Non-Wood News 20

EDITORIAL

The editorial for this issue of Non-Wood News has been written by Tina Etherington.

Welcome to the twentieth issue of Non-Wood News. This anniversary provides us not only with an opportunity to reflect on what has happened in the world of Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFPs) since the first issue of Non-Wood News was published in 1994, but also gives us a chance to look towards the future.

Over the years, Non-Wood News has proved to be a unique vehicle through which to share with you the most recent thinking and information on NWFP-related activities around the globe. We have consistently highlighted the growing potential of NWFPs, which we believe is reflected in this issue – another issue full of the ideas, initiatives and research of our growing group of readers.

Dr C. Chandrasekharan, the founder of this newsletter, fully recognized the significant role of NWFPs in addressing the food security and health needs of many rural and forest-dependent populations. With over one billion people suffering from hunger in the world today, NWFPs provide a significant safety net. One of the Special Features in the present issue focuses on this important role and presents a broad picture of how a variety of different NWFPs (plants and ferns, nuts, mushrooms, berries, honey and edible insects) are alleviating malnutrition and improving diets for many people, as well as meeting their health care needs. Our NWFP Programme is at present looking into the growing potential of edible insects with the aim of “rediscovering” them and raising awareness about them as an excellent source of protein for both humans and livestock.

A recent new aspect of Non-Wood News has been the inclusion of a guest article written by a leading scientist. This issue’s guest article has been written by Dr Antonio Brunori, who specifically looks at the huge potential for novel uses of NWFPs. Recent research in his native Italy has led Dr Brunori to uncover a hidden world of NWFPs. His article highlights the potential of applying creativity to a variety of NWFPs to produce innovative and marketable products, such as cloth from cork, or medicines from the slime of forest snails.

NWFPs have a huge potential for health care. Traditional medicine relies predominantly on medicinal plants and herbs, but breakthroughs have occurred with the discovery of medicinal properties in other NWFPs, such as the use of honey in wound dressings and to fight bacteria, and the cancer-fighting properties of mushrooms. In addition, the multimillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry bases much of its research on medicinal plants and their traditional uses. Our section on bioprospecting/biopiracy (another regular feature over the years), shows how countries, recognizing the enormous economic potential involved, are now taking steps to protect their traditional knowledge through patents and digital libraries.

The second Special Feature highlights the potential of bamboo within the climate change debate. Bamboo has often been called the “poor man’s timber”; in his article, however, Jukka Tissari argues that bamboo has further potential to become the “poor man’s carbon credits”. Moreover, bamboo has the potential to provide emergency housing during natural disasters.

There is also a growing potential to engage modern technological tools to safeguard biodiversity as can be seen from articles in this issue ranging from the use of Google Earth images by indigenous tribes in the Amazon to protecting forests with barcodes.

Finally, we would like to thank you for your many e-mails of encouragement and support, and also for generously sharing your research, sending us news from your countries, or informing us of meetings you are organizing. We have greatly benefited over the years from you, our readers.

NON-WOOD NEWS

is compiled and coordinated by Tina Etherington, Forest Products and Industries Team of FAO’s Forest Economics,Policy and Products Division. For this issue, editing support was provided by Giulia Muir; copy and language editingby Roberta Mitchell, Josiane Bonomi and Deliana Fanego; design, graphics and desktop publishing by Claudia Tonini.

Non-Wood News is open to contributions by readers. Contributions are welcomed in English, French and Spanishand may be edited to fit the appropriate size and focus of the bulletin.If you have any material that could be included in the next issue of Non-Wood News for the benefit of other readers,kindly send it, before 15 May 2010, to:
NON-WOOD NEWS – FOEI
FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy
E-mail: [email protected]
www.fao.org/forestry/nwfp/nonwood.htm

FAO home page: www.fao.org

Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are goods of biological origin other than wood, derived from forests, other wooded land and trees outside forests. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs), another term frequently used to cover this vast array of animal and plant products, also includes small wood and fuelwood. However, these two terms are used synonymously throughout this bulletin. Other terms, such as “minor”, “secondary” or “speciality” forest products, are sometimes used to keep original names and/or titles.