REPORT
(as approved by the seminar)

INTRODUCTION (Item 1 of the agenda)

1. The seminar on “Harvesting of non-wood forest products” was held from 2 to 8 October at the International Agro-Hydrology Research and Training Center in Menemen-İzmir (Turkey) at the invitation of the Ministry of Forestry and under the auspices of the Joint FAO/ECE/ILO Committee on Forest Technology, Management and Training. Participants from the following countries attended: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan and among international organisations the World Bank.

2. On behalf of the Turkish organizing Committee, Mr. K. Gürses welcomed the participants. On behalf of the Joint Committee, Mr. J. Lorbach (FAO) set the context of the discussions of Non-wood Forest Products (NWFP) for this seminar. The next speaker, Mr. T. Eren (Turkey), Deputy Governor of İzmir, underlined the importance of NWFP for the rural development in the country. Dr. M.K. Muthoo, FAO Representative in Turkey, highlighted the important contribution of NWFP to food security and recalled participants on the need for sustainability, and on the important role of NWFP for poverty alleviation. His Excellency, the Minister of Forestry, Professor N. Çağan, made a well-documented, exhaustive presentation on the NWFP sector in Turkey. He focussed on the social needs of disadvantaged groups of society and for which NWFP may contribute to food security and income generating activities. He further emphasized the need for a sustainable development of NWFP according to the principles laid down in the Rio de Janeiro Summit and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Furthermore, he underlined Turkey's position as an important hotspot of biological diversity with more than 10 000 plant species identified so far which further emphasized the role of NWFP to the forestry sector in Turkey.

3. Mr. E. İspirli, Head of External Relations and EU Department of the Ministry of Forest, and Mr. Lorbach introduced the objectives and expected outcomes of the seminar and the procedures of the seminar.

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA (Item 2)

4. The provisional agenda as set out in TIM/EFC/WP.1/SEM.49/1 was adopted.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS (Item 3)

5. The following chairpersons were elected as per the five half day sessions:

Mr. J. Yüksel (Turkey)
Mr. H. C. Başer (Turkey)
Mr. R. Heinrich (Austria)
Mr. P. Vantomme (FAO)
Mr. N. Demidova (Russian Federation).

POLICIES TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE FOREST OPERATIONS AND UTILIZATION OF NWFP (Item 4)

6. Under this item, the following papers were presented:

7. In the discussion that followed the presentations under item 4, Mr. U. Geray (Turkey) reiterated the importance of NWFP for the rural development in Turkey. Mr. D. Ladipo (Nigeria) raised the issue about transborder trade on endangered NFWP species, to which Ms. T. Mulliken (TRAFFIC) explained the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). Mr. N.B. Nair (India) proposed to elaborate a listing of species according to subsistence and/or commercial use. Mr. M. Ellatifi (Morocco) and other participants mentioned the many functions of the forest in addition to NWFP, such as water management, recreation, hunting, etc.

8. Ms. S. Talhouk (Lebanon) raised the issue of the need for a better access to and exchange on information on NWFP in the region; on that point, Mr. Başer, among other participants, further elaborated on the need for region specific networking, i.e. Eastern Mediterranean region. Ms. Talhouk also raised the issue of in situ versus ex situ conservation of NWFP resources. Ms. F. Ertuğ (Turkey) drew the attention of the participants to the need to further develop practical methodologies for inventory of NWFP resources and for socio-economic assessment tools.

9. Several participants expressed their concern on intellectual property rights on the commercial development of local knowledge on NWFP and for the development of appropriate benefit sharing arrangements.

INVENTORY METHODS AND MAPPING OF NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS (Item 5)

10. Under this item, the Chairman made an introductory remark to highlight that the term ‘Harvesting’ should be preferred to ‘Exploitation’ because it includes the sustainability concept

11. Under this item the following papers were presented:

12. Ms. F. Ertuğ (Turkey), supported by other participants, asked for further clarification on inventory methodologies used in NWFP assessments. Mr. Ellatifi, emphasised the need to integrate the assessment of non-wood forest products within existing forest inventories. Ms. Talhouk stressed the need for a multi-disciplinary approach for NWFP inventories. She also raised the issue of how to motivate local people for the participatory assessment of their forest resources.

INVOLVEMENT OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE HARVESTING, PROCESSING AND MARKETING OF NWFP ENHANCING EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME GENERATION OF LOCAL POPULATIONS (Item 6)

13. Under this item the following papers were presented:

14. A question was raised about the paper of Ms. Singhal to clarify the issue of nationalised or non-nationalised NWFP. Some speakers further supported the gender issues related to harvesting practices raised in her paper.

PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF SUSTAINABLE FOREST HARVESTING OPERATIONS FOR NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS. ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS FOR APPROPRIATE HARVESTING SYSTEMS AND TECHNIQUES, REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND WASTES (Item 7)

15. Under this item the following papers were presented:

16. Concerning the paper presented by Mr. Gül, Ms. F. Ertuğ (Turkey) asked for further clarification on the methodology used for the measurement of the impact of erosion.

17. There were several questions raised on the presentation by Mr. Nair about more detailed information on the tapping method and on the recent market developments.

18. On the paper introduced by Mr. Pak, clarification was requested on the value and the high share of export of NWFP in Turkey. Information was also requested on the type of NWFP imported in Turkey.

19. Under the continuation of this item, the following papers were presented:

20. Concerning the paper presented by Mr. Nair, Mr. Dovie raised the issue of property rights in view of medicinal plants; he pointed out that there was a risk of loosing intellectual property rights related to medicinal plants of local communities.

21. Ms. Mulliken, on the paper presented by Mr. Mishra, raised the question on how and in which way the industry could play a role in the process towards a more sustainable utilisation of NWFP, especially in view of endangered species.

22. Ms. Talhouk made a comment on the paper presented by Mr. Hassiotis stating that any harvesting operation would have an impact on the environment, including on soils and their micro-organisms. The author replied that no human intervention would take place without some kind of environmental impact on the nature resources. This aspect was also supported by some of the participants.

EXTENSION, TRAINING AND EDUCATION TO IMPROVE FOREST HARVESTING PRACTICES, PRODUCTIVITY AND AVAILABILITY OF NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS (Item 8)

23. Under this item, the following speaker presented a paper:

The speaker gave an extensive overview of the NWFP sector in Turkey with particular emphasis on medicinal and aromatic plants.

24. His presentation raised a number of interventions from several participants on the following issues: control of medicinal plant harvesting practices; training and extension needs on improved tools for farmers who collect NWFP; lack of accuracy in medicinal plants export statistics (species/quantity). There was no consensus as regards to the perceived lower quality of cultivated medicinal plants compared to those gathered in the forest.

ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS DEALING WITH THE COLLECTION OF STATISTICAL DATA AND EVALUATION OF NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS (Item 9)

25. The delegate from Kazakhstan, Mr. V. Poddubnyy, reported on the new developments in the use of NWFP in his country as a result of the collapse of the former USSR and its structures on the ongoing privatisation of the forest sector. He underlined the need for support to create small-scale enterprises based on NWFP and called for assistance on training and marketing.

26. Under this item, the following papers were presented:

27. About the questions raised on the paper on Certification of NWFP, the authors stated that certification would be desirable; however, this depends very much on the targeted markets in countries and regions. They also expressed that the existing forest certification schemes are related to timber products only and therefore not suitable for NWFP without major modifications.

POSTER SESSION

28. Mr. Y. Yüksel (Turkey) made a power-point presentation on “Establishment of the organization: Rights to forest village communities”. Questions were raised to clarify pricing methodology for NWFP, on the impact of grazing in the forest on the availability of NWFP, and the forest ownership/user rights for village people.

29. The other presentations were as follows:

30. The poster session gave the participants the chance to exchange and share information on the basis of the posters presented due to the informal approach of that session.

OTHER MATTERS (Item 10)

31. Two full day's excursions (see Annex) were organised during the seminar and included a visit of Pinus pinea forest stands, organization of harvesting and processing of pinus cone seeds, demonstration of processing equipment and machines (Kozak); Pinus brutia stands with demonstration of different pilot research trials of resin utilisation (Kemal Pasa); processing plant for Laurus and Thymus; and a visit to Dilek Yarimadasi National Park, rich in Mediterranean flora.

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS (Item 11)

Conclusions

1. A wide range of topics covering inventory, harvesting, processing, utilisation and trade of nonwood forest products were presented, showing that many species of NWFP are being harvested unsustainably and furthermore, in many cases, management practices are insufficiently known or implemented.

2. The importance of managing NWFP in the context of sustainable forest management and its contribution to rural development and agriculture was underlined, specifically for women and economic disadvantaged groups of the society living in the vicinity of the forest resources for food, income, employment and medicinal plants, etc.

3. The sustainable utilisation of NWFP requires the involvement of experts in a wide range of disciplines, including indigenous knowledge.

4. A great need was felt by the participants for more information and training, on the management and valorisation of NWFP. In this way, participants suggested the need for follow-up seminars and/or workshops focussed on specific technical topics and with more time for group discussions.

5. There is a tremendous wealth of knowledge held by those living in and near forests. This knowledge is also in danger of being lost and is not well taken into account in efforts to manage forests.

Recommendations

To the JOINT COMMITTEE

1. Facilitate and support the development of databases, networking amongst countries and regions and follow-up workshops as well as facilitate easy access to available information sources (Websites and publications) on all aspects of NWFP development such as inventory and resources assessment, harvesting, processing, marketing, trade and policies affecting NWFP.

2. Support the compilation of Sound Forest Practices for NWFP and facilitate the wide dissemination of successful case studies such as those presented in the meeting, amongst interested groups and countries.

3. Assist in the further development on appropriate forest management, planning and practical certification systems for different groups of NWFP including all stakeholders and/or social groups involved.

4. Stimulate more participation in future seminars and/or workshops of representatives of NGOs, private sector and research institutes.

To MEMBER COUNTRIES

1. Include and provide adequate support to the conservation, management and utilisation of NWFP into national forest policies on a multidisciplinary and participatory basis with interested stakeholders and with particular attention to facilitate the active involvement of rural people, especially women, depending on these resources.

2. Elaborate and make available, improved statistics at national levels on NWFP covering: resources, harvesting levels and trade data (at the species level).

3. Make available appropriate financial and institutional support mechanisms to facilitate the start up of local, small-scale NWFP based enterprises.

4. Review and improve national legislation related to NWFP such as forest regulations, taxes, access and users intellectual and other property rights.

5. Promote bilateral collaboration to share information and expertise on NWFP.

6. Increase efforts to involve other sectors dependent on NWFP, including the health, education and commercial sectors, in ensuring their sustainable management, conservation and utilisation.

To FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTES AND IUFRO

1. Accelerate and co-ordinate further curriculum development and research on NWFP issues related to:

• Clarifications of definitions, concepts and classifications,
• methodologies for the elaboration of practical tool kits for:
  • inventory and harvesting impact assessments;
  • domestication, in-situ and ex-situ conservation practices;
  • ethno-biological studies;
  • marketing and trade analysis;
  • insertion of NWFP for sustainable forest management and criteria and indicators/certification schemes;
  • criteria extension for non-wood forest products;
  • elaboration of benefit sharing arrangements.

2. Support and facilitate further research on/and the application of appropriate economic and social valuation to assess all benefits derived from NWFP and forest services.

ADOPTION OF THE REPORT (Item 12)

32. The draft report, prepared by the Secretariat, and the conclusions and recommendations were adopted with some modifications, which have been incorporated in the present document.

33. For the host country, Mr. Y. Yüksel, Ministry of Forestry, thanked the participants for attending the seminar, preparing papers and posters, for the lively discussions during the different sessions and for the conclusions and recommendations. On behalf of the participants, Mr. T. Musuraliev (Kyrgyzstan), Mr. A. Ella (Philippines) and Mr. D. Ladipo (Nigeria) expressed their gratitude to the host country and the organisers, who offered them to work, exchange opinions and discuss NWFP issues on an international level. Finally, on behalf of the Joint Committee, Mr. Lorbach underpinned the views of the previous speakers and thanked the participants, the host country and all support staff for their active contribution to the successful outcome of the seminar. All speakers expressed the hope that the recommendations formulated by the seminar could be followed up for the benefit of the people depending on a sustainable utilisation of NWFP.

Annex

STUDY VISITS

Field Visit - Friday, 6 October 2000

During the whole day excursion, the following were observed:

1. Ancient Pergamon city;
2. Stone pine (Pinus pineaster) seed production and processing facilities in Kozak, Bergama;
3. Resin production research plot area in Çiçekli;
4. KÜTAş, aromatic and medicinal processing and packing factory.

1. Ancient Pergamon City

The Ancient Pergamon City was on the way to the Kozak, pine seed production area. Since participants were very interested in the place, they were given a chance to view some historical ruins during a short time visit to the area. It was located near the Bergama District, İzmir, which is one of the finest historical and cultural sites in Turkey. The ancient city has numerous remains among which are a number of temples (Trajan and Dionyos, the Altar of Zeus etc.), an amphitheatre, one of the second oldest libraries in the world, the first Christian church and the stone city walls.

2. Stone Pine (Pinus pineaster) Seed Production and Processing Facilities in Kozak

The Kozak Plain is a famous area of stone pine plantations and seed production covering 15,150 hectares of stone pine farmland, privately owned by villagers living in the surrounding 13 villages. Ms. Z. K. Ay, Forest Researcher, gave brief information on ecological, geographical and socio-economic characteristics of the area, explaining that it was a very successful and promising example for planting, management, harvesting and trading of NWFP by local people and their co-operatives, providing an important source of income for them in Turkey.

A privately owned small scale pine seed extraction and storage factory was visited. Mr. Ö. Önder, Director of the factory, explained how the cones were harvested and processed, as well as storage and marketing of the seeds of stone pine, emphasising the 500 ton/year capacity of the factory and that 50 kilograms of seeds were produced from one tonne of pine cones. He also underlined that the quality and quantity of the seeds was highly affected by the harvesting time of the pinecones. The best time was from January to April.

There was also another pine seed processing facility, which was shown to the participants, being constructed by a forest village co-operative, with financial and technical assistance from the Forest Village Development Fund of the Ministry of Forestry.

3. Research Plot Area for Resin Production from Red Pine in Çiçekli

Mr. F. Bilgin, Forest Researcher, explained that the sample area had been established for a six year period, 2000–2006, aiming to find out the effects on volume increment of red pine (Pinus brutia) trees used for resin production applying the acid-paste method. The Aegean Forest Research Directorate was implementing the research at 165 compartments in that area. He stated that although three years have passed since the establishment of the plots, they could not identify any significant result. Some questions were raised by the participants, such as ages of the trees, factors taken into account, other resin production methods, dimensions of the tapping surfaces and so on, which were answered by Mr. Bilgin.

4. KÜTAş, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Processing and Packing Factory

This was a quite well established small factory near İzmir for the processing and marketing of some medicinal and aromatic plants. The main processed plant species were Anise, Cummin, Salvia sp, Rosemary, Thyme, Origanum (kekik), which mostly had been collected from forested areas in Turkey. Ms. G. Türker, Operation Manager, gave brief information on the factory's processing activities explaining that the products were in accordance with ISO 9000, USA and British Standards and all products were being tested through chemical, physical and micro-biological analyses. She also informed that the annual capacity of the factory was 2,000 tonnes and that it employed 100–200 labourers in all processing activities. Furthermore, the participants were informed that most of the factory's products were exported, mainly to the USA.

Field Visit - Saturday, 7 October 2000

5. Dilek Peninsula National Park

On the second day of the field study programme participants visited the Dilek Peninsula National Park which was located nearby Kuşadasi District, İzmir. It was first established in 1966 as a national park, covering some 16,000 hectares of land. It was a well-protected, species-rich forest area. Dilek Peninsula as a protected forest area typically represents the Mediterranean vegetation types with 77 families and more than 700 species including trees, shrubs and other plants. Ms. N. Özel provided some further information about the National Park, in which participants were very interested.

After visiting the Dilek Peninsula National Park, participants also had a chance to visit the Kuşadasi District on the way to İzmir, which is an attractive town visited by tourists. They had the opportunity for sightseeing and then to see landscape diversity, land use patterns, etc., around the İzmir Province.

Finally the participants visited the ancient city of Ephesus and the House of St. Mary.