No. 04/03
Welcome to FAO's NWFP-Digest-L a free e-mail journal that covers all aspects of non-wood forest products. A special thank you to all those who have shared information with us.
1. Amazonian products and services
2. Brazil and France agree partnership for environmental management
3. Dehydrated peach palm nut is a dietary option in Amazonia
4. Biopiracy in the Amazon
5. India: Community Based Economic Development Project (CBED): NTFP cultivation benefiting marginalized mountain farmers
6. Bushmeat hunters deplete Africa's forests
7. Cameroon: 38 new plant species discovered
8. Ethiopia: Community based tourism essential to minimize food insecurity
9. Kenya: Forest gazetted as Reserve The East African Standard (Nairobi)
10. Namibia: Cross-border parks on way
11. Tanzania: Recognize spice industry potential
12. Uganda: Biodiversity Under Threat
13. Zimbabwe: Local NGO on drive to promote ecotourism
14. FAOTERM From: Ingrid Alldritt, Terminology Officer, FAO
15. Request for information: global market of NWFP
16. Identifying the `Winners & Losers' in the commercialisation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) - an addendum
17. Web sites From: FAO's NWFP Programme
18. Events From: FAO's NWFP Programme
19. The state of the world's ecosystems
20. Publications of interest From: FAO's NWFP Programme
21. Miscellaneous: UNEP-WCMC Chevening scholarships in biodiversity
22. Miscellaneous - Photos sought
23. Miscellaneous: Vacancy - WWF Senior Program Officer, Sustainable Forest Products Global Alliance
QUICK TIPS AND INFORMATION FOR NWFP-DIGEST-L
1. Amazonian products and services Source: Amazon News, 17 April 2003
"Teach a man to fish..." The principle of the popular saying is also the idea behind the Sustainable Business Service, an initiative launched by the non-governmental organization Friends of the Earth-Brazilian Amazonia in December 2002. The project offers training - and not direct financial resources - to small-scale initiatives in communities in the Amazon region, which includes the states of Acre, Amazonas, Rondônia, Roraima, Amapá, Pará, Maranhão, Tocantins and Mato Grosso.
The aim is to strengthen the productive sector in the region through the development and sustainability of community-based initiatives which are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. The initiative is benefiting rubber tappers, furniture makers, producers of indigenous craft goods, oils, palm hearts, honey, fruit pulps and certificated wood.
According to Tarcisio Fernandes, of the Sustainable Business Service, traditionally, producers in the region have lacked access to the training necessary in order to consolidate markets and develop technology, human resources etc. These difficulties have been responsible for the development of a ''hand-out culture'' in the Amazon region, with producers receiving money from banks, the government and international organizations, but lacking the knowledge to develop a successful business. "They end up wasting the resources and then waiting to receive more money the following year", Fernandes explained.
Fernandes is confident that this culture is changing. The Sustainable Business Service is one of a number of initiatives aimed at helping local people to exploit Amazonia's natural resources responsibly.
The service offers support in a number of areas: technical, legal, marketing, business management etc., through partnerships with local government, non-governmental organizations, specialist teaching institutions and law practices. The aim is to help 24 enterprises in the next four years. There have already been 200 candidates.
Information about the candidates will be included in a Sustainable Business Databank, which may be accessed via the internet. Any potential candidates may contact the Service by e-mail[email protected] or via the website www.amazonia.org.br/negocios.
2. Brazil and France agree partnership for environmental management
Source: Amazon News - 10 April 2003 ([email protected])
Brazil and France have approved a proposal to create a working group to help the French government to implant a conservation area in French Guinea close to the border with Brazil. The three million-ha area covers practically the whole extension of the Tucumumaque Mountains National Park, which - with an area of 3.8 million ha - is the largest conservation area in the world in a tropical forest region.
France is relying on Brazilian expertise and the communities who live in the park to create the conservation area. The two countries are planning further cooperation to develop ecotourism in the region. They hope to involve Surinam in the project and transform the region into a large ecotourism corridor.
The Ministry of the Environment is creating a Tucumumaque Working Group to develop integrated action in the area surrounding the National Park. One of the group's immediate priorities is to elaborate a management plan and to implant a basic infrastructure to protect the park. The region is known as the Guinea Shield and is classified as being of "extreme biological importance". WWF-Brazil announced last year that it will make US$1 million available for the creation of the new park. The World Bank and the Global Environment Fund will also finance the project.
3. Dehydrated peach palm nut is a dietary option in Amazonia
Source: Amazon News - 10 April 2003 ([email protected])
The consumption of manioc meal and fish is the customary diet of the people of Amazonia. It would difficult to imagine how this custom might be substituted. But, new processing technologies are slowly changing the Amazonian diet. Diverse native products may be conserved in a dehydrated form. A project developed by the researcher Jerusa de Souza Andrade, of the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) is studying the possibility of dehydrating the peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) nut (pupunha), a process which improves its nutritional value. "Our aim is to show that we can apply technical and scientific knowledge to process raw material from the region in a way which is in harmony with regional traditions", said Andrade.
The dehydration process concentrates the nutrients and allows the product to be stored at room temperature, facilitating transport. "It is an ideal technology for a region as vast as Amazonia), added Andrade. The final product is similar in texture to the ubiquitous manioc meal.
(More information on the peach palm can be found on: www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/1492/peach-palm.html)
4. Biopiracy in the Amazon
Source: Phytomedica List Manager ([email protected])
Amazonlink.org, a Brazilian NGO based in the state of Acre, has developed a special section of its website focusing on local problems of biopiracy: www.amazonlink.org/biopiracy/index.htm. The pages are available in Portuguese and English.
Biopiracy means not only the smuggling of diverse forms of flora and fauna, but also mainly the appropriation and monopolization of traditional population's knowledge and biological resources. Biopiracy causes the loss of control of traditional populations over their resources. In the Amazon region this is not a new phenomenon! This joint knowledge must not be seen as a commodity that can be sold or bought.
In the last years, through the advance of biotechnology, the facilitating of registering international trademarks and patents as well as international agreements on intellectual property, such as TRIPs, the possibilities of such exploitation have multiplied.
Amazonlink.org has been establishing contacts between rural producers in the Amazon and buyers of sustainable products abroad. In the course of these activities we encountered obstacles due to trademarks and patents on certain products. These products are considered great potentials for the sustainable development of the Amazon region. The finding of these facts led us to the publication of these pages.
The objectives of these pages are:
· To alert the public about some new cases of patents and trademarks, such as Cupuaçu, Andiroba and Copaíba. We consider these cases worrisome because of their negative impacts on the traditional communities' commercial activities, and the sustainable development of the Amazon region. The case is the patent of Ayahuasca is emphasized because it offends the cultural identity of indigenous peoples in the region.
· To create strong alliances of farmers and indigenous peoples, in the fight against misappropriation and monopolization of their resources and knowledge, as well as the fight against the colonial exploration of biological diversity of the Amazon.
· To contribute to more transparency in the discussion about biopiracy, that extends from vague suspicions to conspiracy theories, many times lacking objectivity.
For more information, please contact:
Michael F. Schmidlehner
e-mail:[email protected]
5. India: Community Based Economic Development Project (CBED): NTFP cultivation benefiting marginalized mountain farmers
From: Erica Stillo, CBED India ([email protected])
The Community Based Economic Development Project (CBED) is a four-year bilateral project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and CECI. The project is implemented in partnership with the Himalayan Study Circle (HSC) and the Kumaon Agriculture and Greenery Advancement Society (KAGAS) in the districts of Champawat and Pithoragarh in Uttaranchal, India.
The CBED project is designed to serve 15 000 families in 230 villages. The goal of the project is to reduce rural poverty by supporting the social and economic reform processes of the Uttaranchal Government. This will be achieved by implementing an integrated set of activities aimed at improving the livelihoods of the local communities through participatory processes in community-based sustainable economic development.
The hills of Uttaranchal are rich with NTFP resources. Communities in this region are dependent on these forests and resources for their day to day needs, as the topography of the region is not conducive to traditional cropping practised in the plains. Traditionally, NTFPs that are collected from the wild, support and supplement farm based income.
At the same time, hill farming is suffering due to damage to crops caused by wildlife. NTFP cultivation, on the other hand, is less prone to wildlife interference. In fact, cultivation helps to reduce pressure on dwindling forest resources and farmers can adapt NTFP cultivation as a sustainable source of income.
Additionally, Permilia (Lichen), Moss Grass, Soap Nut, Cinnamomum Tamala, and Valeriana Jatamansi are collected on a large scale and sold every year. As a result of considerable collection, the quantity of available NTFPs has diminished.
Asparagus racemosusWilld, a thorny climber has been identified as a potential commodity for cultivation. Roots of this plant are one of the important ingredients of Ayurvedic preparations in India.A. racemosus,along with its wild cousins (A. adscedence), is collected from the wild in different parts of the country (90%) without considering its regeneration. There is a strong need to focus on cultivation and proper harvesting for perpetual availability.
For these reasons, one of the components of CBED is the focus on NTFP cultivation on marginal lands, idle lands, and farm spaces. In addition to replenishing these wild resources, cultivation activities provide high value crops for income generation.
Moreover, women and children are predominantly involved in NTFP collection during agriculturally lean periods. NTFP collection is less demanding on women's workloads and encourages time saving activities. The cultivation process is less labour demanding than other cultivations and involves one-time sowing, no maintenance, and natural irrigation.
The CBED project has provided training and support to producers and community leaders in establishing nurseries, maintenance and management of crops, concepts in marketing and marketing activities, and technological aspects. The development of popular packages which include visual aids also facilitates in this training process. All training is followed by field exposure to demonstration plots, which CBED has developed in Champawat and Pithoragarh districts. The plots enable farmers to acquire skills for cultivation as well as demonstrate technological aspects that are new to producers in the area. Farmers in the project are organized into Producer Self Help Groups (PSHG) so that production and collective marketing can be managed.
Additionally, outreach of PSHGs is promoted in the project area in order to increase cultivation of selected crops and to organize other collective production activities. To date, the CBED project has involved 800 producers and the involvement of more producers in the next year will enable economies of scale of production.
The CBED project has also established nurseries which provide low cost planting materials at the local level so that more producers can undertake plantation. Nurseries are raised and managed collectively to benefit all group members in PSHGs.
For more information, please contact:
Ravi Pacholi
NTFP Specialist
CBED India
Link Road, Takana Tiraha
Pithoragarh, Uttaranchal
Tel: 91-5964-228000
Email:[email protected] or[email protected]
6. Bushmeat hunters deplete Africa's forests
Source: This Day (Lagos), 23 April 2003
Bushmeat hunters, in forests throughout Central and West Africa, have hunted virtually every type of wild animal, frequently illegally, for use as food.
Reports indicated that deep in the tropical forest of the Congo River Basin, immense Sapelli and Okoum trees tower over the forest floor, and small antelopes called duikers plunge through the undergrowth, while the calls of bonobos and sooty mangabeys sound from the leafy canopy.
But while indigenous peoples such as the Bantu pygmies have sustainably hunted this bushmeat for centuries, the level of hunting has skyrocketed in the past two decades. Today, species ranging from cane rats to elephants are being hunted at unprecedented levels, and recent estimates suggest a bushmeat harvest of between 1 million and 5 million metric tons each year, a level that is literally emptying forests of wildlife. The situation is most dire for primates such as bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas.
"As a group, great apes tend to be very much at risk because they breed so slowly," said Elizabeth Bennett, director of the hunting and wildlife trade program at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
To be hunted sustainably, some ape species could lose no more than one member per km2every 20 years, but bushmeat hunters are annually killing 6 000 western lowland gorillas (from a total population of less than 100 000) along with 15 000 chimpanzees. Smaller primates wind up on the table too, with approximately 7.5 million red colobus monkeys being killed for food each year.
"The numbers are just huge," Bennett said, especially when hoofed animals are taken into account: WCS estimates that 28 million bay duikers are killed annually, as are 16 million blue duikers. "And these are conservative figures."
The problem has reached such tremendous proportions that last summer, at a meeting of gorilla experts in Germany, scientists from WCS and other institutions said that poaching has surpassed habitat loss as the most immediate threat facing western lowland gorillas and could lead to their extinction in the next 20 years.
At the root of the problem is a growing population and a tumultuous economy. "Africa's population went up eight times in the 20th century," Bennett said. "That means you have eight times more consumption than you did 100 years ago."
Today more than 30 million people live within forested regions of Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and other Central African nations, and these inhabitants eat about the same amount of meat each year as most North Americans. More than 60 percent of this meat comes from local wildlife.
Until recently, much of the forest was inaccessible to hunters. This changed in the 1980s, when international logging companies expanded into Central African forests. Roads were built to accommodate logging trucks, carving the forest into easily traversed parcels. Armies of workers followed, many bringing their families, and almost overnight, formerly pristine areas were flooded with people.
"Areas that had been previously unexploited and unpopulated are suddenly inundated, and every worker may bring 8 or 10 individuals who are dependent on that salary," said Heather Eves, director of the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force (BCTF), a consortium of more than 30 organizations and institutions formed in 1999 to address the looming problem. "This brings lots of people together who need to be fed, and the forests just open up."
Logging roads have also allowed the influx of shotguns and steel cable for snares and have enabled hunters to carry more carcasses out of the forest. As a result, a burgeoning commercial bushmeat market now stretches far beyond the Congo Basin.
"Bushmeat has always been a commodity in this region and used at varying levels of trade, but wildlife is now being exploited for export to urban centers," Eves said. The reason for this is economic: bushmeat hunters can earn the equivalent of $300 to $1 000/year, more than the region's average household income. The hunters find eager buyers in large cities, where many inhabitants purchase the meat as a way to reconnect to their village origins or to show off their newly acquired wealth. In Libreville, the Gabonese capital, around 1 200 metric tons of bushmeat arrives in the markets each day, and in Pointe Noire, the second-largest city of the Congo, an estimated 150 000 metric tons is consumed each year.
And the markets are not limited to Africa. In 2001, two London shopkeepers were jailed for operating a business that sold meat from monkeys, anteaters, and other animals. They offered to custom-order whole lions for around $8,000 each.
In addition to the obvious loss of prey species, the bushmeat trade has far-reaching consequences. According to the Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE), the bushmeat trade threatens forest carnivores such as leopards and crowned eagles by depleting their main prey species. The forest itself is threatened as well, in that the loss of seed-dispersing animals is permanently changing the forest's composition and structure.
Indigenous pygmies are losing the forests and animals they've depended on for centuries. And even the bushmeat hunters and consumers are at risk: According to BCTF, the hunting, butchering, and consumption of bushmeat, especially primates, is placing people at increased risk of contracting virulent animal-borne diseases. Ebola outbreaks have been linked to exposure to gorilla carcasses, and evidence of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection has been found in 26 different species of primates, including chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys, which many researchers believe may be a link to HIV/AIDS.
Despite the severity of the problem, some remedial steps are showing signs of success. In northern Congo, WCS has been working with the Ministry of Forestry Economy and a logging company, Congolaise Industrielle des Bois (CIB), to reduce bushmeat hunting in a 4.5-million-acre logging concession. The project supplies forest workers with alternative forms of protein and provides for enforcement by groups of local "eco-guards," who control traffic on logging roads. "This ensures that protected animals aren't being hunted," said Bennett. "Gorillas and chimps are now easier to see in the concession."
But to significantly reduce bushmeat hunting, many groups are taking the message directly to consumers. Last year in Ghana, Conservation International undertook a national bushmeat education campaign that BCTF says has been very effective in changing behaviours. "People have an incredibly deep cultural link with wildlife in Africa," Eves said. "Talking about bushmeat as a loss of cultural heritage resonates there."
Until these changes become widespread, though, sections of the Congo Basin continue to be identified as suffering from "Empty Forest Syndrome", filled with trees but devoid of large animals. It's a new situation but one that has become disturbingly familiar.
For full story, please see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200304230380.html
7. Cameroon: 38 new plant species discovered
Source: Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé), 24 April 2003
Some 38 plant species, new to science, have been discovered in five biodiversity sites (Korup, Mount Cameroon, Mount Kupe, Mount Ijim and Mount Kilum) in the North West and South West provinces. This was the main revelation during a training workshop organised at the British Council under the auspices of the British Darwin Initiative.
It should be recalled that since 1993, the Royal Botanic Garden in Kew (Britain), and Earth Watch in collaboration with the Cameroon National Herbarium (supported by the British Darwin Institute, the European Union and the World Bank Global Environment Facility) have carried out plant inventories within these conservation sites. The aim is to provide managers of these projects with precise information for the conservation of biodiversity.
The survey and research program dubbed "Conservation of Plants Diversity of Western Cameroon", reveals that some of these 38 plant species (which have commercial potentials) are not only threatened with extinction in the wild, but are not known.
Says Dr. Achoundong (Director of the Cameroon National Herbarium) : "The discoveries show that the plant diversity of Cameroon is the highest in Africa, but still incompletely known. There's therefore a necessity for urgent conservation action if species useful to mankind are not to be lost forever". It is for this reason that training workshops to boost Cameroon's expertise on the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red data assessment of threatened plant species, are being organized. IUCN coordinates the world list of species threatened with extinction in the wild.
For full story, please see:http://allafrica.com/stories/200304240707.html
8. Ethiopia: Community based tourism essential to minimize food insecurity
Source: The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa), Ethiopia. 11 April 2003
Community Based Tourism (CBT) activity in Ethiopia is said to play a major role in alleviating chronic food insecurity and environmental destruction. This was stated on Thursday at the opening of a two-day regional workshop under the theme "Options for Sustainable Livelihoods: Community Based Tourism." The workshop was organized to raise the profile of CBT and its potential to contribute to improved livelihood security among vulnerable populations and their environment in Ethiopia.
Kinfe Abeba, Executive Director of Ethiopian wildlife and natural history society said on the occasion that it is important to look for alternative means of income generation from the country's tourism sector. "The potential for community tourism to contribute to sources of livelihood among food insecure populations in Ethiopia remains largely unexplored despite the growing demand for alternative tourism experiences," Kinfe said. He said that critical communities around or within the endangered environments need alternative means of generating income that may reduce their unsustainable exploitation of local natural resources. "If managed appropriately tourism can offer benefits to local communities through revenue generation, direct employment, increased demands for services, local products and crafts, and from the multiplier effects generated by increased circulation of cash," Kinfe added.
Stuart Williams, a tourism expert at the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation on his part said in his "Tourism for conservation" presentation that there is a high revenue leakage in the Ethiopian tourism industry. Williams said that much of the income from the sector goes to external bodies. He also indicated that poor rural communication and marketing, lack of transport access to tourism sites and security are the major challenges facing the country's tourism activity.
"Ethiopia offers a vast array of landscapes and cultures with numerous possibilities for tourism. With its endemic wildlife resource and unique ancient cultural heritage, Ethiopia could be vying with top countries in Africa as a major tourist destination on the continent," Williams said.
Tourism experts from Africa and other countries as well as NGOs, donors, and government organizations attended the workshop organized by FARM Africa in collaboration with SOS Sahel International.
For full story, please see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200304130086.html
9. Kenya: Forest gazetted as Reserve The East African Standard (Nairobi), 13 April 2003
The Kakamega tropical rain forest has now been gazetted as a national reserve. Tourists visiting it will now have to pay entry fees.
At the same time, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has, for the first time in five years, reviewed its entry fees to all national parks, game reserves and other tourist sites.
For full story, please see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200304150887.html
10. Namibia: Cross-border parks on way
Source: The Namibian (Windhoek), 14 April 2003
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism is finalizing a treaty for the establishment of a trans-frontier park comprised of the Ai-Ais Park in Namibia and the Richtersveld Park in South Africa.
Motivating his Ministry's budget for 2003-2004 in the National Assembly on Thursday, Minister, Phillemon Malima said the initiative was recently discussed and supported by the Presidents of Namibia and South Africa, Sam Nujoma and Thabo Mbeki, and their governments. He said the project would improve the conservation management of an area with the richest biodiversity in Namibia and provide a new focus for tourism development in the south of the country.
Malima indicated that negotiations with Angola were also underway for a trans-frontier park consisting of the Skeleton Coast Park in Namibia and Iona National Park in Angola. - Nampa
For full story, please see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200304140298.html
11. Tanzania: Recognize spice industry potential
Source: Business Times (Dar es Salaam), Tanzania. 11 April 2003
THE spice industry should be recognized as a distinct sector with a high fast track export potential requiring only low levels of investment, says the Board of External Trade (BET).
A spices Export Development strategy prepared by BET of November 2002 came up with four strategic objectives to rescue the spice sector in the country. Among them are the creation of an adequate institutional structure for sector leadership, increasing the capacity of the sector to meet technical requirements of the market and accelerated expansion of the industry.
Achieving recognition for the sector being the major strategic objective, BET discovered that this strategy is paramount because the perceived underlying problem would appear to be the awareness and recognition of the spice industry as a significant sector with a tremendous export potential.
To improve the spice sector, BET intends to create and establish an appropriate institutional framework for the sector to enable it to realize its full potential. It will take full advantage of the private and public sector smart partnership.
According to BET, this strategy can only work if there is the establishment of the Tanzania Spice Producers and Exporters Association (TSPEA) and designation of the research and development responsibility to existing research institutions particularly to support small holder producers.
Regarding increasing the capacity to meet the technical requirement of the market, the Board suggested that Tanzania has to improve its reputation as a quality supplier in world markets since it has a good opportunity of capturing markets within Africa and overseas, e.g. in the East African Community (EAC), Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
Furthermore, in the expanding European Union, Tanzania has tariff free market entry under the Everything But Arms (EBA) arrangement and the huge US market preferential treatment under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which Tanzania has now fully ratified.
To acquire success in the strategic objectives, the Board is expected to involve the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Tanzania Investment Centre in order to mobilize and encourage both foreign and local investment.
The spice industry presents a major opportunity for Tanzania to exploit and reap economic benefits in the relatively short term with only a nominal input of resources and attention. Among the opportunities within the sector development are the thousands of small farmers that are already knowledgeable about spices. Thus training would not start from scratch. Others are the exchange rate and trade regimes that are liberalized. There is a growing market for derived products such as extracts and oleoresins.
The world market for spices and herbs is valued at over US$2.3 billion. From 1995 to 1999 imports averaged 500 000 tonnes growing at an average of 8.5 percent/year.
However, the sector also has problems, e.g. Tanzanian spices are not branded; the majority of the products have no traceability system; and the poor image of Tanzania as a source of supply needs urgent reversal.
The spices currently being produced by Tanzania include: cardamom, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, garlic, black pepper, cloves, chilli, onions, vanilla, cumin, coriander, paprika, mustard, spring onions and nutmeg. Spice production in Tanzania is mainly carried out in areas with tropical and subtropical climate. Normally no chemical fertilizers are used.
Available data of the spice industry sector indicate that overall the sector has been growing by more than 10 percent per annum in value terms since 1997. The actual export value grew from US$1 148 000 in 1997 to US$11 000 000 in 2001.
For full story, please see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200304110621.html
12. Uganda: Biodiversity Under Threat
Souce: New Vision (Kampala), 15 April 2003
UGANDA's biological wealth is under serious threat with an increased rate of destruction from 10% to 15% per decade, leading to a decline in food security, a recent report has said. This rate of loss of biodiversity (variety of life forms) was referred to as "high," by the report released by the Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources. The report entitled "The State of Uganda's Biological Diversity 2002," says the forests, soils and wildlife located outside protected areas are in danger. Agricultural land and urban areas were singled out in the report as areas where the destruction of biological diversity occurs.
While there is a catastrophic decline of large mammals, the wildlife within protected areas is comparatively well, said the report.
The degradation of biological resources undermines the tourism potential, the availability of medicinal plants and the wellbeing of the human population.
The report quoted the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as saying that roughly 37% of the biological diversity in eastern Africa had declined in the last three decades.
Makerere was funded by Ecotrust to compile the report.
For full story, please see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200304150533.html
13. Zimbabwe: Local NGO on drive to promote ecotourism
Source: The Herald (Harare), Zimbabwe, 28 April 2003
A LOCAL NGO will soon start running training courses in preparing and processing traditional foods to encourage ecotourism in the Zambezi Valley. The Zambezi Society said the initiative would enhance ecotourism projects being established in the area for the benefit of communities.
The Zambezi Society is working with communities in Binga, Guruve and Muzarabani to encourage efficient and effective sustainable management of their resources.
The forests in the three districts are global assets that are unique in bio-diversity and are home to a wide range of wildlife and other species. Over the years these forests have been conserved by the local communities on the basis of cultural and traditional ethics. According to the Zambezi Society these traditions are being eroded as a result of immigration of people from other districts who do not share the same values.
In Binga's Sikalenge ward, the NGO is focussing on Malilandabvu forest where a bee-keeping project is under way to provide benefits for the local people and help conserve this valuable forest. The forest contains the best remaining examples of the guibourtia conjugata tree, commonly known as the false mopani. The tree, which takes more than 300 years to regenerate, is nearing extinction as a result of deforestation for agricultural purposes.
In Guruve and Muzarabani, the NGO is working with communities close to Sende and Rukonde forests to help them establish resource centres. The centres will be the learning point for all newcomers and visitors to the areas about the values and traditions that are sacred aspects of these communities.
The Zambezi Society is the only conservation group focussing its efforts solely on the Zambezi River to promote responsible management of the river basin as a global asset for the benefit of its biological and human communities.
For full story, please see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200304280167.html
14. FAOTERM From: Ingrid Alldritt, Terminology Officer, FAO
FAOTERM, a terminological database covering FAO s specialized subjects in a multilingual format, has been redesigned and enhanced to give online users:
· faster access
· improved overall performance
· more user-friendly interface
· advanced search facilities
· filters by subject and categories
· an email feedback system ensuring transparency and interaction between FAO and its users.
www.fao.org/faoterm/default.htm
15. Request for information: global market of NWFP
From: [email protected]
I am doing research on the global market for NWFP and understand its size to be estimated at US$11 Bn.
Were can I find information on the size of the NWFP industry in specific countries? I noticed that there are very few country reports available on the website. Specifically, I am looking for the size of the industry for the top NWFP producing countries - China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Brazil.
Any information you could provide with me related to this topic would be very helpful.
16. Identifying the `Winners & Losers' in the commercialisation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) - an addendum
From: Dermot O'Regan ([email protected])
Could you please include the details (below) of our project coordinator in southern Africa for 'further information' in addition to myself.(See Digest 3/03 for the complete article www.fao.org/forestry/FOP/FOPW/NWFP/new/nwfp.htm)
More information about the `Winners & Losers' project and (coming soon) downloadable reports and other outputs can be found at the `Winners & Losers' website at www.ceh-wallingford.ac.uk/research/winners/and also from
Sheona Shackleton
Marula Commercialisation Project
Environmental Science Department
Rhodes University
Grahamstown 6140
South Africa
Tel: (27) 46 622 7644
Fax: (27) 46 603 8616
e-mail:[email protected]
17. Web sites From: FAO's NWFP Programme
Idealist.org
Idealist.org is a portal for everyone interested in non-profit organizations and issues, non-profit careers, and volunteering. Idealist provides numerous services to the global community (almost all of them for free) in an effort to connect people, resources and non-profits around the world.
18. Events From: FAO's NWFP Programme
44th Session of the Advisory Committee on Paper and Wood Products
8 and 9 May 2003
Oaxaca, Mexico
Topics of interest that will be discussed include good governance in forestry and climate change.
For complete information on the Session, please refer to the ACPWP website under "sessions" at: www.fao.org/forestry/foris/webview/forestry2/index.jsp?siteId=3141&langId=1
The Role of Tourism in Community Development and Think Tank III
8-11 July 2003
La Garita, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Organized by Businesses Enterprises for Sustainable Tourism (BEST) and sponsored by Rainforest Alliance, the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the World Travel & Tourism Council, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Hotel & Restaurant Organization, The Caribbean Tourism Organization, and the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Travel. The event is co-sponsored by Instituto Centroamericano de Administracion de Empresas (INCAE), and Escuela de Agricultura de la Region Tropical Humeda (EARTH).
Travel and tourism practitioners and educators will discuss how to advance the education and training of the next generation of professionals in the field of sustainability.
Participants will have the opportunity to develop short teaching modules incorporating the principles of sustainability into the core curriculum of university and industry-based courses in hospitality and tourism, learn about different approaches to education and training that apply the principles of sustainability, as well as see first-hand examples of outstanding practices in Central America.
To register for the BEST Think Tank and conference III, log on to:
www.sustainabletravel.org/industry/mtg_thinktank3_about.cfm
For more information, please contact: Letticia Gilbert at (1) 212-339-0361
or
Sandra Jimenez
Sustainable Tourism Division Associate
Rainforest Alliance
San Jose, Costa Rica
Tel/ Fax (506) 234-8916
[email protected]
Involving Harvesters in Inventorying and Monitoring of Nontimber Forest Products
4 September 2003
Portland, Oregon, USA
This participatory workshop is built around small group activities and interactive discussions. The organizers are seeking inputs on the following:
1) Current inventory and monitoring efforts of NTFPs;
2) Potential barriers to including harvesters in inventory and monitoring and how to overcome them;
3) Your recommendations on the design and implementation of a pilot program that would involve harvesters in inventory and monitoring.
This workshop is part of a national study funded by the National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry (NCSSF) (www.ncssf.org)
The project's goal is to assess the relationships between forest management practices, NTFPs, and biodiversity in the U.S.
For more information and to pre-register, please contact:
Katie Lynch
Institute for Culture and Ecology
PO Box 6688, Portland OR 97228, USA
Tel:+1-503-320-1323
e-mail: [email protected]
www.ifcae.org orwww.ifcae.org/ntfp/
Recent Trends in Phytomedicine and Other Alternative Therapies for Human Welfare - Global summit on medicinal plants (GSMP)
25-30 September 2003.
Mauritius
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Anita Menon,
Organizing Secretary,
Global Summit on Medicinal Plants ,
C/o Century Foundation,
No. 35, 3rd Cross Road, Vignannagar,
Malleshpalya, Bangalore - 560 075,
INDIA.
Tel: + 91-(80)-5249900
www.cenfound.org/global/global.html
Monitoring and indicators of forest biodiversity - from ideas to operationality
12-15 November 2003
Florence, Italy
This international conference is being arranged by IUFRO, together with its collaborators. The conference aims to provide a forum for discussions between experts with field experience, the wider scientific community and policy makers related to forests and the environment on how to successfully implement biodiversity indicators, e.g. with respect to adaptation to forest types, methods for inventory etc.
The conference has four main themes:
1. Validation and further development of indicators of forest biological diversity.
2. Pan-European Forest stratification/Forest types for assessing biological diversity.
3. Pressures on forest biodiversity and causes for biodiversity loss in European forests.
4. Emerging user needs and creating a dialogue for successful implementation.
The deadline for submitting abstracts on the topic of the conference is 31 July.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Brita Pajari
European Forest Institute
Torikatu 34
FIN-80100 Joensuu
Email.[email protected]
Tel. +358 13 252 0223
Fax. +358 13 134 393
www.efi.fi/events/2003
The Urban Woods - to be used by everyone
23-27 May 2004.
Stockholm, Sweden.
For more information, please contact:
Johanna From, Project manager,
e-mail:[email protected]
www.svo.se/urbanwoods
19. The state of the world's ecosystems Source: Community-Based Environmental Protection News On-Line
The World Wildlife Fund International released its report on the state of the world's ecosystems--as measured by the Living Planet Index-and the human pressures on them through the consumption of renewable natural resources. The report is available at: www.panda.org/livingplanet/lpr02/
20. Publications of interest From: FAO's NWFP Programme
de Winter, W.P. and Amoroso, V.B. (editors).2003.Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 15(2). Cryptogams: Ferns and fern allies. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands. 268pp. ISBN 90-5782-128-1.
The hardcopy edition (_75) is distributed by: Backhuys Publishers, PO Box 321, 2300 AH Leiden, the Netherlands. A paperback edition (_40) will be available in May 2005 from the same address. For developing countries, a much cheaper paperback edition (ISBN 979-8316-45-2) will be available by mid-2003 from the PROSEA Network Office, PO Box 332, Bogor 16122, Indonesia.
Landell-Mills, Natasha and Porras, Ina. T.2002.Silver Bullet or Fool's Gold? A Global Review of Markets for Forest and Environmental Services and their Impacts on the Poor. ISBN 1 899825 92 4, US$22.50/£15.00, 264pp
Claims that market mechanisms can encourage environmental protection and promote greater economic efficiency, whilst saving taxpayers money, are tantalizing. In the forestry sector, policymakers are widely heeding this advice and shrinking command and control systems in favour of incentive mechanisms that seek to align private enthusiasm with the public good. Read more: www.iied.org/psf/publications_def.html#silver
Shigo, Alex. L.Trees & Associates in Winter. 2002.Tree Care Industry, Volume XIII, Number 12-December 2002 www.chesco.com/~treeman/SHIGO/WINTER.html
Vellak, K., et al.2003.Diversity and distribution pattern of bryophytes and vascular plants in a boreal spruce forest. Silva Fennica37(1): 3-13.
Vermeulen, Sonja and Koziell, Izabella. 2002.Integrating Local and Global Biodiversity Values: A Review of Biodiversity Assessment. ISBN 1 85383 947 7, US$35.00/£25.00, 384pp
Biodiversity is managed and valued locally but also provides value globally, attracting many interest groups. Formal biodiversity assessments have tended to emphasize global values. But this focus is being replaced by awareness that pluralist, adaptive management of biological resources needs biodiversity assessments able to express and communicate multiple values of biodiversity. This review looks at some of the assessment tools on offer, and some examples of actual practice, to identify how biodiversity assessments do - and how they could - integrate the different values that people attach to biological variety and variability.
Read more:www.iied.org/spa/pubs.html
The Overstory Book
Available as a book or CD, The Overstory Book contains the first three years of The Overstory, revised, formatted, and indexed: www.agroforestry.net/overstory/ovbook.html
21. Miscellaneous: UNEP-WCMC Chevening scholarships in biodiversity Source: Conserve Africa Foundation
The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, in collaboration with the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, has the honour to offer six UNEP-WCMC Chevening Scholarships in Biodiversity, beginning September 2003. The scheme will draw scholars from all regions of the world outside the UK to work for one year at the Centre in Cambridge. They will analyse an aspect of biodiversity conservation and sustainable management relevant to the policy needs of their region. This will contribute to various UNEP global assessments and support the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and other environmental agreements.
Aims: This scheme aims to help young researchers to prepare for a role in national and regional policy development and decision-making to resolve biodiversity-related challenges. With support from the Centre's staff they will select a subject for analysis and publish recommendations for action over a period of one year, from September 2003.
Eligibility: One scholar will be drawn from each of six regions: Africa, Asia & the Pacific, Europe (outside the UK), Latin America & the Caribbean, North America and West Asia. Candidates must be under 35 years of age, be fluent in English (IELTS band 7 or above), hold a good degree, and preferably also a postgraduate degree, in a biological or environmental science. The Centre does not award formal qualifications and the scheme is not primarily intended for those seeking higher degrees. Candidates accepting this scheme will not be eligible to apply for further formal courses under the Chevening programme.
Funding: Each scholarship provides for living costs to the sum of £8,812 per annum (less UK National Insurance, approx 11%), including all allowances (under review). In addition one economy class air fare to and from the UK will be paid and a small sum is also available for local travel. The UK Chevening Scholarships Programme and private sector sponsors support the scheme.
Subject areas : Applicants are free to propose biodiversity-related subjects of particular interest to their region, and successful candidates will be encouraged to bring supporting information resources. However, potential subjects currently of interest to UNEP-WCMC include: threatened and protected species including great apes; African freshwaters; marine biodiversity including coral reefs and international environmental agreements; conservation of tropical coastal ecosystems; protected areas and world heritage; marine mammals and marine turtles; XML data interchange and interoperable maps; developing database applications in support of environmental studies. All studies will be based in Cambridge and there will be no opportunities for fieldwork.
For more information, please visit: www.unep-wcmc.org/
22. Miscellaneous - Photos sought Source: Forest Information Update 31 March 2003
The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is seeking photos of foresters at work for use in miscellaneous brochures. Looking for foresters in the field, in the classroom, in the office, etc. (People in the photos should be performing forestry work, as opposed to simply standing in front of trees.) Photos can be black and white or colour. Photos may be used in SAF promotional materials, so it is essential that any individuals in photos are available to give permission for use. Send photos to: Lori Gardner, Society of American Foresters, 5400 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20906 USA or contact her at[email protected]
23. Miscellaneous: Vacancy - WWF Senior Program Officer, Sustainable Forest Products Global Alliance
Source: Community Forestry E-News 2003.06 (April 26, 2003)[email protected]
The Senior Program Officer will be responsible for managing the Program's portfolio on responsible trade in forest products and illegal logging, which are two elements of the WWF Forest for Life program mandate to promote forest conservation and sustainable use of forests. The Senior Program Officer will coordinate and manage WWF-US's contribution to the WWF network's efforts related forest certification through work within the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) and illegal logging, in particular the evolving Illegal Logging Initiative. Responsibilities will include directing a complex public-private partnership, called the Sustainable Forest Products Global Alliance (SFPGA), the WWF-US contribution to the Alliance to Combat Illegal Logging in Indonesia, and related program priorities. The Senior Program Officer will play a lead role in policy development and issues management; maintaining close working relationships with partners, including Government Aid Agencies (GAA), federal agencies, private companies, donors and NGOs; and overseeing the administration of a large set of grants to WWF offices and conservation partners around the world. For more information, please visit the WWF job listing under the following link www.worldwildlife.org/jobs/jobdescription.cfm?jobid=466
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