NWFP Digest-L

No. 09/01

Welcome to 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. Ecoport - Access portal to ecology knowledge for natural resource managers

From: Peter Griffee ([email protected])

In 1998, FAO created a Global Plant Production and Protection Information System (GPPIS) that established a network of individuals and institutions who agreed to freely share their separate knowledge to create a communally-owned database on the Internet.

Very soon we realised the limitations of seeing the world only in terms of pests and crops, and decided that we need topractiseholistic ecology and interdisciplinary integration as comprehensively as wepreachit. Accordingly, FAO formed a consortium with the University of Florida (UF) and the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution (SI) in the USA, to build EcoPort: a service similar to GPPIS, but this time widened toecology as causeto build on the pooled information power and institutional perspectives and mandates of FAO, UF and SI as a foundation to exploit and deliver the benefits of the Internet. While EcoPort operates under the auspices of FAO, UF and SI, it is in fact a forum and global network of institutions (currently 90) and volunteer, expert authors, (currently about 500), who actively contribute their knowledge to be shared freely through EcoPort.

EcoPort went public on 1 January 2000 and in June 2001, 127,000 entity records had been established, including 143,000 species of which 42,000 are plants. There are over 516,000 references, 100 slide shows, 35,000 glossary terms, 19,000 pictures, 200 HyperMemes, 55 Taxonomic keys, 100 Interactive tables, etc.Since going public, the database has been updated at an average daily rate of 100 changes per day made by the community of volunteer experts.The website serves 1000 pages per day (about 5,000 `hits'/day), and, for example, the number of visitors from Africa amount to half of the total for Europe.

Each contributing author/editor receives a username and password that enables the author to write information into the shared database, much as a group of authors write chapters for a book, except that the `book' we are writing is a public database on the Internet. This process uses methods and tools invented at FAO, which allow editors (not only webmasters), to write HyperText directly.Technical authors, e.g. FAO staff members, publish their shared knowledge under a banner that displays the logo of the sponsoring institution.In this way, EcoPort is a collection of records, each owned, controlled and displayed by a separate author/institution, but all using the integrating tools of EcoPort and sharing each other's contributions and resources, such as pictures entered into the communal EcoPort picture database. Data quality is maintained by the same process of peer review that has kept scientific publishing going ever since it started. All changes are notified to other community members.This makes all of us `quality controllers' - professional, 'our brother's keepers'. An automatic e-mail notification system informs a network of Gatekeepers and the EcoPort Supervisor when changes are made. Since each contributor's shared information is displayed under his own a banner and logo, ownership and responsibility go hand-in-hand and this whole process is open to public scrutiny on the Internet.We have clearly demonstrated that sharing and generosity does not threaten identity or responsibility and professional goodwill.

As we all put sharing ahead of copyright and many other territorial aspects that unnecessarily increase the transaction costs associated with using data, our pooled knowledge has grown very rapidly. Furthermore, since many users either do not have Internet access or have slow and expensive connections, we will, in future, be distributing EcoPort data sets on free CD-ROMs as well. Many of these records need editors.

Please send an email to[email protected]if interested. We will explain the procedure for registering in order to contribute your information to EcoPort.

www.ecoport.org

2. Hunting in the Taï region - a correction

From:J.B. Maas [[email protected]]

Tropenbos International (TBI) has rectified its Press Release announcing the publication "Filière viande de brousse dans l'espace Taï, Côte d'Ivoire" (Tropenbos Côte d'Ivoire Series 2). In the text it was abusively mentioned that about 20,000 subsistence hunters are active in the Taï National Park, leaving the impression that the wildlife resources in the park are under intolerable pressure. The figure rather indicates the number of hunters operating in the close surroundings of the Park. Through protection efforts of the project 'Projet Autonome pour la Conservation du Parc National de Taï' the illegal hunting in the Park itself decreased substantially. TBI apologises for the inconvenience.

[The original press release was featured in NWFP-Digest-L no. 8/01}

For more information or to obtain copies of this publication please contact

The Tropenbos Foundation
P.O. Box 232
6700 AE Wageningen
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (317) 495502
Fax : +31 (317) 495520
E-mail:[email protected]
www.tropenbos.nl

3. Not By Timber Alone

From: Eric van Poederooijen, Profound [[email protected]]

The second edition of the bulletin "Not By Timber Alone" of the Philippine NTFP Task Force has just been issued and is available onwww.NTFP.org

The NTFP Exchange Programme has transferred coordination responsibilities to The Regional NTFP desk established in Manila. The desk is hosted by UNAC and coordinates the Philippine NTFP Task Force.

The NTFP Exchange Programme 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:

Eric van Poederooijen
ProFound
Hooghiemstraplein 128
3514 AZ Utrecht
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)30 2769262
Fax: +31 (0)30 2720878
www.ThisIsProFound.com

4. Forest-Energy-Forum

From: FAO's Wood Energy Programme <[email protected]>

FAO's Wood Energy Programme has just published the latest issue ofForest-Energy-Forum(no.8), their biannual bulletin covering all aspects of wood energy. One of the Special Features in this issue covers a case study from India on afforestation of arid wastelands through energy plantations.

Copies of this, and all previous issues, are available from the Forest-Energy-Forum home page:http://www.fao.org/forestry/FOP/FOPW/ENERGY/cont-e.stm

Hard copies can be sent free of charge - please send an e-mail with your full postal address to[email protected].

5. Medicinal Plant Project, Canada

From: Russel Wills [[email protected])

For the past year, a variety of commercially valuable medicinal and nutraceutical botanicals have been cultivated on a section of BC (British Colombia) Hydro's right-of-way on the Sunshine Coast, as part of the Medicinal Plant project.

The purpose of the Medicinal Plant (MP) project is to:

· showcase the commercial potential of cultivating medicinal (helpcureillnesses) and nutraceutical (helppreventillnesses) botanicals;
· show the compatible uses of BC Hydro's rights-of-way (ROW);
· encourage private sector growers, small land holders and First Nations to develop their own medicinal plant operations;
· discourage unregulated commercial harvesting of wild plant species from B.C. forests, which can cause significant environmental damage; and
· demonstrate alternative forest practice methods that can be adopted throughout the province.

Maintaining its ROW and promoting low-growing plant species helps BC Hydro increase safety and reliability by reducing the number of power outages caused by trees and branches coming in contact with power lines. Medicinal plants demonstrate the company's commitment to environmental sustainability and compatible uses of its ROW.BC Hydro is contributing $150,000 to help fund the MP project.

The MP project involves growing selected, commercially viable, botanical species including Echinacea, St. John's Wort, Mullein and Devil's Club. These species are well suited to the unique combination of conditions found on the ROW, require minimal tending once established, and are in demand as cash crops. Shade tolerant medicinal plants are also being grown on the periphery of the ROW corridor. Both native and non-native plants and fungi with a variety of beneficial properties have been planted.

The project is being funded by BC Hydro and implemented by Cogenetics Inc, Bowen Island Botanicals, Ltd., and mycologist Fidel Fogarty.

Tours of the MP project (by appointment only) are being conducted in August and September

For more information, please contact:

Fidel Fogarty
Tel: +1-604-8860556.

6. Annals of Forestry issue on aromatic and medicinal plants

From: The Mountain Forum List

An International Journal "Annals of Forestry" is planning to bring out a special issue on aromatic and medicinal plants by December 2001. Being a member of the advisory board of the journal, the responsibility of editing and compilation of the same has been bestowed upon me by the Executive Editor of the Journal. The papers will be reviewed by the experts before publishing the same.

The interested persons may contact me at the address given below with the tentative title of the research paper so that detailed instructions to the authors are sent accordingly.

Let us join hands to conserve this natural resource for mankind.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Atul
Head & Coordinator ( Information Technology Centre)
Department of Agroforestry & Environment
Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University
Palampur 176 062 Himachal Pradesh, India
Telephone: +91+1894+33961 (Office) +91+1894+30682 (Home)
Fax: +91+1894+30511
E-mail:[email protected];[email protected];
Web page:http://hpkv.hp.nic.in

7. Job vacancy - Non-Timber Forest Products Manager

From: Marcy Mirkin, Rainforest Alliance ([email protected])

TheRainforest Alliancehas an opening for a Non-Timber Forest Products Manager.

Title:Non-Timber Forest Products Manager

Location:Richmond, VermontorNew York City Office

Reports to:TREES Director, Rainforest Alliance

Supervises:Program Associate, Medicinal Plants Consultant

TheRainforest Allianceis an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of tropical forests for the benefit of the global community.Our primary mission is to develop and promote economically viable and socially desirable alternatives to the destruction of this endangered, biologically diverse natural resource.We pursue our mission through education, research in social and natural sciences, and the establishment of cooperative partnerships with businesses, governments and local peoples. The Rainforest Alliance has offices in New York, Vermont, and Costa Rica.

The Non-Timber Forest Products Program of the Rainforest Alliance is a new initiative that will build on several years of preliminary work in NTFPs.The Program will develop and implement non-timber forest product projects and research that promotes forest conservation and improves local livelihoods. The manager of the NTFP program will report to the director of TREES, an exciting new Program of the Rainforest Alliance, focused on (T)raining, (R)esearch, (E)xtension, (E)ducation and (S)ystems activities related to sustainable forest management certification.

The NTFP Manager will be expected to provide dynamic and creative leadership and coordination for the development and implementation of all NTFP activities worldwide.Geographic coverage for NTFP activities will include, at a minimum, the Americas, Western Europe, and Southeast Asia, with potential expansion to Eastern Europe, Russia and Africa.

For a complete description, please visit our websitewww.rainforest-alliance.org

To apply:

Please send resume, salary history and cover letter to: Human Resources, 65 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012. Fax: 212-677-2187. E-mail:[email protected]

8. Human Dimensions of Urbanisation - call for applications

From: Support Group on Urban Agriculture Facility (sguaf-cl),[email protected]

2002 Human Dimensions Workshop in Bonn, Germany

IHDP and START would like to announce a call for applications for the third bi-annual International Human Dimensions Workshop for young developing country scientists.

The workshop will take place from 3-14 June 2002 in Bonn, Germany. The theme for the workshop will be "Human Dimensions of Urbanisation and the Transition to Sustainability".

Deadline date for applications is 10 November 2001.All those selected to participate in the workshop will be fully funded by IHDP, START and several other donors.

For more information, please contact:

Maarit Thiem
(International Project Co-ordinator)
IHDP
International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change
Walter-Flex-Str. 3
53113 Bonn
Germany
Tel: +49-228-73 96 79
fax: +49-228-73 90 54
Email:[email protected]
www.uni-bonn.de/IHDP

9. The FAO Web site on the World Summit on Sustainable Development

From: FAO's NWFP Programme

The FAO Web site on the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg 2002) has been completed in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. The Chinese version will be available soon.

FAO is actively involved in contributing to the World Summit for Sustainable Development and particularly as regards the preparation of documentation for the intergovernmental process.

www.fao.org/wssd/index_en.htm

10. Biodiversity and Intellectual property rights - BIO-IPR

From: FAO's NWFP Programme

BIO-IPR is an irregular listserver put out by Genetic Resources Action International (GRAIN). Its purpose is to circulate information about recent developments in the field of intellectual property rights related to biodiversity and associated knowledge. BIO-IPR is a strictly non-commercial and educational service for nonprofit organizations and individuals active in the struggle against IPRs on life. The views expressed in each post are those of the indicated author(s).

How to participate

To get on the mailing list, send the word "subscribe" (no quotes) as the subject of an email message to

mailto:[email protected].

To get off the list, send the word "unsubscribe" instead.

To submit material to the list, address your message tomailto:[email protected].

A note with further details about BIO-IPR is sent to all subscribers.

For general information about GRAIN, please visitwww.grain.orgor write tomailto:[email protected]

11. Forest Integrity Network (FIN) Newsletter

From: FAO's NWFP Programme

The Forest Integrity Network (FIN) newsletter aims to serve the community of professionals concerned about open and effective governance of forest resources.

FIN grew out of a May 2000 workshop at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government co-sponsored by Harvard'sCenter for International Development <http://www.cid.harvard.edu/esd/index.html>, theInternational Union for the Conservation of Nature <http://www.iucn.org/>(IUCN), andTransparency International <http://www.transparency.org/>(TI). That workshop brought together scholars, activists, and government officials concerned about forest corruption.

Since then, FIN has remained a loose alliance of committed individuals, without formal structure or funding. This newsletter is the work of volunteers, notably Ken Rosenbaum of Sylvan Environmental Consultants.

Please feel free to write the editor at[email protected]with your comments, suggestions, or news for future issues.

The first issue (May 2001) is available at:http://www.syenco.com/FINnews1.html

12. Revista Forestal Centroamericana

From: Guisselle Brenes Soto ([email protected])

La Revista Forestal Centroamericana brinda una perspectiva regional sobre la conservación, manejo y aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales. Aborda diversidad de temas como problemas forestales y ambientales de la región, silvicultura, plantaciones, economía, género, taxonomía, práctica forestal, entre otros.

Ya tenemos disponible el último número(no. 34).

Para más información, dirigirse a
E-mail:[email protected]o
http://www.catie.ac.cr/informacion/RFCA

13. Forthcoming events

From: FAO's NWFP Programme

Conservation of Biodiversity in the Andes and the Amazon Basin - linking Science, NGOs and Indigenous Peoples
24-28 September 2001

Cusco, Peru

For more information, please contact:

Sigrun Lange
International Network for the Conservation of Biological & Cultural Diversity (INKA e.V.)
Gravelottestraße 6
81667 Munich, Germany
Fax. +49 (0)89 45 91 19 20
Email:[email protected]
www.inka-ev.de/congress2001.htm
or
Eliana Rivera,
Centro Bartolomé de Las Casas
Av. Tullumayo 465
Cusco, Perú
Fax. +51 84 241319
[email protected]
www.cbc.org.pe

International Conference on Forestry and Forest Products Research (CFFPR 2001)- "Tropical Forestry Research in the New Millennium: Meeting Demands and Challenges"
1-3 October 2001

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Themes

· Sustainable forest management (SFM);
· Biodiversity and the environment;
· Processing and utilization of forest resources (wood products and non-wood products);
· Forest plantation;
· Biotechnology;
· Forest policies;
· Forest economics, investment opportunities and potential for growth;
· Information technology (IT) in forestry;
· Commercialization of forestry R&D.

For more information, please contact:

The Secretariat
Conference on Forestry and Forest Products Research 2001 (CFFPR 2001)
Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM)
Kepong, 52109 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

(Attn: Dr. Shamsudin Ibrahim / Ms. Safiah Yusoff)

Tel: +60-3-62702300/62742633/62702331
Fax: +60-3-62779643/62767753
E-mail:[email protected] ,[email protected]
www.frim.gov.my/100years/CFFPR2001.htm

The 3^rdWorld Congress on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants for Human Welfare (WOCMAP III)
Chiang Mai, Thailand
3-7 February 2003

"From biodiversity through science and technology, trade and industry to sustainable use."

This Congress will provide a forum for international cooperation among people in all disciplines that involve medicinal and aromatic plants, bringing together experts in medicinal and aromatic plants from around the world.

The Congress programme will include plenary sessions, invited lectures, oral and poster presentations, a commercial exhibition (EXPOMAP) and excursions in and around Chiang Mai and Bangkok and neighbouring countries.

Pre-registration forms should reach the Secretariat by 31 August 2001.

Submission of Abstracts by 28 February 2002.

Early registration by 31 July 2002.

For more information and to obtain a copy of the pre-registration form, please contact:

Congress Secretariat WOCMAP-3
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Chiang Mai University
Chiang Mai 50200
Thailand
Tel: +66-53-944933
Fax: +66-53-944934
E-mail:[email protected]

14. Publications of interest

From: FAO's NWFP Programme

Anderson, P.N. 2001. Community-based conservation and social change amongst south Indian honey-hunters: an anthropological perspective.Oryx35(1):81-83.

The Overstory Book: Cultivating Connections with Trees - aprinted and formatted version ofThe Overstoryjournal editions 1-75. Proceeds from the sale ofThe Overstory Bookwill be used to cover the expense of publishingThe Overstoryjournal, which has been provided cost-free since March 1998.

For more information, please contact:

Craig Elevitch
Editor
The Overstory
Permanent Agriculture Resources
P.O. Box 428
Holualoa, Hawaii 96725 USA
Tel: +1-808-324-4427
Fax: +1-808-324-4129
E-mail:[email protected]
www.overstory.com
or order on line at:
www.agroforester.com/overstory/ovbook.html

Valuing Trees, Woodlands and Forests
Uncovering the Hidden Harvest: Valuation Methods for Woodland and Forest Resources
Edited by Bruce Campbell and Marty Luckert.
In press, Earthscan, London.

Local biological resources are of vital importance to people in many parts of the world, and the valuation of such resources is an essential part of developing sustainable harvest and use. This practical manual describes a range of methods that can be used in the valuation of woodland and forest resources in developing countries. With contributions from economists, ecologists and sociologists, it provides an overview of these methods and approaches, pointing out the advantages and problems, and also the increasing importance of an interdisciplinary perspective. The non-technical style makes the book accessible to practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, as well as to researchers and students.

For more information, please contact:

Enquiries: Earthscan,
120 Pentonville Road,
London N1 9JN, UK
Tel. +44 (0)171 278 0433
Fax +44 (0)171 278 1142
E-mail[email protected]

15. Miscellaneous

From: Incomatti Florestal [[email protected]]

A Brazilian company, working in a project for establishing the commerce of non-timber wood products from around the world, is interested in making contact with suitable groups worldwide. Different "lines" of products are being produced; e.g., there is an Amazon Forest line and a Boreal Forest Line.

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