No. 11/02
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. 2002-2003 Kleinhans Fellowship, Rainforest Alliance Research in Tropical Non-Timber Forest Products
2. Environmental Impact Assessment
3. Amazonlife wins New Venture Prize
4. ARKive - call for help for film, photos or audio recordings
5. Training for the Global Wood Industries
6. UNEP to push IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) for indigenous peoples
7. Australia: Bio-Prospectors seek treasure in Australian forests
8. Cambodia: Natural Resources and Rural Livelihoods
9. Cambodia: Regional Environmental Forum, Phnom Penh
10. India: Scientific harvesting of kullu (Sterculia Urens) gum
11. Indonesia: Habitat and Resources Management for the Kubu in Sumatra
13. Uganda: Arua to process honey for export
14. Uganda: Budongo Rainforest
16. Ghana: Most preferred bushmeat
17. Ghana: The Hazard of Bushmeat
18. Kenya: Elders to Protect Arabuko-Sokoke Forest
19. South Africa: The first legal harvesters of protected medicinal plants
20. Brazil: Cultivation of camu-camu begins to expand
21. FUNAI remove foreign tourists from indigenous area in Amazonas
22. Canada: British Columbia Introduces New Forestry Legislation
23. Request for information: Medicinal uses of insects
24. The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
25. Web sites
26. Events
27. Plant resources of South-East Asia
28. Publications of interest
1. 2002-2003 Kleinhans Fellowship, Rainforest Alliance Research in Tropical Non-Timber Forest Products
From: Deanna Newsom [[email protected]]
The Rainforest Alliance will be accepting applications for the Kleinhans fellowship until 1 January 2003. This fellowship provides US$15 000/year for two years to one individual conducting research to better understand and improve the impacts of non-timber forest product (NTFP) harvest and marketing on rural livelihoods and tropical forest ecosystems. The fellowship area is restricted to Latin America. Applicants should have at least a master's degree in forestry, ecology, botany, environmental science or an appropriate related field.
For more information about the fellowship includingapplication guidelines, please consult our webpage: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/research/kleinhans.html
Fellowship proposals should be submitted to[email protected]
Application deadline: 1 January 2003.
For more information, please contact:
Deanna Newsom
TREES Program Associate
Rainforest Alliance
Goodwin-Baker Building
65 Millet Street, Suite 201
Richmond, VT 05477
USA
Tel +1-(802) 434-5491 x 119
Fax +1-(802) 434-3116
2. Environmental Impact Assessment
From: L. Russo ([email protected])
Under the programme of work of FAO on appropriate utilization of forest products, the use of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is promoted as an aid to informed decision making. EIA can be applied to predict the positive and negative consequences of any forest utilization, both for timber or non-timber products, and help finding mitigation measures. Among some recent activities a literature review was carried out aimed at finding the state of the art of EIA in forestry and main organizations involved in various aspects of EIA. A study on the environmental impact assessment of ecotourism (particularly in protected areas) will be carried out in the next six months by an FAO volunteer working for the Forest Utilization and Environment programme. We welcome any studies/reports/information on EIA and certification of ecotourism.
For more information, please contact:
Laura Russo
Forestry Officer (Utilization and Environment)
Forest Products Division, FAO Forestry Department
viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy
+39-06-57052044 (tel) +39-06-57055618 (fax)
E-mail:[email protected]
3. Amazonlife wins New Venture Prize
Source: Amazon News, 21 November 2002
Amazonlife, the Brazilian company that manufactures bags and accessories in vegetable leather, was one of the three winners of the international New Ventures Prize. The socially and environmentally correct company will receive investments of US$500 000 for marketing its product, the development of new products and increasing its product distribution. Business consultants Booz Allen Hamilton will offer their expertise to the company and a number of potential investors have expressed an interest.
Amazonlife has become internationally known thanks to its partnership with the French fashion house Hermes, which created a line of products using vegetable leather. The company is now researching other Amazonian products, such as seeds, dyes and fabrics woven by Indians. The company now needs new investments in order to expand.
The prize is a showcase for sustainable business which rewards companies with the potential to create "profitable solutions to environmental and development challenges". The aim is to guide the winners, through investment and training, from peripheral markets to the world's key markets.
4. ARKive - call for help for film, photos or audio recordings
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
ARKive is the Noah's Ark for the on-line era. Film, photographs and audio recordings of endangered species are being amassed and preserved digitally in a web-based collection to be made accessible to all via the Internet. It will be a vital resource where everyone can learn about the importance of biodiversity and the urgent need to conserve it. ARKive will create digital profiles for each species including up to 10 minutes of moving footage, six still images and 2 minutes of audio, together with useful facts and cross-references.
ARKive requests anybody owning photographs or moving footage of any Red List species to contact them. Copyright remains with the image owner, and all images are credited with links to the owner's contact details.
Thanks to a £1.6 million grant from the UK's Heritage Lottery Fund, images and audio recordings are being collected for approximately 1,000 British species. At the same time, a grant of £0.5 million from the UK's New Opportunities Fund is enabling work to begin on creating digital profiles for 500 of the world's most endangered species. It is ARKive's ultimate aim to cover the 6,000 animals and 33,000 plants on the IUCN'S international Red Lists. ARKive's technological infrastructure is being developed by Hewlett Packard Labs (Europe), who are donating US$2 million worth of technical expertise to the project.
If you can help then please contact the ARKive media team:
Richard Hughes: Tel: +44 (0)117 9157 191;[email protected]
Cameron Milne: Tel: +44 (0)117 9157 192;[email protected]
www.arkive.org.uk/index.html
5. Training for the Global Wood Industries
From: Andy Pitman [[email protected] ]
The newly re-validated post-graduate courses in Forest Products Technology will commence in September 2003 at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College in the UK. These one-year courses provide up to date training for those who wish to start or further their careers in the forest products sector and are designed specifically to meet the current needs of the wood industry.
Subjects covered in modules include wood science, the timber business and marketing of forest products. The importance of eco-certification in the context of business environmental management is also covered. Other modules deal with aspects of wood processing, wood deterioration and its use in construction. BCUC Staff have trained more than 150 students from over 40 countries in forest products over the past ten years. They have a wealth of experience, excellent facilities and a first rate library. In a recent teaching quality assessment the UK government rated their teaching as excellent.
For further information about module content and a course brochure contact:
Dr Andy Pitman on +44-01494 605103 or[email protected]
Information about other activities within the Forest Products Research Centre at BCUC can be found on our web sitehttp://www.fprc.co.uk
6. UNEP to push IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) for indigenous peoples
Source: [BIO-IPR], GRAIN Los Banos [[email protected]], 25 November 2002
Development projects must respect indigenous peoples' rights
Dam-building, new mines, road construction and other large-scale development projects should only be allowed after a thorough assessment of their impact on indigenous peoples, the senior United Nations environment official said this week in Nairobi, Kenya. Addressing the Fourth International Conference of the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Klaus Toepfer, said big schemes as well as insensitive tourism projects were either forcing indigenous communities from their lands or causing cultural conflicts.
Throwing his support behind a call by the Alliance to assess cultural damage, the UNEP chief said, "The more we lose diversity, both culturally and in the natural world, the more we run the risk of instability, the possibility of disasters such as crop failures and basic knowledge on coping with natural disasters such as drought."
Mr. Toepfer said studies carried out by UNEP and its partners had found a firm link between cultural and linguistic diversity and biodiversity. "On a global level we have less than 7 000 languages and of those up to 2 500 are on the 'Red List' of endangered languages," he noted. "If you correlate this to biodiversity -- the wealth of animal and plant life on the planet - you see that where you are losing cultural diversity, you are losing biodiversity, and visa versa." Pledging to address the issue, he said UNEP's Governing Council would take it up in February 2003. "Genetic resources and indigenous knowledge are too often treated as a common public good," Mr. Toepfer said. "This has to re-considered and UNEP will do all it can in its power to see that happen."
www.europaworld.org/week106/developmentprojects221102.htm
©EuropaWorld 2002
The full text of Klaus Toepfer's speech is available atwww.unep.org/Documents/Default.asp?DocumentID=273&ArticleID=3172
In it, he states, "Until now, indigenous knowledge and genetic resources have been what we call a common public good. They are available for everybody, nobody has to pay for them, there are no property rights. But this area if very much linked with property rights. In the World Trade Organization we have the TRIPs, the trade related intellectual property rights. (...) We need to create the same kind of structure for those holders of indigenous, medical, knowledge so they have intellectual property rights. "
7. Australia: Bio-Prospectors seek treasure in Australian forests
Source: [BIO-IPR] Resource pointer, 26.11.02 quoting Reuters, Sydney
Fortune-hunting scientists are scouring vast tracts of tropical rainforests for plants to produce new antibiotics and other drugs that could be worth billions of dollars.
Australia remains the last continent to be discovered in biodiversity," says Selwyn Snell, chief executive officer of Australian science group BioProspect Ltd. "It has so many unique and even unregistered and unnamed biological species that it's just remarkable. And we're out there hunting for them."
Like the gold rush of 150 years ago that lured thousands of hopeful treasure seekers, "bio-prospectors" and global drug giants have staked claims to areas of forest hoping to tap jungles that harbour diverse and unique plant life. The yield so far from Australia's northern rainforests, mainly in Queensland and Western Australia, is several new compounds for antibiotics, new pesticides which are close to commercial production and a pill that could prevent prostate cancer.
Scientists caution that it takes 15 years and a huge investment to bring a new pharmaceutical to market, and only one in 1 000 discoveries make it. Agri-chemicals and dietary products are quicker to market, and even they offer pay-dirt worth hundreds of millions.
Bio-prospectors range from scientists with license claims, through to large numbers of "illegal" hopefuls. Multinational companies will not deal with unlicensed groups.
Like prospecting claims, access to rainforests is the must-have asset for bio-prospectors, especially those who want to raise money from stock exchange listings.
Cairns-based EcoBiotics, now raising A$3 million (US$1.7 million) in working capital, has exclusive access to large tracts of Queensland state rainforest through the Australian Rainforest Foundation and private holders. It is also negotiating for access to Queensland rainforest under state control and has exclusive access to 425 000 acres of some of the last rainforest in the Solomon Islands to Australia's north.
BioProspect already holds agreements with the Queensland government for access to plants, soil, insects, marine organisms and animals in state-owned areas, as well as a collection license for Western Australia. This does not give it a monopoly over particular plants, but is the first step to eventual patents on chemical discoveries in plants. The plants found to yield valuable chemicals are the most closely guarded secrets of Australia's bio-prospectors and are the lucrative intellectual property of the forest hunters.
"We have a very unique rainforest (with) the largest percentage of ancient plant families," EcoBiotics managing director Victoria Gordon says. "The Queensland tropical rainforest is unique because of the very old geology of the area (producing) a mosaic of forest types. We have 15 different forest types here (while) in general the Amazon Basin has about five different forest types."
Australian rainforests also have more tree species than in the whole of North America and Europe, she says. The fight for survival by large numbers of organisms produced novel chemicals and survival solutions, making Australian forests among the world's most productive. Australia is also the only country in the world that combines large rainforests with a developed economy, an established legal system and high level medical and general scientific research.
Targeting plants which it believes are likely to produce payoffs from gaps in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical markets, EcoBiotics says it is applying for patents for four new antibiotic chemical compounds, and is working on others to combat intestinal parasites and bacteria.
BioProspect has a major natural insecticide close to commercial production, has just patented a product for termite control and is close to launching dietary and health products in the United States.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20021107/lf_nm/science_australia_antibiotics_dc_1
8. Cambodia: Natural Resources and Rural Livelihoods
Source: RECOFTC E-letter No. 2002.20 (November 21, 2002)
A recent research paper (Working Paper 23, July 2002) from the Cambodia Development Resource Institute isNatural Resources and Rural Livelihoods in Cambodia: A Baseline Assessment,by Bruce McKenney and Prom Tola,
Of the more than 10 million Cambodians currently living in rural areas, over 8.5 million depend on natural resources to support their livelihoods. Most are subsistent, relying on one crop of rice per year, fish and other aquatic resources, and a range of forest products. Although rice farming remains the dominant activity in rural areas, fisheries and forest resources also play a critical role in supporting livelihoods.
As common property resources (publicly held resources to which access is open to all), fisheries and forests provide households a means for diversifying their subsistence and income-generating activities, optimising their labour resources during different seasons, and "insuring" against the risks of agricultural failures. Moreover, people with no land, little money for capital investments, and few alternative livelihood opportunities can still often fish and/or collect forest products for subsistence. In this manner, Cambodia's natural resources not only provide a foundation for food security, income, and employment for most of the population, but also an essential "safety net" for the rural poor.
Over the past decade, rural livelihoods have faced increasing challenges due to a rapid decline in resources. Illegal and unsustainable harvests of fish and timber by commercial enterprises, military, local authorities, and a growing rural population have resulted in high rates of forest loss and degradation and a reduction in the productive value of fisheries. Meanwhile, greater competition for land has led to an increase in the landless population. These problems have been compounded by greater restrictions on the rural population's access to resources. The government has leased out large tracts of Cambodia's most productive resources to private interests as forest, fisheries, and land concessions. Of Cambodia's 18.1 million ha of territory, about 5.5 million ha are presently under concession management - forest (4.24 million ha), land (0.81 million ha), and fisheries (0.42 million ha). This is down from close to eight million ha under concessions during the 1990s.
Increasing pressures on land, fisheries, and forests will make the maintenance of rural subsistence a serious challenge in the coming decade. Census estimates indicate that approximately 55 percent of rural Cambodians were age 19 or below in 1998, suggesting population pressure on natural resources will increase significantly in the near future. In light of this pressure, and the importance of natural resources to rural livelihoods, a central component of future poverty reduction efforts must be effective natural resource management.
This initial paper provides an assessment of the present status of, and issues surrounding, natural resources and rural livelihoods for three key sectors - agriculture (Chapter 2), fisheries (Chapter 3), and forestry (Chapter 4). From this basis, a number of gaps and needs for socio-economic research are identified. The paper is based on an extensive review of existing studies and documents, and interviews with a selection of experts and practitioners working on natural resource and rural livelihood issues
For more information, please contact:
http://www.cdri.org.kh/or contact:[email protected]
9. Cambodia: Regional Environmental Forum, Phnom Penh
From: Fredrich Kahrl, World Resources Institute [[email protected]]
Since governance plays such an integral role in biodiversity management and trade in NTFPs is perennially a key issue in the Mekong region, I thought this might be of interest for your readers.
On 14-15 November 2002, a group of 35 independent researchers and civil society advocates from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and China met in Phnom Penh at the First Annual Regional Environmental Forum (REF) for Mainland Southeast Asia. The purpose of the REF, organized by the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP), Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), and World Resources Institute (WRI), was to discuss environmental governance challenges in the Mekong region.
After two days of deliberation, participants agreed on a joint statement providing concrete recommendations to governments, multilateral institutions, private corporations, and civil society groups for strengthening environmental governance in the region. The statement outlines five areas in need of improvement:
· Regional environmental governance
· Public access to environmental information
· Environmental impact assessments
· Enforcement of environmental regulations
· Access to justice in environmental matters
The REF Consensus Statement is available at:www.ref-msea.org/consensus_statement.doc
A compilation volume of papers from the REF will be available in early 2003.
For more information about the REF, please visit:www.ref-msea.org
orcontact Kao Kim Hourn ([email protected]) at CICP,
Somrudee Nicro ([email protected]) at TEI,
or Mairi Dupar ([email protected]) at WRI.
10. India: Scientific harvesting of kullu (Sterculia Urens) gum
From: Bharati Joshi [[email protected] ]
Gum karaya (Sterculia urens), popularly known askulluin Madhya Pradesh (MP), is one of the large number of valuable NTFPs, found in abundance in the dry deciduous forests of MP, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. In response to disease or injury to its trunk, the tree exudes a transparent and viscous gum, calledkatilaorkullu, whichis widely used in the pharmaceutical, food and paint industry.
The gum tappers among the forest-dependent population aim to extract the maximum quantity of katila from kullu trees existing naturally in their neighboring forests. However, the traditional method of gum tapping from kullu is destructive as well as wasteful. It involves inflicting deep and wide wounds by random axe-strikes on the kullu tree trunk. This method not only inflicts irreparable damage (often a deadly blow) to the kullu trees, the gum extracted in this manner is also coloured and impure, thus, fetching a very low price in both national and international markets.
Recognising the importance of local awareness generation and skill-building for sustainable and non-destructive harvest of Kullu gum, the newly establishedInternational Centre for Community Forestry (ICCF)at the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal organized a field-level training in scientific gum harvesting technique in Sheopur Forest Division of Madhya Pradesh, during 3-9 April 2002). This field level training was meant for the gum collectors as well as the frontline staff of the Sheopur Forest Department.
Trainees
A total of 132 people, including 110 gum collectors from 10 different villages and 22 FD staff members were trained in the theory and practice of non-destructive kullu gum harvest during the course of 6 days.
Training Materials & Methodology
As part of thetraining need assessment, a sensitization visit was first made to the target villages in Sheopur, and the gum tappers were convinced about the need for their skill enhancement if a valuable resource like kullu was to be managed and maintained on a sustainable basis. A list of potential trainees was also made, village-wise, to focus the training towards the right candidates.
Participatory learning techniquewas adopted for this training, which emphasized experience sharing and cross learning among the participants and between the trainers and the trainees. Half of the training time in case of each batch was devoted to practical learning and demonstration to enhance the gum collectors' skills in non-destructive gum harvesting. While the trainers acquainted the trainees to the names and uses of various implements required for gum tapping, the organisers gifted kits of gum harvesting equipment to the gum collectors to facilitate and speed up the adoption of the improved technique.
In case of the frontline staff of the Forest Department, more emphasis was laid on understanding and discussing the problems and prospects of sustainable NTFP extraction in general and kullu gum tapping in particular, in the area. The FD staff members were also demonstrated the method to check the quality of katila gum through a simple test and were sensitized about the economic importance of extracting Grade I gum.
Many issues related to the management of NTFPs in general and Gum Karaya in particular came up for discussion during the course of this training. The Forest Department staff shared with the trainers the major constraints to effective forest protection and community-based NTFP management in the area. The gum-collectors also had many interesting queries regarding the follow-up of this training.
Training Follow-up
It would necessary to follow-up this training with a series of motivational and monitoring visits to the target villages for promoting the adoption of scientific gum tapping techniques by the kullu gum collectors. Presently, there is no material incentive for the collectors to practice the improved technique, other than the possibility of extracting valuable and Grade I gum from the existing kullu trees, throughout their life span.
For further details of this training and/or information on ICCF, please contact:
Dr. Prodyut Bhattacharya
International Centre for Community Forestry (ICCF)
Indian Institute of Forest Management
Nehru Nagar, PO Box 357, Bhopal - 462003,
Madhya Pradesh, India. Email -[email protected]
11. Indonesia: Habitat and Resources Management for the Kubu in Sumatra
Source: WARSI Web sitehttp://www.warsi.or.id/
The "Habitat and Resources Management for the Kubu" project is a cooperation between WARSI (Conservation Information Forum), OD (Operasjon Dagsverk, Norway) and RFN (Rainforest Foundation, Norway). The activities of the project support habitat and resources management for the Orang Rimba (Kubu), an indigenous people in Jambi Province.
The total number of Orang Rimba (the name meaning "People of the Forest") recorded is over 2 500 individuals, most of whom live in the forest. The Orang Rimba have here developed a traditional system of forest resources management, based on enrichment and selective enhancement of many tree and plant species. They generally collect non-wood forest products, hunt, and practice swidden cultivation.
The entire region in which the Orang Rimba are found was until recently covered by lowland tropical forest. Most of them still occupy the remaining forested areas. However, they are now increasingly marginalized because of large-scale forest clearance, especially for oil palm plantations. Efforts by the government to resettle them are not compatible with the livelihood pattern of the Orang Rimba, and most of those who take part in resettlement projects leave the settlement once free food and other handouts are ended.
The Orang Rimba need security of access to land and forest resources. Development activities that ignore this requirement are meaningless.
For more information, please contact:
WARSI Head Office
Jl. Teuku Umar No. 24 Bangko
P.O. Box 28/BKO 37312 Jambi
Indonesia
Phone: (+62-746) 21508
Fax: (+62-746) 322178
http://www.warsi.or.id/
12. Nepal: Small grants make big gains for local culture and environment
Source: Newsfront, 27 November 2002, [[email protected]]
Two small-scale projects -- one to protect a forest with temple ruins and the other to enable solar energy use -- are making a big impact in Nepal. Both rely on community action and are supported by the UNDP Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme <http://www.undp.org/gef/undp-gef_small_grants_programme/undp-gef_small_grants_programme.html>, which provides up to US$50 000 for projects that conserve local biodiversity and improve livelihoods.
In Kankrebihar in Surkhet district in western Nepal, villagers protect unusual temple ruins and conserve the surrounding forest, home to many animal and plants species. The initiative, begun two years ago, helped set up 17 community organizations to mobilize resources for conservation and development activities. "The project has helped bring the magnificent ruins and need to preserve them to national attention," said Kristina Mikkola, UNDP programme officer. They are unique in Nepal, she noted, and if well restored could become an important tourist site.
The community groups prepare their own plans and decide what activities are needed for their conservation and development projects. Local organizations now protect 167 ha of forest and have established a museum devoted to Tharu culture, the heritage of one of Nepal's largest ethnic groups. The organizations have also installed improved cooking stoves, which burn wood efficiently to help conserve the forest, in 164 houses.
There are 18 projects supported by the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme underway in different areas of Nepal demonstrating how communities can find a balance between economic development and environmental conservation.
13. Uganda: Arua to process honey for export
The Monitor (Kampala), 22 November 2002
A private enterprise, Bee Natural Products (BNP) has set up a honey processing plant in Arua town (Uganda) to produce honey for export. The company's managing director said that production is expected to start in January 2003 when the honey harvesting season starts. She said although some of the honey would be consumed locally, they are mainly targeting European markets; the total investment in this region (West Nile) will cost them about $600 000.
Collection centres would be established in Nebbi, Moyo, Arua, Adjumani and Yumbe by December. BNP said they would sensitise beekeepers on quality requirements and provide them with equipment as loans to the farmers to enable them collect sufficient honey. The government is expected to provide stainless steel storage and export buckets.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200211220298.html
14. Uganda: Budongo Rainforest
Source: New Vision (Kampala), Uganda, 18 November 2002
A report by a British researcher says excessive logging of Budongo Forest in Masindi district will have damaging consequences to endangered species. With over 300 bird species, 600 chimpanzees, 866 plant species and 419 species of butterflies and moths, the World Wide Fund For Nature has classified Budongo among one of the 200 most valuable ecological regions in the world.
The report says some forest officers collaborate in the illegal activities, with the racket tracing back to the Forestry headquarters. There have been earlier reports implicating the foresters, which have been denied by the Forest authorities.
Government must act fast to protect the ecological balance of Budongo Forest by cracking hard on illegal logging. The country is losing timber, wildlife, traditional medicines and a tourist destination.
Full stories available from:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200211180118.html
http://allafrica.com/stories/200211180114.html
Also, Budongo Forest Project:www.budongo.org/index.html
15. Nigeria: Sudan/Borno sign agreement on gum arabic
Source: Daily Trust (Abuja), Nigeria, 11 November 2002
The Borno State government (Nigeria) has signed a partnership agreement with the Republic of Sudan, as part of the efforts to boost gum arabic production. Borno State Governor, Alhaji Mala Kachallah, said that the state government has set aside N20 million for the project, adding that the plantation will cover an area of 48 km2in all the 27 local government areas. In addition, he revealed that the state will distribute standard gum arabic seedlings to farmers in all the producing areas of the state at no cost.
Kachallah, explained that the venture is in demonstrationof the government's preparation to be the best gum arabicseedling producer in the world, and to date, the state isonly second to Sudan in the production of gum arabicseedlings. Under the ongoing plan, the governor explainedthat about 34 million seedlings would be raised anddistributed yearly until the target of 40 millionseedlings was realised.
In the first phase of the programme, about 8 km of landwould be cultivated, adding that the purpose is also aimedat creating job opportunities to the unemployed youths.Besides, he said, the gum arabic plantation would help inthe fight against desertification, because its rootsstabilise the soil.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200211110862.html
16. Ghana: Most preferred bushmeat
Source: Extracted from Public Agenda (Accra). Ghana, 7 November 2002
During recent surveys in Ghana, of the 11 wild animals listed in terms of bushmeat preference, the grasscutter (Thryonomis swinderamus) was the most preferred, accounting for 65.1 percent of the total preference. This was confirmed by the fact that it was the most sought after and consumed bushmeat in the restaurants and chop bars throughout Ghana. It is also the most abundant in all the markets surveyed. It remains the most important bushmeat species throughout West Africa in terms of volume of trade and preference and is also an indication of an over-dependence of consumers on a single species. Such over-dependencies probably resulted in the over exploitation of this species as some of the traders had reported that such smaller sizes are now being hunted and sold, as compared to previous years. Even though the species breeds prolifically and is reported to be a destructive farm pest, the current rate of exploitation could be more than what the reproductive capacity of the populations in the wild could sustain.
The high dependence of consumers on this single species provides justification for the promotion of the grasscutter domestication programme. This is because there is currently, adequate demand for the meat of this species and any investment is most likely to readily pay off and contribute enormously to reducing the high market demand on other wild animal species. The preference of grasscutter is followed by Maxwell's duiker (Cephalophus Maxwellii) (19.9 percent).
It has been observed that most exploited species were those considered to cause damage to agricultural areas. In fact, all the 11 preferred species, except the Pangolin (Manissp), were farm pests eating maize, cassava and cocoyam among others. Altogether, they constituted more than 80 percent of all the bushmeat sold in the markets and restaurants.
Survey results showed that primates were not a favoured species for human consumption since traditionally people do not prefer them as a protein source. Therefore, the apparent disappearance of the primates in their natural habitats, especially the Miss Waldron's Red Colobus (Procolobus badius waldronii), could not be solely attributed to bushmeat consumption alone, but to other causal factors such as habitat destruction and changes in ecological conditions.
For more information, please visit:http://allafrica.com/stories/200211100069.html
17. Ghana: The Hazard of Bushmeat
Source: Editorial of Public Agenda (Accra), Ghana, 7 November 2002
The size and number of wild animals, according to Conservation International's literature on the bushmeat trade, are diminishing at a very fast rate as dangerous methods of hunting such as chemicals and sophisticated weapons are being used in hunting. The future of wildlife, food security and the sustainability of our ecosystems which support life in the Upper Guinea are in danger.
On all fronts, the country and its citizens stand in danger in the bushmeat trade. Ecologically, the nation is losing out on the wildlife that nurtures the soil and aids cross-pollination. Bushmeat consumers are in danger of food poisoning as dangerous chemicals used in unscrupulous hunting methods get into the blood stream.
There is every reason for the entire Ghanaian society to join in the crusade to save our wildlife. The question is: How does society ensure the compliance of various mechanisms put in place to save wildlife in the country when almost all traditional eating joints popularly called 'chop bars' specialize in serving bushmeat? The answer lies in the education of customers to get them to stop demanding bushmeat as delicacy.
According to Conservation International, Ghana, in their handbook published in February it would seem that currently, the socio-cultural, legal, biological and religious control and management practices have broken down. For example, over the past five years, it has been observed that the bushmeat trade has continued unabated during the Annual Closed Season on hunting, covering the period 1 August to 1 December.
This paper believes that education holds the key. We believe most people who patronize our traditional chop bars are unaware of their harmful effects on the ecology and their own health. Chances are that most of the hunters do not even know or understand the concept of the closed season.
That is why it is very important for the district assemblies and traditional rulers to be involved in the education process. It would be very difficult to convince hunters, many of the very poor, not to hunt for wild animals when that is the only route to a decent meal. A vigorous education programme at the village level would work magic. Information Services Department cinema vans could do a number of trips to the rural communities with films on the breeding cycle of wild animals as well as the harmful effects of hunting with chemicals.
Side by side with education should go the political will to stop the trade. For instance, enforcement of the various laws against hunting should be rigorously enforced. There should be punitive sanctions against hunting of and purchase of wild animals, especially during the ban on hunting season.
At the end of the day, we believe the saving grace is the political will to enforce the various laws passed against hunting of certain species of animals. The laws need to be tightened and enforced. When people are jailed for violating the laws on bushmeat, society's attitude to the trade in and the hunting of wild animals will change. We do not have to wait until all animals are extinct before we look for solution to the problem.
For more information, please visit:http://allafrica.com/stories/200211100068.html
18. Kenya: Elders to Protect Arabuko-Sokoke Forest
From: The East African Standard (Nairobi), Kenya. 7 November 2002
Village elders in Malindi and Kilifi districts have formed an association to prevent the destruction of the world famous Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Elders from the two districts resolved to form the association as a matter of urgency as the forest was facing extinction. "There was massive destruction of the forest by loggers and wood carvers and therefore we thought it wise to form a group specifically to end cutting down of trees in the forest," he said.
For more information, please see:http://allafrica.com/stories/200211080095.html
19. South Africa: The first legal harvesters of protected medicinal plants
Source: Nicci Diederichs, Coert Geldenhuys & Dominic Mitchell, Science in Africa Web site
There has been considerable growth in the medicinal plant industry in South Africa over the past few years. Large urban markets (e.g. Durban and Johannesburg) have developed for trade in traditionally used medicinal plants and products. This shift from subsistence use to commercial trade of medicinal plants has led to an increased intensity and frequency of medicinal plant harvesting from wild habitats. Cultivation of medicinal plants is minimal in South Africa. Consequently, certain popularly traded species have become over-exploited and are now rare or extinct in the wild (e.g.Siphonochilus aethiopicus, Warburgia salutaris). This has resulted in the forced use of alternative species and a geographical shift in the harvesting pressure to previously unexploited areas.
The bark of many different forest and woodland tree species are used, although a relatively small number are in high demand and intensively used. Intense and frequent harvesting of bark from species with a high market demand often results in ring-barking of trees. The trees subsequently die, and the species become rarer over time. This practice is obviously unsustainable and will almost certainly result in the extinction of many forest and woodland tree species. As a result, many of these have become protected under the laws governing the harvesting of medicinal and other plant material in KwaZulu-Natal. These are contained in Chapter 8 of the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Act [No. 9 of 1997].
In order to address the growing need for natural forest areas to provide socio-economic benefits to surrounding communities, new national legislation (National Forest Act No. 84 of 1998) has directed the management of these areas towards a participatory approach. The "Commercial Products from the Wild Project " set the basis for a participatory forest management system in the uMzimkulu District by establishing a bark harvesters association (Sizamimphilo). This association is a legal entity that can interact with the state forestry department responsible for management of the forests in the area. Several institutional options were considered before an Association was selected as the appropriate legal vehicle. The administrative requirements of Trusts and Co-operatives were found to be too onerous for the harvesters, most of whom only have basic literacy and educational backgrounds.
A core group of bark harvesters from the uMzimkulu District selling their products at the Durban Herb Market were approached at the market end to help to solve the problem of uncontrolled bark harvesting. The harvesters were largely willing to participate in discussions around a solution. This was because the harvesters, mostly women living in the uMzimkulu District, depend almost entirely on bark harvesting and trade to sustain their livelihoods. The harvesters were aware that their operations were illegal, and many had spent nights in prison for illegal harvesting, or had had harvested material confiscated. Given that the harvesters did not have access to other economic opportunities, they continued to struggle against this conflicting and risky system of earning a living. They were therefore open to any solution that would resolve this conflict and allow them to earn a living legally. The primary challenge faced by the core group of harvesters from the uMzimkulu District was to recruit a critical mass of harvesters from the area to join in discussions, because an exercise in participatory sustainable resource utilization required that the majority of harvesters, traders and suppliers from the target district be involved in a joint natural resource management system.
In all meetings, state resource managers (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry - DWAF) were present to provide for open discussions on mutual problems, to shorten administrative procedures and to empower both groups to come to a common understanding of the problems involved. A first joint meeting was held at the Durban Herb Market to clarify the intentions and objectives. A second meeting was held at the Nzimankulu forest to identify and discuss the problems in the forest, to discuss alternatives and better harvesting techniques, and to assist the harvesters to form an association through which an agreement could be negotiated with DWAF. Additional follow-up meetings were held, both at the market and in the forest, to maintain regular communication.
With the assistance of an external facilitator, a medicinal plant harvesters association, the Sizamimphilo Association, was eventually formalized and a constitution developed. The members of Sizamimphilo participated directly in drafting the constitution. The key components of the constitution, in terms of sustainable resource management, were i) to train, uplift, educate and develop its members with the objective of increasing their business skills and profits and to enhance their harvesting skills with the express purpose of protecting the environment and the long-term sustainability of targeted species of medicinal plants; and ii) that all members sign an agreement between themselves and the Association that binds them to a set of standards, rules, objectives or laws. The Association agreed on the following rules for sustainable resource use:
· Sustainable resource harvesting practices to be implemented in the forests should contribute to the recovery and conservation of the forests.
· Bark harvesters should be able to continue with harvesting the bark resources with improved operating conditions, reduced effort and costs, minimized resource harvesting impacts, and better opportunities for the development of viable, productive small business.
· Rules for controlling resource harvesting must be simple, practical, and easy to manage, and cause minimal interference with effective harvesting.
· A constructive, collaborative relationship between DWAF (resource managers) and the Association (legal commercial bark harvesters) should facilitate: i) effective and sustainable bark harvesting; and ii) the elimination of undesirable, destructive, and illegal commercial bark harvesting from the forests.
On 30 May 2002 DWAF issued the General Licence under sections 7, 15 & 23 of National Forests Act [No. 84 of 1998] to the Sizamimphilo Association, for harvesting of bark under guidance of the management plan for natural forests in the uMzimkulu District. The management plan provides guidelines for resource harvesting, planting for alternative resources, and monitoring of resource use impacts, and stipulates the arrangements between DWAF and the Association. Interestingly, harvesters from other districts have now joined the Association, and an allied Association has been established in Pietermaritzburg.
For more information, please see:www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2002/november/bark.htm)
20. Brazil: Cultivation of camu-camu begins to expand
Source: Amazon News - 31 October[email protected]
Although still relatively unknown among the general public in Brazil, the camu-camu, a native fruit found in Brazilian and Peruvian Amazonia, is attracting interest from researchers. The cherry-sized dark red fruit is an important source of vitamin C. It has 100 times more vitamin C that oranges and four times more than acerola. It also contains high levels of antioxidants and potassium. The fruit is found throughout Pará, Amazonas, Rondônia, Roraima, Maranhão, and parts of Tocantins and is also known by other names: caçari, in Amazonas; araçá-d´água and araçá-azedo in Rondonia; and crista de galo in Maranhão.
The camu-camu has an enormous economic potential. Researchers from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) are working on improving methods of extracting the juice.
Researchers from the National Institute of Amazonia Research (INPA) are carrying out field research on the viability of cultivating the camu-camu, as the species has never been domesticated. The natural occurrence of the fruit on the banks of river inlets makes harvesting a difficult and time-consuming process. Researchers are trying to adapt the camu-camu tree to upland areas. Initial results are encouraging.
Brazil needs to expand the production of camu-camu in order to access the international market. Para already exports to Japan and the United States, where the product is marketed in tablet form as 'Camu-Plus'.
21. FUNAI remove foreign tourists from indigenous area in Amazonas
Source: Amazon News - 31 October[email protected]
The FUNAI (the federal Indian agency, National Indigenous Peoples Foundation) administrator, Benedito Rangel, announced today that he will send a team to the Borba region of Amazonas to remove a group of foreign tourists who have invaded the Mura Indians territory. The tourists are sleeping on the banks of the Madeira River in huts constructed by local guides. They were taken there by a company, which was accused of invading the Pirahã Indigenous Territory two months ago. On that occasion, the tourists were removed by the Federal Police. The Mura chief said that he would not discount the possibility of taking the tourists hostage to force to company to stop its activities in their territory.
22. Canada: British Columbia Introduces New Forestry Legislation
From: Vag-Lan Borges [[email protected]]
British Columbia today introduced legislation to make forest practices more efficient and effective while maintaining environmental standards. The new Forest Practices Code represents a shift from government micro-management to a smarter system of forest management that is more in keeping with current circumstances. Government will determine the specific standards and rules that forest companies must meet to conserve biodiversity, old growth, wildlife habitat and other values.
For full text:www.ewire-news.com/wires/8E8FE69E-72A0-4A39-9AB24E7279D66179.htm<http://www.ewire-news.com/wires/8E8FE69E-72A0-4A39-9AB24E7279D66179.htm>
23. Request for information: Medicinal uses of insects
From: P. Oudhia on the Phytomedica List,[email protected]
I am eager to know the details regarding on going projects and concerned scientists working on medicinal uses of insects and mites. This is unexplored part and requires immediate attention.
Here in India, the traders collect varieties of insects and mites from forest and sell them to national and international markets. It is bitter fact that in our country very few workers are working on this important aspect. The overexploitation of these creatures is now becoming a curse and their natural populations are decreasing dangerously.
I have done in-depth studies on uses of insects and mites. My article on traditional knowledge about medicinal insects, mites and spiders in Chhattisgarh, India can be found at:
(www.botanical.com/site/column_poudhia/medicinal_insects.html)
I would like to have information regarding same type of ongoing work in Africa and other parts of the world.
P. Oudhia,[email protected]
http://www.celestine-india.com/pankajoudhia
24. The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund is a joint initiative of Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation.
Their free monthly e-newsletter, CEPF E-News, includes the latest details about CEPF activities and opportunities, helpful tips and links to new information on this site.
For more information please visit their Internet site at: http://www.cepf.net
25. Web sites
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
Products made from wood (and NWFP)
The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension has a list of more than 5 000 products made from wood. It can be found athttp://forestry2.ca.uky.edu/conners/WoodUses.pdf
Other good info sites about wood include:
What's a Tree Done for You Lately?http://wood.orst.edu/teachers.htm
The American Forest & Paper Association -www.afandpa.org/kids_educators/index.html
"Be Constructive - Wood"www.beconstructive.com/
Project Learning Tree --www.plt.org
(with thanks to Gyde Lund for sharing this information)
ANDA International
Founded in 1999, ANDA is a company that aims at the conservation and at the development of the natural, historic and cultural resources of the Amazon. Located in Geneva, Switzerland and in Santarem, Brazil, ANDA proposes a solution to the ecological problems linked to the degradation of lands and forests of the Amazonian region.
http://www.andainternational.com/
ForestScience.info
CABI Publishing, producer of Forestry Abstracts, TREECD and the Forestry Compendium has launched a new website. ForestScience.info contains comprehensive coverage of the world's scientific literature in forestry and related disciplines - dating back to 1939. The ForestScience.info database contains over 600 000 research summaries, with over 20 000 new research summaries added each year. ForestScience.info also includes the latest research summaries, enabling forestry professionals to keep up-to-date with current research. Full details and a free trial are available at:
www.forestscience.info.
(Source: Forest Information Update, FIU 4 NOV 02)
Herb Data New Zealand
The art and science of herbal medicines.
http://www.herbdatanz.com
Science in Africa
Africa's first on-line science magazine. Includes a section on medicinal plants and IK.
http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za
Sustainable Development Online (SDO)
SDO is a web portal on sustainable development, updated weekly with ±1700 web sites and currently less than 1% broken links. It is continually updated and maintained and each web site listed has been visited by one of our researchers. If you have a web site that you would like to be listed please submit it to SDO and one of their researchers will follow it up. In addition, there are 410 courses listed on SDO - 64 are courses that can be undertaken online at your own pace and convenience.
[email protected]
26. Events
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
The Second Global Summit on Peace through Tourism
5-8 February 2003.
Geneva, Switzerland
The Summit is being organized by the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) in partnership with the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The goals of the Second Summit will be to (i) continue building a "Culture of Peace through Tourism" in support of the UN Decade of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World; (ii), develop a coordinated strategy for poverty alleviation through tourism; and (iii) nurture partnering relationships focused on initiatives in support of the first two goals.
WTTC currently estimates the value of the global industry to be almost US$3 300 billion, and is responsible for employing 198 million people (one in every 13 jobs). Its forecast over the next ten years sees the worldwide industry growing by almost 4 percent per annum, and in the process creating millions of job opportunities.
For more information, please contact:
International Institute for Peace through Tourism
Fox Hill 13 Cottage Club Road Stowe, Vermont, 05672 USA
Telephone: +1-802-253-2658
Fax: +1-802-253-2645
E-Mail:[email protected]
http://www.iipt.org/
Living Forest Summit: Fourth Ministerial Conference on the protection of forests in Europe
28-30 April 2003
Vienna, Austria
The Fourth Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe will gather the ministers responsible for forests in Europe as well as representatives of non-European observer states of the MCPFE and international governmental and non-governmental organisations. It will be co-chaired by the ministers of Austria and Poland.
At the Conference, the ministers and the representative of the European Community will express their commitment to sustainable forest management. The decisions they take will be of the highest political relevance for the ecological, economic and socio-cultural development of forests in an integrated manner. In response to today's most important demands placed on forests, concrete actions will be adopted.
For more information, please contact:
Christine Riemelmoser
Conference Co-ordination
Secretariat of the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe
MCPFE Liaison Unit Vienna
Marxergasse 2
A-1030 Vienna, Austria
Tel: +43 1 710 77 02
Fax: +43 1 710 77 02 13
E-mail:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
http://www.lu-vienna.at/livingforestsummit/
The Namche Conference: people, park, and mountain ecotourism
24-26 May 2003
Namache Bazaar, Khumbu, Nepal.
Presentations and workshops will cover a range of topics; however, special attention will be given to the role of parks in mountain ecotourism. Advantage should be taken of the expert opinion of the local people in assessing the accomplishments of Sagarmatha National Park, comparing this park with others around the world. The organizers' intention is to generate results that will be useful both to Sagarmatha stakeholders and to stakeholders in other remote tourism destinations.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Seth Sicroff
Director
Bridges: Projects in Rational Tourism Development <http://www.bridges-prtd.com>
219 W. Spencer St. #3
Ithaca, NY, 14850 USA
E-mail:[email protected]
www.bridges-prtd.com
Second Annual Sustainable Forest Management Summit: Meeting emerging ecological, economic and social challenges
9-11 June 2003.
Sault Ste Marie, Ontario Canada.
Organized by the Great Lakes Forest Alliance, the goal of this meeting is to provide a broad forum to critically discuss emerging forest resource issues in the Great Lakes Region.
Presentations and proposals are due by 31 January 2003.
For more information, please visit: www.lsfa.org
orcontact:
Wendy Hinrichs Sanders
7231 N. Rehor Rd.
Hayward, WI 54843, USA
Telephone & Fax: +1-715.634.2006
E-mail:[email protected]
First World Congress of Agroforestry
27 June 27-2 July 2004
Orlando, Florida, USA
Subtitled "Working Together for Sustainable Land-use Systems", this event will be of global significance and the results will help shape future agroforestry research, education and development.
For more information, please contact:
Mandy Padgett, Conference Coordinator
Office of Conferences & Institutes, University of Florida
PO Box 110750, Mowry Road Building 639
Gainesville, FL 32611-0750
USA
Tel: +1-(352) 392-5930,
Fax +1-(352) 392-9734
E-mail:[email protected]
www.missouri.edu/~afta/Whats_New/Events_Cal.html
27. Plant resources of South-East Asia
From: Agus Rahmat Hadi [[email protected]]
We have a multi-volume handbook on the plant resources of South-East Asia consisting of 21 books. The handbook covers more than 7 000 species in South-East Asia dividing into 18 commodity groups such as pulses, edible fruits and nuts, dye and tannin producing plants, forages, timber trees, medicinal and poisonous plants, etc.
For more information, please contact:
Agus Rachmat Hadi
Distribution Officer
Irfan Afandi
Lembaga Pengembangan sumber daya informasi 'EKSIS'
Pondok Permatasari No. 28
Bogor - Indonesia
Phone: (62)(251) 553872
E-mail:[email protected]
28. Publications of interest
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
Atangana, A.R., Tchoundjeu, Z., Fondoun, J-M, Asaah, E., Ndoumbe, M. and Leakey, R.R.B.(2001). Domestication ofIrvingia gabonensis: 1. Phenotypic variation in fruit and kernels in two populations from Cameroon.Agroforestry Systems, 53: 55-64.
Atangana, A.R., Ukafor, V., Anegbeh, P.O., Asaah, E., Tchoundjeu, Z., Usoro, C., Fondoun, J-M., Ndoumbe, M. and Leakey, R.R.B.2002. Domestication ofIrvingia gabonensis:2. The Selection of multiple traits for potential cultivars from Cameroon and Nigeria.Agroforestry Systems, 55: 221-229.
Barnes, R.F.W. 2002. The bushmeat boom and bust in West and Central Africa.Oryx36(3):236-242.
Bulte, E.H. & Horan, R.D.2002. Does human population growth increase wildlife harvesting? An economic assessment.J. Wildlife Manag.66(3):574-580.
Chattopadhyay, R.N. & Das, N.(Nilanjana-Das). 2001. Nutritional evaluation of edible non-timber forest produces - a case study in South-West Bengal.Indian Forester. 2001, 127: 11, 1232-1238.
A study was conducted in West Bengal, India to identify the edible non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and assess their nutritive values, and to analyse the consumption pattern of the edible NTFPs by the forest dependent people. A total of 50 edible NTFPs were identified. Items collected for household consumption include leaves and young shoots, flowers, fruits, tubers and mushrooms. Excellent sources of vitamin C includedEmblica officinalis[Phyllanthus emblica] (600 mg/100 g),Dillenia indica(277 mg/100 g), andGardenia gummifera(225 mg/100 g). Flowers ofMadhuca longifoliacontain significant amount of carbohydrate (72 mg/100 g). The protein contents of wild edible mushrooms were quite high compared to all other edible NTFPs. Among the NTFPs gathered by the Forest Protection Committee members, mahua flowers and variety of tubers constitute the largest portion followed by leafy vegetables and mushrooms. The consumption pattern of forest edibles varied widely.
For more information, please contact the authors at the Rural Development Centre, I.I.T. Kharagpur (West Bengal), India.
Cox, P.A.; Ratchford, M.S. (ed.); & Gupta, M.P.2001. Ensuring equitable benefits: the Falealupo Covenant and the isolation of anti-viral drug prostratin from a Samoan medicinal plant. Symposium on `Ethnobotany-bioprospective effects on drug discovery in the next millennium', held at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC, USA, 17-22 February, 2000.Pharmaceutical-Biology. 2001, 39: Supplement, 33-40;
Equitable sharing of benefits from pharmacological development of biodiversity has been the topic of much discussion, but few concrete examples of recent plant-derived pharmaceuticals exist. The discovery of prostratin as an anti-viral phorbol isolated from healer preparations of the rain forest tree Homalanthus nutans in Samoa illustrates the importance of careful liaison between western scientists and indigenous leaders.
For more information, please contact: Institute of Ethnobotany, National Tropical Botanical Garden, 3530 Papalina Road, Kalaheo, HI 96741, USA.
de los Monteros, R.L.E.2002. Evaluating ecotourism in natural protected areas of La Paz Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico: ecotourism or nature-based tourism?Biodivers. Conserv.11(9):1539-1550.
de Warnaffe, G.D.; Devillez, F.2002. Quantifying the ecological value of forests in order to integrate nature conservation in management planning: a multicriteria method.Ann. Forest Sci. 59(4):369-387.
Geissler, P.W., Harris, S.A., Prince, R.J., Olsen, A., Odhiambo, R.A., Oketch-Rabah, H., Madiega, P.A., Andersen, A. & Molgaard, P.2002. Medicinal plants used by Luo mothers and children in Bondo district, Kenya.Journal of Ethnopharmacology,Volume 83, Issues 1-2, November 2002, pp 39 - 54
Full text via ScienceDirect :
www.sciencedirect.com/science?
Houghton, P.J.2002. The sausage tree (Kigelia pinnata): ethnobotany and recent scientific work.South African Journal of Botany. 2002, 68: 1, 14-20.
Kigelia pinnata(Bignoniaceae), colloquially called the Sausage Tree, or Worsboom, on account of its large fruits, has a variety of medicinal uses throughout Africa where it grows as an endemic species in many areas. Investigation into the biological activity ofK. pinnatahas focused on its antibacterial activity and its cytotoxic effects against cancer cell lines. These are related to the traditional uses of bark and fruit extracts for treating diseases caused by micro-organisms and as a remedy for skin cancer.
For more information, please contact: Pharmacognosy Research Laboratories, Department of Pharmacy, King's College London, 150 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NN, UK.
Kizil, M.; Kizil, G.; Yavuz, M. & Aytekin, C.2002. Antimicrobial activity of the tar obtained from the roots and stems of Pinus brutia.Pharmaceutical-Biology. 2002, 40: 2, 135-138.
Kumba, F.F., Kaurivi, J.Z.U., and Katjivena, H. 2002. A project of indigenous communities in Namibia to cultivateHarpagophytum procumbens.Med. Plant Conserv.8:24-27.
Lagos-Witte, S.2002. Conservation of medicinal plants in Central America and the Caribbean: a GEF project begins.Med. Plant Conserv.8:21-24.
Lange, D.2002. The role of east and southeast Europe in the medicinal and aromatic plants' trade.Med. Plant Conserv.8:14-18.
Leakey, R.R.B., Atangana, A.R., Kengni, E., Waruhiu, A. N., Usuro, C., Anegbeh, P. O. and Tchoundjeu, Z.2002. Domestication ofDacryodes edulisin West and Central Africa: Characterisation of Genetic Variation.Forests, Trees and Livelihoods(Special Issue on Dacryodes edulis), 12: 57-72.
Madureira, M. do C. de; Martins, A.P.; Gomes, M.; Paiva, J.; Cunha, A.P. da; Rosario, V. do; de Madureira, M. do C.; da Cunha, A.P.; & do Rosario, V. 2002. Antimalarial activity of medicinal plants used in traditional medicine in S. Tome and Principe islands.Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2002, 81: 1, 23-29.
The present study investigates the antimalarial activity of 13 medicinal plants used in traditional medicine in S. Tome and Principe (STP) islands in the Gulf of Guinea, aiming at identifying the most effective plants for further research. Fieldwork was carried out with the collaboration of 37 traditional healers from both islands, during an ethnobotanical study, which was conducted from 1993 to 1999.
Manjkhola, S., and Dhar, U.2002. Conservation and utilization ofArnebia benthamii(Wall. ex G. Don) Johnston - a high value Himalayan medicinal plant.Curr. Sci.83(4):484-488.
Moegenburg, S.M. & Levey, D.J.2002. Prospects for conserving biodiversity in Amazonian extractive reserves.Ecology Letters. 2002, 5: 3, 320-324.
Non-timber forest product (NTFP) extraction is a popular alternative to timber extraction that figures prominently in efforts to utilize tropical forests sustainably. But the ability to conserve biodiversity through NTFP management, particularly in extractive reserves in Amazonia, has remained untested. The authors found that intensive management ofEuterpe oleracea(Palmae) fruit, one of the most important extractive products in the Amazon, has substantial impacts on biodiversity, whereas moderate management does not.
For more information, please contact the authors at: Department of Zoology, PO Box 118525, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-8525, USA..
Posey, D.A.2002. Commodification of the sacred through intellectual property rights.Journal of Ethnopharmacology,Volume 83, Issues 1-2, November 2002, pp 3-12.
Indigenous and traditional peoples have made major contributions to the enhancement and conservation of the world's biodiversity. Although this is increasingly recognized in international discourse, rights of these peoples to continue their traditional practices are threatened by the globalized economy. Science implicitly denies their contribution to biodiversity conservation and enhancement by referring to their lands as `wild' or `wilderness'. It also effectively undermines their rights by claiming that the biodiversity fostered by their traditional practices is a global resource. In this article, the author argues that in order to counter these threats, not only do the rights of indigenous and traditional peoples need to be strengthened, but also global trends that substitute economic and utilitarian models for the holistic concept of the `sacred balance' need to be reversed.
Full text via ScienceDirect :
www.sciencedirect.com/science?_
Rao, U.V.U.B. & Vedavathy, S.2001. Information on traditional uses of some non-timber forest products (NTFP) of Chittoor District, A.P. India.MFP News. 2001, 11: 2, 6-8.
An intensive survey was carried out in different tribal areas of Seshachalam Hill ranges of Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, India to determine the different uses of some NWFP present in the area. The information obtained includes botanical name, parts used (ethnomedical and other uses) and nature of disease for which it is used.
For more information, please contact: Herbal Folklore Research Centre, Thirupathi, A.P., India.
Salido, S.; Altarejos, J.; Nogueras, M.; Sanchez, A.; Pannecouque, C.; Witvrouw, M.; & Clercq, E. de.2002. Chemical studies of essential oils ofJuniperus oxycedrusssp.badia.Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2002, 81: 1, 129-134.
Leaf and (unripe and ripe) berry essential oils ofJuniperus oxycedrusssp.badia(H. Gay) Debeaux grown wild in Spain have been analysed by capillary GC and GC-MS in combination with retention indices. A seasonal investigation of both leaf and berry oils was also performed.
For more information, please contact: Departamento de Quimica Inorganica y Organica, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Jaen, 23071 Jaen, Spain.
Schreckenberg, K., Leakey, R.R.B. and Kengue, J. (Eds.). 2002. A Fruit Tree with a Future:Dacryodes edulis(Safou, the African Plum) - Special Issue ofForests, Trees and Livelihoods, 12: 1-152.
Shackleton, S.E., Shackleton, C.M., Cunningham, A.B., Lombard, C., Sullivan, C.A. and Netshiluvhi, T.R. 2002. Knowledge onSclerocarya birreasubsp. caffra with emphasis on its importance as a non-timber forest product in South and southern Africa: A summary, Part 1: Taxonomy, ecology and role in rural livelihoods.Southern African Forestry Journal, 194: 27-41.
Tchoundjeu, Z., Kengue J. and Leakey, R.R.B.2002. Domestication ofDacryodes edulis: state-of-the art.Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 12, 3-14.
Tchoundjeu, Z., Avana, M.L., Leakey, R.R.B., Simons, A.J., Asaah, E., Duguma, B. and Bell, J.M.2002. Vegetative propagation ofPrunus africana: effects of rooting medium, auxin concentrations and leaf area.Agroforestry Systems, 54: 183-192.
Williams, V.L.2002. Hawkers of health: Johannesburg's street traders of traditional medicine, South Africa.Med. Plant Conserv.8:18-21.
Zerbe, S.2002. Restoration of natural broad-leaved woodland in Central Europe on sites with coniferous forest plantations.Forest Ecol. Manag.167(1-3):27-42.