No. 06/01
1. Country profiles on NWFP in Africa now on-line
2. Sustaining Incomes from Non Timber Forest Products
3. Poverty and fruit tree research
4. The World Bank invites innovative ideas:
5. Request for NTFP photos
6. Request for help - training courses
7. Tropenbos goes International
8. International Year of Mountains (IYM) informal newsletter
9. Midwest Working Landscapes Conference
10. Forthcoming events
11. Harvesting of Non-Wood Forest Products - Seminar Proceedings
12. Publications of interest
QUICK TIPS AND INFORMATION FOR NWFP-DIGEST-L
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. Country profiles on NWFP in Africa now on-line
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
In the last two years, FAO collected qualitative and quantitative information on the socio-economic importance and the ecological impact of NWFP used in African countries and territories in the context of the European Commission-FAO Partnership Programme "Data Collection and Analysis for Sustainable Forest Management in African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries - Linking National and International Efforts".
The resulting 55 country profiles have been made available recently on the FAO Homepage and can be found at <http://www.fao.org/forestry/fo/country/nav_world.jsp>. To reach the actual section dealing with NWFP, select a country and click on "NWFP Description" under the heading "Prod. & Trade" in the left-hand menu. Country profiles for other regions will be made available during the course of the year.
The country profiles are based on information available at FAO Headquarters and on specific national studies carried out in order to obtain supplementary information (Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Swaziland and Zambia, with other studies still on-going).
A hardcopy version of the country profiles will be published in the near future as a working paper in French and English (Title: "NWFP in Africa: A regional and national overview", "PFNL de l'Afrique: Un aperçu régional et national"). A regional and sub-regional synthesis and methodological background information are also included.
The results presented show that statistical data on NWFP at the national level is weak. Improving data is a process that will benefit from the involvement of all relevant parties. Contributions regarding the production, consumption and commercialization of NWFP would be very much appreciated and duly acknowledged. Please contact FAO`s NWFP Programme at[email protected]with any comments.
2. Sustaining Incomes from Non Timber Forest Products
From: Wil de Jong ([email protected])
Sustaining Incomes from Non Timber Forest Products: Special Issue of The International Tree Crops Journal Vol. 10, No. 4: 2000. AB Academic Publishers, U.K.
Free copies of this issue may be requested at[email protected].
A team of researchers affiliated with CIFOR examines the problems of sustaining incomes from NTFP, once they have reached some degree of commercialization.
Papers include those by Oliver Braedt of Germany and Wavell Standa of Zimbabwe who spent many days talking to woodcarvers in Zimbabwe who ply their trade along the tourist route leading to South Africa. In their paper, they note that for the country's approx. 4 000 woodcarvers to stay in business, they must keep finding sources of wood for their sculptures. This suggests the need to control harvesting of the few valuable hardwood species still available in the area's miombo woodlands, and to find alternative species suitable for carving the popular wooden hippos, rhinos and buffaloes. Braedt and Standa conclude that to make the woodcarving industry in Zimbabwe sustainable, an important first step is for the government to officially recognize woodcarving as a legitimate industry.
For Brazil nut collectors in northern Bolivia, the problem of ensuring stable or increasing incomes is slightly different, according to Dietmar Stoian of Germany and Arienne Henkemans of The Netherlands. About 25 000 people - half of the region's labour force - are employed in the local Brazil nut industry, which brings about US$ 30 million/year to the region from international sales. Forest estates and processors control the industry, taking thousands of collectors to remote corners in the forest to collect the nuts from December to February. The collectors' incomes fluctuate, sometimes dramatically, depending on the price of Brazil nuts in international markets and how much factory owners can sell.
Solutions to problems like these are never simple. In his paper, Jobst Schroeder of Germany describes how a French company had a monopoly on the trading ofPrunus africana, an African tree harvested for its medicinal bark. The company worked to make sure the bark was harvested without damaging the tree. But high demand for the bark lured many outsiders to the trade, and although local villagers are benefiting, Schroeder predicts that the current intensive and often less careful harvesting practices will soon deplete the area's tree stock.
While forest product trade is important to many rural communities, a team of Zimbabwe researchers led by Bruce Campbell argues that rather than seeking primarily to stabilize or increase income from a single resource, it is advisable to consider the broader range of income-generating activities in an area and how they can be balanced to meet local livelihood needs.
3. Poverty and fruit tree research
From: Georgina Holt
A recent project (ZF0141) of the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID)'s Forestry Research Programme (FRP) concernsIssues and options for fruit tree research for improved sustainable livelihoods.
On 24 January 2001 a workshop was held in London to assess the likely contributions of different types of tropical fruit tree research to poverty eradication. An issues and options paper and the associated workshop had been commissioned due to high, but varied, statements of the main constraints faced by forest-dependent poor people in the Southern African problem surveys. A continuum of options was examined by workshop participants. A set of recommendations was prepared on which types of fruit tree research might maximise benefits for poor people. Three priorities included:
(i) the resolution of critical biophysical constraints to tree planting on farm (for example, the identification of female trees in dioecious species);
(ii) the development and promotion of small-scale processing technology to add value to tropical fruit production, generate rural employment and overcome some of the problems associated with fruit perishability and glut fruiting;
(iii) the assessment of current forest legislation to address anomalies where fruit tree planting and use are hindered by outdated and inappropriate timber-based laws.
For the full issues and options paper on poverty and fruit tree research please visit:http://www.nrinternational.co.uk/frpnews.htm
Contact:[email protected]
4. The World Bank invites innovative ideas:
From: Vag-Lan Borges [[email protected]]
Development Marketplace - searching for solutions together
The Development Marketplace will invite a jury drawn from all parts of the development community to award at least $3M to the best ideas for:
· Empowering poor people to participate in development and investing in them; and
· Building the climate for investment, jobs, and sustainable growth.
These two themes are inter-related and embody an emphasis on capacity building and reflect the translation of the main themes of the World Bank's World Development Report 2000 - opportunity, empowerment, and security - into action.Taken together, they ensure the promotion, sustainability and equitability of growth, as well as the participation of poor people in that process.Effective action in both areas is crucial for sustained poverty reduction.
The Development Marketplace is a forum to encourage cooperation within the development community in the search for solutions to reduce poverty. It is envisioned to be both a series of events as well as an electronic space - to be used by members of the development community in order to find and create new ways of working together.
The event on 5-6 November 2001 in Washington, DC features an innovative competition for start-up funds as well as a knowledge forum for sharing our collective experience on what new ideas are working best.
The Development Marketplace is open to all:
· innovators within the development community wishing to complete for start up funds
· partners who believe in supporting innovation in development
· those who already have a track record of excellence and want to showcase
· their successes to the development community
Eligibility criteria for proposal outline:
a) 12 month implementation time frame,
b) partnership with at least one other organization,
c) maximum award size of $250,000, with typical awards on average $50,000 to $100,000.
Partnership Criteria: All proposals must be submitted in partnership with at least one other organization - e.g., an NGO may partner with another NGO, bilateral/multilateral development agency (including the UN family), government, academic/ research institution, or foundation.
The deadline for submitting proposal outlines is 1 May 2001.
For more information, please contact:
E-mail:[email protected]
www.developmentmarketplace.org
5. Request for NTFP photos
From: Stephen Taranto <[email protected]>
The Forest Management Trust is a non-profit organization located in Gainesville, Florida, USA.We are currently updating our Web site and are in search of photographs.We are looking for photos of forests, forest management, forest products (timber and NTFP) and forest-based people and communities.
Photos from tropical forests are needed, but other forest-types are appropriate as well, especially southeast US forests.We can not pay for the use of your photo(s), but will be able to give you credit in the Web site.
If you have photos that you can share, please contact Stephen Taranto at the Forest Management Trust ([email protected]), or Nacho Paz Posse, our webmaster ([email protected]).
6. Request for help - training courses
From: Maureen DeCoursey <[email protected]>
I am looking for training courses (3-6 months duration) on NWFP management and sustainable development for up to four individuals from the Bangladeshi Forest Department. Any ideas?
Please contact:
Maureen DeCoursey
Director of Sustainable Development
Herb Research Foundation
1007 Pearl Street, Suite 200
Boulder, Colorado 80302 USA
Tel: +1-(303)449-2265
Fax: +1-(303) 449-7849
E-mail:[email protected]or[email protected]
www.herbs.org
7. Tropenbos goes International
From: J.B. Maas <[email protected]>
A new name, a new logo, a new funding phase. The Tropenbos Foundation is making some changes after ten years. With increasing attention to international environment issues related to tropical rain forests, and more autonomy exercised by the research sites, the time had come to give Tropenbos the stature of a full-fledged international organization.
Confusion about whether Tropenbos was located in Wageningen, the Netherlands, or in a certain country was noted frequently by the research sites. By renaming the organization "Tropenbos International", this indicates that the activities are foremost of a worldwide nature.
As the third funding phase of the Tropenbos programme sets in (2001-2005), the opportunity to make this change was apparent. Each research site will place the country name below the logo so that it is seen as linked to "Tropenbos International" but is recognized locally as the national site. The head office in Wageningen will refer to the organization in general as
"Tropenbos International".
The logo will be incorporated immediately. The acronym to be used will be TBI, but the Internet address is to remainhttp://www.tropenbos.nl
The Tropenbos Foundation, established in 1988, is an independent, internationally oriented organisation that facilitates research and development activities to support the conservation and sustainable utilisation of tropical rain forests. Tropenbos, in close cooperation with universities and research institutes, facilitates interdisciplinary research at permanent locations. Currently these are in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Colombia, Guyana and Indonesia. Research results are applicable on a local as well as on a broader scale.
8. International Year of Mountains (IYM) informal newsletter
From: Douglas McGuire <[email protected]>
The first edition of the IYM informal newsletter - a regularly planned update on preparations for the International Year of Mountains-2002 - has just been issued. The newsletter will be sent out on a monthly basis to a wide variety of organizations and individuals interested and involved in mountain issues and the IYM in particular.
The newsletter is also available in French and Spanish.
Please contact Luciana Ambrosiano ([email protected]) for copies.
Your feedback is most welcome.
For more information, please contact:
Douglas McGuire
Senior Forest Conservation Officer
Head, Coordination Unit - International Year of Mountains 2002
Forestry Department
FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy
Tel: +39 06 5705-3275
Fax: +39 06 5705-5137
E-mail:[email protected]
http://www.mountains2002.org
9. Midwest Working Landscapes Conference
From: R. Warren Flint <[email protected]
Working Landscapes in the Midwest: Creating Sustainable Futures for Agriculture, Forestry, and Communities
8-10 November 2001
Delevan, Wisconsin, USA
A diverse group of Midwest stakeholders have come together to organize a Working Landscapes Conference.This Conference will explore practices and policies that promote land-based economic activity to sustain families, communities, and ecosystems, while also providing multiple benefits to society.Conference participants will include a broad range of public and private stakeholders.
Our concept of a working landscape is one in which agriculture, forestry, and other natural resource based activities are conducted in harmony with the environment, taking into account the value of the ecologic and economic integrity of watersheds for current and future stakeholders in the Midwest.The over-arching conference goal is to engage participating groups in dialogue on identifying means for achieving long-term economically and environmentally sustainable action strategies and policy ideas for all partners to take back-home, leading to individual and collective land and watershed stewardship.
Please visit the discussion forum:http://www.iatp.org/enviroag/.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. R. Warren Flint
Five E's Unlimited
Delaware Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20024
USA
Tel: +1-(202)488-2707
Fax: +1-(202)488-2708
E-mail:[email protected]
www.eeeee.net
www.SustainableDevelopmentSolutions.com
10. Forthcoming events
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
First International Symposium and Exposition on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development of the Amazon Basin Countries - AMAZON ECOTOUR 2001
24-27 September 2001
Manaus, Brazil
For more information, please visit:www.ecotourenglish.com.br.ms
Sustaining livelihoods and biodiversity in the new Millennium
12-15 February; 2002
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
For more information, please contact:
Devin Bartley
FAO
Via delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome 00100, Italy.
E-mail:[email protected]
11. Harvesting of Non-Wood Forest Products - Seminar Proceedings
From: Don Nearhood <[email protected]>
The proceedings of the Seminar onHarvesting of Non-Wood Forest Productswere recently printed by the Ministry of Forestry of Turkey. This seminar was held from 2 to 8 October 2000 at the International Agro-Hydrology Research and Training Center in Menemen-Izmir (Turkey) at the invitation of the Ministry of Forestry and under the auspices of the Joint FAO/ECE/ILO Committee on Forest Technology, Management and Training. Participants from 32 countries attended the seminar. The seminar covered a wide range of topics, from inventory to marketing. The 41 papers are presented in the language provided by their authors (mostly English) with summaries in the other two languages of the seminar (French and Russian) for most of the papers.
A copy of the Proceedings may be obtained
by e-mail from:[email protected], or
by letter from:
Forest Products Division
Forestry Department
FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy
Fax: +39-06-570-55618
www.fao.org/forestry/FOP/FOPH/harvest/meet-e.stm
12. Publications of interest
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
Hall & Yun 2000. Edible mushrooms as secondary crops in forests. Quarterly Journal of Forestry 94:299-304
Kangas, K. 2001. Commercial wild berry picking as a source of income in northern and eastern Finland. Journal of Forest Economics 7:1:53-68
QUICK TIPS AND INFORMATION FOR NWFP-DIGEST-L
This list is for information related to any aspect of non-wood forest products.
Cross-postings related to non-wood forest products are welcome.
Information on this mailing list can be reproduced and distributed freely as long as citations are kept with their respective posts.
Contributions are edited primarily for formatting purposes. Diverse views and materials relevant to NWFPs are encouraged. Submissions usually appear in the next issue. Issues are bi-monthly on average.
To join the list, please send an e-mail to:[email protected]with the message: subscribe NWFP-Digest-L
To make a contribution once on the list, please send an e-mail to the following address:[email protected]
To unsubscribe, please send an e-mail to:[email protected]with the message: unsubscribe NWFP-Digest-L
For technical help or questions contact[email protected]
Your information is secure--We will never sell, give or distribute your address or subscription information to any third party.
NWFP-Digest-L Sponsor:
Non-Wood Forest Products Programme
Forestry Department
FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy
Fax: +39-06-570-55618