Top experts place non-wood forest products high on agenda for sustainable development of boreal and cold temperate forests
Meeting at the European Forest Institute (EFI) in Joenssu, Finland, from 18 to 22 January 1998, 30 experts from a dozen countries examined the promotion and development of non-wood forest products as a crucial element in overall sustainable development of boreal and cold temperate forests. The workshop participants - from Armenia, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, the Russian Federation and the United States included senior government staff of relevant agencies, technical experts covering various NWFP-related disciplines, representatives of NGOs and the private sector.
The boreal and cold temperate forests of the world have long been recognized as valuable sources of timber and managed as such. But many of the other products and values of these forests have been neglected in management efforts, putting their overall sustainability in jeopardy.
The International Expert Workshop on the Sustainable Development of Non-wood Goods and Benefits from Boreal and Cold Temperate Forests, organized by EFI and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland in cooperation with FAO and the Economic Commission of Europe (ECE) aimed to:
· gain a better insight into the resource situation and the present utilization status of major NWFPs in the boreal and cold temperate regions, including identification of key constraints and potential action at national and regional levels; and· raise awareness of the importance of NWFPs for rural development, the environment (biodiversity conservation) and for sustainable forestry.
Working in discussion groups focusing on four themes people and social needs; resource inventory (including monitoring) and assessment; planning, management and harvesting; and marketing and trade - the workshop participants came up with detailed recommendations and action proposals for the sustainable development of NWFPs in boreal and cold temperate forests.
Key recommendations included:
· develop locally available consumer-producer information systems and develop a forecasting information system;· collect and supply information on the latest processing technologies and on market realities to assist governments and administrations in policymaking, taxation, legislation, etc.;
· develop summaries of local and indigenous knowledge about NWFPs for different countries with boreal and cold temperate forests;
· identify and recommend appropriate proposals for support/incentives/subsidies/compensation schemes and regulations for multiple-use forest management planning for private forest owners these will be submitted to the relevant ministries and agencies to be considered for incorporation into national (or international) forest policies and regulations in line with the international Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management and/or other UNCED recommendations;
· coordinate a comparative and comprehensive review in the region of the state-of-the-art of existing approaches, resource data information systems, technology needs and practices to incorporate non-wood goods and benefits effectively into multiple-purpose forest management planning, implementation, monitoring and participatory evaluation; and, based on the outcome of this study, identify gaps and appropriate actions, programmes or projects for submission to relevant donor agencies;
· conduct case studies of NWFP regulations to identify disjunctions between the intent of regulations and how they actually work out in practice.
Close coordination among agencies involved with NWFPs was highlighted as essential and the potential value of establishing an international network in the boreal and cold temperate zone was noted.
FAO and NWFPs
Since 1991 the FAO Forestry Department has maintained a programme, "The Promotion and Development of Non-Wood Forest Products", aimed at enhancing the sustainable utilization of non-wood forest products in order to contribute to the wise management of the world's forests and the conservation of their biodiversity, and to improve food security for rural people.
The programme, which is among FAO's priority forestry activities, comprises three main elements:
· gathering, analysis and dissemination of key technical information on NWFPs;
· full appraisal of the socioeconomic contribution of NWFPs; and
· improved networking among individuals and organizations concerned with NWFPs.
As part of the programme, FAO has conducted a series of regional expert meetings on NWFPs in collaboration with other partners: Asia and the Pacific (1991); English-speaking Africa (1993); Latin America and the Caribbean (1994); the Near East (1997); and boreal and cold temperate forest regions (1998). Preparations are under way for a regional workshop on NWFPs in central Africa later in 1998.
