APPENDIX 2
SUMMARY NOTES PREPARED BY THE SECRETARIAT

With the purpose to facilitate the discussions and deliberations of the meeting, the following draft notes, with a summary of key problems as identified in the background papers for the meeting, may help participants to identify and prioritize main issues to be highlighted in the outcome of the meeting:

Resources:

cane and shoots (focus of this meeting is on cane, while recognizing the potential of shoots as food supplement at local level )

what: 13 Genera; 600 species; Table 1: Rattan species table

Need for thorough taxonomic knowledge and rigour (at regional level)

some species close to extinction (at national- regional level)

where: Tropical Asia: in order of importance: Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines, Papua,

Indochina; South Asia; Australia; Central and West Africa (Table 2)

Inventory of rattan resources? resource surveys? Only few countries have inventory of rattan resources (with different methodologies and results are in different measuring units; lengths, tonnes, m³)

Rattan cane is collected from: not even these figures (or estimates ?) are sure !!!

90% from forest (with rattan quality and sizes in decline, and some species becoming endangered (forests are overharvested or unmanaged for rattan)

10 % from plantations

What type of plantation schemes (indigenous, small growers, industrial....?+ what type of property right arrangements; management rules; licences

(potential of Latin America for rattan introduction) ???

Resource management:

Silviculture of natural forests for rattan: not applied (some enrichment planting in logged-over forests, but rattan management is not included into silvicultural systems)

Domestication of species: ongoing and key element is site selection and species/site match- propagation techniques (wildlings, seeds, +tissue culture); in situ; ex situ resource conservation ("rattan reserves")

"Lessons-learned" on rattan plantation establishment and maintenance are maturing

Industrial scale rattan plantation presently less economical attractive (low cane price)

not perceived as a problem in case of rattan cultivation for shoots (locally) or at the small holder level

Mixed rattan tree crop plantations: ongoing (but technical and economic conflicts with other crop: rubber; oilpalms, foodcrops...or damaging to other crop)

Plantation of rattan in degraded forests: "starting" (but here also the risks that the forest/rattan plantation can be converted to oilpalm or other financially more rewarding agriculture crops)

Importance also of Environmental role of rattan (control of soil erosion with clumps species); but also negative environmental impact (residual cane left in crows; cutting of floater logs...)

Harvesting

Rules and legislation governing the harvesting of rattan

Do they exist? are they applied? controlled by whom? (by forest service? or through community systems, private sector....?)

Limiting to allowable cut if known; ascertaining sustainable extraction levels?

Governance of prices paid to harvesters for raw cane (avoiding monopoly by cane buyers)

In natural forests and/or open access based resources: restricting/managing harvesting rights/ (long term rattan cutting licences; <10years?; payment of royalties for harvesting to who and for what?

Need for a "rattan fund (deposit)" for funding rattan plantations/enrichment planting

Role of national forest service for assigning harvesting tenders or assigned rattan cutting rights to local communities; preference being given to assigning harvesting rights to local indigenous communities/forest dependent people

Technical constraints of harvesting

Improve harvesting technology (increase pulling power devices) or others to avoid high wastage (from unharvested cane left in tree crowns till rejected/unsuited cut cane sticks left in the forest)

Improve transport facilities for raw cane from harvesting site till sales point (+ uncertainities of "check points" (including unofficial payments) along transport route from forest till road site/first processing for transporter/harvester

There is an increasing road access to more and more remote forest areas for rattan harvesting

Environmental impact of cane harvesting and transport: (f.ex. cutting of floater logs for river transport of cane sticks)

Processing:

High wastage during cutting to size, losses to insect/fungi attack (30%);

Dipping with preservative or diesel oil (pollution risks);

Proper seasoning (harvesting in dry season only for better drying);

Curing;

Grading (based on dimensions and surface). "Rattan stick grading rules" exist (Bhat 1996) but not widely used.

Technological constraints: - many rattan species but only few are commercial species (approx. 20). Anatomical properties can be a basis for identifying commercial uses

Wide range of processing techniques from artisanal/village level till industrial plant level; but at all levels availability of skilled labour for processing into furniture is very difficult to recruit.

Rattan industry is a highly fragmented - cottage level industry

Rattan Uses: (at the industrial level) mainly (or only) furniture?

Can rattan furniture design cope with "changing" raw material (more smaller diameter cane).

For non-timber furniture, rattan is technically superior to other plant products

Trade:

Poor knowledge of importance of rattan for subsistence use; and local rattan trade

Lack of (reliable) statistic's on rattan production and trade (f. ex. "total value of rattan" estimated at 7,000 M$ annually, of which 3,000 M$ at subsistence/local level and 4,000 M $ for international trade) (Table 3). However this is a much disputed estimate.

Available figures mix and add raw material, semi-processed and values of furniture, raw cane, semi-processed.

No socio-economic quantification of the rattan sector by country exist?

Competition in cane sticks for local trade and processing or for export (importance of imposing/lifting export bans for raw/semi-processed); Supply of raw cane limited and uncertain for importing - intermediate/processing countries; illegal and/or unrecorded trade in rattan cane (smuggling)

Rattan trade and production trends increased till mid '90 and then decreased or remain equal

Industry: rattan industry growth is declining since 1990? (shortage of quality raw material; highly fragmented industry with low "lobbying" marketing and financial power; single market as use is mainly furniture? Prefabricated rattan furniture pieces are bulky products with relatively low value: declining interest by large furniture stores (Japan); competition from substitutes: plastic/wicker); ...)

One country dominates world supply of cane: Indonesia

Certification of rattan? (guidelines in preparation)

Emerging market: international marketing of rattan shoots as an oriental food delicatesse

Policy issues:

Lack of specific references to rattan (or rattan rules) in the existing forest policy and legislation

All countries have promotion of added-value locally - but these measures are not accompanied with resource development policies

- export bans (rattan sticks- semi-processed) (illegal trade - smuggling)

- elimination of export taxes for finish rattan products

- provision of economic incentives for resource cultivation/management if exist (but lower then those for rubber/oil palm plantations)

foreign investments (from resources till processing) allowed?

protectionism affecting free movement of rattan seeds

Need for the set-up of national rattan development boards in major producers

Social aspects:

Rattan is a key product for supporting livelihoods of rural/forest dwellers (often with no substitute available to these people once the cane is gone), including for food (shoots)

Not well know yet: the impact of "devolution" of forest lands to be managed by rural communities according to their "rules"; if this will be beneficial to the sustainability of rattan resources or if it will lead to a " boom and burst" cycle.

The impact of government decisions/incentives/bans on rattan resources access and rattan processing rights on livelihoods of forest dependent local people. In many cases even the more powerful wood industry has failed to raise incomes of forest dependent peoples based on sustainable forest operations (Indonesia)

Preference be given to forest dependent local communities first? or "open" the forests to any "investor"?

Younger people no more interested in rattan gathering/processing (as time consuming/poor rewarding and better job opportunities exist; mostly of interest to older people (Thailand)

High competition of rattan growing with other "cash crops" (like oil palm, coffee, etc.) and between plantation grown rattan versus wild gathered ? as rattan gathering is often a secondary job!

Institutional :

Weak representation of the " rattan sector" within the existing institutional set-up of countries

Lack of or conflicting data on resources, production value export, no uniform measuring units or conversion factors making regional aggregation of data on rattan impossible. No systematic and reliable figures available at regional level on rattan resources, production and trade (different measuring units, levels of processing from raw material till semi finished; or very frequently even conflicting data).

Rattan research more focused on "information gathering" rather then "problem solving" (ex.: How to shorten the rosetta stage of rattan?)

International agencies and stakeholders on rattan: INBAR

also: Rattan Information Centre (Malaysia); African Rattan Research Network, IDRC, IUFRO, FAO, IFAD, ITTO, ADB.

Table 1. Distribution of rattan genera and species by country and region

Notes: * The data cited from references 1, 2, 3, 9, 10 and 11 .

** Vietnam, Laos and Kampuchea are included.

*** Abbreviations:

Ca. = Calamus, Co. = Calospatha, Ce. = Ceratolobus, Da. = Daemonorops, Er. = Eremospatha,

Ko. = Korthalsía, La. = Laccosperma, My. = Myríalepis, On. = Oncocatamus, Pc. = Plectocomía,

Po.= Plectocomíopsis, Pp.= Pogonotium, Re.= Retispatha,

Ng = Number of genera

Ns = Number of species

Source: Research on Rattans in China, IPGRI INBAR2000.

Table 2. Rattan resources in Africa and Asia-Pacific

Africa:

All locations in Africa where rattans have been recorder to date. The area within the circles indicate important areas where rattan still remains to be collected.

Source: Morakinyo, 1995, The Rattans of Nigeria

Asia:

in order of importance of resources

Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea

Philippines, Laos, Cambodia

Myanmar, Vietnam, India, Australia

Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China, Thailand,

Pacific Islands (Solomon)

Table 3. Country table on rattan resources, production and trade

Total 7.000 M $ /y Value

*1: First Figure: Area of Natural Forest (1995) - FRA 2000

Second Figure: "Forest" area as given in background papers

*2: Only a minor fraction is tropical forest

*3: As given in background papers (eventually different figures by country)