca,provocando una fiscalización del sector yponiendo en duda la confiabilidad de lasestadísticas oficiales.

El hecho de un mercado contraído y debajos precios internacionales, condujo a la

reducción de las exportaciones del año2002 a 7 toneladas y el desinterés de losagricultores en el cultivo de la ipeca yfinalmente en el año 2006 se presenta unaausencia de materia prima en el mercadointernacional provocando un nuevo interéspor parte de las empresas importadoras delos países consumidores: Alemania,Francia, Austria, Bélgica, Estados Unidosde América, elevando el precio hasta 50dólares EE.UU. por kilo seco a nivel deagricultor.

En el 2007 no existen volúmenessuficientes de materia prima paraabastecer las necesidades del mercadointernacional. Esta situación conduce a queBougainvillea Extractos Naturalespromueva una iniciativa de desarrollo deproducción con agricultores de la RegiónHuetar Norte para incentivar el cultivo aprecios razonables, con un contrato derespaldo para producir extractos fluidospara el mercado internacional con elobjetivo de contribuir con la estabilidad deun mercado internacional que se hacaracterizado por precios inestables en eltiempo, provocando situaciones adversaspara el agricultor y por ende, para laindustria farmacológica.

La importancia de esta iniciativa eslograr contribuir a dar valor agregado anivel local, ya que los PFNM históricamentese han exportado como materia prima, porlo tanto lograr la estabilidad de un preciobase para el agricultor contribuirá a laconservación del bosque tropical húmedo,y dará seguridad en el abastecimiento delproducto de ipeca para la industriainternacional. (Aportación hecha por:Rafael A. Ocampo S., Bougainvillea S.A.Apartado Aéreo 764-3100. Santo Domingo,Heredia; correo electrónico:[email protected])

MORINGA OLEIFERA

Sunlight reduces the value of moringaleaves A recent research by Mbarara University ofScience and Technology has revealed thatthe proven potency of Moringa oleifera canbe lost during preparation. The leaves,which contain vitamins A and C, calcium,potassium and proteins, need properhandling for effective use. Ritah Namutebi,a student at the university, studied thepreservation of vitamin A which acts as ashield against eye and skin disease, heartailments and diarrhoea. She found that

much of the vitamin is lost in the way leavesare preserved.

While presenting a paper during theBiodiversity and Medicinal Plants JointConference at Makerere University recently,Namutebi said the study was undertaken toexplore an effective method and time ofpicking the leaves in order to maintain thehigh vitamin A quantities. During the study,leaves were picked at different times – in themorning, at midday and in the evening.Vitamin A quantities in each freshlyharvested sample were analysed to quantifylosses based on different picking times anddrying methods. The results revealed that theleaves dried in sunshine lost 35–60 percentand those in the shade, 11–15 percent.

Dr Raymond Tweheyo, a lecturer atMbarara University, said: “25 g daily ofMoringa oleifera leaf powder would give achild the recommended daily allowances ofvitamins A and C, calcium, iron, magnesium,proteins and potassium. We recommendpeople in developing countries grow it at thehousehold and community level.”

Duncan Sesaazi, also from MbararaUniversity, said that moringa can be aneffective supplement in the treatment ofHIV/AIDS. (Source: New Vision [Uganda], 5June 2007.)

Malunggay: a “miracle vegetable” takingcentre stage in the Philippines Malunggay, described as a “miraclevegetable”, is among the many nativeplants in the Philippines that can contributegreatly to human health, according to thecountry’s Bureau of Agricultural Research(BAR).

BAR disclosed recently that the MedicalCollege in Kolkota, India has discoveredthat among the many different medicinalherbs, malunggay, a green, leafy vegetablecontaining phytochemicals, plays animportant role in preventing thedevelopment of cancer cells as well as inthe treatment of female reproductivedisorders such as epithelial ovarian cancer.Research studies also indicate that

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malunggay is an effective treatment forovarian cancer because of a combination ofantitumour and hormonal properties thatcan be taken from its root bark extracts.

Malunggay also contains antioxidantsand can help prevent other chronicailments such as arthritis, kidney diseasesand heart complications. Moreover, it isrich in vitamins A, C and E and thus helpsto maintain good eyesight; facilitatesdigestion and bowel movement; cleanseswounds and ulcers; and cures stomachaches, scurvy, asthma, earache andheadaches.

Also known as the drumstick orhorseradish tree, malunggay is the mostwidely cultivated sample of the genusMoringa that can be grown almostanywhere using seeds and cuttings. TheDepartment of Agriculture revealed thatthree months after germination, the youngleaves can already be harvested, providingvitamins, niacin, iron, calcium and protein.

Given malunggay’s many health benefitsand the fact that it is helping farmers bybecoming their major source of incomesince it can be developed as an export cropunder their biotechnology programme, theDepartment of Agriculture and BAR havepledged to step up their campaign forproduction and planting of the vegetable.

Recent studies also indicate thatbecause of its nutritional value, theDepartment of Health is advocating Filipinofamilies, especially lactating mothers, toincrease their intake of malunggay leavesin their daily diets since it is an excellentsource of nourishment.

In a related move, to promote itsdevelopment, production and intakefurther, malunggay will be showcased atthe launching of BAR’s “Indigenous Plantsfor Health and Wellness Program” whichcoincides with the proclamation of NationalHealth and Wellness Month. (Source:Philippine Information Agency, 2 October2007.)

MYRICA GALE

Myrica gale as a beer ingredient Bog myrtle (Myrica gale) is a distinctiveshrubby plant that grows on wet, acidicheathland, bogs and moors in the north ofwestern Europe. One of the world’s leadingbrewers is to create a new beer using thisobscure Scottish moorland plant that wasonce used to flavour medieval beverages.In fact, Vikings and native Scots once drank

a brew made from this shrub, long beforethe Romans brought hops to Britain.

Now the Danish brewing giant Carlsbergis planning to use bog myrtle to flavour anew version of one its range of strong“bock” lagers. The firm has signed asupply deal with Scottish companyHighland Natural Products (HNP) in theUnited Kingdom, which has already beeninstrumental in bringing several bogmyrtle lines to the market. HNP’smanaging director said it was a “landmarkdeal” between a small Highland companyand a giant in the world of beverageproduction, and foresees huge benefits forthe Highland rural community in Scotland.He added that the contract could lead torepeat orders and possible interest byCarlsberg in some of the other flavours thecompany is producing.

Some microbreweries in Scotlandalready use bog myrtle as a chiefingredient in specialist beers. But beerexperts said the interest being shown byCarlsberg, which is the United Kingdom’sfourth-largest brewer, would give it amajor boost.

The use of bog myrtle as a major beeringredient died out more than 500 yearsago. Although used extensively asflavouring in Britain during the MiddleAges, it was gradually replaced by hops,which could be more easily grown onagricultural land closer to populationcentres.

Beer-making aside, it has had manyuses in the past, including as a medicinalproduct for wounds, stress and coughs, aswell as a midge repellent. Earlier this year,the high-street chemist Boots launched anew Botanics Sensitive Skin productincorporating bog myrtle after five years ofresearch and development. It sourced itsraw material from bog myrtle plantationsin the Highlands. (Source: The Scotsman,22 July 2007.)

NUTS

Managing the southwestern United Statesof America as a nut grove: the Pinyon-Juniper Ecosystem Management ProjectPinyon-juniper ecosystems cover 36 millionacres (approximately 14 568 683 ha)scattered across Colorado, New Mexico,Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Pinyon trees existin association with more than 1 000 speciesof plants, insects, birds and mammals, andperform important ecosystem services, suchas water and soil retention. For 10 000 years,human inhabitants in the Southwest alsorelied on pinyon trees, primarily forsustenance, shade, firewood and buildingmaterials. To this day, pinyon trees aresacred among the region’s indigenouscultures and pine nuts – the seeds of pinyontrees – are highly prized among NativeAmerican and Hispanic residents for theirflavour and nutritional value. Commerce inpine nuts is an old tradition in theSouthwest, dating back at least 1 000 years,and linking peoples of the Great Basin, theColorado Plateau and the Great Plains. Aslate as the 1930s, trading posts shippedmillions of pounds of pine nuts each yearfrom southwestern forests to markets inNew York City and Los Angeles.

Over the past 50 years, however, the flowof pine nuts from the Southwest’s forestshas dwindled to a trickle. Much of thisdecline is directly linked to a century ofunsustainable public land managementpolicies. For much of the twentieth century,rangeland ecologists treated pinyon trees asweeds and recommended convertingwooded savannahs in many parts of theSouthwest to grasslands stocked with non-native grasses. By the late 1980s, thecombination of wide-scale clearing, firesuppression and intense livestock grazinghad created landscapes dominated byabnormally dense thickets of small-diameter pinyon trees across much of theSouthwest. Prolonged drought during the1990s increased the susceptibility of theseforests to insects and disease, resulting inmassive die-offs of the trees over large partsof Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, andplacing the remaining live pinyon trees atextreme risk to wildfire. Despite the negativeecological impacts of previous pinyonremoval efforts, current efforts to restorepinyon-juniper ecosystems continue to relyon management techniques, such ashydromowing and chaining, thatindiscriminately remove all pinyon trees,rather than retaining healthy specimens.

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Land management approaches thatencourage the restoration of healthy pinyongroves instead of eliminating them arebadly needed. One promising alternative isto reverse current management prioritiesand manage pinyon-juniper ecosystemsprimarily for nut production, and only thenfor grazing, timber and mining. Such anapproach would benefit the land, water andwildlife; it would also decrease the risk ofcatastrophic wildfire and provide a reliablesupply of highly nutritious nuts, therebyincreasing the economic viability of thelocal pine-nut industry.

The notion of managing pinyon-juniperforests as nut groves is neither new norfar-fetched: humans have managed pineforests for nut production for thousands ofyears in the Mediterranean, and theindigenous peoples of the Southwestpractised a variety of managementtechniques to improve nut production,including selectively thinning unproductivetrees, clearing around the base of the treesand removing lower branches.

In 2007, with funding from the ColoradoWood Utilization and Marketing Program (acollaborative effort between the ColoradoState Forest Service, Colorado StateUniversity, the United States Forest Serviceand the Bureau of Land Management,Colorado State Office), the Institute forCulture and Ecology initiated a pilot projectaimed at building the capacity ofSouthwestern communities and landmanagement agencies to manage pinyon-juniper ecosystems as nut groves. In thisphase an interactive Web site(www.pinonnuts.org) is being establishedwhere harvesters, buyers, land managersand scientists can share information aboutpinyon nut crop locations and yields, permitprices and harvesting restrictions, pinyonnut prices and methods for improvingpinyon nut production. Penny Frazier,owner of Goods from the Woods and long-time advocate of sustainable managementof pinyon-juniper ecosystems, was theinspiration for the project and iscoordinating the development of the Website.

The Institute for Culture and Ecology hasproduced several educational toolshighlighting the many benefits of pinyontrees, including an overview of the pine nutindustry, guidelines for managing pinyon-juniper forests for nut production and ascientific poster on pinyon management.These materials are available at:www.ifcae.org/projects/pinyon/ and

www.pinonnuts.org/ (Contributed by:Rebecca McLain, Institute for Culture andEcology and Penny Frazier, owner, Goodsfrom the Woods.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Ms Rebecca McLain, Senior Policy Analyst,Institute for Culture and Ecology, PO Box 6688,Portland, Oregon 97228-6688, United States ofAmerica. E-mail: [email protected];www.ifcae.org; www.pinonnuts.org

Price of Brazil nuts plummets in Acre, BrazilThis year alone, the native Brazil nut grovesin the regions of Alto Acre, Baixo Acre andIaco/Purus, have produced over 10 000tonnes of Brazil nuts, according to optimisticforecasts in the extractivist sector. Despiteincreased production, the price per can ofBrazil nuts has plummeted on the regionalmarket, where it is currently R$14, when lastyear it was as high as R$17. (Source: O RioBranco, 2 August 2007.)

Maya nut (Brosimum alicastrum): an ancient food for a healthy futureMaya nut (Brosimum alicastrum) – orRamon, Ojoche, Masica, Ujuxte, Ojushte,Ojite, Ash, Ox, Capomo, Mojo and Breadnut –is a delicious, nutritious, abundant nut fromneotropical rain forest trees that provided astaple food for pre-Columbian huntergatherers. Maya nuts are exceptionallynutritious, providing high-quality protein,calcium, iron, folate, fibre and vitamins A, E,C and B.They are also one of the best nativeforage species and show great promise forproviding ecological alternatives to pasturefor cattle ranches in the neotropics.

In recent history, maya nuts have beencritical to rural food security; thousands ofvillages throughout Central America andMexico have survived drought and famineby eating them when no other food wasavailable. Unfortunately, knowledge aboutthe nuts has decreased as globalization,export crops and deforestation negativelyimpact indigenous cultures and the foreststhat sustain them. As a result of this loss ofindigenous knowledge, people cut mayanut trees for firewood and burn forests toplant maize, beans and other crops. Themaya nut tree is in danger of extinctionthroughout its range, a situation thatthreatens the food security of both humanand animal populations.

The Equilibrium Fund’s Maya NutProgram is working to rescue lost traditionalknowledge about the tree for food, fodderand ecosystem services. Since its inceptionin 2001, more than 7 000 women have beentrained from 312 communities in Honduras,Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador andMexico about the nutrition, processing,recipes, conservation and propagation ofBrosimum alicastrum seed. Thisprogramme has resulted in the conservationof more than 400 000 ha of maya nut forestsand the planting of more than 150 000 newseedlings.

The programme focuses on women asthe caretakers of the family and the

NORTHERN NUT GROWERSASSOCIATION, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The Northern Nut Growers Association,Inc. (NNGA) is a national non-profitorganization with membersthroughout the United States and 15other countries, founded in 1911 toshare information on growing nuttrees. Members include new nutculturists, farmers, amateur andcommercial nut growers, experimentstation workers, horticultural teachersand scientists, nut tree breeders,nursery people and foresters.

The most popular kinds of nut andfruit trees that NNGA members plantare walnut (Juglans), filbert (Corylus),pecan and hickory (Carya), chestnut(Castanea), oak (Quercus), pine nut(Pinus), paw paw (Asimina triloba) andpersimmon (Diospyros kaki and D.virginiana).

NNGA has been publishing articles,research papers, and monographs onnuts, nut-tree growth and culture since1910. Summaries of some of thesearticles and a listing of books that canbe borrowed can be found on theNNGA Web site.

For more information, please contact:

Mr Tucker Hill at [email protected] or visit

www.northernnutgrowers.org/



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grew well there,” he said, adding that thegovernment wants to develop the area withroads and water dams.

Techniques and seeds from China arebeing used to plant mulberry trees in ChomKiri district, Sun Kunthor said. Chineseexperts told him that the weather inCambodia is good for silkworm feeding andproducts can be harvested throughout theyear. “In Cambodia, we need to feed thesilkworms for 20 to 30 days before they canspin strings of silk, but in China it will needabout 45 days”, he quoted an expert assaying. “One hundred kg of silkwormcocoons can yield 20 to 22 kg of silk“, headded.

“We plan to establish the Association ofMulberry Tree Planters to protect thebenefits of our silk products,” he said.“When we expand our land for plantingmulberry trees to 800–1 000 ha, foreigninvestors will come here to set up a factoryto make silk for exporting.” “If we canproduce raw materials of silk in thecountry, local people will have jobs,” hesaid, adding that it will help promote higherliving standards, reduce poverty, stoplabour migration and increase nationalrevenues. (Source: People’s Daily Online[China], 23 July 2007.)

India’s Central Silk Board and its 10thfive-year planThe Central Silk Board (CSB), apex body ofthe Indian sericulture industry, has almostmet its targets in releasing new sericultureproducts during the 10th five-year plan.The CSB’s inventions were primarily aimedat improving productivity in a bid to reducesilk imports from China.

Of the total 297 research projectstargeted during the 10th plan period, theresearch institutes attached to the CSBhave completed 281 projects. Theremaining 16 projects will be completed

during the current 11th five-year plan. Asresearch mainly involves biologicalmaterials such as mulberry and the silkinsects, the results of the products cannotbe ascertained in the short term. Thebenefits of these products will be feltduring the 11th plan period.

However, some products have alreadystarted yielding results during field trials.To highlight a few, officials said mulberryleaf productivity has doubled to 60 tonnesper ha per year when compared to 30tonnes during the 9th plan period.

Cocoon productivity has also increasedto 60 kg per 100 dfls (disease-free layings)from 40 kg, pushing up the cocoonproduction to 698 kg per ha from 627.5 kg.Input cost per kg of cocoon produced hasbeen brought down to Rs75 from Rs100.

Primarily, raw silk production per ha hasincreased to 82.9 kg from 68.3 kg. The CSBhas also filed 40 technologies for patenting,of which 16 have been commercialized.

During the 10th plan, production variedbut has been steadily increasing, surging to17 305 tonnes in 2005/2006 and now in thefinancial year 2006/2007 it has reached 18 760 tonnes. Despite this productionincrease, India still imports around 8 000tonnes of silk from China.

With new inventions, the CSB hopes toincrease its production to match localdemand and thus reduce imports fromChina as much as possible during the 11thplan period, when the country will witnessthe benefits of newly invented sericultureproducts. (Source: Financial Express[India], 15 July 2007.)

Rwanda: turning the nation into a land of silkSamples of Rwanda’s silk have beenranked the best in India. With these positiveresults, planners are positioning thecountry to produce silk for both local andinternational markets. Peter Muvara,chairman of the silkworm project, saysreturns from silk are two times higher thanthat of coffee and three times that of tea.Having a local silk industry processingcocoons to silk yarn and finished fabricswould develop markets for other ruralproducts and Rwanda could be turned intoa land of silk.

The government has allocated aboutRF154 million for training 30 farmers fromthe four provinces in the country. They willbe trained in mulberry farming, silkwormrearing and weaving to ensure that theyproduce quality silk products.

environment, and addresses key factors forsustainable livelihoods – sociocultural,environmental and economic – by creatingleadership, educational and economicopportunities for women and girls. In thiscontext, we have facilitated the creation offive autonomous women’s producer groupswho produce Brosimum seed forconsumption and sale, and who train newcommunities to provide women with theskills and knowledge they can use to earnincome and produce food for their families.

Our anticipated accomplishmentsinclude:

• reforesting 50 percent of El Salvadorwith Brosimum alicastrum;

• creating at least three agroforestrydemonstration plots in Mexico forcattle ranching using Brosimum fodderin conjunction with pasture;

• creating and strengthening a women’sproducer group network to unify theproducer groups and reducecompetition, and improve supply,quality, and sustainability;

• expanding the programme to Haiti,Cuba, Jamaica and other parts of theCaribbean; and

• obtaining research funding to explorethe Brosimum genome.

(Source: Eco-Index Monthly Update,October 2007.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Erika Vohman, Project Director, Equilibrium Fund (TEF), PO Box 2371, Crested Butte, Colorado 81224, United States of America. E-mail: [email protected];http://theequilibriumfund.org/

SILK

Cambodia promotes mulberry treeplanting and silkworm feeding for silkproduction The Cambodian Government isencouraging farmers to expand mulberrytree planting and silkworm feeding underthe “one village for one product” policy toproduce silk to fulfil the demand indomestic and foreign markets, a seniorofficial said on Monday.

There are up to 20 ha of land to plantmulberry trees in Sre Cheing commune,Chom Kiri district in Kompot Province, SunKunthor, an adviser for the CambodianGovernment and secretary-general of thecommittee of “one village for one product”said. “I saw mulberry trees and silkworms

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Jointly run by farmers’ cooperatives andthe private sector with the Ministry ofDefence playing a leading role, about 600 000 ha of mulberry trees are to beplanted in three years, with at least 60 000families targeted to benefit. Each householdwill plant 0.1 ha. The Rwanda InvestmentGroup has already opened 20 ha of silkwormproduction in Rusizi-Western Province. Thegovernment has also interested UTEXRWA,a local textile company, in upgrading theirfactory to start processing silk products.

Some money has been invested in theInstitute of Science and AgriculturalResearch, to build up staff capacity insilkworm egg production. Five ha ofmulberry tree plantations have been openedat the Institute to kick-start silkworm eggproduction. The country has been importingeggs from the Republic of Korea, but thestakeholders in silkworm productioncomplain that they are expensive. To cutcosts and losses, eggs will be producedlocally in Rwanda. It is estimated that 1 ha ofland needs 20 boxes of silkworm eggs.

These worms feed on mulberry trees.Cuttings were imported from Uganda andplanted on 10 ha, at four sites in theNorthern, Southern, Eastern and WesternProvinces. To boost silk production, thegovernment plans to give out free mulberrycuttings; however, when the project takesoff, farmers will have to pay back for them.The farmers will also be trained in rearingand reeling silk for production. Thegovernment will install weaving facilities tobe managed by cooperatives.

If the project takes off fully, plannersbelieve that it will act as an incentive,triggering off economic growth andincreasing the balance of payments andforeign currency earnings.

Muvara is optimistic. He believes that thesilk industry is well suited for Rwandabecause of the excellent agroclimaticconditions that favour silk productionthroughout the year. He cited somecountries that are not competitive in silkproduction, some of them producing as littleas 600 kg, while Rwanda can produce twiceas much.

Rwanda has the opportunity to exploit thesilk market through the African GrowthOpportunity Act because world supply iscurrently about 45 percent. When thecountry goes to full production, about 19 000tonnes of cocoons worth $64 million will beproduced on the 10 000 ha of land plannedto be opened for silk production. (Source:New Times [Kigali], 9 July 2007.)

SPICES

Allspice: the flavour of MexicoAllspice is similar to Asia’s “black pepper”but with a sweeter, more aromatic flavourand smell. Sourced from the pepper tree(Pimenta dioica), the flavour comes from thedried, ground fruits, which first appear assmall strongly scented green berries. Inaddition to the ground seasoning, essentialoil is also extracted from the dried berriesfor use in the medicinal, cosmetic and foodindustries.

The pepper tree grows in several CentralAmerican countries and in Mexico, where itshistory of use dates back long before thearrival of the Spanish. Known in Mexico aspimienta gorda, the pepper tree hashistorically given both the Old and the NewWorld the tremendous gift of flavour. In pre-Hispanic times, indigenous people in Mexicoused the berries, which they calledxocoxóchitl, to season their food, and as aningredient in traditional medicine. TheSpanish colonists quickly adopted the localseasoning and used it in their cooking aswell, mixing native condiments, cultivars andfruits with produce from plant varieties fromtheir homeland. They called the local peppermalagueta or tabasco pepper, and it went onto become one of the main commercialproducts in the new Spanish colony.

During the seventeenth century, the smallgreen berries were commercialized aroundthe world by Dutch and Englishentrepreneurs. Since the nineteenth century,the states of Veracruz, Chiapas and Tabascohave been the main allspice producers,joined in more recent times by the states ofOaxaca, Campeche and Puebla. Demand forthe dried berries and essential oil iscontinuing to grow. Between 1990 and 2000,the total Mexican production of allspiceincreased from 868 to 4 980 tonnes. Most ofthe production is exported, with only 2.2percent being consumed in Mexico. Themajority goes to South America, the UnitedStates of America, Europe and the MiddleEast. In 2000 the total export value wasUS$12 million.

Pepper trees that grow to a height of 20 mare native to tropical forests in Mexico,Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Jamaica.They are becoming scarce in the east Mexicanforests of the Sierra Norte region as risinghuman populations have led to forestsincreasingly being cleared for agriculture andcattle ranching. However, escalatinginternational demand for the seasoning hasbeen a catalyst for the cultivation of peppertrees in and around this region and over thepast two decades the number of the trees hasincreased twofold.

Pepper trees can be found mainly withinthe shade-grown coffee plantations of theSierra Norte de Puebla, along with othervaluable tropical trees, such as mamey,banana, orange, mandarin, cedar, mahoganyand jonote trees (which are used for makingbark paper). In the municipality ofTuzamapan, each hectare of coffee plantationcontains about 70 to 100 productive peppertrees, which produce up to 120 kg of greenfruit. Each kilogram sells for around US$2.2.The pepper trees are valued not just formonetary reasons, but because they also helpto improve the soil, with the falling leavesforming a protective layer against erosion inmountainous terrain such as that of theSierra Norte de Puebla.

Within the coffee plantations, a commonpractice is to prune the branches of nearbytrees in order to promote the yield of thepepper trees. In addition to shade-growncoffee plantations, pepper trees are cultivatedin orchards, milpas (maize plots) andpotreros on small cattle ranches. Farmersalso protect the natural regeneration ofpepper trees in areas where they are notactively cultivated. When clearing weeds andgrasses with machetes, the farmers try not tocut the small pepper seedlings. Somefarmers even protect the seedlings withfences or replant them within their coffeeplantations. Others establish small nurseries.

Men harvest the pepper berries from Mayto August – harvesting up to 25 kg a day. Whenthe harvesters return home, the women andchildren pick the little green berries off thesmall branches. They spread the berries outover flat, cement surfaces or on bed rolls todry in the sun. An important stage in thedrying process involves making the berries“sweat” – there needs to be just the right levelof moisture content (or sudado) in the driedallspice. The first day in the sun ensures thatthe allspice acquires its characteristic scentand black colour, but it takes four to five daysbefore the fruit is dried properly. Alternatively,the berries can be processed more rapidly in

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only nine hours in an electric dryer. Grainsieves are then used to remove damaged fruitand sort the remaining berries by size.The allspice market. At the beginning of the1970s, itinerant traders would visit the regionto buy allspice and then move on to hawk it inother towns and cities, such as Cuetzalán orVeracruz. More recently, local farmers haveorganized themselves into associations ofallspice producers, taking more responsibilityfor production as well as sales. With thesupport of the state, these small cooperativeshave begun to export their produce throughintermediaries.

The harvesting and processing of allspicerepresent an important economic activity formany families in the Sierra Norte de Puebla.In recent years this activity has come to therescue of coffee growers, following the fall ininternational coffee prices. Indeed, allspicehas become a more important source ofincome than coffee. For example, inTuzamapan, in the Sierra Norte de Puebla,where about 56 percent of the villagers areengaged in producing allspice, 17 percent oftheir overall income is derived from allspice,with 11 percent from coffee.

Although the prices of these internationalproducts are subject to instability andfluctuations, the two products continue to beimportant for the livelihoods of many ruralhouseholds. The diversity of crops offerssome protection against economicuncertainty or changes that can affect oneparticular crop, such as coffee in thisinstance. Local people benefit greatly fromthe pepper trees, which provide a directsource of income, as seasoning for domesticuse, medicinal leaves and shade for coffeeplants. The plantations also provide valuableresources such as fruits, fuelwood, medicinalplants and herbs, highlighting the benefits ofmultiuse plantings. (Source: Case study onallspice, pepper seasoning by Miguel AngelMartínez Alfaro, Virginia Evangelista Oliva,Myrna Mendoza Cruz, Cristina Mapes andFrancisco Basurto Peña [in Riches of theforest: fruits, remedies and handicrafts inLatin America, eds C. López, P. Shanley andA.C. Fantini].)

Sri Lanka: spice industry needs duty rebatesto encourage exporters Sri Lanka has exported spices worth US$30.5million and these spices, particularly becauseof their original flavour, are in heavy demandon the global market, said the Director ofSeven Seas Commodities, V.P. Rajan.

From time immemorial Sri Lanka hasbeen popular in the spice industry globally

done with the help of a large company, whichis where Frutarom comes in. The flavour andfood additive company has grown in the lastten to15 years from US$10 million a year to aprojected $350 million by the end of 2007.(Source: World Poultry Net, 8 August 2007.)

TRUFFLES

Giant field of rare black truffles in Poland An enormous field of black truffles has beendiscovered by mushroom researchers fromthe University of Lódz. The truffles aregrowing over a large area in the vicinity of thesouthern city of Czestochowa, making this thefarthest reach of the mushroom innortheastern Europe and the only point of itsappearance in Poland. A kilogram of truffles,considered a delicacy and an aphrodisiac bysome, can sell at around €3 600.

According to the researchers from LódzUniversity, Polish black truffles are just asaromatic as truffles from Burgundy. In Polandtruffles are a protected species, so thelocation of the rare Polish truffle field is beingkept a scientific secret. (Source: Polish RadioExternal Service, 14 August 2007.)

Summer rain boosts United Kingdom truffleharvest Farmers across the United Kingdom havebeen counting the cost of the summer’sdevastating floods but one corner of theindustry has received an unexpected boostfrom the heavy rainfall. Hunters and farmersof truffles have reported a huge increase inthe number and quality of the fungi growingon roots of trees and the trend will continueas the main harvest gets under waythroughout August.

Although France and Italy are generallyregarded to be the world leaders in the trufflemarket, some species found in the UnitedKingdom can be eaten and can fetch a highprice on the international market.

The heavy rainfall during June and July hasparticularly benefited the summer truffle (theonly variant grown that is eaten), a caramel-coloured species with white veins that has anutty and sometimes gritty consistency andcan fetch up to £300/lb (0.5 kg).

One entrepreneur set to benefit is thebiologist Dr Paul Thomas whose business,Plantation Systems, has pioneered a way ofcultivating summer truffles in the UnitedKingdom. Dr Thomas used his expertise asa biologist to find a way of impregnating theroots of trees with truffle fungus in thelaboratory and then transferring the

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and this cultivation needs to be developed tomeet the demand, he said. “We exported $30million of pepper and $0.5 million ofcinnamon last year. Our company mainlyexports pepper, cinnamon, oil seeds andmace from the nutmeg fruit. “We shouldimprove our productivity of cinnamongradually. Mostly South and Central Americancountries consume Sri Lankan cinnamon.”“Since the demand for Sri Lankan cinnamonis very high, the produce could be sold atattractive prices,” Rajan said. He added thatthis year cinnamon production was lessbecause of the heavy rains and floods.

Rajan said that the tariff rebate to whichexporters are entitled had been reduced andthe government should reinstate the earlierrebate rate to encourage them. (Source:Ceylon Daily News [Sri Lanka], 8 June 2007.)

Cinnamon helps fight against bird flu Tel Aviv University technology transfercompany Ramot has signed an agreementwith Frutarom, a multinational neutraceuticalcompany based in Israel, for applying atechnology using a cinnamon extract in awhole host of applications from disinfectingthe air as a spray against avian flu in airports,to a daily supplement that protects peopleagainst common flu. The discovery was madeby Prof. Michael Ovadia, of Tel AvivUniversity’s Department of Zoology.

Ovadia’s initial experiments proved to betrue – his savoury cinnamon extract wasquickly and efficiently able to immunizechicken embryos from the Newcastle diseasevirus, which costs the poultry industry in theUnited States of America alone millions ofdollars a year. Apparently further studies onavian influenza H9, sendal virus and herpessimplex 1 also achieved positive results. “Notonly was the extract able to neutralize theviruses, but it also showed for selectedviruses that it has the potential to immunizeagainst them as well.”

Besides human applications, Prof. Ovadiasees that cinnamon fills an important niche inthe agricultural industry where chicks need tobe immunized by hand against the deadlyNewcastle disease virus. Applying hisresearch on the global scale could only be



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saplings on to one of four plantationsacross the country.

The expected bumper harvest will beparticularly welcome to the small number oftruffle farmers who are hoping that chefs andthe wider public will be interested in buyinglocal truffles rather than more expensiveforeign variants. (Source: The Independent, 6August 2007.)

WILDLIFE

Global and EU wildlife trade values The value of legal global international wildlifetrade, including non-CITES (Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered Species ofWild Fauna and Flora) species and based ondeclared import values in 2005, isconservatively estimated to be about €249billion per year, with timber and fisheriesaccounting for about 90 percent of this value.As a comparison, the United NationsStatistics Division records the declaredimport value of the global trade in coffee, teaand spices in 2005 at about €14 billion; whiledomestic sales of medicinal plants in Chinawas valued at around €19 billion in 2002, andhas increased by 8 percent a year since 1994.

The Table provides an estimate of theglobal value of international wildlife trade,and an estimate of these values specificallyfor the EU. Wildlife traded at the national level

or within the EU is not included in theseestimates, but can represent significantvalue. Moreover, these estimates include onlycertain categories of commodities and do notinclude the value of the illegal trade in wildlife

products. Consequently, the table is far froma complete representation of the value ofwildlife trade either globally or in the EU;however it serves as an indication of its scale.(Source: Opportunity or threat. The role of theEuropean Union in the global wildlife trade,by Engler, M. and Parry-Jones, R.A. TRAFFICEurope Report. 2007.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THEAUTHORS: Maylynn Engler and R.A. Parry-Jones,TRAFFIC International, 219 Huntingdon Road,Cambridge CB3 0DL, United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected];www.traffic.org/content/905.pdf

Wildlife trade and biodiversity loss A number of factors including habitat loss andclimate change contribute to globalbiodiversity loss. However, wildlife trade canbe an equally significant threat to the survivalof certain species, such as the tiger formedicine and skins, and the Tibetan antelopefor its wool.

The 2006 International Union forConservation of Nature and NaturalResources (IUCN) Red List of ThreatenedSpecies records a significant increase in thenumber of animals and plants in the CriticallyEndangered, Endangered and Vulnerablecategories between 1996 and 2006.The highvalue of wildlife trade can increase threats tobiodiversity by acting as a financial incentivefor people to trade in wildlife products evenwhen the trade is not sustainable. Forinstance, in six United Kingdom wildlife tradeprosecutions that occurred between 1996 and2002, the value of the wildlife productsconcerned totalled £4 058 000 (over €6million). These cases involved commoditiesfrom highly endangered species, such asrhinoceros horns, shahtoosh shawls andcertain parrots and birds of prey.

Because of the environmental, economicand social impacts of wildlife trade,regulation is necessary to ensure sustainableresource use and to avoid the depletion ofnatural capital and biodiversity loss. (Source:Opportunity or threat. The role of theEuropean Union in global wildlife trade. ATRAFFIC Europe Report, 2007, by Engler, M.and Parry-Jones, R.

The price of a wild trade Proteins obtained from hunting wild animalsare crucial for the survival of many forest-dependent people of the Congo Basin. InGabon, the overall annual bushmeat tradehas been valued at US$25 million (€18.5

TRADE IN REPTILES

In 2005, the EuropeanUnion (EU) was thetop global importer by value of livereptiles (€7 million) for the pet trade,and reptile skins (€100 million) forproducts such as handbags and shoes.Imports into the EU have beensuspended from countries where thereare concerns about the sustainability ofthe trade. However, import suspensionsdo not automatically addressconservation concerns. For example, tenyears after imports from Indonesia weresuspended for certain species ofIndonesian monitor lizards, originalconcerns remain unaddressed. A strategicEU action plan for external assistanceshould be developed, to enable prioritiesto be identified and addressed incollaboration with states in order toensure wildlife trade is sustainable.

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Commodity Estimated global value (€) Estimated EU value (€)

Live animalsPrimates 75 million 15 millionCage birds 38 million 7 millionBirds of prey 5 million 0.2 millionReptiles, including snakes and turtles 31 million 7 millionOrnamental fish 257 million 89 millionAnimal products for clothing/ornamentalMammal furs and fur products 4 billion 494 millionReptile skins 255 million 100 millionOrnamental corals and shells 85 million 15 millionNatural pearls 57 million 12 millionAnimal products for food (excluding fish)Game meat 365 million 126 millionFrogs legs 40 million 16 millionEdible snails 60 million 19 millionPlant productsMedicinal plants * 1 billion 324 millionOrnamental plants 11 billion 1.2 billionSubtotal(excluding fisheries food products and timber) 17.2 billion 2.5 billionFisheries food products (excluding aquaculture) 68.6 billion 26 billion**Timber 154 billion 64 billion

TOTAL 239.5 billion *** 93 billion

Estimate of global and EU wildlife trade values, 2005

* Estimate from 2004. ** Estimate for all European countries. *** Does not include global estimate for NWFPsof €9.5 billion (FAO estimate, 1995).



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afield. Food stalls in the market openlyadvertise dishes of pangolin or black bear.

Most of the specimens come fromMyanmar’s still vast tracts of virgin forest,wildlife experts believe.

The exotic animal black market is worthbillions of pounds a year – exceeded in valueonly by the illegal trade in arms and drugs,experts believe. The 100 000 yuan (Â£6 500)price tag on a tiger skin stretched across thewall of one shop in Mong La shows whatcross-border police efforts such as SoutheastAsia’s Wildlife Enforcement Network,launched in 2005, are up against.

The Chinese Government has stepped upefforts in recent years to stamp out thedomestic wildlife trade and educate peopleabout the environmental perils of strippingforests of their native flora and fauna.However, the appetite for exotica remainsand, partly as a result of the crackdown, thetrade has intensified beyond China’s borders.(Source: Environmental News Network[ENN] News, 7 September 2007.) �

million). In West and Central Africa, estimatesof the national value of the bushmeat traderange from US$42 to $205 million (€31–151million) per year. The current harvest inCentral Africa alone may well be in excess of2 million tonnes annually, the equivalent ofover 1.3 billion chickens or 2.5 million cows.

If current levels of hunting persist,bushmeat protein supplies will falldramatically in Central Africa in less than50 years. However, if bushmeat harvestsare reduced to a supposedly sustainablelevel, all countries will be seriouslyaffected by the immediate loss of wildprotein supply. Most Central Africancountries do not produce sufficientamounts of non-bushmeat protein to feedtheir populations. There is a clear dilemmahere. (Source: extracted from an article byRobert Nasi in Spore 130, August 2007.)

Asia’s exotic animal black market Two of the world’s most beautiful creatureshave been found stuffed into a fridge in Hanoi

– a rare insight into the lucrative trade inendangered animals across Southeast Asiathat makes a mockery of internationalconservation treaties.

Vietnamese police this week found the twofrozen tigers in an apartment, along with twosoup kettles filled with animal bones in anoutdoor kitchen. A 40-year-old womanconfessed to police that she had hired threeexperts to cook tiger bones to maketraditional medicines that she sold for aboutÂ£400 per 100 g. “The tigers could have beenbought in Myanmar or the Lao People’sDemocratic Republic and transported back toViet Nam by ambulances or hidden incoffins,” said Vuong Tri Hoa, a forest ranger.

And there is the problem: while moredeveloped countries in Southeast Asia, suchas China and Viet Nam, have taken strongsteps to stamp out the illegal hunting ofendangered animals, impoverished statessuch as the Lao People’s Democratic Republicand Myanmar either will not or cannot.

Demand for exotic animals acrossSoutheast Asia remains high – newly affluentChinese prove excellent customers. Three ofthe world’s nine tiger subspecies becameextinct in the last century, and manyscientists believe a fourth, the South Chinatiger, is already “functionally extinct”.

Poached from forests and sold to tradersfor as little as Â£5, almost every part of Asia’sbiggest big cat has commercial value. Skinsare sold as rugs and cloaks on the blackmarket, where a single skin can fetch asmuch as Â£10 000. Tiger meat is marketed asgiving “strength”, and bones are ground intopowders or immersed in vats of wine to makecurative “tiger-bone wine” tonics for thetraditional Chinese medicine market.

If the market of Mong La – a town inMyanmar on the Chinese border – is anythingto go by, the remaining wild elephants, tigersand bears in the country’s forests are beinghunted down slowly and sold to China. Themarket offers a grisly array of animal parts,as well as many live specimens, to thehundreds of Chinese tourists who flockacross the porous border each day. Bearpaws and gall bladders, elephant tusks andchunks of hide, tiger and leopard skins, aswell as big-cat teeth and deer horn are allopenly on display next to crudely weldedcages of live macaques, cobras, star tortoisesand pangolins. The live creatures, some ofthem on the IUCN World ConservationUnion’s “Red List” of critically endangeredspecies, are destined for the cooking pots ofexotic animal restaurants in China’sneighbouring Yunnan Province, or further

ILLEGAL WILDLIFE ITEMS SEIZED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The top ten illegal wildlife crime itemsas seized by customs officials in theUnited Kingdom between 2006 and2007 were the following.1. Traditional Chinese medicine

(containing products fromendangered species including tiger,rhinoceros, seahorse, deer musk)

2. Snake and lizard products 3. Alligator/crocodile products 4. Plants (including orchids, cycads and

cacti)5. Live reptiles (including snakes, lizards,

chameleons, iguanas, tortoises andterrapins)

6. Caviar (amounts over 250 g)7. Coral 8. Elephant ivory and skin products 9. Queen conch shells

10. Animal skin products or stuffed animals (Source: WWF News, 16 October 2007.)

WILDLIFE IN AFRICA

Wildlife is undoubtedly a very importantnatural resource of Africa, withconsiderable potential for contributingto rural development throughemployment and income from tourism,and as a source of food, especiallybushmeat. Establishment of protectedareas – especially national parks andsanctuaries – has been an importantapproach to conservation. Game viewingand trophy hunting have proved to bemajor attractions for tourism in somecountries, contributing significantly toincreased export earnings. (Source:Companion Document. ComprehensiveAfrica Agriculture DevelopmentProgramme. Integrating livestock,forestry and fisheries subsectors into theCAADP. The new partnership for Africa’sdevelopment [NEPAD]/ FAO.)

The little unremembered acts ofkindness and love are the best parts ofa person’s life.

William Wordsworth

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


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AFGHANISTAN

A land of non-wood forest products Afghanistan is an exquisitely beautifulcountry comprised of mountains, scatteredforests and lakes, located in the HinduKush mountain range and over 500 kmfrom the nearest ocean. It has acontinental climate: summers are warmeverywhere except on the highest peaks,while winters can be extremely cold withconsiderable snowfall at high altitudes; atlower elevations, winters are milder andthe climate is that of the desert or semi-desert.

The country is divided into 34 provinces,with Kabul as the largest city andadministrative capital. Agriculture hastraditionally been the basis of theeconomy, the main crops being wheat, fruitand vegetables, maize, barley, cotton,sugar beet and sugar cane. The rearing oflivestock, mainly sheep, cattle and goats, isalso important, and is the principal activitythroughout the desert and semi-desertareas. The little industrial activityconcentrates on food processing, textiles,leather goods and furniture. Since 1979,most sectors of the economy have beenbadly affected by almost continuous civilwarfare. Eighty percent of the country’spopulation relies directly on the naturalresources to meet their daily needs. Out ofits total land area, only 12 percent (7.9million ha) is arable and 4 percentirrigated. An additional 46 percent is underpermanent pastures and 3 percent underforest cover. The remaining percentage ismountainous.

Afghanistan has a multitude of NWFPs,which could contribute substantially to thenational economy. The country can bedivided into five geographic regionsaccording to their NWFP suitability, asshown in the Table on p. 42.

Potential Ongoing activities of government Activities neededNWFPs and non-government agencies

Fruit and The World Bank’s Poverty and Health Production of quality fruit andtimber Development Profile (PHDP) and the Ministry timber seedlings for bettertrees of Agriculture, United States Agency for utilization as food, fuelwood,

International Development (USAID), German fodder, wood, etc. for localTechnical Cooperation (GTZ) and the Bangladesh consumption and to reduceRural Advancement Committee (BRAC) are forest depletionimplementing a project for quality seedling production with community people, local entrepreneurs and farmers’ associations

Medicinal No detailed information on medicinal plants Explore medicinal plant plants was found but rural people are using herbal potential throughout the country

medicines at large and vendors of herbal as the rural population is medicines exist throughout the country dependent on herbal medicines

Dried Local entrepreneurs produce export quality dried Best-quality fruit fruits figs, black and green raisins, dried apricots production and processingand nuts and pistachios in different parts of the country of dried fruits and nuts

for local consumption and export to the Islamic could constitute importantRepublic of Iran and neighbouring countries export-oriented NWFPs

Saffron Local entrepreneurs produce saffron in some Best-quality saffron productionparts of the country. Major growing areas are the could become an alternativeIslamic Republic of Iran and Kashmir; current livelihood approach toprice/kg of good-quality saffron is US$200 opium cultivation

Apiculture FAO has conducted several exploratory Develop apiculture through assessments for apiculture as a means of research and support of thepotential income-generating activities (IGAs) Ministry of Agriculture and donorfor the landless, disadvantaged and rural poor and development agencies

Sericulture The Ministry of Agriculture has conducted Sericulture could be a majorseveral initiatives to establish this potential income generation for rural industry through research and assessments populations since mulberryin coordination with FAO trees are largely available

throughout the country

Mushrooms USAID-funded projects have initially been carried Mushrooms could be anout in the eastern part of the country, involving export-oriented industry inthe rural population as a potential IGA activity rural areas

Oil crops The Ministry of Agriculture and FAO have Oil crop production, processing (olives, conducted experiments and projects for the to oil and preparation for localalmonds, production of oil crop development; local consumption and exportsunflowers, entrepreneurs and farmers cultivate these cotton, crops but most of the production goes to mustard, etc.) neighbouring countries for processing

Juices and Local entrepreneurs process juice for local Quality juice production frompreserves markets. Export to international markets could abundant fruits and its processingfrom orchard be organized since quality fruits are available could be of high demand on localfruits throughout the country and international markets

Karakul USAID-funded programme includes research Improved production level and to improve the sector; 75 000 lamb pelts are quality of Karakul sheep are

exported per year from Afghanistan at varying needed, with an increase inprices – a very good-quality lamb pelt costs Karakul sheep herders and alsoUS$45 on the EU market in export volume

Wool USAID-funded programme includes research Improved production level andto improve the sector; at present wool is sent quality improvement of Afghan

to Pakistan where carpets are prepared and wool are needed, with an exported as Pakistani carpets. Yearly turnover increase in sheep herders and of Afghan carpet industry is estimated to be also in export volumeUS$290–325 million

Tourism National entrepreneurs are eager to vitalize Exploration of tourism industry, tourism. Afghan Logistics and Tours have already assessment of national begun and, if the security situation economic development from improves, this sector could be of major tourism sectorearning importance to the national economy

NWFPs: present and future activities

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such as an infusion of plantain leaves androots, considered cold, are prescribed toheal sickness caused by cold influences,e.g. respiratory diseases and summerheadaches.

Herbs highly popular among Afghanhealers include the daraona (eyeinflammation), water lily and Zizyphusvulgaris fruits (heart arrhythmia),Plantago ovata (headaches), Capparisspinosa, Condonopsis clematidea andRumex nepalensis (indigestion), Cannabisindica, aloe and Citrullus colocynthis(laxative). An infusion of Rubia tinctorumleaves is used to increase female fertility.Berberis lycium and mirhinz (Hippophaerhamnoides) are renowned panaceas. Thelatter is traded and exported, since it ishighly sought after by traditional healersand the drug industry, especially in China.(Source: a translated extract fromBrandolini, G.V. 2005. Medicinetradizionali. Bergamo, Italy, CRF Press.)(Contributed by: G.V. Brandolini, OrizzonteTerra, via Mazzini 30, I-24 128 Bergamo,Italy. Tel./fax (+39) 035 21 91 42; e-mail:[email protected])

ARMENIA

Armenia Tree Project receives US$100 000grant to partner with Yale University A new partnership between the ArmeniaTree Project (ATP), Yale University’s GlobalInstitute of Sustainable Forestry andConservation International will bringinternational “best practices” of sustainableforestry to Armenia. The joint venture,“Evaluation and Implementation ofSustainable Forestry Models in NorthernArmenia,” involves conducting a state-of-the-art analysis of the forest ecosystems inthe Lori region with the aim of producingthe first sustainable forestry trainingmanual tailored to the specific needs ofArmenia.

The goals of the project are to evaluatethe condition of the forests in northernArmenia, paying particular attention to the

Years ago, Afghan NWFPs – especiallyfruits and nuts – were world famous;however, because of the country’s situationof unrest over the last 25 years, this tradehas been mostly abolished. In addition,during this long period the growinggrounds of these products have beendestroyed. The remaining resources areused by local people who rely on theirtraditional knowledge in the collection,processing and consumption of theirvaluable NWFPs.

NWFPs, which could play a vital role inthe economy of Afghanistan, need toreceive intensive attention and increasedimportance from the Government anddevelopment agencies working in thecountry. A multitude of NWFPs could beexported. The successful development ofthese products could have a profoundimpact on Afghan farmers, the economyand their international marketability. Bybeing involved in NWFP cultivation andmanagement, Afghan farmers could findan alternative livelihood to divert themeventually from illegal opium cultivation.

In order to achieve national economicobjectives the potential NWFP sector mustbe transformed in the best way as soon aspossible. (Contributed by: MohammadMuktadir Hossain, Sector Specialist(Forestry), Agriculture DevelopmentProgramme, BRAC Afghanistan, House 45,Lane 4, Baharistan, Kabul, Afghanistan.

Fax: 00 93 798 125 100; e-mail:[email protected]; www.bracafg.org)

Medicinal herbs, an asset for localmedicine and the export tradeHerbs are a key resource for mostAfghans, both as domestic drugs and astraditional healers’ remedies. Medicinalplants are also harvested, dried andexported. A flourishing trade existstowards Tibet and India. Herb shops areoften run by herbalists of Hindu or Sikhdescent, called pansar.

In Afghanistan, Ayurveda conceptionsare combined with Arabic influences. Thus,the diagnosis and therapeutic principles ofAfghan herbalists are often ascribed to thefour elements: heat, cold, moisture anddryness (air, earth, fire and water).

Home care is the first resort in illness.Where this fails, the family of the patientasks for the advice and help of a spiritualleader (mullah) or exorcist (jenkash). Anaromatic seed called asfand (Peganumharmala) can be burned, in order to purifyhomes and persons from the evil eye.Afterwards, or as an alternative to thisspiritual intervention, a healer (hakim inDari or tabib in Arabic) prescribes theappropriate drugs and gives dieteticadvice.

Food and drugs with opposite humourssuch as cold and hot, are used to re-establish body balance. Bitter concoctions

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Capparis spinosa

Region Province covered Potential NWFPs

East Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar, Laghman Oil cropsApiculture and sericultureSkins/hides/leatherDried fruits and nutsWool and carpets

West Hirat, Farah, Badghis, Ghor SaffronCashmereDried fruits and nuts

Central Kabul, Kapisa, Parwan, Logar, Skin/hides/leatherBamyan, Daykundi Juices and preserves

Orchard fruit (juicing)Dried fruits and nuts

North Balkh, Faryab, Saripul, Jawzjan, Samangan, Orchard fruit (juicing)and northeast Badakhshan, Takhar, Baghlan, Kunduz Weaving and embroidery

KarakulWool and cashmereTourismDried fruits and nuts

South Kandahar, Paktika, Paktya, Ghazni, Khost, Orchard fruits/dried fruitsand southwest Zabul, Uruzgan, Helmand, Nimroz Forestry

Red meat/casingSkins/hides/leatherCarpets

NWFP potential in different regions of Afghanistan



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factors that are limiting the ability forregeneration. An assessment will be madeof plants, herbs and other NTFPs that maybe sustainably harvested for generatingalternative income for residents living inclose proximity to the forests. Training onrotational grazing will be held withlivestock owners to prevent soil erosionand further degradation of forests.

This two-year $100 000 project is beingfunded by the Critical EcosystemPartnership Fund.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Armenia Tree Project, 65 Main Street,Watertown, MA 02472, United States ofAmerica. E-mail: [email protected];www.armeniatree.org

AUSTRALIA

Double gain for tea tree oil industry A nine-year breeding programme hasresulted in a new “breed” of tea tree thatcould increase the Australian industry’scompetitiveness by dramaticallyincreasing production volumes of high-quality tea tree oil.

Tea tree oil is a significant part ofAustralia’s essential oil industry – it isincorporated into many personal care andhousehold products and is also used in avariety of agriculture and veterinaryapplications. The Australian industry isslowly recovering from several years ofdecline when the prices of this oil fell belowthe cost of production for many producers.Recent increases in demand and higherprices have seen renewed interest ingrowing the tea tree. Other challenges facethe industry, however, such as the threat ofincreasing overseas competition.

The breeding programme forms part ofan industry strategy developed by Ensisscientist, Dr John Doran. He says that ifAustralian producers are to maintain theircommercial viability, they need to giveserious consideration to replanting with thebest material the breeding programme canprovide. “The improved seed will be able toproduce plants that are capable ofproducing 270 kg of oil/ha from paddocksthat would otherwise yield 148 kg/ha, ifestablished with unimproved seed,” he says.

The principal source of oil is Melaleucaalternifolia, a medium-sized tree from thecoastal plains of New South Wales.(Source: North Queensland Register[Australia], 10 July 2007.)

TFS sandalwood Tropical Forestry Services (TFS) is theworld’s leading sustainable and sociallyresponsible producer and manager of Indiansandalwood (Santalum album) with over 1 100 ha established in Kununurra, WesternAustralia’s tropical Kimberley region.

Since 1999 TFS has planted, andcontinues to plant, the prized Indiansandalwood using seeds originally sourcedfrom India. Expert foresters have concludedthat these trees will be suitable forharvesting at age 13 to 15 years based oncurrent rates of heartwood formation. TFSplans to become vertically integrated,consistently to supply large quantities ofhigh-quality plantation-grown Indiansandalwood oil, cultivated and produced inan environmentally friendly and ethical way.

The latest Baz Luhrmann film Australia,starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman,is currently being filmed on the beautifulKingston Rest property purchased by TFSlate last year. TFS believes that this uniquelybeautiful property represents the future ofIndian sandalwood, allowing the company toexpand on its existing 1 100 ha. As part ofthis acquisition, TFS has committed toexpanding its existing training andemployment opportunities for indigenousAustralians. About half of the Kimberleypopulation is of Aboriginal descent. TFS iscommitted to providing employmentopportunities to ensure that at least half ofits Kingston Rest staff is indigenous by 2016.By working with the Kimberley communityand environment we believe we can help toensure shared long-term benefits for thecommunity, the environment and TFS.

TFS has donated the profits from filmingto the Clontarf Foundation, a programmeaimed at encouraging education, goodhealth and relationship-building among theregion’s indigenous children. (Contributedby: Danae Christensen, Research Officer,

Tropical Forestry Services Limited, PO Box3068, East St George’s Terrace, Perth WA6832, Australia. Fax: +61 8 9221 9477; e-mail: [email protected];www.tfsltd.com.au)

BANGLADESH

Hogla (Typha elephantina Roxb.): a potential NTFP for socio-economicupliftment in rural Bangladesh Hogla, the local name for a bush-like smallplant, Typha elephantina Roxb. of the familyTyphaceae, looks like a grass and mayattain heights of 2–5 m. The species showsan encouraging growth performance inwaterlogged, swamp and even under poorsoil nutrition conditions in Bangladesh. Italso provides a satisfactory yield in ruralareas when incorporated with otheragrocrops, without hampering the maincrops. The species could, therefore, be aneconomically viable associate crop in ruralareas since it does not require extra care,fertilizers or other costs involved in thecollection and planting of seeds. The plantcan survive even after a heavy flood.

Dried grasses of the species areextensively used to make prayer mats, andother types of mats, baskets, ropes andvarious handicrafts. The residual matter(i.e. defective leaves, petiole, roots) of theplant is also extensively used as fuel andfor partitioning and thatching purposesamong rural farm holders. Moreover, theplant produces a huge quantity of pollen,which is used to prepare a delicioustraditional food in rural areas.

A recent study of southwestern floodplain areas of Bangladesh reveals that ruralwomen, old people and even children areinvolved in preparing secondary productsfrom hogla leaves, while men are mainlyengaged in the planting, collection, sortingand marketing of the leaves. Women usuallyutilize their leisure time to producesecondary products. The study alsosuggests that planting of hogla just once cansecure the sustainability of plantingmaterials on the same field for at least tenyears. It was also evident that farmers canearn an additional US$5 from a decimal partof their land just from selling hogla leaves.

In Bangladesh – a country with a hugepopulation growth, shrinking income andper capita agricultural land, lowagricultural productivity, acute shortage offuel in rural areas, and where suddenfloods become serious threats –

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incorporating hogla with other profitableagricultural crops can be an advantageoussolution. The massive introduction of thespecies in rural areas will also empowerwomen and old people to contributeincreasingly to their family income and thusto improve their living standards. Theresidual products obtained from thespecies can be used to minimize thedomestic fuel shortfall in rural areas.However, the marketing system, both forprimary and secondary products, needs tobe improved to maximize the profit ofgrowers and producers. (Contributed by:Sharif Ahmed Mukul, Department ofForestry and Environmental Science,School of Agriculture and MineralSciences, Shahjalal University of Scienceand Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh.E-mail: [email protected])

Murta (Schumannianthus dichotoma)cottage industry in socio-economicdevelopment of rural people in thenortheastern region of Bangladesh A recent study has attempted to generateinformation on the status of theSchumannianthus dichotoma (murta)cottage industry and its contribution to theincome and employment of rural areas inthe northeastern region of Bangladesh withthe aim of improving the databasenecessary for any socio-economicdevelopment programme. This survey wascarried out at Gowainghat thana(subdistricts) in Sylhet district.

The forest-based cottage industry is oneof the major sources of off-farm income forthe rural population of Bangladesh. NWFPscould generate potential income for thelocal people and provide employment forabout 229 000 of them, which wouldcontinue throughout the year, or at leastduring the agriculture off-season.

Murta, an important NWFP belonging tothe family Marantaceae, is a clump-formingshrubby plant, dichotomously branched,with green cylindrical stems of 3.7–4.6 m in

height and a diameter of 2 cm. Local namesfor this NWFP differ throughoutBangladesh, e.g. patipata and pati-jung inthe Chittagong region, mostak in Noakhali,pat-bat and murta in the Sylhet and Tangailregions and paitrabon in Barisal.

The species is generally grown in low-lying marshy areas of greater Sylhet,Mymensingh, Barisal, Noakhali, Chittagongand Pabna districts and covers sizeableareas in the forest of Sylhet division. It issporadically planted along roadsides andaround ponds and, formerly, fallow andunproductive paddy fields were used for itslarge-scale cultivation.

Murta is extensively used as a rawmaterial in cottage industries, especially forfloor mats, prayer mats and woven utensils,and is adopted by both the rich and the poor.A recent valuation study revealed that thestem (culm) harvested from 100 ha of land,worth 65 lakh taka (US$108 300) canproduce products (such as shitalpati prayermats) worth 1 crore 80 lakh taka(approximately US$300 000). Thus, it plays asignificant role in generating income andproviding employment opportunities, aswell as improving the socio-economicstatus of the rural people.

A large number of local peoplethroughout the country have adopted themurta-based cottage industry as eithertheir part-time or full-time profession andhave earned a substantial income. Variousnovelty items produced from it are verypopular with both the people of Bangladeshand also abroad, where it is in great demandand earns foreign currency. But, this is allabout to be ruined since more and morefallow land is now being converted foragricultural production, considerablyreducing murta production. The productivityand sustainability of the industry are,therefore, becoming uncertain because ofthis shortage and artisans are consequentlysuffering the curse of poverty. If this processcontinues, production of the popularshitalpati prayer mat will decrease andultimately be lost forever, makingthousands of people jobless.

Our study revealed that 77 percent of thetotal population are directly involved in thiscottage industry and that each articlefetches a different price, depending on totalrequirements for murta and othermaterials, market demand and workdaysrequired to produce an article. The netaverage profit/workday on various articlesvaries from Tk16 to 51, with net profit/articlevarying from Tk25 to127. Entrepreneurs

manufacture articles according to seasonalrequirements and local market demand.

The murta-based cottage industry,therefore, can improve rural livelihoods,help to generate additional employmentand income, contribute to foreign currencyand support biodiversity conservation.Murta can play a vital role in the economyand environment of the country. It ispossible to develop the cottage industry toa profitable international standard throughthe scientific cultivation of murta on privateand government forest lands. It isnecessary to look not at the product orcommodity in isolation, but at a wide rangeof factors that would enable it to beexploited, managed for sustainability andmarketed for profit. The government andother national and international agenciesshould come forward to motivate and assistinterested farmers through technicalsupport and financial assistance to help theindustry flourish. If managed properly, itwill not only attract foreign currency butalso create employment opportunities forthousands of unemployed villagers inBangladesh. (Contributed by: RomelAhmed, Mostafizur Rahman, A.N.M.Fakhrul Islam and Mohammad Redowan,Department of Forestry, ShahjalalUniversity of Science and Technology,Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh. E-mail: [email protected])

BHUTAN

Grow bamboo, save trees In Bhutan, bamboo is seen as a possiblealternative to wood to reduce the pressureon forests. The Forestry DevelopmentCorporation Limited (FDCL) office inPhuentsholing distributed 10 000 seedlingson 2 June 2007 to government agenciesand interested private individuals inSamtse and Chukha dzongkhags (districts)to start large-scale cultivation of bamboo.The bamboo seedlings were raised lastyear mainly in Samtse.

More than 866 acres (approximately350.5 ha) of degraded land under Samtseand Chukha dzongkhags were identified lastyear for plantation of various bamboospecies and other valuable tree species thatwere of commercial value according to thedivisional manager of FDCL, Tashi Peljore.Bamboo helped to conserve soil and waterin catchment areas such as Balujora inPasakha and Dam Dum in Samtse byminimizing the downstream flow of silt.

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Bamboo products such as flag postswith reti and khorlo supplied by FDCL havebeen extremely effective as a substitute forwood. Since the establishment of bambooplantations in mid-2006, 1 500 flag postshave been supplied to the public atreasonable rates, said Tashi Peljore.Bamboo is now also used by architects anddesigners in the construction of airysummer houses as well as for furniture.Gardeners in the southern region growbamboo for screening and greening, and tobe used as flagpoles and scaffolding.

Phuentsholing is the second highestconsumer of timber after Thimphuaccording to FDCL officials. (Source:Kuensel [Bhutan], 28 June 2007.)

BOLIVIA

Caiman (Caiman yacare) in Bolivia: aCITES success After a long period of overexploitation ofcaiman (Caiman yacare) for its leather inBolivia, the Government installed a generalprohibition against hunting of the animal in1990 – having signed the Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered Speciesof Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1987 –and this resulted in the population’srecovery. It has now grown strong andhunting is again possible, although it isregulated by quotas that assure it cannotbe overexploited once again.

CITES set a quota of 50 000 caimanleathers that can be exported per year,which until now has been respected andgave estimated returns to the local peopleof around US$0.38 for 40 062 skins in 2003,and US$0.44 for 46 720 skins in 2004.

The preliminary results of an evaluationundertaken by the National Programme ofCaiman Management in 2005 indicate thataround 1 750 people are employed in thecommercialization of caiman leathers.(Source: Trade measures – tools topromote the sustainable use of NWFPs?FAO Non-Wood Forest Products WorkingDocument 6.)

BRAZIL

Top-selling products at Mercadão Floresta One of the main purposes of MercadãoFloresta (Forest Market), organized by theNGO Amigos da Terra–Amazônia Brasileiraand held from 25 May to 3 June at theMunicipal Market of São Paulo, was topresent the enormous range of productsbased on Brazilian biodiversity and theimportance of protecting Brazilian biomesfor residents of São Paulo. For the firsttime, these products were made availablefor retail and, simultaneously, renownedchefs took turns in providing taste tests andtalks in a gastronomical venue establishedat the market.

One of the highlights of the fair, forexample, was a sweet made from umbú(Spondias tuberosa) and organic sugarproduced by the Canudos, Uauá and CuraçáFamily-Based Agricultural Cooperative,which works in the semi-arid Braziliannortheast.

Another top seller was organic powderedcocoa from the Atlantic rain forest,produced by the Cabruca Cooperative ofOrganic Farmers in southern Bahia inpartnership with the Belgian firm, BarryCallebaut, a worldwide leader in theproduction of cocoa and chocolate goods.Certified by the Biodynamics Institute (IBD),the product is obtained by processing 100percent organic cocoa seeds, without theuse of any pesticides.

Baru (Dipteryx alata Vog.) nuts were alsomuch sought after among theagroecological products. Produced at theCerrado (savannah) Center for Studies andSustainable Use, their sustainableeconomic use helps preserve the speciesand aids local communities directly involvedin production.

One of the market niches offered was anextra virgin, cold-pressed Brazil nut oil.Produced by Ouro Verde, it is perfect forsalads, risottos, fish and complex recipes.Rich in omega 6, omega 9 and vitamin E andwith no cholesterol, it helps to prevent heartdisease, stimulates the immunologicalsystem and increases longevity.

Another hot item was honey vinegar,from the Fernão Velho bee farm. A naturalproduct, it is made from water andfermented hydromel (mead) acetic acid, anddoes not contain preservatives or artificialaromas.

The event was an important opportunityfor companies from northern Brazil tomarket their products. José Luiz Felício,

manager of Miragina, said that “the fair isan excellent way of bringing our productsand making them known”. The companyfrom Acre, founded in the 1960s, makesBrazil nut-based products. Generatingincome for traditional populations, deliciousbiscuits are made from Brazil nuts. Thesewere one of the top sellers at the fair, withfour extra shipments being brought in tosupply the demand generated by the event.

The same happened with frozen açaí(Euterpe oleracea) from Fruitamazon, acompany from Pará, which transferred itsactivities to the neighbouring state ofAmapá and is known for offering the bestaçaí pulp available on the Brazilian market.The company has 30 ha planted and alsobuys from riverbank communities in placessuch as Calçoene, Porto Grande, Serra doNavio, Ferreira Gomes and Mazagão inAmapá. Açaí has been arousing interestaround the world because of its nutritionalvalue. In addition to having become a fadamong youths throughout the country,several products that include açaí arebeginning to appear abroad.

Besides açaí, names such as cupuaçu(Theobroma grandiflorum), pequi (Caryocarbrasiliense), taperebá (Spondias mombinJacq.), buriti (Mauritia vinifera and M.flexuosa), tucumã (Astrocaryum aculeatum)and bacuri (Platonia insignis) have nowentered the vocabulary of Brazilianproducts. Chocolate sweets with fruitfillings from Amazonia, chocolate pralineswith forest fruits prepared by chef DanielBriand and native fruit hand soaps fromAtelier Especiarias also were part of the mixof top-selling products at the fair.

Setting records in terms of public andsales, the fair demonstrates the hugepotential of forest products and howproduction and sales of these products arethe means to keep the forest standing.(Source: Amazonia.org.br, 4 June 2007.)

BULGARIA

President affirms Bulgaria’s forests as national symbol Bulgaria’s forests should be regarded as anational symbol, President GeorgiPurvanov said, during a regionalconference about forest preservation andrestoration issues in the southeasternBulgarian town of Yambol. Purvanov addedthat the Bulgarian forestry sector needs aclear strategy and also a real governingpolicy that could yield visible results.

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He called for reforms that would combineexperience and tradition. “I hope theestablishment of the State Agency forForestry will revive the love of forest andcare of its fate,” Purvanov said. He alsoexpressed his hope that next year’s budgetwould allow this agency to be financiallyindependent. (Source: Sofia Echo [Bulgaria],24 August 2007.)

CAMBODIA

Searching for the secret of sustainablerattan use NTFPs are important resources for localCambodian communities, since theyprovide people with many necessities suchas food, income, medicine and shelter.Rattan is one of the most important NTFPs;in some communities selling rattan is thesecond major source of a family’s income.Unfortunately, an increasingly high demandfor rattan and other NTFPs threatens forestresources and local livelihoods.

Under sound management, rattan canprovide a sustainable income for manycommunities. The WWF Greater Mekong’sCambodia Country Programme is workingwith the Preak Thnot commune, locatedaround Bokor National Park in easternCambodia, to develop a suitable rattanmanagement model. The aim of the projectis to develop economic incentives for localpeople to manage rattan sustainably insidethe forest or Community Protected Areas.

A rattan management group, composedof two subgroups – the handicraft group andthe nursery group – has been established. Itis estimated that through value-addedprocessing and market linkages, groupmembers could generate an additionalUS$600–800 per year. Part of this extraincome could be used to administer thegroup and also fund the cost of establishingrattan plantations inside the forest, whichprovide local people with a renewablesource of rattan.

To support plantation activities, WWF hasestablished Cambodia’s first rattan nursery.Covering an area of more than 200 m2, thenursery can produce around 20 000–30 000rattan seedlings per year. Under themanagement of the rattan group, localvillagers have received training on the day-to-day management of the nursery,collection of seeds and transplantationtechniques. The villagers are collectingseeds and seedlings from areas of the forestwith high densities of rattan. In six months

time, the seedlings will be planted inspecific areas in the forest and once theplantation is established the nursery willsell its seedlings to other villages. (Source:WWF Cambodia, 28 June 2007.)

Flourishing trade in Cambodian cane Home to a number of indigenous tribes,Ratanakiri Province lies nestled in the lushupland forests of northeast Cambodia.Communities eke out a living by growing ricefor half of the year, but food shortagescaused by low yields and increasing familysize are common. One source of income iscashews, grown in fields created out of theforest through the slash-and-burntechnique. However, this practice isthreatening forest biodiversity as well aslimiting availability of other NTFPs on whichvillagers depend for nutrition, buildingmaterials, medicines and money to buy foodand other household essentials.

Cambodians have traditionally harvesteda wide variety of NTFPs, including numerousspecies of wild fruits and nuts, resin, honey,mushrooms, medicinal plants, bamboo andrattan. But untapped potential exists forincreasing the value of many of theseproducts for rural communities. Bambooand rattan, in particular, have a range ofdifferent uses – as raw materials for buildinghouses and for household furniture.

In addition, bamboo and rattan are oftenfashioned by villagers into baskets, boxes,musical instruments and other handicraftsand sold on a limited basis. However, bylearning the technical skills needed tomanufacture high-quality goods, gainingdirect access to markets and learningsustainable cultivation and harvestingpractices, villagers could achieve consistentprofits while maintaining the forest habitat inwhich rattan and bamboo flourish.

In order to provide support to forestcommunities in Ratanakiri, several NGOs inCambodia have formed the National NTFPWorking Group. For example, theCommunity Handicraft Initiative Project(CHIP), recently launched by the CambodianNTFP Development Organization (CAN-DO),

aims to revive and preserve the skills neededto create traditional arts and crafts amongthe indigenous Kreung people, while alsoproviding training in forest conservation andbusiness skills. CAN-DO executive directorSarim Heang reports that the organization issupporting two village NTFP enterprises(VNEs), set up in late 2006, where membersparticipate in workshops, demonstrationsand informal discussions to learn how toharvest bamboo and rattan in a sustainablemanner.

At the NTFP workshop in December 2006attended by CAN-DO and others, techniqueswere shared for sustainable harvesting andcultivation of bamboo and rattan. MarkPoffenberger, director of CommunityForestry International (CFI) – anothermember of the National NTFP WorkingGroup – emphasized that regular trimmingof bamboo is necessary to maintain highlevels of plant productivity. Poffenbergeradded that the practice of culturing rattanand bamboo is also growing in Cambodia.For example, training is given on how toseparate and prepare bamboo seedlings forplanting, when to plant and how to plantthree bamboos in a triangle to improve windresistance. Amanda Bradley of CFI reportsthat community forestry groups are alsoprotecting the bamboo and rattan habitat byorganizing patrols to prevent burning andlogging.

To enhance development of bamboo andrattan handicrafts each VNE, supported byCAN-DO, holds regular gatherings todiscuss methods for improving quality,colouring, patterns, product size anddelivery. More formal monthly meetings areheld where producers review theirachievements and develop action plans forthe following month.

Heang notes that VNE members arebeginning to understand that customerpreferences must be taken seriously toimprove profitability. In addition to customerfeedback, producers receive support andregular field visits from CAN-DO. Thesestrategies are also endorsed byPoffenberger who believes “improvedprocessing can substantially enhance NTFPvalues, often raising the gate price of aproduct by 300–1 000 percent”.

Creating direct market access is alsosupported by CAN-DO, particularly withrattan back-baskets sold in Banlung town.Producers are now transporting their goodsdirectly to two retailers, cutting outintermediaries and thus increasing profits.In addition, with partners such as the

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Artisans’ Association of Cambodia, CAN-DOis assisting producers to design more value-added products, including musicalinstruments and home accessories. Duringthe last six months, Heang reports that VNEmembers have begun to realize that bambooand rattan will provide significant income fortheir families, but only if they continue toprotect the forest, adopt sustainablemethods of cultivation and harvesting, andwork continually to improve product quality.

CAN-DO is part of a collaborative networkof NGOs and community-basedorganizations. It works closely with the Non-Timber Forest Products ExchangeProgramme for South and Southeast Asia,the National NTFP Working Group, andsome handicrafts-based NGOs andenterprises in Cambodia to enable the CHIPendeavour to move forward. (Source: TreenaHein, New Agriculturist Web site, viewed 8October 2007.)

CAMEROON

Bee farming and honey marketingorganizations in the Northwest ProvinceTwo types of honey are extracted from theKilum-Ijim forest of the Northwest Province:light brown and cream white honey. Thelight brown honey is more popular in theNorthwest Province and other parts ofCameroon. The cream white honey,principally extracted from the highest peaksof the Kilum-Ijim forest, is less popular andtherefore scarcer in the province. Indeed,this honey, which looks like cream butter, isunknown not only to many consumers in theprovince but also to many Cameroonians.

As quality is a key element in productmarketing, honey is no exception. Each ofthe marketing organizations assesses thehumidity level of their honey usingappropriate instruments. In addition todetermining humidity levels, the differenthoney types are sold in measurementsranging from 100 g to 30 kg. While dealers incream white honey present it in open-mouthed containers, those of light brownhoney do not have any standard measures.

A recent paper assessed the efficiency ofhoney marketing organizations in theNorthwest Province, while raisingawareness on the economic and ecologicalpotentials of bee farming. Data werecollected on the type and form of honeymarketed, as well as the costs and pricesusing a structured questionnaire. Secondarydata were obtained from the sales records of

the market dealers covering a period of fiveyears. Costs and profit margins wereanalysed. Irrespective of type of honey, themarketing organizations were judged to bemore efficient dealing with comb honey thanpartially drained honey when used as rawmaterial. Furthermore, the honey marketingorganizations are profitable with a netmargin of at least 18 percent, the minimuminterest rate charged by microfinanceinstitutions across the Northwest Province.

Results of the study suggest that profitmargins of the product marketed could beincreased if market dealers interact andshare experiences. While there is an obviousneed for improving the technical capacitiesof actors of the subsector, more specificinformation on the cost structure of theentire value chain would shed more light onthe potential and actual contributions of beefarming to emerging regional and nationaleconomies.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACTTHE AUTHORS: Dorothy Kenyi Malaa, AgriculturalEconomist, Institute of Agricultural Research forDevelopment (IRAD), PO Box 44, Dschang,Cameroon; e-mail: [email protected] orMichael Boboh Vabi, Socio-economist,International Institute of Tropical Agriculture(IITA), PO Box 2008, Messa, Yaoundé, Cameroon.E-mail: [email protected],[email protected]

Exhibition of local indigenous cropsimpresses population It was a day for local/indigenous crops andNTFPs recently in Bamenda with anexhibition to raise awareness about theirvalue and importance. The welcomeinitiative by the Network for SustainableAgriculture (NESA) and the WesternHighlands Nature Conservation Network(WHINCONET) assembled rare local andindigenous food crops from the WesternHighlands: pumpkins, bambara groundnuts,cowpeas, garden eggs, cashew nuts,monkey cola, Bali guava, passion (Adam)fruit, ancop, tree trunk mushrooms, etc.

Fon Nsoh, President of NESA, toldparticipants at the exhibition about the needto encourage the consumption, promotion,cultivation and preservation of indigenousfood crops. Fon Nsoh revealed that about100 million Africans suffer from foodinsecurity which exposes them to serioushealth risks and famine. He blamed it on theunderuse or misuse of existing foodresources and expressed the conviction thatthe base of Africa’s food supply could bebroadened by growing its almost forgottenindigenous food crops and also by thesustainable exploitation of NTFPs. It wasevident during the exhibition that Africa’sindigenous knowledge base for foodproduction and especially traditional foodcrops is being lost and that is why most ofthe major foods cultivated and consumedhave their origins elsewhere.

The exhibition also offered a rare momentfor lessons on the advantages of indigenouscrops over exotic ones as many wereencouraged to consume, to give farmers achance to improve their standard of living.

The NESA exhibition was organized underthe combined theme “Valuinglocal/indigenous food as a right for peopleliving in poverty, rural women as agents ofchange, producing and providing”. Theexhibition was organized on the heels of the2007 Rural Women’s Day, World Food Dayand the International Day for the Eradicationof Poverty. (Source: Cameroon Tribune, 29October 2007.)

CANADA

Forestry funding coming to Chapleau,Ontario A northeastern Ontario mill town will be theepicentre of a movement to harvest thewealth of northern Ontario’s alternativebioproducts commercially on a regionalscale. With $1.6 million in seed funding fromOttawa, the town of Chapleau has beenchosen to make it happen.

The forestry town of 2 300 people wasselected in July as one of 11 sites acrossCanada for Natural Resources Canada’s(NRCan) new Forest Communities Program(FCP). The potential in developing NTFPscaught the attention of NRCan officials. The11 communities and their yet-to-be createdregional organizations will be able to tap intoa $25 million fund dispensed over five years.The idea behind these organizations is todevelop and share knowledge, tools andstrategies to help hard-hit forestry towns

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make a transition into value-added andemerging new forest-based opportunities.

The programme, to be known as theNortheast Superior Forest Communitypartnership, may be headquartered inChapleau but project manager Sylvie Albertwants to cast a wide regional net and buildas much collaboration as possible. Armedwith $325 000 for each of the next five years,Albert says that the programme emphasisis beyond just building bricks and mortarand making inventories of what is availablein the bush. She wants to see a new wave ofinnovative forest projects come through toproduction. For some small producers, themoney will be a final incentive to take theirfledgling enterprises to the next step.

Besides Chapleau, five othercommunities of Dubreuilville, Hornepayne,White River, Manitouwadge and thetownship of Michipicoten will be involved inthe partnership, which includes involvementwith three area First Nation communities.They will have at their disposal universityacademics and community developmentpersonnel as well as government, businessand industry experts in value-addedforestry.

Combined with the NRCan money, Alberthas raised a total of $2.3 million withadditional community contributions and sheis looking for more. Other players such asthe Northern Ontario School of Medicine(NOSM) and Laurentian University’s Schoolof Management, where Albert teaches, arecoming on board as collaborative partners.NOSM is interested in using plants in theboreal forest for medicinal and nutraceutical(natural health products) uses.

Albert says that one of the mostadvanced projects is the newly created Non-Timber Forest Products Corporation. Highon its agenda is finding new and promisingNTFPs to commercialize, such asblueberries. Quebec, Nova Scotia and NewBrunswick have already done so with greatsuccess, she says.

There are other promising natural cropssuch as Canada yew (an ingredient used tofight cancer) and fireweed (a skin carenutraceutical).

“If you have pockets of producers acrossthe north, it would certainly support whatother provinces are trying to do on aworldwide scale,” says Albert. “There aremany things the forest has to offer beyondjust cutting lumber that could be utilized tostart up cottage industries.” (Source:Northern Ontario Business, 6 September2007.)

Maple syrup harvest bittersweetDespite a disastrous maple syrup crop inthe lower St Lawrence region this year, theproduct’s provincial marketing boardpredicts the overall 2007 harvest will stillyield a record $200 million plus in sales.Charles Felix Ross, Secretary-General ofthe Fédération des producteurs acéricolesdu Québec said it will mark the secondconsecutive year that a below normal sizecrop sets a new sales mark after the 2006harvest sold for the previous high of $180million.

Even though a recent survey of thefederation’s 7 300 maple production farmoperators calculated a yield of 61.7 millionlbs (1 lb = 0.45 kg), a 10 percent drop fromlast year, there is an equal percentageincrease in sales and exports. Ross creditsstronger promotions domestically andgrowing interest in the health benefits ofmaple syrup south of the border for theproduct’s increasing popularity.

An average crop is 78 to 80 million pounds,while a bumper crop is 100 million pounds,so Ross called this year’s yield very small.

Quebec accounts for 93 percent ofCanada’s maple syrup and produces 80percent of the world’s supply, 60 percent ofwhich is consumed in the United States ofAmerica. About 2 000 maple farmoperators produce 80 percent of Quebec’smaple syrup. (Source: Montreal Gazette, 17July 2007.)

COSTA RICA

Manejo y conservación de Ryania speciosaen el trópico húmedo de Costa Rica Ryania speciosa Vahl, es un arbusto de laFamilia Flacourtiaceae; constituye uno delos muchos productos forestales nomadereros (PFNM) de América tropical quees objeto de comercio en el mercadointernacional.

Es propio de los bosques tropicales enAmérica, generalmente se encuentra aorilla de ríos en bosques primarios y la

distribución va desde Nicaragua, CostaRica, Panamá, Trinidad, Venezuela,Colombia, Ecuador, hasta Perú y Brasil.

Una investigación realizada por elCentro Agronómico Tropical deInvestigación y Enseñanza (CATIE)determinó su presencia en los bosqueshúmedos de Costa Rica. El estudioetnobotánico realizado en 1989 mostró eluso tradicional por parte de un gruponativo de la etnia Bribri, establecido enTalamanca, Costa Rica, quienes emplean lamadera en la construcción de viviendas porsu resistencia al comején, lo que determinasu empleo milenario por parte de lascomunidades nativas de América.

La presencia de ingredientes químicos,tipo alcaloide en la madera y hojas cuyosprincipales componentes son ryanodina(C25H35NO9); 9, 21-didehydroryanodina,contribuyó a que se emplee desde el siglopasado en Europa y Estados Unidos para elcontrol de plagas en la agricultura.

Dada su importancia económica en elcontrol de plagas en la agricultura y elaprovechamiento comercial de su madera,condujo al CATIE a realizar investigacionesenfocadas a su manejo sostenible dentrodel Proyecto de Conservación y DesarrolloSustentable para América Central.

Los resultados de la ejecución deestudios ecológicos condujo a determinarque R. speciosa es una especie esciófitapor su característica de crecer ydesarrollarse a la sombra del dosel delbosque y presentar madera dura. Ladistribución de las poblaciones silvestrespresenta un patrón espacial agregadoúnicamente para los brinzales, siendo paralos latizales el patrón al azar y para lapoblación total un patrón agregado en elbosque húmedo tropical de Costa Rica, conuna densidad de poblaciones silvestres dehasta 874 ind/ha y capacidad de rebroteposterior a su cosecha.

El auge de la agricultura orgánica haconducido a un mayor aprovechamiento delos PFNM como sucede con Quassia amara(Familia Simaroubaceae), R. speciosa,situación que está provocandovulnerabilidad en poblaciones silvestres,como respuesta se han implementadoinvestigaciones para el manejo depoblaciones silvestres y acciones dedomesticación en Costa Rica.

En la actualidad, el abastecimiento de lamateria prima (madera) de Ryania para elmercado internacional proviene de Trinidady Tabago. El principal importador es Italia yEstados Unidos de América. En América

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existen productos comerciales en EstadosUnidos y Argentina.

Por esta razón Bougainvillea ExtractosNaturales, empresa establecida en CostaRica realiza acciones de manejo depoblaciones naturales y domesticación con laparticipación de agricultores dueños debosques para su comercialización comobiopesticida en forma de extractoestandarizado en el control de mariposas.(Aportación hecha por: Rafael A Ocampo S.,Jardín Agroecológico Bougainvillea.Apartado Postal 764-3100. Santo Domingo,Heredía, Costa Rica. Correo electrónico:[email protected]; www.bioextractos.com)

Costa Rica and the United States ofAmerica swap debt for natureCosta Rica and the United States havesigned an agreement to swap US$26million of Costa Rican debt for funds toprotect more than 1 000 acres(approximately 404.7 ha) of tropical forest.The move will protect biodiversity in theregion and help thousands of indigenouspeople to maintain sustainable livelihoods.

The two countries made the agreementthis month (October), with Costa Ricaagreeing to spend the swapped amount onforest conservation over the next 16 years.The United States of America will contribute$12.6 million, with the environmentprotection organizations The NatureConservancy and ConservationInternational each providing $1.26 million.

Six areas have been designated forprotection, based on a scientific analysis todetermine gaps in forest protection, saysZdenka Piskulich, director of The NatureConservancy in Costa Rica. The swap willtarget forest protection in some of CostaRica’s best known biodiversity hotspots,such as Tortuguero, a system of naturalwaterways near the Caribbean Sea. The areasurrounding the Rincón de la Vieja volcano,home to over 300 species of birds, and theOsa Peninsula, home to 2.5 percent of theworld’s animal and plant species, will alsobenefit, together with ecosystems in theAmistad region, which contains 90 percent ofCosta Rica’s known plant species.

Piskulich said in a press release that thefunding will also allow indigenouscommunities, many of whom live in theAmistad region, “to pursue sustainable andeconomically viable livelihoods, thusimproving their lives and sustaining thediverse biological resources on which theydepend”. (Source: SciDev.Net, 24 October2007.)

CZECH REPUBLIC

A new season begins for Czech mushroompickers Twenty-six million kilograms ofmushrooms – that’s how much Czechspicked in the forests across the country in2006. According to a survey carried out bythe University of Agriculture, an averageCzech family collected about 8 kg ofmushrooms last year. It seems thatmushroom-picking remains one of themost popular Czech pastimes.

One proof of the continuing popularity ofmushroom-picking is the number ofmushroom-devoted Web pages providingdetailed information about the currentsituation in different areas of the CzechRepublic. You can even download a so-called “myco-map” – a map indicating theoccurrence of individual mushroom speciesin different regions. (Source: Radio Prague[Czech Republic], 17 August 2007.)

EGYPT

Wild aromatic, culinary and medicinalplants of Egypt Egypt is characterized by a variety ofclimatic and environmental conditions thathave helped in the distribution of numerouswild aromatic and medicinal plants aroundthe country. These plants have been usedfor various therapeutic and economicpurposes throughout history and are nowreceiving increased interest in Egypt andelsewhere.

Great efforts are being made to increaseawareness of aromatic and medicinal plantproducts in Egypt and to strengthennational collaboration between the regionaldesert areas. Accordingly, the Aromaticand Medicinal Plants Department, DesertResearch Center (DRC), in collaborationwith FAO, invited local communities, privateenterprises and other socio-economicactors involved in collecting, processing,trading, marketing and sustaining of wild

aromatic and medicinal plants to attend astakeholders’ workshop in early September2007 to discuss the wild aromatic, culinaryand medicinal plants of Egypt.

The specific objectives of the workshopwere to gain a better insight into thepresent resource situation and utilizationstatus of medicinal, culinary and aromaticplants in Egypt, their potential, and theproblems and issues to be addressed fortheir sustainable development; and identifyand propose priorities for action at variouslevels and programmes and projects tosupport national/regional efforts forresource conservation and sustainabledevelopment of these products in thecountry.

The focus of the workshop was onaromatic and medicinal plants gatheredfrom wild sources (such as on forest and/orrangelands) in the Egyptian desert, so as todifferentiate these products from thoseobtained as agriculture cash crops (onirrigated lands).

The workshop provided a usefuloverview of the specific characteristics ofmedicinal, culinary and aromatic plantsand their resource/utilization status inEgypt. The outcome of the workshop waspresented and discussed in plenary until anagreement by consensus was reached onall recommendations. At the closingsession, a proposed project with the keyrecommendations (“Survey, sustainabilityand conservation of the wild aromatic andmedicinal plants in Egypt: protecting theirgenetic resources and evaluating theireconomic values”) was introduced by thechairman of the workshop Prof. Dr InasAbd El Moati Tolba, Professor of Ecologyand Phytochemistry, Head of the Aromaticand Medicinal Plants Department, DRC.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Prof. Dr Inas A. Tolba, Head of the Aromatic andMedicinal Plants Department, Desert ResearchCenter, PO Box 11753, Cairo, Egypt. Fax: 0226357858; 02 2 6370788; e-mail: [email protected]

FINLAND

Reindeer ecotourismHalf of our income comes from reindeerhusbandry, half from reindeer tourism,says reindeer herder and entrepreneurAnssi Kiiskinen. “The ultimate reason tobranch into tourism was to increase ourincome from reindeer, so they would

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provide for us.” Kiiskinen says that theincome from reindeer meat is not enoughto offset the costs of the increasinglymechanized reindeer husbandry. That iswhy he and his uncle set up a joint reindeertourism enterprise, the Kopara reindeerfarm, on the flanks of the Pyhätunturi Fellin Lapland.

In the Kiiskinens’ business, reindeerherding and reindeer tourism complementone another. In reindeer herding, thebusiest seasons are spring and autumn,and in tourism summer and winter. Themeat from the herd of reindeer is served asappetizing dishes in the farm restaurant.During winter the customers are offeredreindeer safaris, usually consisting of a fewhours’ ride across the snowy wilderness ina reindeer-drawn sleigh. Kiiskinen has 40reindeer trained for the purpose. Insummertime, visitors can walk the“reindeer trail” which provides informationabout reindeer and reindeer husbandry –and feed the reindeer themselves.

The last five years have been a time ofinvestments in the enterprise. Each year,the turnover has grown by 20 percent.

The assets of Kiiskinen’s firm consist ofreindeer, ideas, enthusiasm, labour andcustomer contacts. But not the land. Thebuildings and the reindeer enclosures arebuilt on land rented from the state-ownedforestry enterprise Metsähallitus. Theroutes of the reindeer safaris run incommercial forests managed byMetsähallitus. This is frequently the case innorthern Finland. According to PerttiSarajärvi, Land Use and EnvironmentManager for Metsähallitus in easternLapland, tourism supports Metsähallitus’soperations. “Tourism helps to keep thearea inhabited and so ensures potentialemployees for us.” (Source: Krista Kimmo,Pelkosenniemi, Finnish Forest AssociationWeb site, 4 October 2007.)

INDIA

Tackling poverty through internationaltrade of forest products: a case study ofCassia tora Cassia tora, commonly known as tora,sickle senna, sickle pod, coffee pod, tovara,chakvad and foetid cassia, is a wild weedcrop growing luxuriously in some parts ofIndia, including Madhya Pradesh, duringthe period October to February.

A natural gelling agent that hasindustrial and food applications is madefrom the seed. The primary chemicalconstituents of the seed includecinnamaldehyde, gum, tannins, mannitol,coumarins and essential oils (aldehydes,eugenol and pinene); it also containssugars, resins and mucilage, among otherconstituents.

Cassia tora has many uses. It is used asa natural pesticide in organic farms;roasted seeds are substituted for coffee; itspowder is most popularly used in the petfood industry; it is mixed with guar gum foruse in mining and other industrialapplications; its seeds and leaves are usedto treat skin disease; and its seeds act as alaxative. This weed could also become areliable cheap supply of nutritious fodderfor Ctenopharyngodon idella, a fast-growing exotic carp.

Cassia tora tea is a herbal, pure, natural,non-polluted green health beverage. In theRepublic of Korea, it is believed to refreshhuman vision. Moreover, the tea hascreated a new term “coffee-tea”, becauseof its mysterious but very rich taste and itscoffee aroma. It is made from 100 percentCassia tora, with no artificial colouring andno caffeine, and could be a great substitutefor coffee and sodas.

The edible part of the plant varies from30 to 40 percent. Because of its externalgermicide and antiparasitic character, ithas been used for treating skin diseasessuch as leprosy, ringworm, itching andpsoriasis and also for snakebites.Galactomannans from Cassia tora (CT-gum), after proper processing andchemical derivatization, could function as abetter and more economical thickener thanlocust bean gum for textiles, because of thelatter’s current high price ($18/kg) andlimited availability.

Most of the CT-gum processing plants inIndia are located in Gujarat state becauseof the availability of Cassia tora beans inthe neighbouring states, but thewidespread use of these beans as

vegetables and seeds as cattle feed havebeen pushing up the raw material cost forthe CT-gum industry. The total installedcapacity in the country is 0.2 million tonnesfor splits and 59 000 for powder based onCassia tora seeds. The capacity utilizationin the industry has been around 70 percentfor the last three years.

Apart from domestic consumption, thereare now significant exports of cassiapowder of international standard to variouscountries, such as the United States ofAmerica, Australia, Germany, France,Spain, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands,Belgium, New Zealand, the UnitedKingdom, Singapore and Japan. The exportvalue of Cassia tora has been graduallyincreasing over the last five years. Detailedexport data revealed that Japan and theUnited Kingdom receive a regular supply,while the United States market fluctuates.However, the export growth rate of Cassiatora clearly shows the difference betweenquantity and value, which leads to a lowprice per unit price. (Contributed by: DrParag Dubey, Faculty of Forest ProductMarketing, Indian Institute of ForestManagement, PO Box 357, Nehru Nagar,Bhopal 462003, Madhya Pradesh, India. E-mail: [email protected])

Jharkhand: rich in NWFPs yet not fullytapped Jharkhand state was formed on 15November 2000 after its separation fromBihar state. Jharkhand literally meansforest and plateau. Its total geographicarea is 79 714 km2, 22 716 km2 of which isforest. It has 18 districts, eight of which aretribal. Tribals are an inseparable part offorests so they are given special rights andprivileges.

Previously this area was very rich inforests, but over time this has changed andnow most of the natural forest is in adegraded state and reduced (however,Asia’s famous Saranda Sal forest belongs tothis state). State population has increased(18.82 percent from 1991 to 2001) andaverage population growth rate is morethan the national average. This is animportant factor that has contributedsignificantly to the conversion of forest land.

In spite of this, Jharkhand is rich innatural resources. Its main NWFPsresources can be categorized as:

• kendu leaf (Diospyros melanoxylon),used as a smoking stick, locally calledbidi;

• sal seed, from which oil is extracted;

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• Terminalia bellerica, locally calledharnat, used in medicine; and

• Madhuca indica: its seed is used forextraction of oil, its flower in thepreparation of local wine and its leaf inthe preparation of a dish locally calleddonna patta.

Realizing the importance and potential ofNWFPs, in February 2002 Jharkhand’sMinistry of Environment formed JSVVNLimited, which is the sole agency for theauthorized collection and marketing ofNWFPs. JSVVN manages its NWFPcollection work through two circles, sixdivisions and 45 regional offices. In2002/2003, the net profit earned by JSVVNwas Rs773.345 lakhs, with Rs2 051.196being shared among the people engaged inNWFP collection, and it was able togenerate 31.56 lakh/workdays.

The collection of NWFPs is time -consuming work and delays in collection andmarketing cause losses. Kendu leaf and salseed collection starts in May and continuesup to the first week of June. During thisperiod poor rural and tribal people do nothave any work in their agriculture fields orelsewhere and so JSVVN provides them withemployment. In this way, they earn money(kendu leaf collection generates 31–32lakh/workdays) and also eliminate theintermediaries. Therefore, NWFPs can haveenormous scope in the state and are both agood source of revenue for the stategovernment and a source of income for ruraland tribal people.

The state has another opportunity tostrengthen the NWFP area by raisingbamboo and medicinal plants, both of whichcould generate income and employment forthe state. (Contributed by: S.K. Singh,Forest Survey of India, Kaulagarh Road, PO-IPE, Dehra Dun 248195, Uttaranchal, India.E-mail: [email protected])

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP)certification – its importance andrelevance in an Indian background The importance of good collectionpractices, storage and maintenance inmedicinal plants has been felt from timeimmemorial. The rich traditional Ayurvedicheritage and folklore practices in Indiareflect the understanding of the ancientsregarding the sustainable utilization ofnatural resources. However, with themassive expansion of the medicinal plantbusiness as well as changing socio-economic conditions, rapid depletion ofnatural resources and diverse sociocultural

practices, it has been felt that there shouldbe national-level guidelines for wildcollection of medicinal plants. Theseguidelines should be in parity withinternational norms and regulations aswell as satisfying Indian demands.

In view of these increasing demands, theInternational Centre for CommunityForestry (ICCF) at the Indian Institute ofForest Management (IIFM) has started aMAP certification project sponsored by theNational Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB).This project is designed to:

• evaluate the potential for MAPcertification in an Indian context;

• create awareness among gatherers,foresters and other stakeholdersabout MAP certification and itsimplication for sustainablemanagement of wild MAP resources;

• document and analyse currentpractices in the MAP sector in the lightof certification requirements;

• develop national-level genericstandards for MAP certification, withspecial emphasis on raw materialcollection to marketing; and

• establish demonstration plots to testthe sustainable collection conceptsthrough a participatory approach andinformation dissemination.

Four states were selected for the pilotstudy (Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissaand Uttarakhand) based on their MAPresource richness, livelihood dependenceand available institutional framework.Important steps have already been taken forthe implementation of the project, e.g. fieldsurveys, interviews with multiplestakeholders and local- and regional-levelconsultations/meetings with socialorganizations. A draft standard has beenprepared in the light of current internationallyavailable standards, as well as socio-economic parameters relevant to the Indianscenario. The parameters/ statements of thedraft standard are under evaluation with stateexisting practices. Thrust areas of the studyinclude legal and policy framework, wild areaconservation and sustainable management,responsible collection practices, economicdevelopment and benefit sharing.

A comparative analysis of the availableinformation based on the above-mentionedissues reflects prominent differences inpolicy-level interventions and socialunderstanding of MAP resourcemanagement, as well as conservationmeasures. Further study and research aretaking place to make the draft more flexible

and acceptable to the diverse MAP sectorsin India. (Contributed by: Dr ProdyutBhattacharya, International Centre forCommunity Forestry (ICCF), Indian Instituteof Forest Management (IIFM), PO Box 357,Nehru Nagar, Bhopal 462003, MadhyaPradesh, India. Fax: +91-755-2772878; e-mail: [email protected])

Medicinal plants of the KashmirHimalayasMedicinal plants have assumed asignificant importance in the recent pastowing to the growing appreciation ofhuman health care through herbalmedicines. The Kashmir Himalayas housea diverse variety of plants of medicinalvalue. A recent paper (Traditionalmedicine: some plants of the KashmirHimalayas) by Gulzar Ahmad Sheergojri,Nelofar Lolapuri and Efath Shahnazpresents the results of a survey carried outin 2006 and discusses some of themedicinal plants identified and theirimportance in traditional medicine.

The Kashmir Himalayas – thenorthwestern region of the Himalayas –represent a rich repository of diverse plantspecies that have been used by the locals totreat their ailments since time immemorial.They have also served as an importantsource of raw material for variouspharmaceutical units. About 28 percent ofall the plants on Earth have been used forcuring various human ailments. Nearly 40percent of the known medicinal plants of theKashmir Himalayas are used in the Indianpharmaceutical industry alone. Globalimports of medicinal plants increased fromUS$335 million in 1976 to $551 million in1980. However, non-judicious exploitation,habitat destruction and the absence ofcultivation programmes have put atremendous pressure on these greendispensaries, especially in developing andunderdeveloped countries. Furthermore,



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poor infrastructure and scarcity of funds indeveloping states such as Jammu andKashmir have made these plants vulnerableto biopiracy.

Consequently, the authors carried out asurvey to underline the importance of someof the plants of the Kashmir Himalayas intraditional medicine so that adequatemeasures may be taken to save them.Information was collected on manymedicinal plants and their traditional useswere documented. The study revealed thatthese herbal medicines provide remediesfor a significant number of ailments,especially in remote areas where healthcare facilities are meagre. A comprehensivestrategy for the conservation anddevelopment of these medicines would notonly widen the forest-based economy, butalso provide important raw materials forimmunomodulation. (Contributed by:Gulzar Ahmad Sheergojri, M.Sc.(Agriculture), Sheri Kashmir University ofAgriculture Sciences and Technology, R/OInder Pulwama, J & K, India 192301. E-mail:[email protected])

KENYA

KEFRI wants ban on bamboo lifted The Kenya Forestry Research Institute(KEFRI) wants a ban on bamboo harvestinglifted to enable farmers to enter themultibillion Kenyan shilling global bambootrade currently dominated by China, Japanand Thailand. Samson Mogire, a bambooproduct expert at KEFRI, said they had sentfact finding missions to the Asian nations tolearn methods of sustainable exploitationof the forests.

The ban on bamboo harvesting wasimposed in 1989 by former President Moiand its use later restricted to select publicinstitutions. KEFRI said the fear ofoverexploitation that led to the impositionof the ban no longer held, since the plant

had rejuvenated into extensive bambooforest cover. To mitigate against possibleoverexploitation, KEFRI is teaching farmershow to propagate the plant in centralKenya, with financing from the UnitedNations Development Programme.

A bamboo tree takes an average of threeyears to mature and is a good protector ofwater catchment areas. To increase thecommercial value of the tree, KEFRI istraining artisans on the use of bamboo inthe making of furniture and office fittings.

Locally, the tree does well in theAberdares, Olengurueni, Molo, WesternProvince and parts of the coast.

Despite the promising prospects,exploitation of bamboo still faces a numberof hurdles, including lack of awareness ofits potential among local communities.(Source: Business Daily Africa [Kenya], 26July 2007.)

Tribe of honey hunters fights extinction Kiangwe. The marginalization of Kenya’sBoni tribe, known for their unique traditionof whistling to birds that guide them tohoney, has raised fears that theirmellifluous song will soon be silenced.With little or no access to health care andother resources, the Boni’s ranks havesteadily dwindled and the tribe is now onthe verge of extinction.

The semi-nomadic Hamitic tribe nestledbetween the Indian Ocean and the Somaliborder in northeastern Kenya’s Lamudistrict numbers barely 4 000, comparedwith 25 000 half a century ago, according tothe Organization for the Development ofLamu Communities (ODLC).

“We depend entirely on nature for foodand medicine," said Nur Mohamed, a Boni.The central ingredient in the Boni’s diet ishoney, which they track down with the helpof birds – known by locals as mirsi andcommonly described as honey guides –who feed on wax and bee larvae. Thepeculiar species has been scientificallyproven to lead animals and humans to beenests. On a good day, the mirsi will noisilyalert the Boni by landing on a treeconcealing honey. The Boni then hack atthe tree trunk and smoke it up to numb thebees before retrieving the bounty.

Members of the hunter/gatherer tribealso eat wild fruits, roots and a variety ofgame – which they say has put them atodds with wildlife officials. “Nowadays, Ihunt secretly and I eat secretly. Otherwise,the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) will beatus and arrest us," said Sadi Jumaa, who

wears a belt made of baobab bark.However, Mohamed Ali Baddi, who heads alocal development organization, says“Hunting is a way of life. For them, it is notpoaching. But for the KWS, they arepoachers.”

Some of the Boni’s other traditionalpractices are a far cry from modern life, forbetter or worse. “We know the herbs totreat malaria, stomach aches andsnakebites. But some of the herbs are toostrong for children. Sometimes they die,”Mohamed says. The nearest hospital to hisvillage of Kiangwe is several hours’ walkaway.

While they are keen to preserve theirancestral way of life, the Boni feel ignoredby the Kenyan Government, as do othertribes of honey hunters across the country.Kiangwe is a small village of 360inhabitants living in mud huts with nodispensary, no road, no running water andno shops. Residents say travelling vendorspass through on average twice yearly.“Maybe the government should come upwith a policy for a Boni reserve so that theycan preserve their culture,” said OmarAliyoo, one of two Boni tribesmen to sit onthe local municipal council. “Our way of lifeis disappearing. There is a danger that theBoni people will disappear.” (Source:Independent Online [South Africa], 10 July2007.)

LEBANON

Illegal imports undercut local pine nuts Chouf. Lebanon’s pine nut cultivatorsdenounced the government’s lack ofinterest in putting an end to the illegalimporting of pine nuts, saying they facethreats to their businesses as a result ofthe invasion of Turkish and Chinese pineseeds into the local market. Consequently,the problems of cultivators eased over thelast three years following the government’sdecision to halt imports in an attempt tocultivate the local market. The Syndicate ofPine Nut Cultivators, however, recentlydiscovered that several dealers have beenillegally given licences to import the nuts.Cultivators in the Chouf, Jezzine, Metn andAley are therefore facing a problem thoughtsolved just a few years back.

“The cultivation of pine trees is a reallycostly business,” said cultivator AbdullahHassan. “The cost of the harvest is veryhigh and therefore the price of pine seedsis relatively high. However, with the market

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flooded with imported pine seeds, ourbusiness might collapse at any moment.”

Pine trees are abundant across Lebanonand have also long been considered as atourist attraction and an economicresource. However, cultivators fear pinetrees will not be cared for as much asbefore because of the smuggling,endangering pine tree woods in the country.

“We need to find a solution to the currentsituation by forbidding the illegal import ofpine seeds, especially since pine seeds are abasic ingredient of Arab sweets,” saidAhmad Awar, a cultivator. “But unfortunatelythe owners of such sweet shops do not careabout quality and prefer using the cheaperimported seeds instead of the finelyharvested Lebanese pine seeds.” (Source:Daily Star [Lebanon], 5 July 2007.)

LIBERIA

Promoting ecotourism Conservation International (CI), an NGOworking in Liberia since 2002, hasdeveloped a scheme to bring tourists intothe country. Russell A. Mittermeier,President of CI, has been discussing withtop government officials on how the forestsof Liberia can be conserved and used tomake a profit for the country. MrMittermeier said that Liberia’s forests arein a “hotspot”, i.e. “an area where most ofthe animal species that live there cannot befound anywhere in the world. This means itis the most important spot in the WestAfrican region”.

He said an ecotourist would be willing topay up to US$500 to visit Liberia’s naturalwildlife and see at first hand how theseanimals live in the wild. (Source: TheInquirer [Monrovia], 23 August 2007.)

MADAGASCAR

Beekeeping, poverty alleviation and forestconservation in Imadiala Beekeeping is an important source oflivelihood in Imadiala, an easternsubdistrict of Ambositra. However, in spiteof the efforts made by beekeepers andnumerous organizations to improvebeekeeping in the region, the negativeeffect of deforestation on beekeepers’activities is increasing.

Approximately 90 percent of Madagascar’sflora and fauna is endemic. Eleven millionhectares (20 percent of Madagascar’s

surface area) are forest and 350 000 ha areEucalyptus species and pine plantations.However, loss of species, including thedecrease of honey bee populations on theisland, is closely related to the loss of forests.

In September 2003, President MarcRavalomanana committed to increasingprotected areas in Madagascar from 1.7 million to 6 million ha by 2008. NowMadagascar is attempting to reducepoverty and increase the areas underconservation. Beekeeping has the potentialto play an important role in theseprocesses, both for poverty alleviation andthe conservation of natural environments.

The remaining natural resources and thewillingness of beekeepers to improve theiractivities make beekeeping possible on alarge scale in Ambositra. However,Imadiala, which is the most advantagedbeekeeping area in the whole region, hassuffered serious deforestation by fellingtrees to make planks, charcoal andsculptures or to make space for cultivation,causing severe negative effects forbeekeeping. This process is ongoing andforest degradation remains one of themajor problems for beekeeping, honeyhunting and swarm catching in Imadiala.(Source: Bees for Development Journal,Issue 84, September 2007.)

MALAWI

Miombo woodlands In her recent short essay, Miombowoodlands and rural livelihoods in Malawi,Janet Lowore cites a study of 36 farminghouseholds which revealed that during aperiod of 25 months, local people collected37 different species of leaf vegetables, twospecies of root vegetables, 21 of fruit, 23 ofmushroom and 14 of caterpillar.

Between 1946 and 1996, Malawi lost 2.5million ha of woodland, most of which wasconverted into farmland. The loss ofwoodland means many things for local

people. Women must walk further andspend more time searching for firewood.Households have to buy wood forconstruction, and as a substitute for treefibres they must buy sisal or use the wirefrom old car tyres. Without the forest, theymust also go without wild game,caterpillars, medicinal plants, fruits andmany other things.

Lowore stresses that it is impossible tocome up with a simple blueprint ofrecommendations for improving dry-forestmanagement. However, her study confirmsthat Malawi’s miombo woodlands are vitallyimportant, both as a resource that satisfiesthe subsistence needs of the rural poor,and for the many environmental benefitsthat they provide. (Source: Building onsuccess. Center for International ForestryResearch (CIFOR) Annual Report 2006.http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/publications/pdf_files/AReports/AR2006.pdf)

MALAYSIA

Malaysia is taking steps to ensure thattrade in gaharu is sustainable Gaharu, the aromatic resin from Aquilariatrees, was previously regarded as worthlesswoodchips but authorities are fast realizingits value and are tightening the relevantregulations. States in Peninsular Malaysiahave been told to keep a close eye onextraction of the heartwood by emphasizingenforcement of Section 15 of the NationalForestry Act 1984, which requires anyremoval of the valuable product to beaccompanied by a removal pass.

The latest move by Peninsular MalaysiaForestry Department is to develop auniform grading system for the fragrantresin. Deputy director-general (planningand development) Datuk Dahlan Taha saysthe absence of a standardized grade hashampered administration and regulation ofthis NTFP. “The 10 percent royalty paymentis currently based on weight and not onquality. The government is losing out onrevenue collection. Hence, we organized aworkshop in June and produced a gradingsystem. We are recommending fourgrades: A Super, A, B and C,” says Dahlan.

He is also encouraging all states to payattention to this NWFP, which is coveted byboth local and foreign poachers. He claimsthat greater awareness has led to betterprotection of the heartwood against illegalcollection, as indicated by zero arrests inthe last two years.

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The department is also directingreplanting of gaharu species in loggedproduction forests. So far, 215 ha havebeen planted. The oldest is a four-year-oldplot in Kelantan. The lure of the highlypriced resin has also promoted commercialplanting of the species as well as researchinto artificial inoculation of the stem. In thewild, a gaharu tree produces the resin as abiological response to contain infectionfrom bacteria, fungi and pathogens. Theresin covers wounded areas and blackensthe whitish heartwood to produce gaharu.

Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, gaharu isbeing introduced as a potential income-generating crop to be planted alongsidevegetable farms in agroforestryprogrammes. Meanwhile, the government iscapping export of gaharu, internationallyknown as agarwood, at 200 tonnes this year.

In 2004, all eight Aquilaria species and aspecies of Gyrinops that also producesaromatic resins were included in AppendixII of the Convention on International Tradein Endangered Species of Wild Fauna andFlora (CITES) to ensure survival of thespecies in the wild. A listing in Appendix IIsubjects trade in the species to the CITESpermit system that covers export, importand re-export. However, oil products fromgaharu still escape CITES scrutiny becauseof its exclusion from the Customs exportprohibition order. The Customs and ExciseDepartment is in the final stage ofamending the order to control the export ofprocessed gaharu in oil form.

As high-grade agarwood becomesscarce, local collectors are resorting toprocessing lower-grade woodchips into oilto increase their profit margins. Gaharudistillation plants have sprouted in severalparts of the country. Although states in thepeninsula are trying to monitor the amountof extraction through its licensing scheme,it is believed that various amounts areslipping through the cracks and theseunspecified volumes are turned into oilproducts that elude the CITES permit andthe government taxation system. Hence,accuracy of the official extraction volume isdoubtful.

While the export loophole is likely to beplugged soon, a similar effort was notmade simultaneously to address the issueof import. The Customs import prohibitionorder does not cover gaharu oil products.Therefore, the Malaysian Timber IndustryBoard (MTIB) has not issued any CITESimport or re-export permits to date.(Source: Malaysia Star, 31 July 2007.)

MAURITANIE

Les PFNL en Mauritanie La Mauritanie pays désertique membre duSahel et Maghreb dispose d’une couverturevégétale non négligeable sous forme desavanes arbustives ou de savanesherbeuses.

Les principaux produits forestiers nonligneux (PFNL) de la Mauritanie sont lesplantes alimentaires (par exemple Adansoniadigitata et Zyzyphus mauritiana), les plantesfourragères (Acacia spp.), les gommes(Acacia senegal) et les plantes médicinales(par exemple Acacia albida, Balanitesaegyptiaca et Salvadora persica). Les PFNLde moindre importance au niveausocioéconomique sont les colorants (Acaciaseyal, Anogeissus leiocarpus), les tannins(Acacia nilotica), les produits cosmétiques,les outils et les résines.

Les PFNL ont une importance particulièreen Mauritanie dans la mesure où ilscontribuent à la nourriture humaine et aufourrage pour les animaux. Ils sontégalement utilisés pour des soins par lestradipraticiens, dans la cosmétologie, dans laconstruction et chez les artisans maiségalement comme boisson. Parmi les PFNLen Mauritanie, seule la gomme arabique faitl’objet d’importantes activités commercialesstructurées.Nourriture: Les arbres produisant des fruitscomestibles incluent Boscia senegalensis,Balanites aegyptiaca, Adansonia digitata,Zizyphus mauritiana et Sclerocarya birrea.Les fruits de Sclerocarya birrea font l’objetd’un commerce local. La pulpe des fruits,riche en alcool, est fermentée et transforméeen bière. Du fruit, on peut faire des jus et desconfitures. L’amande du noyau deSclerocarya birrea contient des matièresgrasses et beaucoup de vitamine C. Elledonne aussi une huile comestible. Lesgraines de Boscia senegalensis donnent uneexcellente farine pour la fabrication desrepas. En outre, on consomme l’albumen des

graines et les feuilles d’Adansonia digitata.Fourrage: les plantes fourragèresimportantes sont Acacia albida, Acaciaraddiana, Acacia nilotica, Acacia senegal,Acacia seyal, Boscia senegalensis, Balanitesaegyptiaca et Prosopis juliflora. Ces plantesfournissent des feuilles, de jeunes rameaux,des gousses et l’écorce qui constituent desfourrages pour les moutons, les chèvres, lesdromadaires et les chameaux.Médecine: les écorces, les graines, lesfeuilles, les racines, les fruits et les branchesd’Adansonia digitata, Acacia albida, Acacianilotica, Boscia senegalensis, Balanitesaegyptiaca, Anogeissus leiocarpus,Salvadora persica, Commiphora africana,Prosopis juliflora et de Sclerocarya birreasont utilisés pour le traitement des maladiesvariées telles que le rhume, la grippe, lesmaux de dents, les hémorroïdes, lesdouleurs rhumatismales, l’impuissancesexuelle, le diabète, l’asthme et autrescomplications respiratoires, la fièvre, ladiarrhée, la fatigue générale, etc.Parfums et cosmétiques: les racines deBalanites aegyptiaca rentrent dans lafabrication du savon.Colorants et tannins: les fruits d’Acacianilotica constituent le principal produit detannage chez les cordonniers. L’écorced’Acacia seyal fournit une teinture rouge quisert à teindre les vêtements. Les feuilles etl’écorce d’Anogeissus leiocarpus fournissentune teinture jaune pour les peaux et lestissus.Ustensiles, artisanat et matériaux deconstruction: l’écorce du tronc d’Adansoniadigitata fournit également des fibres utiliséespour tisser les nattes et confectionner lescordes. Le tégument d’Acacia senegal estutilisé pour la fabrication des cordes. Lemacéré du fruit de Balanites aegyptiaca estichtyotoxique (poison à poisson).Exsudats: la gomme, exsudant du troncd’Acacia nilotica, sert à fabriquer uneboisson rafraîchissante. La gomme arabiqueest fournie par l’Acacia senegal. L’exsudationest causée par des fentes dues à lasécheresse et des blessures. Quatre-vingt-dix pour cent de la production de la gommearabique est commercialisée. L’Acacia seyalest une gomme arabique de qualitéinférieure. La résine de Commiphoraafricana est utilisée comme encens, parfumet insecticide.

Malgré le rôle important que jouent lesPFNL en Mauritanie, la filière économiquedes PFNL généralement très confinée dansl’informel demeure peu développée. La filièreéconomique des PFNL nécessite une

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valorisation et un développement. L’Etat doit,en collaboration avec la FAO et les autrespartenaires de développement, sensibiliserles populations sur l’importance des produitset surtout des coopératives féminines enmilieu rural.

En effet la promotion, la gestion et ledéveloppement des PFNL pourraientpermettre de réaliser une importante activitégénératrice de revenus pour les femmesrurales. Cela pourrait aider à la réalisationde certains objectifs clés des OMD: réduirel’extrême pauvreté et la faim, promouvoir legenre et le développement et protégerl’environnement. (Source: Gestionparticipative et développement des produitsforestiers non ligneux comme moyen deréduction de la pauvreté des femmesrurales: cas du Maghreb et du Sahel parMme Hawa War, Volontaire, FAO, Le Caire.)

POUR PLUS D’INFORMATIONS CONTACTER: Pape Djiby Koné, Forestier principal, Bureaurégional de la FAO pour le Proche-Orient,PO Box 2223, le Caire, Egypte. Courriel:[email protected]

MEXICO

Mexican palm fronds for the United Statesfloral industry: opportunities and threats A recent study on the camedora palm(Chamaedorea elegans, C. concolor, C.oblongata) was undertaken in twoindigenous Chinantec communities locatedin the river basin of Papaloapan, on theAtlantic slope of the Sierra Norte, Oaxaca,situated some 300 km from the city ofOaxaca. Both communities are situated inisolated mountainous locations, withlimited access to the nearest road.

The camedora palm, also known as xate,represents a set of species that belongs tothe genus Chamaedorea and dominatesthe herbaceous field layer of montaneforests. Access to the resource is relativelyequitable, since it is largely collected from

communal land with free access. However,over the last ten years, distances to harvestsites have increased to three hours’ walkbecause of land conversion for maize andcoffee, and as a result of overexploitation ofthe palm.

The species reproduces easily via seed,requiring little light and possessing a hightolerance for humidity. For these reasons,several communities in the study area andother regions – Veracruz, Chiapas and SanLuis Potosí – have begun to domesticate viaunderstorey cultivation. When leaf fertilizeris applied in plantations, each plant can beharvested every three months. In the wild,peak harvesting, between April andOctober, follows the rains, when the qualityand quantity are most readily available fortwo to three cuts. Some camedora palmspecies are on the Mexican protectedspecies list and thus require an extractionpermit. However, because of the costinvolved in acquiring a permit, somecommunities cut leaves illegally and manyhave established small plantations.

The palm leaves are used fresh infloristry and have been exported from thehumid tropical regions of Mexico andCentral America since the 1940s. Mexico isthe leading world exporter of the leavesand seeds of different species of camedorapalm, predominantly to the United States. Itis estimated that the global production ofthis foliage currently meets only one-thirdof the international demand.

In Mexico, the leaves are used infloristry, wreaths and bouquets; astraditional adornments for Easter andPalm Sunday; as a fresh base for exhibitingproduce in supermarkets; and as gardenplants. The leaves are highly sought afterbecause once cut, they remain green for upto three weeks.

Market access for communities dependslargely on production capacity: commercialintermediaries are attracted to areaswhere there is sufficient volume to maketrade worthwhile. Many families have toovercome several obstacles to accessregional trade centres, including low-quality roads and lack of access forvehicles. Monte Tinta overcame this barrierby designating one community member topool together the leaves and transportthem, by donkey, to the road on the trader’sroute. In return the trader pays on time andcompensates for the costs of accidentsduring collection.

Because of the market demand for palmleaves, retailers need to work with a large

number of community suppliers. Theviability of this commercial activity and theability to obtain significant profits are aresult of traders sourcing from numerousproducer communities. In Chinantla, as inother regions of Mexico, six different actorsare involved in the commercialization ofpalm leaves. Men collect the foliage andwomen grade it, preparing bushels of 140leaves that sell for up to US$1.30 to a localstockist. A second actor transports theproduct to a regional wholesaler, whomanages a centre where he accumulates,grades, packs and sells the product towholesalers in Mexico City. Leaves are soldto the Mexican consumer at 12leaves/US$1, and sold on to a foreignbuyer, who retails them to the UnitedStates consumer at six leaves/US$1.

There are very few companies dedicatedto the export of palm in Mexico, owing tothe existence of a monopoly; the nationalmarket is concentrated in the hands of asingle successful entrepreneur who hadsufficient capital to invest in refrigeratedtransport and storage facilities. Thisindividual is the sole representative of theNorth American company that importscamedora. The existence of a singlecompany buying leaves makescommunities somewhat vulnerable. Thissingle buyer supplies half of the productfrom his own plantation. While this isimportant to maintain the value chainthroughout the year, it can also pose athreat to wild palm collectors who arerestricted mostly to cutting only a fewmonths in the year. Even though there issmall-scale domestication of camedorapalm in southern Mexico, these poorlyorganized communities are finding itdifficult to compete with the industrial-scale plantations being established in the United States – with seed exportedfrom the Chinantla region. (Source:extracted from Marshall, E.,Schreckenberg, K. & Newton, A.C., eds.2006. Commercialization of non-timberforest products: factors influencingsuccess. Lessons learned from Mexico andBolivia and policy implications for decision-makers. Cambridge, United Kingdom,UNEP World Conservation MonitoringCentre.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Elaine Marshall, Independent Consultant,Heywood House, Crawley End, Chrishall,Royston, Herts SG8 8QN, United Kingdom.E-mail: [email protected]

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MOROCCO

300 ha of argan trees to be reforested in thesouth of Morocco Essaouira (south). Some 300 ha of argantrees will be reforested in the south ofMorocco, under a cooperation agreementsigned in 2002 between Midi Pyreneesregions and the region of Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz, revealed the Mohammed VFoundation for Research and Argan TreePreservation. The foundation, which held itsthird general assembly, underlinedachievements, mainly those pertaining to thenotion of the geographic indication, whichrepresents an important step in the processof the protection of the argan tree.

The foundation’s director-general, MsKatim Alaoui, noted that the agreement alsoprovides for the upgrading and marketing ofargan oil by women’s cooperatives.

This project aims at saving firewoodthrough the use of solar energy, with projectofficials estimating that the setting up of 500solar ovens will result in avoiding a loss of 50to 100 ha of argan trees per year.

Set up in May 2004, the foundation aims atguaranteeing a legal protection from argantree exploitation, promoting and protectingnatural equilibrium, improving the standardof living of the population working on argantrees and guaranteeing the quality of itsproducts.

A forest, fruit and fodder tree, the argantree covers currently some 870 000 ha, whichis around 10 percent of Morocco’s forestareas. (Source: Maghreb Arabe Presse[Morocco], 11 June 2007.)

NICARAGUA

Elementos de la legislación nacional sobreProductos Forestales no Madereros En Nicaragua, no está muy difundido elmanejo y aprovechamiento de los productosforestales no madereros (PFNM). Sinembargo, existe el aprovechamiento de estosrecursos en algunos departamentos como el

de río San Juan, Jinotega y las RegionesAutónomas del Atlántico.

No se cuenta con suficiente informaciónsobre volúmenes y valor comercializado deestos productos; se conoce su uso a nivelartesanal, en comunidades cercanas a losbosques o en zonas urbanas, y en general soncomercializados de manera informal. Laactividad productiva de estos productos hasido de carácter extractiva y los volúmenescomerciales no han representado un flujocomercial de importancia. En relación con suaprovechamiento, la Ley General del MedioAmbiente y los Recursos Naturales N°217/1996 establece que «para el uso yaprovechamiento de las áreas de producciónforestal de productos maderables y nomaderables, éstas deberán ser sometidas amanejo forestal con base sostenible, con laaplicación de métodos y tecnologíasapropiadas que garanticen un rendimientoóptimo» (Art. 100).

Por otro lado, a través del Acuerdo IRENA(Instituto Nicaragüense de RecursosNaturales y del Ambiente) del 1990, se creóel Centro de mejoramiento genético y bancode semillas forestales cuyo objetivosprincipales son: la protección de áreasforestales de interés científico, elmejoramiento genético de especies deimportancia económica y científica a travésde la instalación de viveros, huertossemilleros o clónales, tanto de latifoliadoscomo de coníferas, la recolección de semillaspara suministrar material genético óptimopara los proyectos de reforestación, así comopara el manejo sostenido de los bosques.

El Centro será el responsable degarantizar la calidad y pureza de las semillasforestales exportadas e importadas aNicaragua a través de controles fitosanitarios(Art. 1).

El Centro que goza de autonomíafinanciera, estará sujeto al control de unaauditoría externa nombrada por el IRENA(Art. 5) quien nombra también a su director(Art. 2).

En fin, el Decreto 50/2001 sobre la políticade desarrollo forestal de Nicaragua,actualmente modificado y en fase deaprobación por parte de la ComisiónNacional Forestal (CONAFOR), puntualizaque «se promoverá la diversificación demercados y productos, incluyendo mercadosa futuro, para mayor número de bienes yservicios provenientes del bosque y el apoyoen la inserción en los mercadosinternacionales. Además para ampliar yfortalecer los mercados, se promoverá através de incentivos el sometimiento

voluntario de bosques bajo manejo, a lacertificación forestal para garantizar unmanejo eficiente del mismo» (Art. 4).(Aportación hecha por Francesca FelicaniRobles, Consultora legal, FAO, Via delleTerme di Caracalla, Roma 00153, Italia.Correo electrónico:[email protected])

PAKISTAN

Indigenous use of non-timber forestproducts in the Kalash valley, Chitral The Kalash valley is located in the remotesouthwestern part of Chitral, an area ofunique cultural and biological diversity. Thenatural forest of the area mainly consists of

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A variety ofmushrooms/morels arefound in the Kalashvalley, includingMorchella esculenta, M.vulgaris, M. deliciosa and other morelssuch as oyster. Their local names arequchi, brangalu and shunti. Local peopleoften hide the place where they pickmushrooms. The Kalash community havetheir own indigenous knowledge formushroom collection; for example, it isbelieved that mushrooms often appearunder various trees such as Juglans regiaand Pinus wallichiana. Morels arecollected mostly for marketing purposes,but are sometimes also used as atraditional medicine or flavouring agent.

Morel collectors are usually poorvillagers who collect morels as their part-time activity besides farming andlivestock keeping. The collectors – 27percent women, 33 percent men and 40percent children – collect morels duringspring and early summer, from March toJuly, and sell them in the local market toearn a livelihood. Morel collection is ahectic job and requires a lot of physicalexertion, devotion and passion.Sometimes the collectors spend days inthe forest collecting morels. In most cases,they sell the morels in fresh form to thelocal Pathan dealers or in the markets ofChitral after drying the morels.

Morchella fetch high prices and thusplay an important role in the economy ofthe Kalash valley.

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pine (Pinus wallichiana), chlghoza (Pinusgerardiana), deodar (Cedrus deodara) andbroadleaf species such as oak (Quercusincana).

The forest of the whole Chitral district(including the Kalash valley) is estimated tobe 41 949 ha and is mainly used for timberextraction. The natural forest is under thecontrol of the Chitral Forest Department butvillagers have certain rights. Up to 25 000tonnes of forest wood are used annually asfuelwood. Almost 13 percent of thepopulation use the forest for generating theirfirst cash. Additionally 80 percent of localpeople are, in one way or the other,dependent on NTFPs.

Some of the important NTFPs in theKalash valley are wild mushrooms(Morchella esculenta, M. vulgaris, M.deliciosa), honey (Apis cerana), medicinalplants (Ferula narthex, Paeonia emodi, Inularecemosa), pine nuts (Pinus gerardiana) andsilk cocoons.

The people of this remote area rely ontheir indigenous knowledge to collect, packand dry these NTFPs and most of the localpeople are dependent on the products forincome generation.

A recent research paper by Ajaz Ahmedinvestigated the situation of NWFPs andsuggested future guidelines for properplanning and management.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Ajaz Ahmed, Directorate of Non-Timber ForestProduce, Forest Department, NWF Province,Peshawar, Pakistan. E-mail: [email protected]

PARAGUAY

Sweet herb may begreen gold forParaguay Paraguay is hoping asmall herb that is nottrafficked, addictive,or even fattening,could prove to be the real thing that thefood industry has been waiting for.

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana bertoni) hasbeen used for centuries by the Guaraninative people to sweeten their drinks, sinceit is 300 times sweeter than sugar withnone of the calories. Now the 60-cm highshrub has caught the eye of Coca-Cola, andits small Latin American home is hopingthe cash tills will soon start ringing.

Coca-Cola and Cargill, one of the topUnited States food companies, recently

unveiled plans to make a stevia-basedsweetener under the trade name Rebiana.

And even though the herb is not yetauthorized for consumption in the UnitedStates and has only a limited use in theEuropean Union, it is already popular inAsia where China has planted thousands ofhectares of rural land with the shrub.

“World demand is enormous,” saidNelson Gonzalez, head of the SteviaChamber of Commerce, a trade group ofproducers under the aegis of Paraguay’sMinistry of Industry. “But the sugar lobbywants to stop the importation of thisnatural, safe, revolutionary product.”

Studies at the medical school at theUniversity of Asunción found that steviahad a long list of beneficial properties,being an antioxidant, anti-inflammatoryand an antibacterial agent useful in thebattle against diabetes, high bloodpressure and tooth decay. But it is finding ithard to shake off fears over carcinogenswhich have dogged its sister, chemicallymanufactured sweeteners, saccharin andaspartame.

In ten years, plantations of stevia, whichis native to northwest Paraguay, havegrown from 350 to 1 500 ha. Officials hopeto increase this figure tenfold over the nextfive years through cloning, which is moreeffective than planting the seeds. However,the largest producer of stevia is notParaguay, but China, which has 20 000 haunder cultivation.

Paraguay’s stevia pioneer, the companyEmporio Guarani, grows the plant andextracts the sweetener in its plant inLuque, 10 km outside Asunción, and is notworried by China’s influence on themarket. “The land of stevia is right here,”said manager Maria Teresa Aguilera,whose phone has not stopped ringing withcalls from companies around the globe,following Coca-Cola’s announcement.“Thanks to our climate, we can raise threecrops while China grows one,” she said.

Besides its claims to safety, stevia hasanother advantage over aspartame: it isstable to 200°C so it can be baked.

A kilogram of stevia crystals, extractedfrom 12 kg of leaf, is worth US$40 to $100,depending on its purity.

Knowing that Paraguay, half of whosesix million inhabitants live in poverty, maybe sitting on a gold mine, authorities arenow launching a bid to win internationalrecognition as the stevia plant’s country oforigin. (Source: Independent Online [SouthAfrica], 18 July 2007.)

PERU

Maca (Lepidium peruvianum) benefitsUnited States consumers and Peruvianeconomy Nine years after medicine hunter ChrisKilham took an exploratory trek to thePeruvian highlands, a treasured traditionalsuperfood called maca has entered theUnited States consumer mass market. NowWal-Mart has placed Medicine Hunter MacaStimulant® on the shelves of 3 480 stores,coast to coast.

According to ethnobotanist Kilham, who isExplorer in Residence at the University ofMassachusetts, “Maca is one of the greatestsuperfoods of all time and makes people feelvery good very quickly.”

Two thousand years ago, the legendarymaca root was valued as gold and traded ascurrency in the ancient Incan culture. Historybooks record Incan warriors eating it to attainfearsome prowess in battle.

A member of the mustard family, the plantgrows under the most inhospitableconditions, in poor “moonscape” soil wherethe air is thin and the sunlight and wind areextremely harsh. Local harvesters todaygrow maca for its medicinal root, which theyuse as a staple in their diet and exportworldwide as a mega-energy food and potentsex booster for both men and women.

In addition to the United States consumer,the beneficiaries of Kilham’s work are thePeruvian harvesters who can now earn adecent wage from cultivating maca, which isa better option than the gruelling, dangerousand low-paying toil of mining, their only othersource of income. (Source: ENN News, 27September 2007.)

PHILIPPINES

Establishment of a rattan plantation A Japan-based international agency hasprovided a financial grant to helpunderwrite the establishment of a rattanplantation in Mindanao. The plantation willbe set up at a government experimentalforest in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato,with the support of the InternationalTropical Timber Organization (ITTO). Thegrant was provided by ITTO to theDepartment of Environment and NaturalResources-Ecosystem Research andDevelopment Services (DENR-ERDS) inRegion 12 (central Mindanao).

Dr Bighani Manipula, acting regionaltechnical director for research of DENR-

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Region 12, said that the project will showcasethe rattan seedling technology developed bythe research sector and will employ thecommunity-based approach in managing theplantation. Immediate stakeholders will betapped as partners in developing, managingand protecting the plantation instead of justtreating them as “resource users andbeneficiaries”, Manipula said.

As an initial activity, the projectmanagement team recently met the localcommunity to brief them on the project.The stakeholders will also be taught aboutrattan production – from seed harvesting tonursery management and plantationdevelopment. The project is expected toenhance and rehabilitate the 30-ha teakand rubber plantation that DENR-ERDS setup in 1985. (Source: The Philippine Star, 5October 2007.)

The Bulacan Province aggressivelypromotes bamboo farming The Bulacan government has launched anaggressive campaign to boost the bambooindustry, especially targeting regions alongthe rivers.

Global demand for bamboo has suddenlysurged as its fibres can now be transformedinto cloth. Cultivating bamboo in test tubesnot only yields large amounts but has alsobeen perceived as an easier method.Researchers have developed innovativemeans of cultivation that result in swiftproduction of the plant. Bamboo hasgenerated curiosity in the textile industry; itsfibre has been recognized as both durableand soft and can also be produced at low cost.

Not only this, bamboo is one of the mostenvironmentally friendly products. Expertssay that bamboo releases almost 35 percentoxygen and helps purify the air. Plantationson riverbanks also help control floods.

Recognizing all the benefits, thegovernment is encouraging local people toindulge in bamboo farming. This will alsoprovide livelihoods in the domestichandicraft industry. (Source:Fibre2fashion.com [India], 29 August 2007.)

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Korean ginseng products receiverecognition as distinct food The Republic of Korea’s ginseng-derivedproducts have received initial recognition asdistinct foods by an international standard-setting commission, the Government said onSunday.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestrysaid that the Codex AlimentariusCommission (Codex) had approved foodstandards forwarded by the country on driedand liquid extracts of ginseng. The ministrysaid that the decision made by a gathering offood experts in Rome to pass the foodstandards for ginseng is positive for exports.The Republic of Korea considers the root ahealth food but some countries classify it asa medicinal substance. Medicinalsubstances operate under different importrules from ordinary food, which makestrading them more difficult.

The latest decision by Codex will beforwarded to member countries of theorganization for feedback. That feedbackand the initial review will then be examinedin detail by a subcommittee board before aninternational standard is established.(Source: Yonhap News [Seoul], 15 July 2007.)

SOUTH AFRICA

Recipe for making traditional “mukumbi”marula beer Marula beer is brewed from the fruits ofSclerocarya birrea. Drinking marula beeris a social and cultural event in SouthAfrican rural areas, and people gatherevery year to drink it.

Currently, commercialization of marulabeer is growing in most urban areas.People, especially women, sell the beer forincome generation. A litre costs R2 on theurban market.

Making the beer is a skill, but that skillcan be transferred to others. Thefollowings are simple steps on how to makemarula beer.

• Collect fallen Sclerocarya birrea fruitsand allow them to ripen fully at home.They will change their colour to yellow.

• Use a fork to remove the outer layerand squeeze it from side to side.

• Put only the juice and seeds in a 20-litre bucket, until it is about 15 litres.

• Add 5 litres of water to the bucket andpress down to mix with a woodenspoon.

• Remove the seeds by squeezing thejuice from them.

• Leave the juice in the bucket left forabout four days to ferment.

• Before drinking marula beer, the thickdangwa layer on the top must beremoved although some people drinkwith it to clean their digestive system.

• Sometimes the beer is preserved forseveral months in a big clay pot calledmvuvelo and then drunk as a fullymatured beer – lutanda.

(Contributed by: Rudzani Makhado, PO Box395, Council for Scientific and IndustrialResearch (CSIR), Pretoria 0001, SouthAfrica. Fax: 012 841 2689 or 0866179355; e-mail: [email protected])

Traditional medicine for HIV to go on trial Clinical trials to test a traditionalmedicine’s effectiveness in delaying theonset of AIDS in HIV-positive patients willbegin in South Africa within weeks,according to researchers.

Approximately 125 HIV-positive patientsat Edendale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg inKwaZulu-Natal Province will take part intrials of the herb Sutherlandia frutescens,a well-known South African traditionalmedicine. The purpose of the trial will be totest the safety and effectiveness ofcapsules of Sutherlandia in patients newlydiagnosed with HIV. Results are expectedby August 2009. The research will beconducted by the South African universitiesof KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape,along with the Traditional Healers’Association of South Africa and theUniversity of Missouri in the United Statesof America.

Traditional healers use Sutherlandiafrutescens, sometimes known as “cancerbush”, to treat a host of ailments fromweight loss to aches and pains.Sutherlandia has several activeingredients, said Quinton Johnson, one ofthe study researchers and director of theInternational Centre for IndigenousPhytotherapy Studies at the University ofthe Western Cape. The plant containspinitol (a compound with antidiabeticproperties), canavine (used by traditionalhealers to treat wasting diseases such astuberculosis) and the amino acid GABA,which produces a feeling of well-being.

Nceba Gqaleni, Deputy Dean of theUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal’s Nelson R.Mandela School of Medicine, said this wasthe first collaboration between scientistsand traditional healers to assess the

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soon will result in the country being de-listed. If this happens, it will not only ruinthe country’s reputation and lose trust inthe EU market, which is still Uganda’slargest single exporting destination, but isalso frustrating in the efforts to eradicatepoverty.

Stakeholders are blaming thegovernment’s failure to help local farmersto access facilities that could help themharvest and produce the honey in a mannerthat is recommended by EU certificationstandards. For commercial purposes, asingle farmer may require up to USh4million to produce high-quality honey.

The trend in world supply has continuedto rise, but earnings have declined by aboutUS$20 million (USh35 billion). (Source: TheMonitor [Kampala], 3 October 2007.)

UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

Beekeeping in Umalila Beekeeping is an important secondaryindustry in Umalila. Many of thebeekeepers are elderly, however, andbeekeeping does not appear to beattractive to most young people. In addition,much of the original forest is in a degradedstate and is being gradually lost to loggingand cultivation.

As the forest has traditionally producedthe bulk of the honey, the future forbeekeeping is uncertain. This is more thanunfortunate for three reasons.

• Beekeeping could provide a usefulincome, particularly for young people,many of whom do not have access toland unless they hire it.

• Bees are important for the adequatepollination of crops such as passionfruit.

• It is traditional to site hives in areas offorest thus affording some protectionfor the remaining patches of

indigenous forest. One tree inparticular, impembati (Polyscias fulva),is frequently used and even plantedbecause of its branching habit and thusits suitability for the placement ofhives.

Beehives are traditionally constructedfrom iliogoti (Hagenia abyssinica) andIlangali (Euphorbia nyikae). Now they areusually made from Euphorbia nyikae andCupressus lusitanica.

The hives are approximately 1 m longand divided into two halves. These arebound together with a cord made fromisintu (Ipomoea involucrata) or othercreepers. Hives are always placed in trees,mainly to keep flying bees above peopleliving nearby or cultivating surroundingcrops; to catch the warmth of the early sun,particularly during the dry season when itcan be cold at over 2 000 m; and to providesome protection from pests. The two halvesof the hive are hauled up and assembledhigh in the tree and then covered over withbamboo sheaths, supported and held downwith sticks. The hive is baited withbeeswax, which is normally effective inattracting a colony to enter.

When harvesting honey, the beekeeperuses lit pieces of bamboo of ipekeso(Conyza bonariensis) stalks surrounded byigawo (Ensete ventricosum) wild bananaleaves to produce smoke, but he cannevertheless get badly stung. Sometimeshe will lower the hive to the ground wheretwo forked sticks are used to support thehive. Harvesting can then be carried outmore easily as most of the flying bees willreturn to the original hive site in the tree.Not all combs are taken during harvest.Some of the honey is left, together withbrood combs.

There is normally a small harvest at theend of June (up to 10 litres) but the mainharvest takes place in November andDecember when between 18 and 25 litrescan be collected.

Honey has a ready local market, mainlyeaten in the comb. Wax is sold separatelyfrom the honey and is used by localcarpenters and for shoe repairs. (Source:extracted from Latham, P. 2007. Plantsvisited by bees and other useful plants ofUmalila, Southern Tanzania.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Paul Latham, Croft Cottage, Forneth,Blairgowrie, Perthshire PH10 6SW, Scotland, United Kingdom. E-mail:[email protected]

effectiveness of indigenous practices intreating such a serious health issue.

According to Sazi Mhlongo, Chairman ofthe Traditional Healers’ Association ofSouth Africa, the plant is “the mostpowerful of our herbs, which we mix withother herbs to treat a lot of differentproblems”. Mhlongo, who has practised asa traditional healer in KwaZulu-Natal for 34years, said traditional healers have becomeincreasingly aware of the herb’s success intreating HIV-positive patients. Patients whotook it “felt better”, he said. (Source:SciDev.Net, 4 September 2007.)

UGANDA

Uganda’s “sex tree” under threat The soaring demand for a tree which someUgandans believe can boost a man’s libidoand virility, may lead to its extinction,researchers warn. The most popular partof the slow growing Citropsis articulatatree, locally known as omuboro, is its roots.Ugandan lecturer Maude Mugisha says thismeans the whole tree is uprooted to satisfyconsumer needs.

Found mainly in forest reserves, thetree’s aphrodisiac qualities are yet to bescientifically proven.

The experts’ concern was revealedduring a symposium in the Ugandancapital, Kampala, on conserving andimproving the use of endemic plantspecies. A by-product of the tree wasactually on sale outside the conferencevenue. The vendor said he had beengrowing the tree himself and extracts apowder that is steeped in hot water anddrunk as a beverage.

It is said that the tree’s stimulatingeffects are only evident in men. (Source:BBC News [United Kingdom], 25 July 2007.)

Uganda risks losing EU honey deal It has been two and half years since theEuropean Union listed Uganda amongthose countries entitled to export honey butnot one single consignment has ever beensent. After listing, Uganda was given anopportunity to export 200 tonnes of honeyannually but this volume has never beenrealized, despite the good quality of thehoney present in the numerous tests andcertification procedures undertakencountrywide and verified in Germany.

The President of the Uganda NationalApiculture Development Organization(Tunado) is worried that failure to comply

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shrubs for fuel. This is mainly recorded inremote saxual forests in deserts far fromforestry enterprises and forest guards.(Source: United Nations EconomicCommission for Europe (UNECE)/FAO.2006. Forest and forest products countryprofile. Uzbekistan. Geneva Timber andForest Discussion Paper 45.EC/TIM/DP/45.)

VIET NAM

Salt-marsh forests threatened by illegaldigging for impotence-curing worms Increasing numbers of people are visitingthe Can Gio salt-marsh forest to dig for DiaSam (Sipunculus). According to Tran MinhLong, the leader of Loi forest guards at AnBinh Hamlet, An Thoi Dong Commune in HoChi Minh City, this activity seriouslydamages the forest’s ecological system.

Dia Sam is a type of worm that plays animportant part in enriching the ground andhelping forest trees to grow better.

“Recently, Dia Sam has become aspecial dish in Ho Chi Minh City and is alsoexported to China. That’s why digging forworms in the forest has become sopopular,” said resident Sau Xe. Dia Samoften hide on wet land under bushes.People can dig them up easily and onlyneed to use a hoe. A regular digger cancollect 3 kg of Dia Sam per day. As 1 kg ofthe worms fetches VND12 000, a digger canearn a generous income that pays muchmore than other jobs.

Rach Moc, a protected forest, is consideredthe best place to dig for Dia Sam. More andmore people are visiting the area to dig forthe worm illegally. “It is difficult to arrestpeople because they go further and furtherinside the forest and use sophisticatedcamouflage to hide in the bushes and trees,”said the leader of Thanh Nien Guard.

Because of lack of knowledge about forestprotection, most diggers just think of theirown immediate benefits. They do not realizethat digging Dia Sam damages forest landand tree development or that their activitieshave a destructive effect on the wholeecological system. Once the Dia Sam arecaught, many old mature forests aredestroyed. The forestry situation is gettingworse without the Dia Sam to help improvethe quality of the soil. Can Gio is crying outfor help to stop widespread hunting of DiaSam. (Source: Vietnam News, 28 July 2007.)

Handicraft exporters target key markets The handicraft industry has increased exportvalue by nearly 30 percent in the last threeyears but needs to reform to compete withother regional exporters, according toindustry insiders. In 2004 the industry earnedUS$450 million and $630.4 million in 2006,which accounted for 3 percent of the country’stotal exports. Since 2000, the industry hasfocused efforts to expand exports to potentialmarkets, including the United States ofAmerica, the European Union, Japan, theRussian Federation and the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.Of these, the EU accounts for 50 percent ofViet Nam’s total handicraft exports, followedby Japan and the United States.

The handicraft industry has created jobs formore than 1.35 million workers, 60 percent ofwhom are women. Most women make rattanand bamboo articles, weave carpets andsleeping mats and make embroidered products.

Nguyen Van Sanh, deputy director of theMekong Delta Development ResearchInstitute, said that despite the industry’scontributions to increase export revenue andhasten rural economic restructuring, thehandicraft and arts industry still faceschallenges. The industry is plagued withoutdated designs and high delivery andtransport fees that make it less competitivethan China, Thailand and other ASEANcountries, particularly in the United States andthe EU. According to Sanh, the industry needsto expand planting areas for materials andreform production and processing methods.(Source: Vietnam Economic Times, 11September 2007.)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Ginseng labelling act introduced in Congress Legislation was introduced in both the UnitedStates Senate and House of Representativesyesterday that would require that ginseng(Panax spp.), when sold in its whole form, islabelled to identify its country of harvest.

Senate Bill 1953, the Ginseng HarvestLabeling Act of 2007, was sponsored by Sen.Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Sen. Herb Kohl(D-WI), while the companion bill, HouseResolution 3340, was introduced by Rep.Dave Obey (D-WI). In his floor statement,Sen. Feingold noted that the bill has long-standing support from ginseng farmers andthe Ginseng Board of Wisconsin as well asthe support of the American HerbalProducts Association (AHPA) and the UnitedNatural Products Alliance.

Feingold stated that ginseng grown inWisconsin – where 90 percent of UnitedStates ginseng is cultivated – “is of thehighest quality”, but that “smugglers will goto great lengths to label ginseng grown inCanada or Asia as Wisconsin-grown”. Healso stated that this legislation is intended tocorrect the problem and is “a simple buteffective way to enable consumers to makean informed decision”.

“This bill will ensure that buyers of wholeginseng root are given truthful informationas to its source, without creatingunnecessary labelling requirements forother herbal ingredients or for finishedherbal products,” said Michael McGuffin,AHPA’s president. (Source: American HerbalProducts Association, 5 August 2007.)

UZBEKISTAN

Sale of NWFPs The sale of wood and non-wood forestproducts by forestry enterprises generates300–350 million Uzbek sum in annual income(see Table). Currently, more than 500 tonnesof food and medicinal plants (about 35 plantspecies) are harvested from the forests.

NWFPs include plants such ascoriander, basil, fennel, onion anzur, dogrose and raspberries. In addition, saplingsand seeds of various woody and bushspecies are exported. For example, in 2004seedlings of woody and bush species weredonated to Afghanistan for gardening.

A big threat to the sustainability of forestresources is the illegal logging of trees and

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Product or service IncomeUS$1 000 %

Industrial roundwood 184.8 58.8

Woodfuel 49.3 15.7

Medicinal plants 27.02 8.6

Aromatic plants 0.94 0.3

Raw material for colourants and dyes 1.29 0.4

Hunting 38.43 12.3

Fishing 12.31 3.9

TOTAL 314.09 100

Income from forests in Uzbekistan, 2004



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Businesswoman brings Sa Pa medicinalplants to the world A 31-year-old woman, Do Thi Thu Ha, hashelped change the lives of ethnic minoritiesin Sa Pa with her company, tradingmedicinal plants after many years of livingin the mountainous area. In 2002, she wasassigned as coordinate officer to a projecton developing medicinal plants in Sa Pasponsored by the New Zealand Agency forInternational Development and the EU. Theproject aimed to encourage theconservation of endangered medicinalherbs and improve the livelihoods of ethnicminorities in the Sa Pa district of Lao CaiProvince.

After three years’ implementation, theproject saw some fruitful results. Someoverexploited and endangered plants thatused to be seen as weeds had becomemedicinal plants with high prices. The mostsuccessful thing, according to scientificresearchers, is that these plants could helpcure common diseases of a developingsociety such as depression or Alzheimer’s.

The project also discovered a kind of rootcontaining an anticancer active element,which could lead to a turning-point for theinhabitants of Sa Pa, once verified byresearchers. Later, intellectual propertyrights for the project’s products will begranted for the benefits of the Sa Pa ethniccommunity.

In 2005, Ha established a company tosell the products. The company is now busyseeking partners to sell medicinal plants toAustralia and New Zealand. Some foreignpharmaceutical firms have asked to buy thecompany’s registered patent for massproduction.

Ha’s company’s medicinal plantspreservation project was awarded one offive 2007 Global Supporting Entrepreneursfor Environment and Development (SEED)Awards. “Bridging the Gap”, as the projectis called, uses sustainable cultivation oftraditional medicinal plants to develop highvalue-added products, the manufacturingand proceeds of which improve thelivelihoods of ethnic minority communities,according to the United Nations.

Over the next 12 months, each of the fiveSEED award recipients will receive targetedsupport services designed to expand theirinitial ideas and projects into a socially,economically and environmentallysustainable enterprise. With SEED support,exports of medicinal plants in Sa Pa intoforeign markets are quite likely in the nearfuture.

In September 2007, Bridging the Gap wasfilmed for a BBC television programme.(Sources: Vietnam net, 3 July 2007 andSacred Earth, 27 August 2207.)

Traditional medicine in Viet Nam: anoverview Viet Nam has a long history of traditionalmedicine (TM) practices spanningthousands of years. Two, often interlinked,forms exist within the country: thuoc bac,or traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), isthe dominant system in the north and usesmaterials native to China; and thuoc nam,or traditional Vietnamese medicine (TVM),which predominates in the south and usesVietnamese materials.

Traditional medicines in Viet Nam aremade from animal, plant and mineralproducts. Plants are used in far moreremedies (over 90 percent) than animals,and most animal-based medicines alsoinclude plants to neutralize unpleasantodours and increase their overall effect. Allparts of a plant can be used. Similarly,many different animal parts are used, fromwhole bodies to specific organs.

Of the more than 80 million people in VietNam, over 75 percent are estimated to useTVM as their primary source of treatment forcommon health problems. This is perhapsunsurprising considering the prohibitiveexpense of western medicines, combinedwith poor access to hospitals or communityhealth centres. Together with increasingdemand from urban areas, exploitation ofmedicinal plants and animals has risen topose a serious threat to some species in VietNam – around 70 species are listed asthreatened on the World Conservation Union(IUCN) Red List. The current Viet Nam RedData Book lists 359 animals of conservationconcern, many of them traded and used formedicinal purposes, including tigers(Panthera tigris), rhinoceros (Rhinocerotidaespp.) and bears (Ursus spp.).

The impact of exploitation of wildmedicinal plant species is less welldocumented, but may be equally severe,especially as over 90 percent of the 3 900plant species used in traditional medicineare wild harvested. The uncontrolled harvestof wild medicinal plants in Viet Nam,particularly on a commercial scale forprocessing and export by the pharmaceuticalindustry, along with habitat loss anddegradation, are considered to be theprimary causes for the decline of 136species, 18 of them classified as CriticallyEndangered by IUCN. Several other specieshave declined so much in the wild in VietNam that they now have to be imported bythe major pharmaceutical companies.

Regulation and testing (quality control) ofthe trade in medicinal plants and animalsare poor. Current legislation is old and hasmany gaps, and only applies to state-runcompanies and institutions. Within privateindustry there is no official regulation (eitheradministration or enforcement) of activities.With such a complex structure, some of it“underground”, planning to regulate thislarge private industry will be a hugechallenge in the coming years. (Source:Traffic Dispatches, 26, November 2007;http://www.traffic.org/content/1036.pdf)

ZAMBIA

Beekeeping has a long and old record inZambian culture and there are few Zambianswho do not understand about bees beinghelpful to humans. Most of the beekeepingmethods used are of local origin, and mostcommonly used is the bark hive.

A tree is chosen with the desirablediameter and is then utilized to its fullest toavoid deforestation. One fully grown tree canproduce about ten hives each measuring upto 1.2 m in length. This measurement is usedto allow the beekeeper easy access to thecombs from both ends.

When the site for the apiary has beenchosen, the hive is hung high in the tree tosecure it from attack by honey badgers.(Source: Bees for Development Journal, 83,June 2007.) �

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AFRICA’S DRY FORESTS

The dry forests of sub-Saharan Africacover over 40 percent of the continent andare home to more than 230 million people.Many of the poorest people on Earth live inand around the forests and depend onthem for their survival and their meagreincomes. Over much of Africa, dry forestsare suffering from overuse and severedegradation, and this makes it even harderfor rural communities to lift themselvesout of poverty. During the past three years,CIFOR’s Dry Forests Project has sought tostimulate dialogue among a wide range ofstakeholders. Besides alerting policy-makers, resource managers and theinternational community to the importanceof dry forests, the project has beenstrengthening research capacity withinBurkina Faso, Ethiopia, the UnitedRepublic of Tanzania and Zambia in orderto promote sustainable forestmanagement and enhance locallivelihoods.

According to forester Daniel Tiveau,CIFOR’s regional coordinator for WestAfrica, it is high time we paid moreattention to Africa’s dry forests. “Over thepast decade, world attention has tended toconcentrate on the destruction of tropicalrain forests, even though worldwidedegradation and conversion of dry forestsis far more advanced than that of wetforests,” he says. “They provideconstruction material for farms andhomes, dry-season fodder for Africa’s vastlivestock populations, as well as wood fuel,medicinal plants and many otherproducts.”

The role that dry forests play insupporting hundreds of millions of peopleis described in a Forest Livelihoods Brief –The wealth of the dry forests – published byCIFOR in 2006. Among many other outputs,

three reports focused on particular aspectsof dry-forests management and husbandryin Zambia, Burkino Faso and Malawi.(Source: Center for International ForestryResearch (CIFOR) Annual Report 2006,Building on success. www.cifor.cgiar.org/publications/pdf_files/AReports/AR2006.pdf)

AMAZON RAIN FOREST AT RISK FROM INITIATIVETO CONNECT SOUTHAMERICAN ECONOMIES

An unprecedented development plan to linkSouth America’s economies through newtransportation, energy andtelecommunications projects could destroymuch of the Amazon rain forest in comingdecades, according to a new study byConservation International (CI) scientist TimKilleen. However, Killeen reports that such adisastrous outcome could be avoided ifsteps are taken now to reconcile thelegitimate desires for development with theglobally important need to conserve theAmazon ecosystem.

His 98-page report, entitled “A perfectstorm in the Amazon wilderness:development and conservation in the contextof the Initiative for the Integration of theRegional Infrastructure of South America(IIRSA)”, offers pragmatic approaches forresolving the enduring paradox betweeneconomic development and environmentalprotection. (Source: ENN News, 2 October2007.)

COALITION FORRAINFOREST NATIONS

The Coalition for Rainforest Nations wasformed after a call by the Prime Minister ofPapua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare, inMay 2005 and operates as anintergovernmental organization. The participants within the coalition seekresponsible stewardship of the world’s lastgreat rain forests through innovativestrategies that integrate social, economicand scientific rationales to achieveenvironmental sustainability. TheCoalition’s mission seeks to underpinlasting environmental sustainability andeconomic advancement with strengthenedtechnical capacity and international marketreform designed to enhance tropical foreststewardship, biodiversity conservation andglobal climate stability.

The coalition endeavours to move fromunsustainable to sustainable use of forestsand, in the process, members will be ableto:

• manage tropical rain forest areas insupport of climate stability, biodiversityconservation, sustainable developmentand poverty alleviation;

• improve the living standards of peopleliving in forest areas;

• guarantee the long-term security oftheir living standards; and

• set a precedent for other similarlyforested countries.

The coalition seeks to achieveenvironmental sustainability by developingviable economic alternatives for tropicalforest resource owners through:

• utilizing selective logging practices; • harnessing and remunerating the

carbon sequestration and absorptioncapabilities of the rain forest;

• valuing biodiversity; • facilitating ecofriendly community

businesses; and • avoiding deforestation and the

associated pulsed releases of carbon. Such innovation is necessary in order to

reduce the destruction of the tropical rainforest while creating sustainable social andeconomic development.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Coalition for Rainforest Nations, c/o ColumbiaUniversity, 3 Claremont Avenue, MC 5557, NewYork, New York 10027, United States of America.Fax: +1-212-504-2622;www.rainforestcoalition.org/eng/

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ENVIRONMENTALCERTIFICATION AND ITSROLE IN THE ECONOMICGROWTH OF AMAZONIA

In addition to being one form ofpreservation, environmental certification incommunity forests is also a primary factorfor sustainable economic growth in theseareas, providing market credibility toproduction, political organization tocommunities and control over prices. Thisis the conclusion of the doctoral thesis“Certificação Ambiental – Uma estratégiapara a conservação da FlorestaAmazônica” (Environmental certification –a conservation strategy for the Amazon rainforest), by researcher Raimundo Maciel,which was recently defended at CampinasState University.

The study was based on Brazil nutsproduced and exported by the Chico Mendesextractivist reserve and concluded that“environmental certification in communityforests provides forest producers with fairprices, precisely because they effectivelyparticipate in the management and findniches in markets for sustainable products”.

Maciel, who is also coordinator of theproject, Economic Analysis of Basic RuralFamily Production Systems in the AcreValley (ASPF) of the Federal University ofAcre, also pointed out that certificationsneed to be conducted on three levels:forestry, organic production and socially.“Triple certification [of Brazil nuts] wasdecisive in enabling producer cooperativesin the study region [...] to sell to thedemanding European market, in particularthe fair trade market niches, currently inrapid expansion”, the study reports.

Even though reserves, a set of publicpolicies and local associations would ensuresustainability of forest products, attentionshould not only be focused on the market.“A balance must be found betweenproduction capacity and market demand.Production does not necessarily have to bedetermined by the market, on the contrary,the market must adapt to natural resourceproducts, even renewable ones”, Macielpoints out.

He also concluded that communitiesnaturally concern themselves witheconomic use of the forest, as thesepractices directly impact their habitat.

The idea of forming certified extractivistreserves is basically a form to achieve localeconomic development. In his research,Maciel also addresses economic

organization and migration of forest peoplesto urban areas and highlights: “Remainingforest populations have been driven tourban areas as if they were being freed fromthe poverty and hardships of the forest,when historically the inverse is true, peopleliving on urban outskirts are becomingincreasingly poor and unviable.” (Source:Amazonia.org.br, 5 September 2007.)

MINING ANDDEFORESTATION

Increased mining activity in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) isnot only fuelling violent conflict but is alsocontributing to deforestation and loss ofwildlife in valuable rain forest regions. Onedriving force behind excessive mining inAfrica is the growing consumer demandfor electronic devices such as cell phones,computers and hand-held technologicalinstruments.

Columbo-tantalite, or coltan, is at theroot of electronics-related deforestation.Coltan is refined into tantalum, which isefficient in holding high electric charges.For this reason, coltan is in high demandin a growing age of electronic gadgetry.

The DRC holds 64 percent of the globalcoltan supply. Two-thirds of the Congo rainforests are within the DRC. An estimated40 million people depend upon NWFPsfrom these forests for survival – bothhunting and gathering food – and havedone so for thousands of years. KahuziBiega National Park is one endangeredregion. Large numbers of people moved tothe region and built mining camps as theyflocked to set up house and work themines. Deforestation and wildlife loss arealready problems; clearing land for campsand killing animals for food haveexacerbated the situation.

Recycling electronic products andresearching the manufacturers can helpminimize the environmental mining damagein the DRC and around the globe.(Contributed by: Rebecca Arrington, Side Porch Ind., LLC, 2705 W. Zenith Dr.,Milford, Mi 48380, United States of America.E-mail: [email protected])

PICKING BERRIESPROTECTS RAIN FORESTSBEST, STUDY SHOWS

According to a recent study, smallcommunity projects for picking fruits andnuts are the best way to alleviate povertyand protect the Amazon and other tropicalforests, but are largely ignored bygovernments. Communities harvestingnatural products generate more long-termincome than many national parks or bigtimber companies, said a report by theInternational Tropical Timber Organization(ITTO) released at a forestry conference innortheastern Brazil. “Someone dependingon a forest for income and habitat will lookafter it,” said Andy White, one of thereport’s authors. “We need people inforests.”

The 200-page report is based on 20 casestudies on three continents, ranging fromraising bees in Africa to making bamboochopsticks in China.

The ITTO, an intergovernmental grouppromoting the conservation and trade oftropical timber, says communities living inthe forest have a “longer time horizon forresource management” than big timbercompanies. For example, in Nepal, theextraction of juice from the Bel tree bylocal communities is rejuvenatingdegraded forests and helping preventunsustainable timber extraction, thereport said.

Community forest management hasincreased in recent years with politicaldecentralization and the recognition ofhistoric land tenure rights in severalcountries. But such efforts must overcomered tape, competition from big businessand government indifference, the studysaid.

In Brazil, local forest communities areoften displaced by loggers, farmers andminers, and many lack the infrastructureto bring products to the market.

“If the government dedicated only afraction of its farm aid to forestrymanagement, you would see a

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conservation revolution in the Amazon,”ITTO Executive-Director Manoel SobralFilho said. (Source: ENN Daily News, 18July 2007.)

PUTTING A MONETARYVALUE ON BIODIVERSITY

Placing monetary value on biodiversity isno easy task, say experts from the ForestResearch Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). Butthis is what they want to do. They areworking to come up with a predictivemodel that will help calculate theopportunity cost of logging forest areas byplacing a quantitative value on thebiodiversity.

As such, flora and fauna will becalculated in terms of ringgit and sen toenable a comparison between the cost oftimber produce and the cost of non-timberproduce at a specific jungle site. Tocalculate the value of bats, one could usethe cost of durian trees as the basis, sincebats were the main pollinators of durians,said project director Dr ShamsudinIbrahim. “No bats, no durians,” he said,adding that monetary value for bats couldequal the current cost of durians.

The US$5.67 million (RM19.6 million)project, the first of its kind in the world,was aimed at helping those involved,especially contractors, make more“informed decisions” about cutting downforests, he said.

Shamsudin added that the success ofthe “Conservation of Biological Diversitythrough Improved Forest Planning Tools inOperation” project would showcaseMalaysia as a leader in sustainabletropical forest management. “Should wesucceed in coming up with a practical,easy and cost-effective tool to calculatethe monetary cost of biodiversity within atargeted production forest area, we will bethe pioneers in this sector.” One criterionis that the tool can be replicated to be usedin other tropical forests around the world.

The project was mooted by former FRIMscientist Dr S. Appanah and Americanforest scientist Dr Peter Ashton. It tookthem six years to get the project off theground and obtain funding from the GlobalEnvironment Facility. The Perak IntegratedTimber Complex has been chosen as theproject site.

Project manager Dr Woon Weng-Chuensaid that one of the easier methods tocalculate the value of the biodiversity of a

specific forest area was to consider theextent of ecotourism the area couldattract. The amount of non-timber forestproduce collected from the area and soldby the indigenous people could also assistin the value calculation. “This will give usan idea of the opportunity cost of loggingthat area.”

The bigger elements to consider interms of opportunity cost would be howthe forest area contributes towards floodmitigation or acts as water catchmentareas with natural filtering systems.(Source: New Straits Times [Malaysia], 28June 2007.)

THE 2010 BIODIVERSITYINDICATORPARTNERSHIP

The United Nations EnvironmentalProgramme (UNEP) has inaugurated amultimillion dollar effort to track the fateand fortune of the world’s biologicaldiversity. Funded by the GlobalEnvironment Facility (GEF), the 2010Biodiversity Indicator Partnership(http://www.twentyten.net/) aims tocomplete a set of indicators that will allowthe international community to assessbetter whether conservation efforts aresucceeding towards the target of“reducing the rate of loss of biodiversity by2010”.

Under the new US$8.8 millionpartnership, which has secured over $3.6million from GEF, a wider range of existingand new indicators will be broughttogether to gain greater and deeperinsight into whether the 2010 biodiversitytarget is on course. Some of the new

indicators, emerging from a list chosen bythe Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD), include threats to biodiversity; thedegree to which forests, farmlands andfisheries are managed in a way thatprotects biodiversity; the extent to whichpeople are affected by changes inbiodiversity and the contribution oftraditional knowledge to the biodiversitytarget.

There will also be a focus on thecomponents of biodiversity, includinggenes, species and ecosystems. Several ofthe new indicators will require acomprehensive gathering of data exercise,including trends in the spread of invasivealien species and in the health and well-being of communities dependent on thegoods and services provided by localecosystems. (Source: Afrique en ligne[France], 18 July 2007.) �

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A forest bird never wants a cage. Henrik Ibsen

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“The right to food is not a utopia. It canbe realized for all. Some countries are onthe way to doing this, but everyone shouldcontribute to make this happen,” saysBarbara Ekwall, Coordinator of the Rightto Food Unit.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Ms Barbara Ekwall, Coordinator, Right to FoodUnit, ESA, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153Rome, Italy. Fax: +39-06-57053712; e-mail:[email protected]; www.fao.org/righttofood/

La contribución de los productosforestales no madereros al derecho a laalimentación¿Como reforzar un enfoque basado sobrelos derechos humanos?El derecho a una alimentación adecuada ysu aplicación, en línea con las directricesvoluntarias en apoyo a la realizaciónprogresiva del derecho a una alimentaciónadecuada, tiene una directa implicacióncon la necesidad de un manejo adecuadode los bosques, requiriendo un marco legalque integre disposiciones con miras afavorecer los derechos relativos al accesoa los recursos naturales.

Los productos forestales no madereros(PFNM), por ejemplo, ejercen unaimportante función como proveedores dealimentos (frutas, semillas comestibles,plantas medicinales y miel). Disposicionesde ley deberían mencionar la necesidad deun acceso justo y equitativo a tales

productos por parte de los grupos másnecesitados.

Hay también que tomar en cuenta losmúltiples factores que contribuyen amejorar la seguridad alimentaria a través deuna reglamentación apropiada,considerando la necesidad que instancias,autoridades pertinentes y mecanismosadecuados hagan valer los derechos de losgrupos más vulnerables.

Recientes disposiciones en Honduras yNicaragua (véase pagina 56) reglamentanalgunos aspectos de los PFNM, cuyacontribución para la seguridad alimentariapodría ser aún más relevante si se tuvieraen cuenta su potencial.

A veces, la falta de conocimiento de suvalor comercial, no atrae el interés en tomaracciones para reforzar un marco legal queevidencie la necesidad de incrementar suuso sostenible y su producción en beneficiode las poblaciones nativas.

Sin embargo, esta tendencia se estárevirtiendo tanto en Honduras como enNicaragua, las leyes forestales vigentesincluyen disposiciones específicas parapromover la compensación por bienes yservicios ambientales derivados de unmanejo sostenible de los recursosprovenientes del bosque como los PFNM. Esprimordial que el Pago por Bienes yServicios Ambientales (PBSA) seafundamentado en la ley, con el fin deasegurar el derecho de acceso a esosservicios a las poblaciones locales.

En línea con un enfoque basado sobre losderechos humanos, los gobiernos deberíanacompañar con acciones concretas estosesfuerzos. A través de mecanismos claros yprocesos transparentes se deberían definirresponsabilidades y obligaciones derivadasde la aplicación de la ley, en el marco delproceso de descentralización administrativadel sector forestal.

El Comisionado de los DerechosHumanos, asociaciones de la sociedad civil,y ONG podrían ser parte activa de estasiniciativas.

En fin, los PFNM, como bienesambientales proveedores de alimentosdeberían contar con sistemas de valoraciónadecuados que generen seguridad jurídica yun marco conceptual claro y práctico quepermita rescatar con eficiencia la utilidadambiental, social y económica. (Aportación hecha por Francesca FelicaniRobles, Consultora legal, FAO, Viale delleTerme di Caracalla, Roma 00153, Italia.Correo electrónico:[email protected])

FAO

On 16 October 2007, FAO celebrated WorldFood Day with the theme “The Right toFood”. The right to food is the right of everyperson to have regular access to sufficient,nutritionally adequate and culturallyacceptable food for an active, healthy life. Itis the right to feed oneself in dignity, ratherthan the right to be fed. With more than 850million people still deprived of enoughfood, the right to food is not justeconomically, morally and politicallyimperative – it is also a legal obligation.

Since 1996, following the World FoodSummit, FAO has been working withgovernments and communities worldwideto gain recognition for this basic humanright.

Given the persistent high numbers ofundernourished people, in June 2002, the“World Food Summit: five years later”decided to develop guidelines to supportMembers’ efforts to realize the right ofeveryone to adequate food. In 2004, afterintensive negotiations, the Right to FoodGuidelines were adopted unanimously byFAO members. FAO set up a Right to FoodUnit to support member countries in theimplementation of the guidelines.

The guidelines are a practical tool toassist countries in their efforts to eradicatehunger. They provide a set of coherentrecommendations on, among others,labour, land, water, genetic resources,sustainability, safety nets, education andthe international dimension. They alsoencourage the allocation of budgetaryresources to antihunger and povertyprogrammes, such as those currentlybeing undertaken in Brazil andMozambique.

By recognizing the right to food,governments have an obligation to respect,protect and fulfil this right. In order toachieve the World Food Summit objectiveand Millennium Development Goal numberone of reducing hunger by half by 2015,efforts are needed to give a voice to thehungry and to strengthen governments’capacity to meet their obligations.

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RIGHT TO FOOD

Severe food insecurity affects at leastone-seventh of the world’s humanpopulation.

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Right to food and FAO forestry activities –the way forwardIncorporating human rights principles intotraditional development approaches maysupply the “missing element” that hasprevented 50 years of development aidfrom overcoming poverty. Empowerment isa key to moving away from the benevolencemodel of aid to a sustainable, enablingenvironment in which people can feedthemselves. A rights-based approach canhelp not only achieve food security, butalso meet international poverty reductiongoals, while simultaneously recognizinghuman dignity and the inherent worth ofevery individual. How is the right to food(RtF) different from usual ways of fightinghunger, poverty and food insecurity? Howwill this work for FAO? Some points toconsider in answering these questionsinclude the following.

• The RtF is a human right.• For the 156 countries that have ratified

the International Covenant onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights,the RtF is a legally binding right.

• Who is responsible for implementingthe RtF? How can states achieve theRtF?

• How can people accede, maintain andclaim the RtF?

• How does the RtF differ from foodsovereignty, food security and otherconcepts?

In their document “Putting the right intopractice – implementing the right to foodat the national level”, the Right to FoodUnit have selected five areas of action asentry points: i) advocacy and training; ii)information and assessment; iii)legislation and accountability; iv) strategyand coordination; and v) benchmarks andmonitoring,

FAO and its Forestry Department arecurrently exploring the ways and means tocreate a synergy through their activities inorder to support member countries toachieve food security and the right to food.

As a first step, four thematic clusterswere selected – based on themes, andgeographic and opportunities criteria – toexplore and facilitate the integration of theRtF principles into the work of the ForestryDepartment: i) intersectoral linkages; ii)legal framework; iii) NWFPs; and iv) policyand institutions.

By the end of 2007, specificrecommendations on how to go forward in

“Enhancing food security throughsustainable use of non-wood forestproducts in Central Africa”(GCP/RAF/398/GER) and “Mobilization andcapacity building of small and mediumenterprises in the non-wood forestproduct value chains in Central Africa”(GCP/RAF/408/EC).

The projects operate within thestrategic framework of the Commission encharge des forêts d’ Afrique Centrale(COMIFAC) and are fully in line with FAO’spriorities for the development of theforests of the Congo Basin. These are i)improving the socio-economic conditionsof the poorest people, enhancing foodsecurity and reducing poverty; ii)reinforcing subregional cooperation; andiii) strengthening data collection andmanagement.

A key activity of projectGCP/RAF/398/GER is the improvement ofthe legal framework in order to ensurethat forestry laws promote the sustainableuse of NWFPs in Central Africa. Theappropriate inclusion of NWFPs in forestrylaws is an important precondition forsustainable forest management, allowinglocal populations to increase their well-being and develop the largely informal buteconomically important market chains ofNWFPs.

To this effect, an interdisciplinaryworking group has elaborated asubregional model law that providescountries in the Congo Basin withorientations for the integration of non-wood resources in their respectivenational forestry laws. Experts andgovernment representatives from thesubregion met twice and finalized the textonline. It is available for comments on theproject’s Web page atwww.fao.org/forestry/site/43715/en.Before its submission to the ExecutiveSecretariat of the Central Africa ForestsCommission (COMIFAC) in 2008, the draftwill be discussed and validated during asubregional workshop in November 2007.

Whereas the use of wood resources canbe directed by relatively clear-cut, uniformlegislation, the enormous diversity ofNWFPs in terms of use and vulnerability(harvesting impact, scale and intensity ofuse, perspectives of domestication)requires tailored legislation. Parallel tothe subregional harmonization throughthe model law initiative, projectGCP/RAF/408/EC pilots a participatoryprocess to develop product and chain-

the next biennium will clearly defineforestry options as a means to achieve thefull realization of the right to food for all.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Ms Michelle Gauthier, Forestry Officer(Agroforestry and Land Use), Forest Conservation Service, FAO, Rome, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]

Unasylva celebrates its 60th birthday FAO’s longest-running periodicalcelebrated its 60th anniversary with aspecial double issue (Unasylva 226/227),reprinting material from every decade ofUnasylva’s rich history. The selectedarticles illustrate how “Weavingknowledge into development”, the sloganfrom the March 2007 session of the FAOCommittee on Forestry, characterizeswhat Unasylva has been doing for 60 years.Collectively, these articles document theevolution of forestry and of FAO’s activitiesin forestry – and some of the earliestarticles may surprise readers byanticipating concepts that we thought werenew.

The double issue can be downloadedfrom: www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1222e/a1222e00.htm

Appropriate legislation: key to a thrivingNWFP sector in Central AfricaMillions of people in Central Africa,notably women and minorities, depend ona wealth of non-wood forest resources.These resources enhance food security ofthe poorest part of the population andincrease revenues throughcommercialization. FAO contributes to thedevelopment of the NWFP sector inCentral Africa through its projects

FAO IN THE FIELD

FORESTRY DEPARTMENT

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connects a global network of partnersfrom the government, private, and not-for-profit sectors in over 50 countries to defineand implement a global agenda forsustainable development through bambooand rattan.

INBAR’s mission is to improve the well-being of producers and users of bambooand rattan within the context of asustainable bamboo and rattan resourcebase by consolidating, coordinating andsupporting strategic and adaptive researchand development. In their “Decade ofAchievements” (1997–2007), INBAR hasbeen active in many countries, coveringresource improvement and management;processing and product technology;national and international policy; andhuman resources development.

To mark its tenth anniversary, INBAR isholding a wide range of different events inlate 2007 and early 2008 around the world,from workshops and seminars to festivalsand trade fairs. A full listing of INBAR’sanniversary events can be found atwww.inbar.int/anniversary/main.htm.

INBAR has also recently produced its“Strategy to the year 2015”.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: INBAR, PO Box 100102-86, Beijing 100102,China. Fax: +86-10-6470 2166/ 3166 ; e-mail:[email protected]; www.inbar.int

INDIGENOUS ISSUES

The International Work Group forIndigenous AffairsThe International Work Group forIndigenous Affairs (IWGIA) is a non-profit,politically independent, internationalmembership organization that supportsindigenous peoples worldwide in theirstruggle for self-determination. IWGIA’s

oriented legislation. This should lead tothe elaboration of appropriate decrees ofapplication for the sustainable use of keyproducts.

An inclusive, participatory approach isbelieved to create the support needed tobridge the gap between the national legalframeworks and notoriously informalmarkets. Including stakeholders rangingfrom producers’ associations to thegoverning institutions, it is expected topromote sustainable use, increase thelaw-enforcing institutions’ legitimacy andallow for an alignment of their capacitieswith their mandates.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT OURWEB SITES OR CONTACT: Mr Daniel Knoop,Associate Professional Officer, c/o FAORepresentation in Cameroon, PO Box 281,Yaoundé, Cameroon. Fax : +237 2 220 48 11;e-mail: [email protected];www.fao.org/forestry/site/43715/en(GCP/RAF/398/GER);www.fao.org/forestry/site/43055/en(GCP/RAF/408/EC)

THE INTERNATIONALNETWORK FOR BAMBOOAND RATTAN (INBAR)

The International Network for Bamboo andRattan (INBAR) is an internationalorganization established by treaty inNovember 1997, dedicated to improvingthe social, economic and environmentalbenefits of bamboo and rattan. INBAR

Over one billion people live in bamboohouses. However, in the absence ofrecognized bamboo building codes,professional architects cannot legallyutilize bamboo as a building material.Insurances and loans are not availablefor bamboo buildings. The impact ofthe approval of the Bamboo BuildingCode developed by INBAR andsubmitted earlier to the InternationalStandard Organization (ISO) cannot beoverestimated. It will boost bamboobuilding industries worldwide,promote bamboo utilization and leadto safer, environmentally friendly andaffordable dwellings, especially in thedeveloping world.

NON-WOOD NEWS No. 15 July 2007

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RIGHT TO FOOD AND INDIGENOUSPEOPLES

Indigenous peoples are among theworld’s most vulnerable groups andpoorest socio-ethnic populations. Theymake up a significant percentage ofthe food insecure, often facing chronichunger and malnutrition.

The Right to Food Guidelines referto indigenous communities in thecontext of access to resources andassets. Access to land and otherproductive resources (forest, fishing,water, etc.) are of vital importance forindigenous people’s right to food. Thecultural identity and heritage ofindigenous peoples are inseparablefrom their traditional lands.Indigenous peoples obtain fooddirectly from their lands by hunting,gathering or cultivating; they may alsoacquire food indirectly by marketingtheir produce.

States have particular obligationsconcerning the right to food ofindigenous peoples. These includerespecting indigenous peoples’traditional way of living,strengthening traditional food systemsand protecting subsistence activitiessuch as hunting, fishing and gathering.States are also responsible for ensuringthe application of general humanrights principles to indigenous peoples,both in their food and nutritionsecurity policies and policies that mayaffect their access to food.

The right to food is an importanttool for indigenous peoples to bringabout real change in their lives and forthe motivation to negotiate powerstructures. (Source: Right to food andindigenous peoples, paper in the“Focus on” series, Right to Food Unit,FAO.)



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States of America. Fax: 1 917 367 5102; e-mail:[email protected];www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/

Declaration on the Rights of IndigenousPeoples The UN General Assembly on Thursdayadopted a non-binding declarationupholding the human, land and resourcesrights of the world’s 370 millionindigenous people, brushing off oppositionfrom Australia, Canada, New Zealand andthe United States. The vote in theassembly was 143 in favour and fouragainst. Eleven countries, including theRussian Federation and Colombia,abstained.

The declaration, capping more than 20years of debate at the United Nations, alsorecognizes the right of indigenous peoplesto self-determination and sets globalhuman rights standards for them. It statesthat native peoples have the right “to therecognition, observance and enforcementof treaties” concluded with states or theirsuccessors.

Indigenous peoples say their lands andterritories are endangered by threats suchas mineral extraction, logging,environmental contamination,privatization and development projects,classification of lands as protected areasor game reserves and use of geneticallymodified seeds and technology. (Source:Agence France-Presse newswire, 13September 2007 [in BIO-IPR docserver].)

SECRETARY-GENERAL DECLARESINDIGENOUS RIGHTS DECLARATIONA “TRIUMPH”

The Secretary-General of the UnitedNations warmly welcomes the adoptionof the Declaration on the Rights ofIndigenous Peoples as a triumph forindigenous peoples around the world.He notes that this marks a historicmoment when United Nations MemberStates and indigenous peoples havereconciled with their painful historiesand are resolved to move forwardtogether on the path of human rights,justice and development for all.

The Secretary-General calls ongovernments and civil society urgentlyto advance the work of integrating therights of indigenous peoples intointernational human rights anddevelopment agendas, as well aspolicies and programmes at all levels,so as to ensure that the vision behindthe declaration becomes a reality.(Source: UN press statementSG/SM/11156 HR/4931, 13 September2007.) �

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activities focus on human rights work,documentation and dissemination ofinformation, and project activities incooperation with indigenous organizationsand communities.

The world’s indigenous peoples accountfor more than 350 million individuals,divided into at least 5 000 peoples.

Since its foundation in 1968, IWGIA hasfollowed the indigenous movement andcontinuously increased its activities andexpanded its network with indigenouspeoples worldwide. IWGIA supportsindigenous peoples’ struggle for humanrights, self-determination, right toterritory, control of land and resources,cultural integrity and the right todevelopment. It collaborates withindigenous peoples’ organizations all overthe world.

Documentation about indigenous affairsis an essential part of IWGIA’s work. IWGIApublishes books, periodicals and ayearbook about indigenous peoples.

IWGIA’s work is primarily funded by theNordic Ministries of Foreign Affairs andthe European Union.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: International Work Group for IndigenousAffairs (IWGIA), Classensgade 11 E, DK 2100,Copenhagen, Denmark. Fax: (+45) 35 27 05 07;e-mail: [email protected]; www.iwgia.org/

United Nations Permanent Forum onIndigenous Issues

The UN PermanentForum on Indigenous

Issues (UNPFII) is anadvisory body to theEconomic and SocialCouncil, with amandate to discuss

indigenous issuesrelated to economic and

social development, culture,the environment, education, health andhuman rights.

The Seventh Session of UNPFII, with thespecial theme “Climate change,biocultural diversity and livelihoods: thestewardship role of indigenous peoplesand new challenges”, will take place at theUnited Nations headquarters, New Yorkfrom 21 April to 2 May 2009.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Secretariat of the Permanent Forum onIndigenous Issues, United Nations, 2 UN Plaza,Room DC2-1772, New York, NY 10017, United

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38TH INTERNATIONALSYMPOSIUM ONESSENTIAL OILSGRAZ, AUSTRIA9–12 SEPTEMBER 2007

The main topics covered by plenarylectures were:

• Recent developments in molecularbiology and biosynthesis of terpenes

• Body(sweat) – fragrance – interactions • New developments in quantitative

essential oil analysis • Essential oils in animal health and

nutrition.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: the Organizing Secretariat, SEMACO GmbH,Firmianstr. 3, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. Fax: +43662 82 68 78 4; e-mail: [email protected];www.iseo2007.org/index.php?pg=home

INTERNATIONALCONFERENCE ON THE SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT OF NON-TIMBER FORESTPRODUCTS AND SERVICESBEIJING, CHINA26–28 SEPTEMBER 2007

This conference, hosted by the ChineseAcademy of Forestry and organized by theInternational Tropical Timber Organization(ITTO) in collaboration with the InternationalNetwork for Bamboo and Rattan, theInternational Centre for Bamboo and Rattanand FAO, was attended by 120 people from 42developed and developing countries,including officials from forestry agencies intropical countries, researchers, projectmanagers and representatives of nationaland international non-governmental anddevelopment assistance organizations.

The conference was convened at a timewhen some non-timber forest products(NTFPs) are emerging rapidly in the globalmarketplace and as markets for theenvironmental services of forests are beingincreasingly promoted. Many countries andorganizations see a great deal of potential forthese forest products and services to assistthe process of sustainable development andto help alleviate poverty in some of theworld’s poorest places. The conference washeld in China, a country that is at theforefront of many of the most dramaticdevelopments in the utilization of NTFPs. Astudy visit to Anji Province in southern China

showed how a huge bamboo resource thereis being used in a wide range of industrialprocesses, from reconstituted boards to rugsand curtains, aiding the province’s rapiddevelopment process.

The papers presented at the conferenceand the discussions they provoked werewide-ranging. The conference received anoverview of the global NWFP and servicessector, considered the growing significanceof community forest enterprises in theproduction of forest products and services,and discussed policy and practical issuesrelated to the development of markets forcarbon and other forest services. It alsolearned of experiences in a number of ITTO-funded projects and canvassed issuesrelated to NTFPs and environmental servicesin Brazil, Cameroon, the Central AfricanRepublic, China, Colombia, the Congo,Germany, India, Indonesia, Liberia, Malaysia,Mexico, Myanmar, Peru and the Philippines.

During the conference, participantsformed five break-out groups to reflectfurther on the ideas, experiences andissues raised during plenary sessions. Thekey issues and recommendationspresented below were derived from thefindings of these five groups.

Key issues• The NTFP sector is highly diverse and,

often, region- or country-specific. While agreat strength, this diversity has not beenhelpful in communicating to decision-makers the importance of NTFPs. Thereis also a wide diversity of definitions ofNTFPs and environmental services, whichhinders the development of the sector.

• Forests provide many services, includingcarbon sequestration (forest growth,protection); avoided carbon emissions;hydrological services; scenic beauty/recreation; biodiversity conservation;soil erosion control; disaster mitigation;climate buffering; environmentalpurification; and pollination. Paymentsfor these services can help reduce bothpoverty and deforestation. Recentexperiences in Mexico and China showthat schemes to introduce suchpayments are feasible within a clearnational legal and institutionalframework and with start-up funding.

• Governments and forestry institutionshave tended to neglect research anddevelopment into NTFPs andenvironmental services, although forsome products and services this ischanging rapidly.

• NTFPs are extremely important for manycommunities, particularly the rural poorand among women, probably much moreimportant than available data wouldindicate. Some high-value,internationally traded NTFPs also makesignificant contributions to nationaleconomies. However, the benefits of thetrade in NTFPs are not always distributedequitably and markets are often informal,disorganized and open to exploitation.

• For many NTFPs, the value chain is notwell developed and more value-addingat the local level could provide forest-based communities with significantbenefits.

• The sustainable use of NTFPs andenvironmental services are key elementsof sustainable forest management(SFM), but this is not always clear toforest managers. There is a lack ofnormative guidance on the managementof many NTFPs and a need to pursue theintegrated (“multiple-use”) sustainablemanagement of forests for all goods andservices.

• Information on the production, use andtrade of NTFPs is generally very poor atall levels. It is known, however, thatNTFPs are being extracted at higher thanthe sustainable rate in many forests.

• A lack of clear resource tenure, accessand rights inhibits the development ofcommunity-based forest enterprises.Fiscal policies and regulations are alsooften counterproductive to thesuccessful commercialization of NTFPsand environmental services.

• Many NTFPs and environmentalservices transcend national boundariesand offer an opportunity forstrengthening trade and cooperationbetween countries. International legalmechanisms exist that play a role in thetrade of NTFPs, but not allgovernments make full use of this role.

• There is a suspicion among somepolicy-makers and forest owners andusers that payments for carbon creditswill mean the exclusion of other uses,such as the extraction of timber andnon-timber products. However, this isnot necessarily true.

RecommendationsGovernments and internationalorganizations should:

• fully recognize the huge existing andpotential role of NTFPs and forestenvironmental services in sustaining

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and adding wealth to people living in andaround forests;

• improve the terminology and definitionsof NTFPs and environmental services toensure a consistent approach to theirmanagement and trade;

• where necessary, institute and supportparticipatory processes to develop andimprove legal and policy frameworksthat support the production and trade ofNTFPs and services, including byaddressing land tenure, resource accessand user rights;

• ensure that these laws and policies allowand assist indigenous and localcommunities, including women, to developsuccessful forest-based enterprises;

• ensure that such laws and policies alsoencourage the improved organizationand equitability of markets for NTFPsand environmental services at the local,national and international levels;

• review the need for new and/or improvedfinancial mechanisms to promotecommunity-based enterprises based onNTFPs and environmental services withthe objective of reducing poverty;

• develop cooperative agreements for thesustainable management of NTFPswithin common biogeographic areas;

• develop guidelines for the sustainableand socially equitable use of NTFPsand environmental services in thecontext of SFM;

• strengthen capacity among localcommunities, government and theprivate sector to apply such guidelines;

• support the development of national andinternational standards and certificationsystems for different groups of NTFPsand environmental services;

• boost research and development intoNTFPs and payments for environmentalservices, including by:- facilitating the collection and

dissemination of applied research andknowledge

- improving methodologies forassessing the social, economic andenvironmental importance of NTFPsand services in the context of SFM

- encouraging the greater involvementof the private sector in technologydevelopment

- identifying knowledge gaps andimproving research into and thetransfer of appropriate technology forvalue-adding to NTFPs, particularlypost-harvesting and processingtechniques at the village level

- clarifying the costs and benefits ofcertification for all stakeholders inthe NTFP value chain

• strengthen international networks onNTFPs to improve the quality,availability and exchange of technical,marketing and managementinformation; and

• support the development of:- capacities for monitoring and

assessing environmental servicesand payments for them as a way ofadding value to tropical forests andreducing poverty

- effective procedures for the valuationof environmental services

- better instruments for financingenvironmental services, especiallyfrom the private sector

- integration in national development/sectoral planning and legal frameworks.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: ITTO Secretariat, Forest Industry Division,International Tropical Timber Organization,International Organizations Center, 5th Floor,Pacifico-Yokohama 1-1-1, Minato-Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, 220-0012 Japan. Fax: +81 45 223 1111; e-mail: [email protected]

THE 8TH PACIFIC ISLANDSCONFERENCE ON NATURECONSERVATION ANDPROTECTED AREASALOTAU, PAPUA NEW GUINEA22–26 OCTOBER 2007

The conference’s theme, “Conservationserving communities, in a rapidly changingworld” highlights the inextricable link betweenPacific islanders and the natural environment,and the importance of strengthening networksin the climate of global change.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Ruth Pune, Conference Coordinator, Secretariatof the Pacific Regional Environment Programme,PO Box 240, Apia, Samoa. Fax +685 20231; e-mail:[email protected]; www.sprep.org/roundtable

TRONDHEIM CONFERENCEON BIODIVERSITYTRONDHEIM, NORWAY29 OCTOBER – 2 NOVEMBER 2007

The fifth Trondheim Conference onBiodiversity, hosted by the NorwegianGovernment in collaboration with the

United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), was entitled “Ecosystems andpeople – biodiversity for development”.

The conference provided input to theConvention on Biodiversity (CBD) and itspreparations for the ninth Conference of theParties (COP-9) in Germany in 2008. Itfocused on the critical role of biodiversity andecosystems in providing goods and servicesthat are necessary for human well-being andsecurity and for economic development.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Directorate for Nature Management, 7485Trondheim, Norway. Fax +47 73 58 05 01; e-mail:[email protected];www.trondheimconference.org/

INTERNATIONALCONFERENCE ONSUSTAINABLE FORESTMANAGEMENT ANDPOVERTY ALLEVIATION:ROLES OF TRADITIONALFOREST-RELATEDKNOWLEDGE KUNMING, CHINA17–20 DECEMBER 2007

Traditional knowledge has greatlycontributed, and still does, to the world’snatural and cultural heritage by sustainingthe production of multiple goods andservices that enhance livelihood security andquality of life. This conference provided aplatform for sharing of information andexchanging experiences related to traditionalforest-related knowledge (TFRK) in the Asia-Pacific Region. The conference alsohighlighted the importance of TFRK inachieving the Millennium DevelopmentGoals and sustainable forest management. Italso encouraged further development onincorporating TFRK in models of sustainablepractices.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Dr Liu Jinlong, Sustainable Forestry ResearchCentre, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing100091, China. E-mail: [email protected];www.iufro.org/science/task-forces/traditional-forest-knowledge �%

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FOREST INSECTS ASFOOD: HUMANS BITEBACK. A WORKSHOPFOCUSED ON ASIA-PACIFIC RESOURCESAND THEIR POTENTIALFOR DEVELOPMENT CHIANG MAI, THAILAND19–21 FEBRUARY 2008

Humans have consumed insects forthousands of years – in some cases asemergency food, in other cases as a staple,and in still other cases as delicacies. Inmodern times, consumption of insects hasdeclined in many societies, and has oftenbeen shunned as old-fashioned, dirty orunhealthy. Yet, among various culturesscattered throughout the world, insectsremain a vital and preferred food and anessential source of protein, fat, minerals andvitamins. For some members of the rapidlygrowing upper and middle classes of urbansociety, insects are “nostalgia food,”reminding them of earlier, simpler days inthe rural countryside.

Worldwide, over 1 400 insect species arereportedly eaten as human food. Most areharvested from natural forests. But, whileinsects account for the greatest amount ofbiodiversity in forests, they are the leaststudied of all fauna. Surprisingly little isknown, for example, about the life cycles,population dynamics and managementpotential of many edible forest insects.Similarly, little is known of the impacts thatoverharvesting of forest insects might haveon forest vegetation, other forest fauna andthe ecosystems themselves.

Among forest managers, there is littleknowledge or appreciation of the potentialfor managing and harvesting insectssustainably. There is almost no knowledge orexperience in manipulating forest vegetationor harvest practices to increase, maximize orsustain insect populations. Indeed, as manyinsects cause massive damage and mortalityto valuable commercial trees, virtually allinsects are considered undesirable pests bymany forest managers. What knowledgedoes exist in these respects is often held bytraditional forest dwellers and forest-dependent people.

The capturing, processing, transportingand marketing of edible forest insectsprovide interesting income and livelihoodopportunities for an undetermined numberof people around the world. Traditionally,these activities were all locally based andlargely under-recognized. Recently,

however, more sophisticated and wide-reaching marketing and commercializationof edible forest insects have been advanced,including attractive packaging andadvertising. Some advocates believe thatcreating a wider market for food insectscould provide an economic incentive forconserving insect habitat.

To promote further forest insects ashuman food, six major areas need to beaddressed:

• geographic information gaps;• improved insect identification; • better understanding of the ecological

roles of edible forest insects;• assessment of the potential for rearing

insects for food and other purposes;• post-harvest handling of insects and

improved processing and storage; and • economic and marketing data and

information.The Chiang Mai workshop will attempt to

address these issues and discuss strategiesto promote edible forest insects forenhancing human nutrition and forestmanagement. The workshop will focus on allaspects of edible forest insects, includingmanagement, collection, harvest,processing, marketing and consumption.Social, environmental and economic aspectswill be explored, including opportunities andissues related to income and livelihoods. Thefocus of the workshop will be on knowledgeand experiences from Asia and the Pacific,but the workshop will also draw on examplesand resource persons from other regions ofthe world as well. Consideration will be givento insects and their edible relatives, such asspiders and scorpions.

Workshop themes and subjects Edible forest insects as a natural resource.Overview of current status of forest insectexploitation for food in Asia and the Pacific.Insect conservation issues. Thematicpresentations by participants, with particularattention to the identified geographic gaps(i.e. Viet Nam, Cambodia, Myanmar,Peninsular Malaysia and the Pacific Islands).Models of insect management for food andother products. Examples from beekeeping,silk worm farming and palm grubharvesting. Complementary and competingeconomic non-food insect products and uses(i.e. medicine, livestock feed, ritual,ornamental and integrated pestmanagement). The relationship of insectexploitation to the extraction of commonnon-wood forest products (NWFPs) andlinkages to forest management.

Development potential for edible forestinsects. The role of edible forest insects infood security. Insect protein as a contributionto better nutrition. Economics of collectingedible forest insects. Harvesting, processingand marketing of edible forest insects.Promoting insect eating: snacks, dishes,condiments, recipes, etc.

The workshop is co-organized by FAO andChiang Mai University. Local support isprovided by the Forest Restoration ResearchUnit (FORRU), Chiang Mai University.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Patrick B. Durst, Senior Forestry Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok, Thailand 10200. Fax: (66-2) 697-4445; E-mail: [email protected]

CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY IN THE AMERICASSMITHSONIAN TROPICAL RESEARCHCENTER (STRI) IN PANAMA25–29 FEBRUARY 2008

This symposium is being organized byEnvironment Canada, the Adaptation andImpacts Research Division and theSmithsonian Institution, National ZoologicalPark, Center for Conservation Education andSustainability.

The focus of the symposium is to provide aforum for leading scientists to present theresults of research and monitoring activitiesof climate change and forest biodiversitythroughout the Americas. The aim is toestablish a cooperative science, research andmonitoring network of activities that interlinkbiodiversity conservation and sustainability,policy responses and adaptation to climatechange throughout the Americas.

The changing climate is a significant driverof biodiversity and is already affecting manyecosystems throughout the Americas. It isnecessary to mitigate and prevent thesechanges to preserve the biodiversity andecological integrity of these regions.Increasingly, governments, organizations,industries and communities need to consider

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XIII WORLDFORESTRYCONGRESS BUENOS AIRES,ARGENTINA18–25 OCTOBER2009

The World ForestryCongress is held every six years and iscosponsored by FAO and the host country.The main objective of the congress is toprovide a forum for the exchange of personalexperiences and for discussions on topicsrelated to forestry activities, involvingprofessionals and other interested peoplefrom all over the world.

Approximately 6 000 participants frommore than 160 countries are expected at theXIII World Forestry Congress, which is beingorganized by the Government of Argentina incollaboration with the FAO ForestryDepartment. Activities at the congress willinclude conferences, roundtable discussions,poster presentations, parallel events,exhibits, study and technical tours. All willfocus on subjects related to the main subjecttheme of the congress: “Forests indevelopment: a vital balance”.

This theme guarantees opportunities toanalyse social, environmental and economicaspects of natural resources in a local,regional and global context. The importanceof the sustainable management of all types offorests will be emphasized, as well as thecontribution of forest resources to thesustainability of the planet. The congress willprovide an opportunity to learn about thediverse ecosystems of the different regions ofthe world, as well as the diverse perspectivesof people and organizations sharing aninterest in forests, including academics,forest producers, environmentalists, ruraland indigenous people, forest managers,technical experts and policy-makers. Thecongress will offer a truly global view of thefuture of the world’s forests.

First call for voluntary papers and postersWe invite every interested person to submitvoluntary papers and posters expressing newideas and providing information onexperiences, theoretical models andinteresting initiatives. Papers will bepublished in the congress proceedings andposted on the official Web site of thecongress. Papers and posters can besubmitted to the FAO Forestry Departmentbefore 30 June 2008.

Information or guidelines forpresentations can be downloaded from our

adaptation to impacts of current and futurechanges in forest biodiversity andsustainability in their planning,infrastructure, and operations.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Don MacIver, Director, Adaptation and ImpactsResearch Division, Environment Canada, 4905Dufferin Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3H 5T4. Tel.: 416-739-4436; fax: 416-739-4297;e-mail: [email protected];www.climatechangeandbiodiversity.ca

INTERNATIONALSYMPOSIUM“UNDERUTILIZED PLANTSFOR FOOD, NUTRITION,INCOME ANDSUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT”ARUSHA, UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA3–7 MARCH 2008

Underutilized plants are species withunderexploited potential for contributing tofood security and nutrition by combating“hidden hunger” caused by micronutrientdeficiencies; they often have medicinalproperties and other multiple uses and theyprovide options for improved incomes to thepoor and for environmental services to theglobal community. These species collectivelyreceive little attention from research,extension services, farmers, policy- anddecision-makers, donors, technologyproviders and consumers.

The symposium will be organized aroundfour main areas of importance forunderutilized plants: food security, nutritionand health, income generation, andenvironmental sustainability.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Dr Hannah Jaenicke (Convener), InternationalCentre for Underutilised Crops, 127 Sunil Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Fax: +94-11-2786854; e-mail:[email protected]; www.icuc-iwmi.org/Symposium2008

Web page www.wfc2009.org or be requestedby e-mail at [email protected] or by mail orfax. Abstracts should not exceed 250 wordsand the complete paper no more than 4 500words, tables included.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: XIII World Forestry Congress, FAO, ForestryDepartment , Viale delle Terme di Caracalla,00153 Rome, Italy. Fax: +39-06-5705-5137; e-mail: [email protected]; www.wfc2009.org orwww.wfc2009.org/version2/registroSimple_ingles.aspx

18TH COMMONWEALTHFORESTRY CONFERENCEEDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM28 JUNE – 2 JULY 2010

The Commonwealth Forestry Association(CFA), founded in 1921, is the world’s longest-established international forestryorganization. It works to enable people tomanage and sustain their forests and treeseffectively. It is a professional associationlinking foresters throughout the world toexchange information on developments inforest policy, forest science and forestrypractice. It also publishes the InternationalForestry Review and assists in reviewingvoluntary papers. The CFA is represented onthe Standing Committee and is closelyinvolved with planning the conferences.

Preparations are now under way to agree atheme, develop a Web site and appoint anorganizing committee for the CFA’s 18thConference.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Charlton Clark, British Forestry Commissionpress office, 231 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh,Scotland, United Kingdom EH12 7AT. E-mail:[email protected]; www.cfa-international.org/CFC2010.html �

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Adepoju, Adenike Adebusola & Salau,Adekunle Sheu. 2007. Economicvaluation of non-timber forest products(NTFPs). 18 pp. Download from:http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/2689/01/MPRA_paper_2689.pdf

Aguilar-Støen, M. & Moe, S.R. 2007.Medicinal plant conservation andmanagement: distribution of wild andcultivated species in eight countries.Biodivers. Conserv., 16(6): 1973–1981.

Andel, T. van. 2006. A company-communitypartnership for FSC-certified non-timber forest product harvesting inBrazilian Amazonia: requirements forsustainable exploitation. Partnerships insustainable forest resourcemanagement: learning from LatinAmerica, p.169–185.

Arroyo-Quiroz, I., Pérez-Gil, R. & Leader-Williams, N. 2007. Mexico in theinternational reptile skin trade: a casestudy. Biodivers. Conserv., 16(4):931–952.

Ash, N. & Jenkins, M. 2007. Biodiversityand poverty reduction: the importance ofecosystem services. Cambridge, UnitedKingdom, UNEP World ConservationMonitoring Centre.

Belcher, B. & Schreckenberg, K. 2007.Commercialisation of non-timber forestproducts: a reality check. DevelopmentPolicy Review, 25(3): 355–377.

Bennett, E.L., Blencowe, E., Brandon, K.Ivanei, S., Brown, D., Burn, R.W.,Cowlishaw, G., Davies, G., Dublin, H.,Fa, J.E., Milner-Gulland, E.J., Robinson,

J.G., Rowcliffe, J.M., Underwood, F.M. &Wilkie, D.S. 2007. Hunting forconsensus: reconciling bushmeatharvest, conservation and developmentpolicy in West and Central Africa.Conserv. Biol., 21(3): 884–887.

Bisht, S. & Ghildiyal, J.C. 2007. Sacredgroves for biodiversity conservation inUttarakhand Himalaya. Curr. Sci., 92(6):711–712.

Brandolini, G.V. 2005. Medicinetradizionali. Bergamo, Italy, CRF Press.(Please see page 42 for an extract onAfghanistan.)

Braun, L. 2006. Pine bark extract. J.Complementary Medicine, 5(6): 67–70,90.

Bridgewater, S.G.M., Pickles, P., Garwood,N.C., Penn, M., Bateman, R.M., Morgan,H.P., Wicks, N. & Bol, N. 2006.Chamaedorea (xate) in the Greater MayaMountains and the Chiquibul ForestReserve, Belize: an economicassessment of a non-timber forestproduct. Economic Bot., 60(3): 265–283.

Cañellas, I.R., Poblaciones, M.J., Gea-Izquierdo, G. & Olea, L. 2007. Anapproach to acorn production in Iberiandehesas. Agroforestry Systems, 70(1).

Carson, C.F., Hammer, K.A. & Riley, T.V.2006. Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree)oil: a review of antimicrobial and othermedicinal properties. ClinicalMicrobiology Reviews, 19(1): 50–62.

Case, M.A., Flinn, K.M., Jancaitis, J., Alley,A. & Paxton, A. 2007. Decliningabundance of American ginseng (Panaxquinquefolius L.) documented byherbarium specimens. Biol. Conserv.,134(1): 22–30.

Chomel, B.B., Belotto, A. & Meslin, F.X.2007. Wildlife, exotic pets and emergingzoonoses. Emerging InfectiousDiseases, 13(1): 6–11.

Corlett, R.T. 2007. The impact of hunting onthe mammalian fauna of tropical Asianforests. Biotropica, 39(3): 292–303.

Crookes, D.J. & Milner-Gulland, E.J. 2006.Wildlife and economic policies affectingthe bushmeat trade: a framework for

analysis. South African J. Wildlife Res.,36(2): 159–165.

Dawson, I.K., Guarino, L. & Jaenicke, H.2007. Underutilised plant species:impacts of promotion on biodiversity.Position Paper 2. Colombo, Sri Lanka,International Centre for UnderutilisedCrops.

do Valle, D.R., Staudhammer, C. &Cropper, W.P. Jr. 2007. SimulatingNontimber Forest Product Managementin Tropical Mixed Forests. J. Forestry,105(6): 301–306.

Edderai, D. & Dame, M. 2006. A census ofthe commercial bushmeat market inYaoundé, Cameroon. Oryx, 40(4):472–475.

Elevitch, C.R., ed. 2006. Traditional trees ofPacific Islands.

Full text available for downloading from:http://www.traditionaltree.org; copies ofthe book can be ordered fromhttp://www.traditionaltree.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Craig R. Elevitch, Permanent AgricultureResources, PO Box 428, Holualoa, Hawai’i 96725,United States of America; e-mail:[email protected] (Please see pages 6, 9 and10 for extracts from this book.)

Engler, M. & Parry-Jones, R. 2007.Opportunity or threat. The role of theEuropean Union in global wildlife trade.Brussels, Belgium.TRAFFIC Europe.



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planning or basic inventorying andmonitoring has been undertaken withregard to NTFPs. Without betterinformation, land managers will beincreasingly unable to make informeddecisions on how to manage NTFPbiodiversity sustainably as demand forproducts increases.

Barlow, J., Overai, W.L., Araujo, I.S.,Gardner, T.A. & Peres, C.A. 2007. Thevalue of primary, secondary andplantation forests for fruit-feedingbutterflies in the Brazilian Amazon. J.Applied Ecol., 44(5): 1001–1012.

Kanmegne, J., Belinga, J.M.O., Degrande,A., Tchoundjeu, Z. & Manga, T.T. 2007.Gender analysis in thecommercialization of Gnetumafricanum/buchholzianum in the Lekiedivision in Cameroon. J. Agriculture andEnvironment, 5(1): 243–247.

King, D.I., Hernandez-Mayorga, M.D.,Trubey, R., Raudales, R. & Rappole,J.H. 2007. An evaluation of thecontribution of cultivated allspice(Pimenta dioca) to vertebratebiodiversity conservation in Nicaragua.Biodivers. Conserv., 16(4): 1299–1320.

Larsen, H.O. & Olsen, C.S. 2007.Unsustainable collection and unfairtrade? Uncovering and assessingassumptions regarding CentralHimalayan medicinal plantconservation. Biodivers. Conserv., 16(6):1679–1697.

Latham, P. 2007. Plants visited by bees andother useful plants of Umalila, SouthernTanzania. ISBN 978-0-9554208-3-0.

Law, W. & Salick, J. 2007. Comparingconservation priorities for useful plantsamong botanists and Tibetan doctors.Biodivers. Conserv., 16(6): 1747–1759.

Li, H.M., Aide, T.M., Ma, Y.X., Liu, W.J. &Cao, M. 2007. Demand for rubber iscausing the loss of high diversity rainforest in SW China. Biodivers. Conserv.,16(6):1731–1745.

Lindsey, P.A., Frank, L.G., Alexander, R.,Mathieson, A. & Romañach, S.S. 2007.Trophy hunting and conservation inAfrica: problems and one potentialsolution. Conserv. Biol., 21(3): 880–883.

European Environment Agency. 2007.Halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010:proposal for a first set of indicators tomonitor progress in Europe. Technicalreport 11/2007.

Forget, P.M. & Jansen, P.A. 2007. Huntingincreases dispersal limitation in the treeCarapa procera, a nontimber forestproduct. Conserv. Biol., 21(1): 106–113.

Fuller, T., Sánchez-Cordero, V., Illoldi-Rangel, P., Linaje, M., & Sarkar, S. 2007.The cost of postponing biodiversityconservation in Mexico. Biol. Conserv.,134(4): 593–600.

Fusari, A. & Carpaneto, G.M. 2006.Subsistence hunting and conservationissues in the game reserve of Gile,Mozambique. Biodiversity andConservation, 15(8): 2477–2495.

Giuliani, A. 2007. Developing markets foragrobiodiversity. Earthscan andBioversity International. ISBN9781844074686. This book describes astudy, conducted in the Syrian ArabRepublic, of how communities aredeveloping markets for local productsderived from neglected andunderutilized plants. Based on concretecase studies, the data and processesdocumented in the book show thepotential of biodiversity to make asignificant contribution to livelihoodsecurity in communities that inhabitdifficult environments with uniqueresources. The study also highlights theimportance of local cultural knowledgeand institutions in sustainabledevelopment of biodiversity markets.

Griffiths, T. 2007. Seeing RED? Avoideddeforestation and the rights ofindigenous peoples and localcommunities. Moreton-in-Marsh, UnitedKingdom, Forest Peoples Programme.

Gubbi, S. 2007. Rights of forest dwellers inIndia. Oryx, 41(1): 16.

Halme, K.J. & Bodmer, R.E. 2007.Correspondence between scientific andtraditional ecological knowledge: rainforest classification by the non-indigenous ribereños in the PeruvianAmazonia. Biodivers. Conserv., 16(6):1785–1801.

Hobley, M. 2007. Where in the world isthere pro-poor forest policy and tenurereform? Washington, DC, Rights andResources.

Holmern, T., Muya, J. & Røskaft, E. 2007.Local law enforcement and illegalbushmeat hunting outside the SerengetiNational Park, Tanzania. Environ.Conserv., 34(1): 55–63.

Hylander, K. & Hedderson, T.A.J. 2007.Does the width of isolated ravine forestsinfluence moss and liverwort diversityand composition? A study of temperateforests in South Africa. Biodivers.Conserv., 16(5): 1441–1458.

Isermann, M., Diekmann, M. & Heemann,S. 2007. Effects of the expansion byHippophae rhamnoides on plant speciesrichness in coastal dunes. Appl. Veg.Sci., 10(1): 33–42.

Jones, E.T. & Lynch, K.A. 2007. Nontimberforest products and biodiversitymanagement in the Pacific Northwest.Forest Ecology and Management, 246:29–37. Non-timber forest productharvesting in the Pacific Northwest isneither a new activity nor a disappearingrelic of the pre-industrial era. Althoughemphasis may have shifted fromsubsistence to commercial andrecreational pursuits, harvesting andharvesters of wild species are stillwidespread throughout the region.Hundreds of businesses and thousandsof harvesters earn part or all of theirincome from harvests. Every yearthousands of pounds and hundreds ofNTFPs valued in hundreds of millions ofdollars are harvested from regionalpublic and private forests. Thisharvesting of a large diversity of speciesrepresents a considerable subset of theoverall terrestrial biodiversity in PacificNorthwest forests. Despite widespreadextraction, little investment in research,



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Lindsey, P.A., Roulet, P.A. & Romañach,S.S. 2007. Economic and conservationsignificance of the trophy huntingindustry in sub-Saharan Africa. Biol.Conserv., 134(4): 455–469.

Lizama, J.C. 2004. Entomofagia.Alimentación con insectos. Ediciones ElNibelungo. ISBN 84-609-3309.

Loveridge, A.J., Searle, A.W.,Murindagomo, F. & Macdonald, D.W.2007. The impact of sport-hunting on thepopulation dynamics of an African lionpopulation in a protected area. Biol.Conserv., 134(4): 548–558.

Mayers, J. 2007. Trees, poverty andtargets. Forests and the MillenniumDevelopment Goals. IIED Briefing Paper.International Institute for SustainableDevelopment.

Mooney, E.H. & McGraw, J.B. 2007.Alteration of selection regime resultingfrom harvest of American ginseng,Panax quinquefolius. Conserv. Genet.,8(1): 57–67.

Mozumder, P., Starbuck, M., Berrens, R.P.& Alexander, S. 2006. Lease and feehunting on private lands in the US: areview of the economic and legal issues.Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 11(6):1–14.

Muhammad Hamayun, Ambara Khan,Sumera Afzal & Khan, M.A. 2006. Studyon traditional knowledge and utility ofmedicinal herbs of district Buner,NWFP, Pakistan. Indian J. TraditionalKnowledge, 5(3): 407–412.

Muller-Landau, H.C. 2007. Predicting thelong-term effects of hunting on plantspecies composition and diversity intropical forests. Biotropica, 39(3):372–384.

Nuñez-Iturri, G. & Howe, H.F. 2007.Bushmeat and the fate of trees withseeds dispersed by large primates in alowland rain forest in western Amazonia.Biotropica, 39(3): 348–354.

Ohwaki, A., Nakamura, K. & Tanabe, S.I.2007. Butterfly assemblages in atraditional agricultural landscape:importance of secondary forests forconserving diversity, life historyspecialists and endemics. Biodivers.Conserv., 16(5):1521–1539.

Pattanaik, C. & Reddy, C.S. 2007. Medicinalplant resources of Gandhamardan hillrange, Orissa: an urgent need forconservation. Natl Acad. Sci. Lett.,30(1–2): 35–38.

Peres, C.A. & Palacios, E. 2007. Basin-wideeffects of game harvest on vertebratepopulation densities in Amazonianforests: implications for animal-mediatedseed dispersal. Biotropica, 39(3):304–315.

Pilz, D., Alexander, S., Smith, J., Schroeder,R. & Freed, J. 2006. Nontimber forestproduct opportunities in Alaska. Gen.Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-671. Portland, OR,United States Department of Agriculture,Forest Service, Pacific NorthwestResearch Station. 79 pp.

Purohit, V.K., Phondani, P.C., Dhyani, D.,Rawat, L.S. & Maikhuri, R.K. 2007.Ginkgo biloba a living fossil: needconservation initiatives. Natl Acad. Sci.Lett., 30(1–2): 31–33.

Quennoz, M., Simonnet, X., Vergeres, C. &Hausammann, H. 2006. L’argousier, uneespèce pour l’industrie cosmétique. (Seabuckthorn [Hippophae rhamnoides L.]), aspecies for the cosmetics industry. Revuesuisse de viticulture, arboriculture ethorticulture, 38(4): 215–217.

Sadykova, Chinara & Pisupati, Balakrishna.2006. Biodiversity Conservation andMillennium Development Goals (MDGs) inthe Kyrgyz Republic. UNU-IAS WorkingPaper 147. 45 pp.

Shah, N.C. 2007a. Digitalis cultivation inIndia which could not be established withespecial reference to Kashmir andKumaon. Herbal Tech. Industry, 3(3):14–18.

Shah, N.C. 2007b. Kuth, Saussurea costus(Saussurea lappa): a herbal drug ofantiquity and its present status in India.Herbal Tech. Industry, 3(4): 14–18.

Shah, N.C. 2007c. Sweet flag (vaca) Acoruscalamus L.: the oldest medicinal plantever known to mankind with especialreference to Uttarakhand. Herbal Tech.Industry, 3(6): 16–23.

Shah, N.C. 2007d.Curcuma longa (turmeric):a condiment of great therapeutic valuetested with the times. Herbal Tech.Industry, 3(7): 12–18.

Shrivastava, R.J. & Heinen, J.T. 2007. Amicrosite analysis of resource use aroundKaziranga National Park, India:implications for conservation anddevelopment planning. J. Environmentand Development, 16(2): 207–226.

Silori, C.S. 2007. Perception of local peopletowards conservation of forest resourcesin Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve,northwestern Himalaya, India. Biodivers.Conserv., 16(1): 211–222.

Sonwa, D.J., Nkongmeneck, B.A., Weise,S.F.,Tchatat, M., Adesina, A.A.l. &Janssens, M.J.J. 2007. Diversity of plantsin cocoa agroforests in the humid forestzone of Southern Cameroon. BiodiversConserv., 16: 2385–2400.

Staniskiene, B., Matusevicius, P. &Budreckiene, R. 2006. Honey as anindicator of environmental pollution.Environmental Res., Engineering andManagement, (2): 53–58.

Starbuck, M., Alexander, S.J., Berrens, B.P.& Bohara, A.K. 2004. Valuing specialforest products harvesting: a two-steptravel cost recreation demand analysis. J.Forest Economics, 10: 37–53.

Stave, J., Oba, G., Nordal, I. & Stenseth,N.C. 2007. Traditional ecologicalknowledge of a riverine forest in Turkana,Kenya: implications for research andmanagement. Biodivers. Conserv., 16(5):1471–1489.

Stoner, K.E., Vulinec, K., Wright, S.J. &Peres, C.A. 2007. Hunting and plantcommunity dynamics in tropical forests: asynthesis and future directions.Biotropica, 39(3): 385–392.



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Studley, J. 2007. Hearing a differentdrummer: a new paradigm for the"keepers of the forest". London,International Institute for Environmentand Development (IIED).

Based on research in the Kham regionof southwestern China, this bookexplores the crisis of extinction facingindigenous knowledge systems,biodiversity and cultural diversityworldwide. It introduces ERA (theendogenous realization of aspirations),to enhance well-being and bioculturaldiversity by building on local orendogenous ambitions and dreams. Theauthor offers practical methods andpolicy recommendations forincorporating this approach intodevelopment practice within local forestconcepts and values.

Sunderlin, W.D., Dewi, S. & Puntodewo, A.2007. Poverty and forests: multicountryanalysis of spatial association andproposed policy solutions. Bogor,Indonesia, CIFOR.

Taylor, L. & Griffiths, T. 2007. A desk-based review of the treatment ofindigenous people’s and social issues inlarge and medium-sized GEFbiodiversity projects (2005–2006).Moreton-in-Marsh, United Kingdom,Forest Peoples Programme.

Teder, T. et al. 2007. Monitoring ofbiological diversity: a common-groundapproach. Conserv. Biol., 21(2): 313–317.

Ticktin, T., Fraiola, H. & Whitehead, A.N.2007. Non-timber forest productharvesting in alien-dominated forests:effects of frond-harvest and rainfall onthe demography of two native Hawaiianferns. Biodivers. Conserv., 16(6):1633–1651.

Vellak, K., Vellak, A. & Ingerpuu, N. 2007.Reasons for moss rarity: study in threeneighbouring countries. Biol. Conserv.,135(3): 360–368.

Willcox, A.S. & Nambu, D.M. 2007.Wildlife hunting practices andbushmeat dynamics of the Banyangiand Mbo people of SouthwesternCameroon. Biol. Conserv., 34(2):251–261.

Willis, K.J., Araújo, M.B., Bennett, K.D.,Figueroa-Rangel, B., Froyd, C.A. &Myers, N. 2007. How can a knowledgeof the past help to conserve the future?Biodiversity conservation and therelevance of long-term ecologicalstudies. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London.[Biol.], 362(1478): 175–186.

Wright, S.J., Hernandéz, A. & Condit, R.2007. The bushmeat harvest altersseedling banks by favoring lianas, largeseeds, and seeds dispersed by bats,birds and wind. Biotropica, 39(3):363–371.

Wright, S.J., Sanchez-Azofeifa, G.A.,Portillo-Quintero, C. & Davies, D. 2007.Poverty and corruption compromisetropical forest reserves. Ecol. Appl.,17(5): 1259–1266.

Wright, S.J., Stoner, K.E., Beckman, N.,Corlett, R.T., Dirzo, R., Muller-Landau,H.C., Nuñez-Iturri, G., Peres, C.A., &Wang, B.C. 2007. The plight of largeanimals in tropical forests and theconsequences for plant regeneration.Biotropica, 39(3): 289–291.

Wunder, S. 2007. The efficiency ofpayments for environmental services intropical conservation. Conserv. Biol.,21(1): 48–58.

WWF. 2007. Half way to the MillenniumDevelopment Goals, An assessment ofthe progress made on MDGs and theenvironment. World Wide Fund forNature.

NEW PUBLICATIONS FROMFAO’S NON-WOOD FORESTPRODUCTS PROGRAMME

Non-Wood Forest Products series

World bamboo resources. A thematicstudy prepared in the framework of theGlobal Forest Resources Assessment2005. Non-Wood Forest Productsseries, 18. This study is a jointFAO/INBAR initiative to incorporatebamboo into the FAO Global ForestResources Assessment programme. Itwas undertaken as one of seventhematic studies within the forestresources assessment 2005 processand is a first attempt at systematicreporting of the best availableinformation on bamboo resources andutilization at the global level.

A total of 22 countries responded tothe FAO/INBAR call for information andsubmitted national reports. Althoughdata availability and quality are oftenweak, the main value of the study isthat it has established a systematicmethodology and has launched themost comprehensive assessment ofglobal bamboo resources to date.

Copies of this publication can bepurchased from FAO’s Sales andMarketing Group at [email protected]. An electronic version isavailable from FAO’s NWFP homepage: www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1243e/a1243e00.htm



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Forest harvesting case study on NWFPs in theCongo Basin A new case study produced by FAO’s ForestProducts Service – The impact of timberharvesting on the availability of non-woodforest products in the Congo Basin (ForestHarvesting Case Study 23) – seeks toexamine the impact of timber harvesting intwo villages, one in Cameroon and one in theCentral African Republic. It documents manyplant-based and animal-based NWFPs ofgreat significance to the livelihoods of thelocal populations in terms of food security,income generation and health.

With regard to the impact of logging onNWFP availability, the study finds that thegreatest impacts have been on tree specieswith NWFP values that are extracted by thetimber companies. Timber exploitation alsoleads to the destruction of secondary treesand understorey species that furnishNWFPs. Damage is associated with tree fallsand the passage of heavy machines that alsodestroy NWFPs. Apart from a few NWFPsthat benefit from logging-inducedmicroclimate changes at the forest floor,most plant-based NWFPs decrease inavailability following logging. With regard tothe availability of animal-based NWFPs, theoverall trend is also one of decline afterlogging.

The forest of the Congo Basin is a majoreconomic asset for national governments,local communities and economic operators.With the drive towards sustainable forestmanagement, it would be ethical to take intoconsideration all stakeholders in designingpolicy, management and control tools thatminimize the negative impacts of logging andencourage multiple benefits from a greaterarray of forest products. The study offersrecommendations on policies governingforest exploitation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Ms Simmone Rose, Forestry Officer, ForestProducts Service, FAO, Viale delle Terme diCaracalla, Rome 00153, Italy. E-mail: [email protected];

www.fao.org/forestry/site/harvesting/en/

The things I want to know are inbooks; my best friend is the man who’llget me a book I ain’t read.

Abraham Lincoln

NWFP Working Documents The following three publications havebeen added to our NWFP WorkingDocuments series.

• No. 4. Les perspectives de lacertification des produits forestiersnon ligneux en Afrique Centrale

• No. 5. Gestion des ressourcesnaturelles fournissant les produitsforestiers non ligneux alimentairesen Afrique Centrale

• No. 6. Trade measures – tools topromote the sustainable use ofNWFP? An assessment of trade-related instruments influencing theinternational trade in non-woodforest products and associatedmanagement and livelihoodstrategies.

Working Documents 4 and 5 wereproduced by FAO’s NWFP regional projectGCP/RAF/398/GER “Enhancing thecontribution of non-wood forest productsto food security in Central Africa”.

Electronic versions of these documentsare available from our NWFP home pagewww.fao.org/forestry/site/40716/en. Hardcopies are available free of charge fromFAO’s NWFP Programme at the addresson the first page or by sending an e-mailto: [email protected]

Pipeline publications A new publication in our NWFP WorkingDocument series – The role of CITES incontrolling the international trade inforest products: implications forsustainable forest management – is beingfinalized and will be available shortly.

Plants visited by bees and other usefulplants of Umalila, southern Tanzania

In his book, Paul Latham providesinformation on 188 plants in Umalila inthe Mbeye district of the UnitedRepublic of Tanzania. A forage chartindicates the months when bees collectpollen and/or nectar. Plants are listedalphabetically and, in addition tophotographs, details of their botanical,vernacular and common names aregiven, together with brief descriptions.The distribution, uses and thepropagation and management ofselected plants are also provided whereappropriate. (Please see page 59 for anextract from this book.) �

OTHER RECENT PUBLICATIONS

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BioAssess – The Biodiversity AssessmentTools Project The Biodiversity Assessment Tools Projectis developing a tool box for assessing theimpacts of policies on biodiversity inEurope. In addition, the project ismeasuring the impact of land-use changeon biodiversity across Europe’sbiogeographic regions. www.nbu.ac.uk/bioassess/

Blogs Blogging underutilized speciesThis is an information exchange tool thatcomplements the Global Facilitation Unit(GFU) for Underutilized Species portal. Wehope this will stimulate further thought,learning and discussion. A link can befound from GFU’s home page. www.underutilized-species.org

World bamboo blogspot world-bamboo.blogspot.com/

Cropwatch Cropwatch is an independent watchdog forendangered and vulnerable naturalaromatic products used in the aroma(perfumes, flavours, aromatherapy,cosmetics), herbal, traditional medicineand phytochemical industries. Informationprovided to Cropwatch is forwarded by anumber of academics, researchers,industry professionals, trade and ethnicpeoples, all of whom have primaryconcerns for the environment. www.cropwatch.org/index.htm

Databases The Eco-IndexThe Eco-Index, an onlinedatabase of conservationprojects in the Americascreated by the RainforestAlliance, now features more than 1 000projects in English and Spanish. It hasgrown steadily since it was launched inJanuary 2001 with 70 projects. The projectsin the database now represent the work ofmore than 700 NGOs, research institutionsand government ministries in theAmericas. Project profiles outline contactinformation, summaries, objectives,funders, budget, accomplishments,lessons learned, methodology, links andreports.

The Eco-Index also offers a variety of otherresources to conservation researchers.Users can check out a bimonthly bulletincalled the Eco-Exchange aboutenvironmental issues and success stories inthe Americas and read interviews withconservation leaders and field staff. Userscan also subscribe to a monthly e-newsletterin English or Spanish that lists new projectsthat have been added to the Eco-Index. Anaverage of 20 projects are added or updatedon the Eco-Index each month.

The Eco-Index is also home to the Eco-Index of Sustainable Tourism (www.eco-index.org/tourism), a searchable databaseof sustainable tourism operations in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean. www.eco-index.org(Please see page 35 for an Eco-Index reportof a maya nut project.)

ForestHarvest – NTFP in Scotland, UnitedKingdom www.itto.or.jp/live/index.jsp

Khadi and Village Industries Commission ofIndiawww.forestharvest.org.uk/home.htm

NWFP-DIGEST-L

The Digest is a free monthly e-bulletinproduced by FAO’s NWFP Programmeand covers all aspects of non-wood forestproducts. Past issues can be found onFAO’s NWFP home page atwww.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en.

You can take part in contributing tothe continued success of this newsletterby sharing with the NWFP communityany news that you may have regardingresearch, events, publications andprojects. Kindly send such informationto [email protected].

To subscribe: either by sending ane-mail to: [email protected],with the message: subscribe NWFP-Digest-L; or through the NWFPProgramme’s home page atwww.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en

FAO’S NWFP HOME PAGE

Our Web site is gradually being updatedand new features added. We invite youto visit:• the “Reader’s Research” page, which

includes new articles on Prunus africana,Cameroon honey and many more(www.fao.org/forestry/site/35667/en)

• the updated “Other NWFP links”(www.fao.org/forestry/site/12979/en)

• our ever-expanding “NWFPbibliography” page(www.fao.org/forestry/site/13467/en) Please help us make this a rich

resource by sending us ([email protected]) your NWFP Web sites,citations of any publications that we aremissing, as well as any research that youwould like to share.www.fao.org/forestry/site/6367/en

Global Biodiversity Information Facility(GBIF) The new GBIF data portal is an Internetgateway to more than 130 million datarecords provided by 200-plus institutionsscattered over more than 30 countriesaround the world. http://data.gbif.org

Learning for Sustainability (LfS) This Web site aims to provide a practicalresource for proponents ofmultistakeholder learning processes. Itrecognizes that social learning is anongoing process that underpins health andother sustainable development initiatives,rather than an outcome to be achieved.

As an international guide to onlineresources, this Web site is designed forgovernment and agency staff, NGOs,researchers and other community leadersworking in peace, communitydevelopment, public health, forestry,catchment and natural resourcemanagement. It acts as a gathering pointfor resources that have been developed inthese separate sectors, and supports thesharing of ideas across sectors.

The new site will replace the NRM-changelinks site that has provided links inthis area since 1998. Feedback on this newsite is welcomed. If you have particularguides on the Internet that you find useful

CHERUKAT CHANDRASEKHARAN(1933–2007)

Dr C. Chandrasekharan, founder andfirst editor of Non-Wood News, passedaway on 11 September 2007, leaving animprint in professional forestryspanning more than 50 years.

Although he retired from FAO in1995, Chandra (as he was affectionatelyknown to his friends and colleagues)always kept in contact with our NWFPProgramme – ever willing to offeradvice and support. He was enthusiasticabout our recent idea of creating anew feature – the guest article – andwas delighted to be its firstcontributing author, presenting a

stimulating article in the last issue ofNon-Wood News (15).

Chandra’s career is a remarkableexample of hard work and commitmentas he moved up the professional ladderin India (his home country), occupyingvarious positions and dealing with awide array of issues. His career in FAObegan in 1975 at the Regional Office inBangkok where he worked as theRegional Forestry Economist and wherehe played a leading role in developingits forestry programme. He realized thesignificance of information exchangeand was responsible for starting ForestNews, which eventually was developedas the Tiger Paper. His subsequentassignments with FAO included: SeniorForestry Planning Officer at FAOheadquarters; Team Leader of theFAO/World Bank Project in Indonesia;Forestry Institution Specialist inBangladesh; and, eventually, Chief ofthe Non-Wood Forest Products andEnergy Branch in the ForestryDepartment at FAO headquarters inRome, a post he held until hisretirement in 1995.

Even when retired from FAO,Chandra’s professional involvement inforestry probably increased and his

advice and expertise were much soughtafter by organizations such as ITTO,Asian Development Bank, World Bank,Ford Foundation, CIFOR, WWF andIDRC. Notwithstanding his ill health, hemaintained his professional interestand commitment. Even a few daysbefore his end, he was coordinatingthe electronic discussion on science andtechnology development in the NWFPsector.

Bringing NWFPs to the forefront ofthe forestry agenda was one of hissignificant achievements. He was thearchitect of Non-Wood News, which helaunched in 1993 and which has sincebecome a leading source ofinformation on NWFPs and a means ofnetworking among those interested inthe subject.

As a person, Chandra was known forhis soft-spoken approach and for hisability to motivate and encouragecoworkers. He was also a truegentleman and his generosity andencouragement will be missed bymany, including all his friends here atFAO’s NWFP Programme.

When a roll call of outstandingforesters in the world is taken, Chandrawill be in the forefront.

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in practice please suggest them as a futureresource to add and share with others.http://learningforsustainability.net

Mapping the changing forests of Africa http://nasadaacs.eos.nasa.gov/articles/2006/2006_africa.html

Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC) www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/corredor/corredor.html

New Euroforest portal The European Forest Institute (EFI) haslaunched this new information service.The portal aims to meet demands forbetter access to current information onEuropean forests and forestry in an easily

accessible and user-friendly form. It alsocontains a news section and ametadatabase of Web resources – Webpages of organizations, networks,information providers, databases andselected major reports. http://forestportal.efi.int/

Rain forest educational resource Mongabay.com, a leading tropical rainforest information Web site, has now madeavailable a rain forest educationalresource in 19 languages.

The site explains what constitutes atropical rain forest, why they areimportant, why they are threatened andhow they can be saved.http://world.mongabay.com/

The Green Corridor Project www.huegreencorridor.orgVillage soap makers http://laurapel.com/index.htm

Yummy bugs www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071006/safari.asp �

He has half the deed done who hasmade a beginning.

Horace

PRINTED ON ECOLOGICAL PAPER TC/M/A1189E/1/7.07/5000

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