In support to the FAO Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) 2000, the available information on NWFP was reviewed and compiled at national level, for each country, to assess the socio-economic significance and ecological impact of its utilisation. A standard format (see below) for the presentation of information was used showing key information requirements for the evaluation of NWFP.
The FAO Forestry Department NWFP Programme has organized two regional meetings with the specific aim to promote the sustainable use of NWFP in the Near East: the first meeting, "Medicinal, Culinary and Aromatic Plants in the Near East", was held in Cairo in May 1997, and opened a forum for the exchange of information on NWFP use in the region, and for the formulation of recommendations on actions to be undertaken in various fields in order to promote the sustainable use of NWFP.1 Building upon those recommendations, the second meeting, "Development and Coordination of Regional Activities on Non-Wood Forest Products in the Near East Countries", was organized in Lebanon in May 1999.
The major part of the work was to compile standardized NWFP country profiles for 16 Near East countries and to present the most important uses of the country forest and tree resources providing goods other than timber and fuelwood. The country profiles reflected the currently available national statistics on the production and consumption of as well as on the trade in NWFP in the Near East.
Furthermore, the sub regional synthesis report evaluated
· the socio-economic importance of NWFP; and
· the ecological impact of the collection/extraction of NWFP and the management of natural resources providing NWFP in the Near East.
This study was intended to help individual countries identify the NWFP and forest services for which the collection of regular statistical data can significantly contribute to the sustainable management of its forest resources. The socio-economic importance and the ecological impact of the production, consumption and trade of NWFP in the Near East is documented and analysed on the national level.
NWFP country profiles drafts were compiled for Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
No quantitative data about NWFP were found for Oman, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen, and even the descriptive information found was scant. In general, information was scarce about NWFP in the Arab gulf countries, with no information available for United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Finally, institutions in the region working on NWFP were identified (see chapter 4).
The country profiles and the regional synthesis can be accessed on the FAO Web site (http://www.fao.org/forestry/fo/country/nav_world.jsp), where they will be up-dated when additional information becomes available.
Methodology used
Under the general supervision of the Chief, Wood and Non-Wood Products Utilization Branch, Forest Products Division of FAO's Forestry Department and the Forestry Officer, FAO NWFP Programme, as well as under the direct supervision of the Regional Forestry Officer of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Regional Office for Central & West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) and the Head of the Department of Crop Production and Protection at the American University of Beirut (AUB), main activities were to:
· validate the information of the NWFP country profiles already available at FAO;
· collect additional information and statistical data on NWFP in Near East countries (Sources of information: reports, projects, custom office, national statistics, governmental and non-governmental organizations, etc.);
· identify NWFP of major socio-economic importance on the national level and describe their relative importance compared to other products covered;
· document and evaluate the ecological implications of the use of NWFP;
· analyse the past, present and possible future trends of the production, consumption, trade and exportation of NWFP;
· evaluate the coverage of NWFP by national statistics; and
· identify institutions of major regional importance related to NWFP data collection and analysis (including address, scope of work, scope of data covered, contact persons, etc.).
The final report includes:
· a regional summary report;
· standardised country profiles for 16 Near East countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen; and
· a documentation of relevant organizations working on NWFP, which are based in the Near East region.
Kind of information collected
To evaluate the socio-economic importance and ecological impact of NWFP exploitation, key information on the product, resource and economic value has been collected.
(a) Product information
For the purpose of this study (and especially for the table on quantitative data), NWFP are defined as "goods of biological origin other than wood, derived from forests, other wooded lands and trees outside forests" (FAO, 1999). For further information regarding the terminology of NWFP, see Chandrasekharan (1995).
To simplify the classification, NWFP were categorised according to their end use, as described in Table 1 (see page 4).
Monitoring of the resources and evaluation of the economic value of all NWFP in a given country is neither feasible nor desirable. Therefore, only NWFP of national relevance for which monitoring and evaluation are strongly needed were identified. Exported or widely used products in national markets should be well identified as opposed to NWFP of minor importance or limited significance. Selecting relevant NWFP should initially help the country focus its efforts on improving data collection on major NWFP. A further step would then be to include also other NWFP.
(b) Resource information
Evaluation and monitoring of the resources providing NWFP resource bases are important to estimate the actual and potential socio-economic and ecological value of these products at the national level. The first step in that process is the identification of the plant or animal species.
Another important element worth knowing is which part of the plant is harvested (e.g. roots, bark, exudates). In fact, the harvesting of different plant-parts has a different impact on the sustainability of the species considered.
Knowledge of the habitat (or production system) and the source (management system) of the exploited species are also important factors. Harvesting of NWFP might cause degradation of the habitat if the exploitation is carried out in an unsustainable way (e.g. utilization of fire for bee hunting). On the other hand, habitat degradation (e.g. through shifting cultivation) might also have a negative influence on the availability of NWFP (e.g. forest fires reduces honey harvests).
Furthermore, resource information on whether the species used is cultivated or gathered from wild sources is important. The exploitation of wild species versus cultivated species (generally integrated in a man-made management system) has direct implications on choices at the management level and can have far reaching ecological and socio-economic effects.
(c) Socio-economic information
To evaluate the economic importance of NWFP, quantitative data on resources, product consumption and trade are required. Figures should indicate quantity (tonnes, m³, etc.), product status (dried, graded, semi-processed, etc.) and value (US$) for a given period (year).
It is important to know if the product is mainly used for subsistence or commerce. Therefore, it is suggested to distinguish between utilization at the national level (including subsistence and trade on a local, regional or national market) and the international level.
Besides this quantifiable information, qualitative information is important regarding the cultural and socio-economic context of the NWFP utilization (for example, access to the resources, the main social categories of the harvesters, etc.).
Table 1. Main categories of NWFP
Plant products |
Animals and animal products | ||
Categories |
Description |
Categories |
Description |
Food |
Vegetal foodstuff and beverages provided by fruits, nuts, seeds, roots, mushrooms, etc. |
Living animals |
Mainly vertebrates such as mammals, birds, reptiles kept/bought as pets |
Fodder |
Animal and bee fodder provided by leaves, fruits, etc. |
Honey and beeswax |
Products provided by bees |
Medicines |
Medicinal plants (e.g. leaves, bark, roots) used in traditional medicine and/or by pharmaceutical companies |
Bushmeat |
Meat provided by vertebrates, mainly mammals |
Perfumes and cosmetics |
Aromatic plants providing essential (volatile) oils and other products used for cosmetic purposes |
Other edible animal products |
Mainly edible invertebrates such as insects (e.g. caterpillars) and other "secondary" products of animals (e.g. eggs, nests) |
Dying and tanning |
Plant material (mainly bark and leaves) providing tannins and other plant parts (especially leaves and fruits) used as colorants |
Hides and skins |
Hide and skin of animals used for various purposes |
Utensils, handicrafts and construction materials |
Heterogeneous group of products including thatch, bamboo, rattan, wrapping leaves, fibres |
Medicine |
Entire animals or parts of animals such as various organs used for medicinal purposes |
Ornamentals |
Entire plants (e.g. orchids) and parts of the plants (e.g. pots made from roots) used for ornamental purposes |
Colorants |
Entire animals or parts of animals such as various organs used as colorants |
Exudates |
Substances such as gums (water soluble), resins (water insoluble) and latex (milky or clear juice), released from plants by exudation |
Other non-edible animal products |
e.g. bones used as tools |
Other |
e.g. insecticides, fungicides |
1 The proceedings of this meeting are available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5402e/X5402e00.htm.