News and notes

World Health Organization guidelines for the assessment of herbal medicines
Maastricht declaration of the world congress on medicinal and aromatic plants for human welfare
International society for ethnopharmacology
Pharmel - a database on African medicinal plants
Natural products network for West Africa (NAPRWA)
Pilot-scale polyfunctional processing unit for plant extracts
Medicinal plants network in Asia
Asia-Pacific information network on medicinal and aromatic plants (APINMAP)
Tropical forest medicinal plant programme in Indonesia
International network for bamboo and rattan
Bamboo information Centre-India
Bamboo information Centre-China
Rattan information Centre-Malaysia
Centre of minor forest products, Dehra Dun, India
Tribal cooperative marketing development federation of India limited (TRIFED)
Tropenbos and non-wood forest products
Conceptual business plan for establishing a special forest products processing plant
Jackfruit survey
Potential of non-timber forest products (NTFPS) in sustainable natural forest management in Amazonia
Crop substitution for coca leaves in the Andean region
Arab association of beekeepers
Feasibility of non-wood pulping by hydrogen peroxide alkali process
Harvesting nature's diversity

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION GUIDELINES FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF HERBAL MEDICINES

Under the auspices of the Programme on Traditional Medicines, WHO prepared and presented Guidelines for the Assessment of Herbal Medicines at the Sixth International Conference of Drug Regulatory Authorities, held in Ottawa, Canada in 1991.

The objective of the guidelines is to define basic criteria for the evaluation of the quality, safety and efficacy of herbal medicines and thereby to assist regulatory authorities, scientific organizations and manufacturers to undertake an assessment of the documentation/submission/dossiers in respect of such products. The Guidelines cover such aspects as pharmaceutical assessment; handling of crude plant material; manufacturing of plant-based preparation involving the fractionation, purification or concentration process; standards of finished products; stability of the products; safety assessment; toxicological studies; documentation of safety and risks based on experience; assessment of efficacy and intended use; provision of product information to the consumer; and product promotion.

More information on the guidelines can be obtained from: Officer-in-Charge, Traditional Medicine Programme, WHO, CH-1211, Geneva 27, Switzerland.

MAASTRICHT DECLARATION OF THE WORLD CONGRESS ON MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS FOR HUMAN WELFARE

At the first World Congress on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants for Human Welfare (WOCMAP), held from 19 to 25 July 1992, in Maastricht, the Netherlands, the following recommendations relating to medicinal plants were made:

1) The genetic resources and diversity of medicinal plants must be classified and conserved through the protection of natural sites and through the development of tissue culture and other preservation techniques.

2) A new legal and ethical framework that will protect and regulate the use and management of the genetic material of medicinal and aromatic plants needs to be established.

3) To ensure high-quality plant material from sustainable production systems such as agroforestry and integrated cultivation, directives for good agricultural practices need to be drawn up.

4) A standardized 'way-bill" for medicinal and aromatic plants needs to be developed and utilized to provide a verifiable record of plant material.

5) More financing and research should be directed towards enabling producer countries to process medicinal and aromatic plant material locally.

6) National acceptance and approval of herbal medicines should be based on the Guidelines for the Assessment of Herbal Medicines as developed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

7) Pharmacological and clinical trials should be conducted according to directives outlined in WHO's Good Laboratory Practice and Good Clinical Practices. Phytopharmaceuticals available to physicians should be botanically and phytochemically defined.

8) The preparation and publication of national pharmacopoeias and the location of information databases pertaining to medicinal and aromatic plants need to be supported. An international board for medicinal and aromatic plants should be established to stimulate cooperation among various international organizations working with medicinal and aromatic plants.

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY

The Society was formed at an international congress held in Strasbourg, France in September 1990. The second congress was held in Uppsala, Sweden in July 1992. The third congress is scheduled for Beijing, China in June/July 1994.

For further details about membership, please contact Dr Jahn G. Bruhn, President, International Society for Ethnopharmacology, ACO Lakemede AB, Box 3026, S-17103, Sweden.

PHARMEL - A DATABASE ON AFRICAN MEDICINAL PLANTS

There is now a database on African medicinal plants used in traditional medicine. This database, called PHARMEL, was created in 1986 by the Agence de coop�ration culturelle et technique (ACCT), an international agency covering 40 French-speaking countries and working for the development of cultural and technical relationships between them. PHARMEL (PHAR for pharmacopoeia, ME for medicinal plant and L for traditional) has two major objectives:

1) to gather the data concerning the uses of medicinal plants in folk medicine (mainly in Africa) and synthesize this information;

2) to promote a network with local or national databases having facilities for the exchange of data between them and the augmentation of the total volume of treated available data.

For further information concerning this database, please contact Professor J. Lejoly, Laboratoire de botanique syst�matique et de physiologic, CP 169, Universit� Libre de Bruxelles, 28 Avenue P. Heger, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.

NATURAL PRODUCTS NETWORK FOR WEST AFRICA (NAPRWA)

This network was formed at the end of an International Seminar on Natural Products Research and Development of Plant-Based Drugs, held in Kumasi, Ghana from 23 to 30 September 1990. The conference was sponsored by the International Foundation for Science and the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. The network will be supported by Unesco. Professor Kwame Sarpong, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Ghana, is the secretary of the network. (Source: Newsletter of the Organization of African Unity Scientific Technical and Research Commission (OAU/STRC) on Research into Medicinal Plants. No. 14. January 1993.)

PILOT-SCALE POLYFUNCTIONAL PROCESSING UNIT FOR PLANT EXTRACTS

The Pilot-Scale Polyfunctional Processing Unit developed under UNIDO sponsorship is capable of carrying out various unit operations in extracting flavour, aroma and medicinal constituents from plant material. The unit is designed to carry out several functions either in successive steps or simultaneously, i.e. steam distillation and separation of essential oils; fractional distillation of essential oils; percolation in a solvent at ambient temperature; hot-solvent extraction; extraction by repeated leaching with hot or cold solvent; filtration of the micella; rectified solvent distillation and recovery. (Source: Dr Tuley De Silva, Special Technical Adviser, Chemical Industries Branch, UNIDO, Vienna, Austria.)

MEDICINAL PLANTS NETWORK IN ASIA

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, South Asia Regional Office, is currently initiating the creation of a Medicinal Plants Network in Asia.

The objective of this network is 1) to establish a mechanism for supporting and encouraging geographically diverse, small-scale, local efforts and research in the area of medicinal plants; and 2) to add value to this work by facilitating interaction and dialogue between the researchers, experts and institutions in order to create a critical mass of knowledge. At present, the network operates in South Asian countries.

IDRC has, as part of this network, two ongoing projects, one on neem and the other on medicinal plants. The neem project will further investigate the active principle of neem, i.e. the limonoid azadirachtin. This active principle has remained an enigma and its putative role as a biopesticide, immunomodulatory, antifertility and antiviral agent has not been scientifically validated and completely investigated. Furthermore, economical methods to extract and separate azadirachtin will be developed, its stable formulations standardized and biopesticides produced on a pilot scale and tested. The immuno-active components and their immunomodulatory functions will be evaluated.

The medicinal plants project will, among other things, undertake an evaluation of some ten widely used medicinal plants, select the best stocks and develop sustainable techniques in order to propagate them. These activities will lead to an availability of these plants on a sustainable basis. The overall benefits will include prevention of health hazards and conservation of biodiversity as well as an increased income to rural households.

For further information on the activities of this Medicinal Plants Network, please contact Dr Cherla Sastry, Senior Programme Specialist, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), South Asia Regional Office, 11 Jor Bagh, New Delhi-110003, India. Fax: 91-11-4622707.

ASIA-PACIFIC INFORMATION NETWORK ON MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS (APINMAP)

Under a Unesco initiative, an Asia-Pacific Information Network on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants was established in 1987 to address the need for comprehensive information. It is composed of 14 Asian and Pacific countries, namely Australia, the People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and Viet Nam.

The network seeks to achieve the following two objectives:

• to make information available on medicinal and aromatic plants, either acquired from abroad or generated by research and development activities in the region; and

• to assist in the development or strengthening of specialized information services and information handling capabilities of member states.

For further information on the current activities of APINMAP, please contact Dr Pacita L. Zara, Secretary-General, APINMAP Secretariat, Philippine Council for Health, Research and Development, Department of Science and Technology, Gen. Santos Ave., Bicutan, Taguig, Metro Manilla, Philippines. Fax: (632) 823-89-42) or (632) 823-89-37.

TROPICAL FOREST MEDICINAL PLANT PROGRAMME IN INDONESIA

The Department of Forest Resources Conservation of Bogor Agricultural University and the Indonesian Tropical Institute in Indonesia have recently launched a Tropical Forest Medicinal Plant Programme.

The aim is to promote conservation and sustainable economic development based on traditional medicinal plants from the tropical forests of Indonesia. Among other activities, the programme will review available information on traditional uses, socio-economic impact, and market structure as well as policy and legal aspects. The programme will produce technical guides for conservation, breeding and cultivation, a database of medicinal plants species, and a stock of genetic materials.

For additional information, please contact: Fakultas Kehutanan IPB, Kampus Darmanga, PO Box 69, Bogor 16001, Indonesia.

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR BAMBOO AND RATTAN

The promotion of remunerative bamboo and rattan production and post-harvest technologies among resource-poor smallholders represents a means by which the environmental dimension of rural poverty alleviation can be addressed.

MALAYSIAN IMPORTS OF SELECTED ESSENTIAL OILS, 1991

Source: External Trade Statistics, Malaysia.

In this regard, the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), supported by the International Development Research Centre, Canada (IDRC), was established in 1993 and has its headquarters in New Delhi, India. It is a network of researchers and environmental enthusiasts who share an interest in the study of bamboo and rattan, from basic scientific studies to practical applications for finished products. So far INBAR's activities have been confined primarily to Asia, although INBAR has generated enormous interest from researchers and similar organizations that promote bamboo and rattan around the world. INBAR is the outgrowth of a network of bamboo and rattan projects that have been funded since the early 1980s by IDRC.

At two orientation meetings, participants developed INBAR's research priorities under four themes: information, training and technology transfer; production research; socioeconomic research; and post-harvest technology research.

As a result of the priority-setting exercise, participants called for 13 specific projects within the four themes mentioned above. Lead and collaborating institutions were identified for each theme. The guiding principle of INBAR is that projects should incorporate inputs and active participation from more than one institution, thereby establishing important research and development linkage throughout Asia. Whenever feasible, project leaders were invited to seek inputs from countries outside Asia.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) approved a grant for INBAR of US$700000. The bulk of IFAD's funding will be for socio-economic research activities and will be channelled through the newly created Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

INBAR's objectives are as follows:

• to improve the well-being of small-scale producers and users of bamboo and rattan within the context of a sustainable bamboo and rattan resource base;

• to build skills and enhance the capacity of national programmes;

• to expand and orient bamboo and rattan research in accordance with the priorities identified; and

• to strengthen national, regional and international coordination, cooperation and collaboration.

For further information on INBAR current and future research activities or the names of the chairpersons of INBAR working groups, please contact Mr Paul Stinson, Manager, INBAR, IDRC, South Asia Regional Office, 11 Jor Bagh, New Delhi-110003, India. Fax: 91-11-4622707.

BAMBOO INFORMATION CENTRE-INDIA

The Bamboo Information Centre-India (BIC-India) was established in July 1989 with financial support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. The Centre is located at the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi, Kerala, India. KFRI is an autonomous research institute established in 1975 by the Government of Kerala to undertake research on all aspects of forestry.

BIC-India seeks to acquire, organize and disseminate documents and research data relevant to bamboo research (tropical bamboos) to individuals concerned with bamboo research and its utilization.

For further information, please write to the Project Leader, Bamboo Information Centre-India, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi 680653, Kerala, India.

BAMBOO INFORMATION CENTRE-CHINA

The Bamboo Information Centre-China (BIC-China) was established in 1987 with financial support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, to disseminate relevant information to members in other countries who are interested in bamboo research and cultivation. The Centre is of considerable importance in providing technical assistance among the developing countries and strengthening the bamboo (temperate bamboos) research activities in the region.

For further information concerning the activities of BIC, please contact Dr Cherla Sastry, Senior Programme Specialist, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), South Asia Regional Office, II Jor Bagh, New Delhi-110003, India. Fax: 91-11-4622707

RATTAN INFORMATION CENTRE-MALAYSIA

The Rattan Information Centre (RIC) was jointly set up by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, in 1983.

The objective of RIC is to collect, collate, and disseminate comprehensive information of interest to researchers and organizations engaged in rattan in the Asia and Pacific region.

For further information concerning the current activities of RIC, please contact the Editor, Rattan Information Centre, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kepong, 52109 Kuala Lumpur. Fax: 6036367753.

CENTRE OF MINOR FOREST PRODUCTS, DEHRA DUN, INDIA

The Centre of Minor Forest Products for Rural Development and Environment Conservation sponsored by the Ford Foundation was established as a non-governmental organization in Dehra Dun, indict in 1991 in support of sustainable management of non-wood forest products. The Centre is involved in the following activities:

• publishing documents on MFP species for land husbandry, including wasteland reclamation;

• bringing out a quarterly newsletter (in English and Hindi), entitled MFP News and publishing an MFP atlas;

• identifying MFP species for specific agroecological regions and preparing guidelines for suitable MFP species;

• organizing conferences, symposia, workshops, short training courses;

• establishing MFP nurseries and a centre for the supply of certified seeds and planting materials;

• developing an international network of individuals and agencies devoted to the sustainable management of MFP.

For further information on the current and forthcoming activities of the Centre, please contact Mr M.P. Shiva, Managing Director, Centre of Minor Forest Products, HIG-2/No. 8, Indira Puram Gen. Mahadev Singh Road, Dehra Dun-248001, India.

TRIBAL COOPERATIVE MARKETING DEVELOPMENT FEDERATION OF INDIA LIMITED (TRIFED)

TRIFED has focused on the economic development of India's ethnic minorities. Among the economic support systems created by TRIFED is a national network for the procurement, processing and marketing of forest (and agricultural) products from tribal areas.

TRIFED has recently established 5000 Single Window Service Centres (SWSCs) in traditional tribal markets in the rural areas of the country.

These centres will serve the tribal communities by procuring their forest and agricultural produce at support prices, and act as primary agencies for the sale of essential commodities and other consumer goods, and for extending consumer and agricultural credit. This effort will be supplemented by a chain of warehouses and refrigerated storage facilities located strategically in various parts of the country.

Some of the commodities offered for export are:

Agarwood (Aquilaria agallocha), annatto (Bixa orellana), cashew kernel (Anacardium accidentale), chiraita (Swertia chirata), chironji (Buchanania lanzan), cutch (khair) (Acacia catechu), gum karaya (Sterculia urens), kendu/tendu leaves (Diospyros melanoxylon), kuth (Saussurea lappa), lac (Laccifer lacca), large cardamon (Amomum subulatum), myrobalan (Terminalia chebula), niger seed (Guizotia abyssinica), nux vomica (Strychnos nux-vomica), palmarosa oil (Cymbopogon martini), pepper (Piper nigrum), safed musk (Asparagus absendens), sal seed (Shorea robusta), sarsaparilla (Hemidesmus indicus), sisal (Agave sisalana), aloe (Aloe barbadensis), tamarind seed/fruit (Tamarindus indica), handloom woven tassar silk (Antheraca pephia; Antheraca anamessis), wattle bark (Acacia mearnsii), wild turmeric (Curcuma aromatica) and psyllium husk (Plantago ovato).

For further information, please write to the Managing Director, Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED), Savitri Sadan-II, 15 Preet Vihar Community Centre, Vikas Marg, Delhi-110092, India.

TROPENBOS AND NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS

In its 1992 Annual Report, the Tropenbos Foundation (Netherlands) describes its new approaches to non-wood forest products (NWFPs) as follows:

Land-use systems based on sustainable exploitation of NWFPs, in some cases in combination with restricted timber harvesting, may have several promising applications. Conservation becomes an even stronger land-use option for policy-makers when the economic benefit of preserving the forest can be demonstrated. However, many questions should be answered before one can make firm statements about the feasibility and scale of such land-use systems in particular circumstances.

NWFP is one of the first research themes to be developed by Tropenbos. This field was chosen as a theme because available research generally covers only few aspects of the use of NWFPs and there seems to be scope for a more systematic approach. An integrated approach to the research of NWFPs is the application of the methodology developed for land-use planning, more specifically the definition of land utilization types.

Tropenbos is cofounding a project in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. A field survey was undertaken to locate future research sites and to define specific studies. Three studies were identified. The first study assesses the sustainability of ironwood (Eusideroxylon zwageri) exploitation. Ironwood risks being overexploited when the study area is opened up by roads. Sustainable harvesting levels can be determined by assessing local use, the impact of current harvesting levels on population structure, growth rates and natural regeneration.

The second study focuses on the establishment and management of fruit forest gardens. They consist of planted (fruit) trees, of spontaneously growing trees after the abandoning of rice cultivation and of trees not cut at the time of rice field establishment. Thus, fruit forest gardens are traditional reforestation practices of the Dayaks, which may present clues to improve reforestation models and their economic output in the area.

The objective of the third study is to get an insight into the process of encroachment by the Dayaks into primary forest. The reasons for primary forest clearance include the transformation of rice fields into permanent rubber or fruit forest gardens. Other reasons are the need to increase food production for a growing population and the fact that agricultural fields are invaded by alang-alang (Imperata) grass and become unproductive. (Source: Extracted from ISTF News, Vol. 14, No. 4, December 1993.)

CONCEPTUAL BUSINESS PLAN FOR ESTABLISHING A SPECIAL FOREST PRODUCTS PROCESSING PLANT

The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service has mandated a consulting firm to undertake a marketing and engineering evaluation for the establishment of a "special" forest products processing plant in the Sweet Home, Oregon area utilizing "special" forest products harvested from the Willamette National Forest and surrounding forested areas. "Special" forest products are defined as those products that fall outside the typical timber file. Included in this definition are products such as greens and foliage for the floral industry; greens collected and processed for the pharmaceutical industry; products from the forest considered to be "gourmet" foods such as high-grade mushrooms or special extracts used in food and beverage manufacturing; and products used during certain seasons such as Christmas, etc.

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The result of this study is a conceptual business plan consisting of a series of different steps to follow for the establishment of a processing plant of non-wood forest products. These steps can be summarized as follows: knowledge of the resource base, market evaluation, appropriate harvesting and value-added processing technology, administrative regulations, a financial and investment plan, and a project implementation plan. (Source: Extracted from Analysis and development of a conceptual business plan for a special forest products processing plant. Final Report. USDA Forest Service, Region 6. Willamette National Forest, Sweet Home Range District, Sweet Home, Oregon. June 1992.)

JACKFRUIT SURVEY

The participants at a regional meeting on the Utilization of Traditional and Underexploited Fruits and Nuts, organized by the Commonwealth Science Council (CSC) and the International Centre for Underutilized Crops (ICUC), held in July 1992 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, identified jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) as deserving priority attention.

Following this recommendation, CSC funded a survey of jackfruit in Bangladesh. The survey covered issues such as the present state of genetic resources, propagation and production methods, post-harvest and processing, marketing and socioeconomic benefits and the role of national agricultural research systems. Artocarpus heterophyllus is a multipurpose tree from tropical Asia, providing timber, edible fruits and fodder. (Source: Commonwealth Science Council, London, UK.)

POTENTIAL OF NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS (NTFPS) IN SUSTAINABLE NATURAL FOREST MANAGEMENT IN AMAZONIA

In an article published in Commonwealth Forestry Review, (72(1): 21-27, 1993), Michael Richards examines certain major NTFPs of Amazonia and lists several constraints:

• the nature of the markets, with an inherent tendency to replace extractive products with synthetic substitutes and cultivated trees (domestication);

• the factors in the extractive economies that cause inconsistency of supply problems;

• the limited income-earning potential of extractive products in comparison with alternative, and mainly unsustainable, land uses, including gold-mining and cocaine production, agriculture and small-scale ranching;

• the export markets for many extractive forest products are small and volatile, while some of the larger and more secure domestic markets, as for acai juice, palm hearts and aguaje, are for perishable varzea products that can be grown in only 2 percent of the Amazon;

• even as market development leads to an increase in value of the resource (as in the case of baba�u), the welfare impacts are likely to be negative unless underlying political and land-rights issues are tackled;

• the extractors themselves do not see extractivism as a raison d'�tre but as a means of survival. Extractive groups express preferences for agriculture and other land uses, unsurprising when one recalls that extractivism is often a poorly remunerated, lonely and isolated existence;

• extractivism cannot be viewed as a solution to the problem of new colonization; it is not accessible to new settlers, both on the grounds of the amounts of technical knowledge and land (at the forest margin) required. A typical rubber-tapping household needs between 300 and 500 hectares of forest. Also, colonist farmers tend to have a myopic vision that focuses on annual cropping, because of the frequency of their migrationary movements and tenure insecurity.

In spite of the above, it is asserted that there are several important reasons to support NTFP-based natural forest management and in particular extractive reserves.

• up to one and a half million people in the Brazilian Amazon still derive a significant proportion of their income from extractive products. The immediate alternatives involve clearing the forest or migration. Therefore there is a strong humanitarian and strategic case for supporting extractivism, giving time to develop longer-term solutions;

• the harvesting methods of most extractive products are nondestructive. With adequate prices, extractivism could be indefinitely sustainable;

• for indigenous and other groups with a historical tradition of extractivism and swidden farming, their indigenous technical knowledge provides a basis for sustainable forest management. The single biggest danger to the Amazon may well be the loss of those with the knowledge of how to manage it sustainably;

• the institutional and tenurial arrangements of extractive reserves provide a socioeconomic framework in which more sustainable forms of resource management can occur.

Most analysts see sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, especially based on indigenous swidden management techniques, and timber extraction as playing major future roles in both the context of extractive reserves and frontier production systems. These are particularly strong arguments for combining extractivism with community participation in the sustained yield management of timber. (Source: Extracted from ISTF News, Vol. 14, No. 4, December 1993.)

CROP SUBSTITUTION FOR COCA LEAVES IN THE ANDEAN REGION

Within a project entitled "Plan of action for the development of crop substitution for coca leaves in the Andean region" financed by the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/GATT (ITC) has carried out studies on alternative crops and related products as a substitution for coca leaf production.

The project implementation was structured as follows:

• Identification and preselection of potential agricultural crops based on the analysis of the situation in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The preselection criteria took into consideration the agroclimatic growing conditions existing at various altitudes in the four countries, as well as the structure of the farming population, their respective degrees of agricultural development, the distances to potential cultivation areas and eventual processing units, and the degree of value added that will bear the cost of transportation to international markets, in relation to the price obtained for coca leaves and products.

• Proposals for alternative crops may not offer a replacement for coca leaf production initially at its present price levels but a well-planned production mix might help to increase the family income. In order to facilitate a reasonable production mix a wide range of separate regional and international market studies have been prepared. The export market opportunities not only support alternative use of the land but also a general increase in the economic activity level.

• The market studies cover the following products, either fresh or processed (canned, juice, pulp) and include several NWFPs: passion fruit, mango, orange, papaya, pineapple, lemon, lime, avocado, hearts of palm, kidney beans, peanut butter, guava, cane panelera, yuca and yuca flour, dried fruits, dried flowers, cut flowers, edible nuts, aromatic and culinary herbs, annatto, essential oil (lemongrass), cinnamon and cassia, vanilla, pepper, cardamon, chillies, ginger, cocoa, palm oil, frozen vegetables, frozen berries, processed exotic products, hides and skins. For each product a separate market report has been prepared in English and Spanish.

• In order to support the above-mentioned market studies a special report entitled Market access to the EEC and the United States for selected products from the Andean region was prepared. This report reflects the special trade preferences extended to the Andean countries.

• The project is rounded up by bringing forward in a separate report the institutional, legal and macroeconomic planning aspects in relation to the eradication of coca leaf production. The report is meant to serve as a base for action plans for the respective governments and possible outside partners (governments, international organizations, financial institutions, etc.) in support of an export development programme. (Source: ITC/UNDCP, 1993.)

ARAB ASSOCIATION OF BEEKEEPERS

Representatives from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco, Mauritania, Palestine, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Tunisia attended a meeting in Cairo on 8 and 9 February 1994 in order to establish an Arab Association of Beekeepers. The meeting, organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), aims to promote the beekeeping industry in the Arab countries through scientific research, disease control, production projects, etc. (Source: FAO Near-East Press Digest, 16 February 1994.)

FEASIBILITY OF NON-WOOD PULPING BY HYDROGEN PEROXIDE ALKALI PROCESS

FAO recently carried out a consultancy study on non-wood pulping by using the hydrogen peroxide alkali process.

The rationale of this study was to examine the feasibility of developing an environmentally sound industrial pulping process that is able to make full use of agricultural wastes (and other ligno-cellulosic residues) in order to recycle these wastes into materials that can be competitively priced on the market.

The hydrogen peroxide alkali process is the selective extraction of lignin, by treatment with hydrogen peroxide alkaline solution, from non-wood/wood materials. The main feature of the process is the use of alkaline hydrogen peroxide solution as the reagent for the digestion of wood. The addition of anthraquinon is part of the process, and is essential for the stabilization of the reagent. This process neither uses sulphur-containing chemicals for digestion nor chlorine for bleaching purposes and is, therefore, considered to be a less polluting and environmentally sound technology.

The hydrogen peroxide alkali process was invented and developed in Japan by the National Chemical Laboratory in the early 1980s. There is some reluctance on the part of the industry to install the first commercial plant using the hydrogen peroxide alkali process in developing countries because of limited training opportunities. There is, however, potential to begin with technology transfer utilizing existing research facilities and with the provision of essential equipment for demonstration purposes. It is anticipated that further work in this area will include a wide range of non-wood ligno-cellulosic materials. (Contributed by T. Saito, Agricultural Industries Officer, AGSI.)

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HARVESTING NATURE'S DIVERSITY

The theme for World Food Day 1993, celebrated worldwide on 16 October 1993, was "Harvesting nature's diversity", to emphasize the importance of biological diversity and of genetic resources for food security, sustainable agriculture, environmental management, international trade in commodities and rural development.

The aim was to increase awareness of the threat to biodiversity and to mobilize action to conserve this heritage and use it sustainably and equitably for present and future generations.

Rural communities and indigenous peoples in the developing regions may be poor, but they are often rich in the knowledge of how to tap biodiversity. Forest-dwellers use at least 1300 plant species for medicines and related purposes. They have contributed to the discovery of an estimated three-quarters of plant-derived prescription drugs widely used in the developed world. Traditional knowledge of "famine foods" and plants that can be used for food during the "hungry season" just prior to harvesting have long sustained rural farm families. Examples abound of plants long valued locally that only now are being explored in a systematic way. Phytolacca dodecandra, a traditional source of soap in Africa, has proved lethal to snails but harmless to other animals and humans. This discovery could provide a breakthrough in the fight against schistosomiasis, a disease carried by freshwater snails that claims the lives of an estimated 200000 people in Africa every year. Extracts from seeds of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), used for centuries by Indian farmers to protect crops and stored grain, have proved highly effective against insect pests, including locusts, rice and maize borers, pulse beetles and rice weevils. (Source: FAO, Rome.)