No. 01/02
Welcome to the first issue in 2002 of the 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. Relevance and applicability of certification and benefit-sharing mechanisms in the field of NWFP
2. Wild mushroom business
3. IUFRO Non-Wood Forest Products News
4. Philippine Task Force NTFP Newsletter
5. ICIMOD library database
6. FSC Database
7. FAO workshop on shea (karité): processing and trade in Africa
8. EcoNews Perú
9. Web site - Pinestraw
10. Consultation d'experts sur l'évaluation des ressources des PFNL
11. Events
12. Rural Development Forestry 1985-2001
13. Sustainable for Whom?
14. Publications of interest
15. Miscellaneous
1. Relevance and applicability of certification and benefit-sharing mechanisms in the field of NWFP
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
The assessment of impact of trade and marketing on the sustainable use of non-wood forest products is one of FAO's NWFP Programme's many activities. The objective of the assessment is to analyse the relevance and applicability of certification and benefit-sharing mechanisms in the field of NWFP.
Background
For agricultural and timber products, certification and benefit-sharing mechanisms have been established in order to monitor and evaluate the ecologically friendly, economically viable and/or socially equitable use of these products. Criteria and indicators have been elaborated, against which production and commercialization are assessed. The following mechanisms are becoming more relevant for NWFP:
· Forest management schemes mainly assess ecological aspects of resource management, both at the forest and species/product level. These schemes aim at providing environmentally sound products, which can be marketed as "green products".
· Fair trade schemes and benefit-sharing arrangements focus on social aspects of trade and the adequate share of benefits among stakeholders, including disadvantaged local communities.
· Product quality standards aim at ensuring that defined production standards have been taken into consideration. These standards can focus on various aspects such as organic production or product purity.
· Certification of origin is used for a variety of products (e.g. food products), in order to guarantee that a given product is derived from a certain region or area. It does not assess any quality standards.
These mechanisms are mainly used as marketing and policy tools. The variety of existing schemes, standards and arrangements reflects the different ecological and socio-economic dimensions of sustainability. Market demand appears to be the driving force when choosing a specific mechanism.
NWFP have only recently been incorporated in some of the above mechanisms. The relevance of these mechanisms for the sustainable use of NWFP will be analysed and the methods used to assess the sustainable production and commercialisation of NWFP will be documented by this programme activity.
Main activities
1. Documentation of relevant stakeholders involved in certification and benefit-sharing (e.g. private sector, governmental and non-governmental organizations, labelling initiatives, collector associations, development agencies, consumer groups);
2. Analysis of the relevance and applicability of certification and benefit-sharing mechanisms for different NWFP (e.g. food products, medicinal plants, gums, cosmetics);
3. Compilation of working paper(s);
4. Establishment of Web site;
5. Co-organization of meeting(s)
Status of activities
A first review of literature on the ethical and legal aspects related to the trade in NWFP led to the compilation of a Special Feature on the "Commercial use of biodiversity: ethical and legal aspects" published in Non-wood News no. 7 (http://www.fao.org/forestry/include/frames/english.asp?section=http://www.fao.org/docrep/x4945e/x4945e00.htm)
In addition, a report on "Benefit-Sharing Arrangements in the field of Non Wood Forests Products - an Overview" has been compiled and will shortly be available on our Web site.
Contacts are being established to various organizations involved in the development and application of certification and benefit-sharing mechanisms. Based on these contacts and an extensive literature review, a documentation of existing mechanisms, organizations involved and case studies will be made available.
It is intended to co-organize a workshop in the second half of 2002 in order to clarify further the relevance of certification and benefit-sharing mechanisms related to the sustainable use of NWFP.
Preliminary results of this documentation and on the planned workshop will be made available on our Web site (www.fao.org/forestry/FOP/FOPW/NWFP/nwfp-e.stm) as soon as they are available.
We would greatly appreciate receiving any information on existing certification or benefit-sharing mechanisms or related case studies. This information would be duly acknowledged in our documentation.
For more information, please contact:
Sven Walter
NWFP Programme
Forest Products Division
Forestry Department, FAO,
Tel: +39-06-570-53853
Fax: +39-06-570-55618
E-mail: [email protected]
2. Wild mushroom business
From: Forest Information Update [[email protected]
Attila Hegedus from Hungary writes, "I'm starting to work on my postgraduate study project. This marketing project will focus on charcoal and wild mushroom business in Hungary that links to the European market. I would also like to analyse the target market where the Hungarian products (charcoal and wild mushroom) are participating in. Actually, I'm looking for country (Europe) specific information about charcoal and wild mushroom business. If you have any kind of materials, publications, ideas about above mentioned topics, please, contact me personally via e-mail[email protected] ."
3. IUFRO Non-Wood Forest Products News
From: Jim Chamberlain[email protected]
The inaugural issue of the IUFRO Non-Wood Forest Products newsletter can be found on the IUFRO website: http://iufro.boku.ac.at/iufro/iufronet/d5/hp51100.htm
We are initiating several activities with the newsletter. The professional expertise database is designed to serve as a place to bring folks together. And the discussion group hopefully will serve as a forum to advance discussion on critical issues. The initial topic of discussion is the C&I for NWFPs.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Jim Chamberlain
Non-Timber Forest Products Research Technologist
US Forest Service, Southern Research Station
Coordinator, IUFRO Research Group 5.11 (Non-wood Forest Products)
1650 Ramble Road
Blacksburg, VA 24061
USA
Tel: +1-540-231-3611
Fax. +1-540-231-1383
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.sfp.forprod.vt.edu
4. Philippine Task Force NTFP Newsletter
From: Benedicto Q. Sanchez [email protected] (through the Mountain Forum list)
The third issue of the Philippine Task Force NTFP Newsletter, NBTA, is now on the web! Check it out at www.ntfp.org/Not_By_Timber_Alone3/index.htm.
This issue features the following articles:
· Alternative Confab Kits from Indigenous Materials
· Cobra in Colombo
· Reasons to Celebrate: Commemorating Indigenous Peoples Month in Palawan
· Supporting Ancestral Domain Delineation Through Development Cooperation
· Perverting Buffer Zones: what the so-called Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park (MKNP) Act of 2001 does.
· The Interlaken World Mountain Symposium: Moving Mountain Development Issues Forward
The NTFP Exchange Program aims to provide a platform for sharing forest community-based NTFP ideas and concerns, mainly through practical information and cases.
For more information, please contact:
Benedicto Q. Sanchez
Program Coordinator
Broad Initiatives for Negros Development, Inc. (BIND)
Dr 1 & 2 Adela Arcade, Don Vicente Bldg.,
Locsin St., Bacolod City 6100
Negros Occidental, Philippines
Fax: (6334) 433-8315;
E-mail: [email protected]
5. ICIMOD library database
From: Forest Information Update[email protected]
The entire International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Library database is now available on-line at www.icimod.org.np/library.
You can search the catalogue by author, title or keyword. You can also fill in a form to create searches on a particular subject.
6. FSC Database
From: FAO's NWFP Programme (from taiga-news)
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certificates are now listed on the Internet via a new database developed by the Certified Forest Product Council in the USA. North American product information is already available and in the future the database will also include information on Europe.
7. FAO workshop on shea (karité):
processing and trade in Africa
From: Eliot Masters, COVOL [email protected]
International Workshop on Shea Processing and Trade across Africa (Atelier International sur le Traitement, Valorisation et Commerce de la Filière Karité à travers de l'Afrique)
Dakar, Senegal
4-7 March 2002
The workshop will be organized by FAO with support from the Common Fund for Commodities, and hosted by the Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE) in Dakar.
PARTICIPANTS SOUGHT: We are working to identify the most appropriate institutions and individuals to participate in the workshop, which will identify practical objectives and strategies to enhance processing, utilization and marketing of shea products for the benefit of the primary producers, rural women in particular. Participants will be invited from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Togo and Uganda. I would be very grateful if you would avail me with any further relevant information, including the names and contacts (email if available) for the various institutions and individuals known to you as currently active in shea processing and marketing across Africa, or those in related fields of non-wood forest products and rural development, community forestry, etc. The countries I am having the most difficulty with in terms of contacts are Central African Republic, Chad and Niger.
For more information, please contact:
Eliot Masters
Coordinator, The Shea Project (Uganda/Sudan), and
Consultant to FAO on shea processing and marketing
Tel. +254 733 729 612
E-mail: [email protected]
8. EcoNews Perú
From: Walter H. Wust, Director, econews[email protected]
Tenemos el agrado de comunicarles el reciente lanzamiento de EcoNews Perú, la primera agencia de noticias ambientales del Perú.
Nuestro objetivo es proveer de información sobre temas ambientales al público peruano a través de despachos diarios libres de costo a los medios de comunicación (prensa escrita, radio, TV e Internet).
Para ello, hemos desarrollado un sistema de cobertura diaria de noticias que abarca los campos de la ecología, los recursos naturales y la problemática ambiental, empleando tecnología de punta y aprovechando la experiencia adquirida en años de trabajo a lo largo y ancho del país.
Nuestro esfuerzo se dirigirá a difundir los problemas relacionados a la ecología en el Perú a través de un análisis detallado y objetivo de la noticia, complementado con viajes al lugar de los acontecimientos y entrevistas a destacados expertos nacionales e internacionales. Todo ello permitirá al público sacar sus propias conclusiones respecto de cada uno de los temas tratados.
Uno de nuestros principales objetivos será la difusión de las experiencias exitosas de manejo de recursos naturales en el país, permitiendo que sean reconocidas a nivel global y utilizadas como modelo en distintas partes del Perú y el mundo.
Nuestro equipo está formado por un selecto grupo de profesionales, liderados por el ecólogo, editor y fotógrafo de naturaleza Walter H. Wust. El proyecto cuenta, además, con el apoyo de la Fundación W. Alton Jones.
EcoNews Perú espera que esta experiencia, única en su género en el Continente, permita crear conciencia en el público peruano acerca de los temas relacionados con la naturaleza y el uso de sus recursos, así como evaluar la respuesta de los medios y las autoridades nacionales respecto de la información vinculada al ambiente.
Los invitamos a visitar nuestra página web www.econewsperu.comdiariamente y seguir día a día el acontecer ambiental peruano.
Para cualquier información sírvanse comunicarse con nosotros al correo electrónico: econews@econewsperú.com
9. Web site - Pinestraw
From: Don McClain, President, Agriquip.Inc[email protected]
Includes information on pine straw studies and management.
www.agriquip.com/pinestraw_baling.html
10. Consultation d'experts sur l'évaluation des
ressources des PFNL
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
11-14 février 2002
Yaoundé,Cameroun
Co-organisateurs de la réunion : La division des produits forestiers de la FAO, le bureau de la FAO au Cameroun, le Ministère de l'environnement et des forêts et CIFOR.
Origine et justification
Le but de la Composante No.4 du programme de l'Union Européenne sur les produits forestiers non-ligneux est de contribuer au soutien de la gestion durable des forêts, dans les pays ACP d'Afrique. Le développement des guides pratiques d'inventaire de PFNL ainsi que le suivi du test d'expérimentation de ceux-ci constitueront l'essentiel de cette contribution.
Le but de tels guides est de permettre aux administrations nationales des forêts et d'autres dépositaires appropriés d'améliorer et d'assurer un suivi régulier des ressources fournissant les PFNL, ainsi qu'un développement soutenable des régimes de récoltes de ces produits, notamment en faveur des communautés locales.
En parallèle avec d'autres projets, deux réunions d'experts sont planifiées en vue de :
· revoir les méthodes courantes utilisées pour l'élaboration des guides d'inventaire,
· contribuer à l'amélioration de l'avant-projet sur les guides d'inventaire des PFNL
· et partager des expériences personnelles et institutionnelles sur les inventaires de PFNL.
Les objectifs généraux
Développer des guides pratiques pour l'évaluation des ressources des PFNL afin de contribuer à une gestion soutenue des forêts dans les pays ACP d'Afrique.
Les Objectifs spécifiques
(i) Revoir et modifier l'ébauche des guides d'inventaire des PFNL présentée lors de la consultation d'experts et améliorer si possible, l'approche méthodologique proposée pour la conception des guides plus appropriés pour l'inventaire de PFNL .
(ii) Identifier les problèmes prioritaires se posant lors de la conception des guides d'inventaire de PFNL et suggérer les solutions potentielles pour surmonter ces derniers.
(iii) Etablir un partenariat pour le développement des études de cas servant à tester l'efficacité des protocoles d'essai contenus dans l'avant-projet des guides d'inventaire des PFNL sur certains produits.
Résultats attendus de la consultation d'experts de Yaoundé
· fournir des informations plus spécifiques pour l'amélioration du contenu du document final sur l'inventaire de PFNL.
· identifier des problèmes prioritaires inhérents aux inventaires des PFNL et suggérer des solutions potentielles.
· Identifier quatre études de cas pour faire un essai pratique des protocoles contenus dansl'avant-projet des guides d'inventaire des PFNL sur des produits choisis.
Rencontre avec les participants
L'audience de la réunion sera composée d'environ 15 experts ayant une expérience confirmée dans le domaine de l'inventaire sur les ressources des PFNL. Il s'agira de conférenciers d'université, de chercheurs, de professionnels et de praticiens sur le terrain.
Pour de plus amples informations, veuillez contacter :
François Ndeckere-Ziangba
Forestry Officer
FOPW, D-413
FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy
tel : +390657055015
fax : +390657055618
e-mail : [email protected]
11. Events
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
Forestry and Rural Development Workshop
18 May 2002
Inverness, Scotland.
The Workshop is part of the 3rd European Mountain Convention, Inverness, 16-18 May 2002, organized by Euromontana
For more information, please contact:
Pier Carlo Zingari
Director European Observatory of Mountain Forests
EOMF/Observatoire Européen des Forêts de Montagne - OEFM
Les Thermes
F-73230 Saint Jean d'Arvey
France
Tel:++33 (0)4 79 28 42 03
Fax:++33 (0)4 79 28 40 58.
E-mail: [email protected]
www.eomf.org
Management of Mountain Forest Ecosystems under New Environmental Conditions
1-7 September 2002
Prague, Czech Republic.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Vratislav Balcar
Research Station VULHM Opocno
Na Olive 550
517 73 Opocno
Czech Republic
Fax: + 420 443 42 393.
E-mail: [email protected]
Taiga Rescue Network and Boreal Forest Network 6th Biennial Conference
20-22 September 2002
Winnipeg, Canada
The theme of this conference is "Current and Future Boreal Forest Values - Conservation Goals and Market Trends".
For more information visit www.borealnet.org or www.taigarescue.org or the conference organizers, Michelle Forrest and Susanne McCrea, on [email protected].
PROTA First International Workshop
23-25 September 2002
Nairobi, Kenya
The workshop is being organized by the Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (PROTA) Programme, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. One of the workshop objectives is to highlight the importance of the plant resources of tropical Africa through Commodity Group Reports, Country Reports and Plant Resources Reports. Various papers are invited, including auxiliary and medicinal plants.
The workshop will be in both English and French.
For more information, please contact:
PROTA Programme
Wageningen University
PO Box 341
6700 AH Wageningen
The Netherlands
E-mail: [email protected]
www.prota.org
or
PROTA First International Workshop
c/o ICRAF
PO Box 30677
Nairobi
Kenya
12. Rural Development Forestry 1985-2001
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
The Overseas Development Institute has produced a CD-ROM that contains 17 years of its publications on forestry-related issues. 214 key publications chart the development of people-oriented forestry from 185 to the present day:
· 174 Rural Development Forestry Network papers (RDFN)
· 5 European Tropical Forestry Papers (EUTFP)
· 14 Natural Resources Perspectives (NRP)
· 4 forestry-related Working Papers (WP)
· 17 chapters of the EU Tropical Forestry Sourcebook
All papers are indexed by publication, keyword, author and region. Full text versions of the majority of publications are available in English, French and Spanish as Acrobat pdf files. The Adobe Acrobat Reader software is also included on the CD-ROM.
For more information, please contact:
Overseas Development Institute
111 Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7JD
UK
E-mail: [email protected]
www.odi.org.uk
13. Sustainable for Whom?
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
Sustainable for Whom? is a brochure jointly published by the Taiga Rescue Network and the Boreal Footprint Project summarizing a new report on FSC certification and community benefits. It contains exploratory case studies of four forest communities in the boreal or near-boreal zone with experience of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. It is hoped that the information in the brochure and the full-length report will contribute to increased awareness on the potential benefits as well as the limitations of market-based certification in relation to forest communities and forest peoples.
The full-length report Sustainable for Whom? is available in pdf format at: www.taigarescue.org/publications/reports.shtml
(The Boreal Footprint Project [BFP] is an American participant of the Taiga Rescue Network. BFP aims to reduce Americans' ecological footprint on the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska through education, advocacy and campaigning.)
14. Publications of interest
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
Al-Douri, N.A. (2000). A survey of medicinal plants and their traditional uses in Iraq. Pharmaceutical Biology 38(1): 74-79.
Anon. (2001). Open to plunder. Smuggling is stripping India of rare medicinal plants. Down to Earth (January): 28-41.
Evans, Tom D. and Viengkham, Oulathong V. Inventory time-cost and statistical power: a case study of a Lao rattan. In Forest Ecology and Management 150 (2001) 313-322.
Schippmann, U. (2001). Medicinal plants significant trade study. CITES project S-109. Plants Committee Document PC9 9.1.3 (rev.). 97 pp., Bundesamt für Naturschutz, Bonn (BfN-Skripten 39).
Tran Van On, Do Quyen, Le Dinh Bich, B. Jones, J. Wunder & J. Russel-Smith. (2001). A survey of medicinal plants in Ba Vi National Park, Vietnam. Methodology and implications for conservation and sustainable use. Biological Conservation 97:295-304.
WWF Deutschland & TRAFFIC Europe-Germany, Eds. (2001). Tagungsband, Proceedings. Symposium. Medizin und Artenschutz. Herausforderung für Mensch und Natur im neuen Jahrtausend. Medicinal utilisation of wild species. Challenge for man and nature in the new millennium. 107 pp., WWF Deutschland & TRAFFIC Europe-Germany, Frankfurt am Main.
Zich, Frank and Compton, James. The Final Frontier: Towards Sustainable Management of Papua New Guinea's Agarwood Resource. October 2001. TRAFFIC Oceania/WWF SouthPacific Programme. 12pp. www.traffic.org/news/agar2.pdf
Trouble in the Taiga is a recent brochure produced by the Taiga Rescue Network and provides a general overview of the boreal region and the issues facing it and its people.
For more information, please contact:
Elisa Peter and Ola Larsson
International Coordination Centre
Taiga Rescue Network
Box 116
S-96223 Jokkmokk
Sweden
E-mail: [email protected]
www.taigarescue.org
15. Miscellaneous
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
Ginger prevents heart attack
Fatty meals with 5g of ginger can prevent heart attack, according to a report published in the Indian Medical Association (IMA) journal. Ginger protects against coronary artery disease (CAD). Lowering of fibrinolytic activity of the blood makes an individual prone to CAD, precursor of heart attack. Ginger increases fibrinolytic activity and thereby protects against CAD. Ginger is thus a safe dietary measure for everyday use. Ginger contains more than 200 volatile substances. It is still not clear which of these is responsible for fibrinolytic activity and offers protection to the heart.
(Source: MFP News, Vol XI, No.3, 2001, quoting Indian Spices, Vol. 38(1):7,2001)
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