No. 03/01
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. Climate change and forestry listserv - CLIM-FO-L
2. International Conference on Advancing Community Forestry
3. Harvesting plants for commerce on Aboriginal lands
4. Manual de Ordenamiento Castañero
5. Request for help - cedarwood oils
6. Request for help - Astrocaryum huicungo
7. Discovering profits in unlikely places
8. Web site - Madagascar and Reunion: flore et plantes médicinales de l'Océan Indien
9. Forest-Energy-Forum
10. Green market flourishes in Brazil
11. Forest Diversification
12. Publications of interest
QUICK TIPS AND INFORMATION FOR NWFP-DIGEST-L
1. Climate change and forestry listserv - CLIM-FO-L
From: Suzuko Tanaka ([email protected])
The objective of CLIM-FO-L is to be a forum for sharing current information and experiences about climate change and forestry amongst experts and non-experts. CLIM-FO-L will send periodically to subscribers synopsis of contributions, indicating how to obtain more detailed information on the topic. CLIM-FO-L is a service provided by the FAO Forest Products Division (FOP).
We welcome the following type of information relevant to climate change and forestry:
· publications, documents, and speeches;
· web sites;
· announcements of events and job opportunities;
· developments of climate change negotiations; and
· opinions, comments and enquiries.
Your contribution is essential in making this a lively forum for exchange of up-to-date information on this issue of growing importance. Please send whatever you feel is pertinent and relevant to this topic to:[email protected]
To join the list, please send an e-mail to[email protected]containing the message (leave the subject line blank) SUBSCRIBE CLIM-FO-L
2. International Conference on Advancing Community Forestry
From: Deep Narayan Pandey[email protected]
International conference on advancing community forestry: innovations and scaling up experiences
Chiang Mai, Thailand
25-28 September 2001
The Conference is being organized by the Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC), the Food and Agriculture Organization/Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO/RAP), the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), the International Union on Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Sustainable Management of Resources in the Lower Mekong Basin Project (SMRP) MRC/GTZ.
Diverse forms of community-based forest management have been developed throughout the Asian region and some countries have already institutionalized such systems through legislation or other enabling forms. The conference will critically examine the emerging policy, institutional and local innovations that are driving community forestry forward and provide an excellent opportunity to identify and share lessons learned and challenges in community forestry.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Somsak Sukwong
Executive Director
Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC)
Kasetsart University
PO Box 1111
Bangkok 10903, Thailand
Fax: (662) 561-4880
E-mail:[email protected]
www.recoftc.org
3. Harvesting plants for commerce on Aboriginal lands
From: Honorlea Massarella[email protected]
The Northern Territory University of Darwin, Australia, is conducting research on the feasibility of harvesting native plants to provide incomes for Aboriginal communities on their traditional lands. The work is supported by grants from the Joint Agro-Forestry Programme of the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, and the Land and Water Resource Research and Development Corporation. The project began in March 1999 and will run until December 2001.
The broad objective of the project is to assess, in collaboration with Aboriginal landowners and managers, the cultural, economic and ecological sustainability of native plant harvests. Specific outcomes are: (1) identification of markets for products suited to harvest in remote communities; (2) assessment of environmental implications of new/existing harvests; (3) conduct of pilot schemes and development of monitoring systems; and (4) strategies for realising additional commercial opportunities.
The sustainability of target species and the viability of alternatives is being considered jointly by researchers and the community. Bringing together information needed to assess ecological sustainability is a most important part of the project. For example, work in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory has shown that harvest of someEucalyptusfor crafting of didgeridoos amount to many tens of thousands of stems. Unfortunately, a large proportion of stems are taken illegally from Aboriginal lands by non-Aboriginal commercial harvesters, using methods that appear to be unsustainable.
Another aspect of the project is looking at commercial options involving native plants that can provide food. The growing bush-foods market may provide important opportunities for Aboriginal people to develop enterprises based on harvest of fruits or seeds. The availability of produce from remote regions that are free of pesticide use or other artificial intervention may offer some advantages in markets that value clean, "green" products.
Working in remote, pristine environments creates its own constraints. All aspects of development from harvesting the product, to the finished item shall be assessed to identify any potential restrictions and finding possible solutions. Aboriginal participants in the project have done a number of small harvests to provide enough information to estimate potential rates of return from such work.
This project is as challenging as any other with regards to gathering adequate information. Throughout the project, participants have been conscious of the high rates of failure in the past. Historically, enterprises imposed from afar, without proper consultation with communities, have inevitably been unsustainable. The need for projects to be socially and culturally sustainable has therefore been an important consideration. Communities have identified options for plant harvest which they think are culturally appropriate and feasible under their prevailing circumstances. Effort has been focused on these possibilities.
4. Manual de Ordenamiento Castañero
From: Vanessa Sequeira [email protected]
Este manual técnico fue producido por el Proyecto Conservando Castañales en base de su experiencia de llevar a cabo el "ordenamiento" (inventario y mapeo) de áreas de aprovechamiento de castaña (Bertholletia excelsa) en el Perú, aplicando un fuerte componente participativo con los usuarios del bosque.
El aprovechamiento de los frutos de la castaña es una importante actividad económica en el departamento de Madre de Dios en Perú, con una superficie de más de un millón de hectáreas de bosque bajo este uso, y con un potencial de aprovechamiento futuro de hasta 2.5 millones de hectáreas. Los castañales son áreas de uso tradicionales, que en muchos casos han sido aprovechados a largo de varias décadas, pero solo en los últimos años se viene ejecutando el ordenamiento de dichas áreas para que entren al catastro nacional de uso forestal.
El manual, que está dirigido a técnicos forestales, detalla la metodología de cómo ejecutar el ordenamiento:
· el trabajo en campo: organización de personal, uso de materiales y equipos, técnicas de levantamiento de árboles y caminos de extracción, organización de libreta de campo;
· el trabajo en gabinete: uso de sistemas SIG para la elaboración de mapas, organización de datos, elaboración de expedientes; y
· el proceso participativo: proceso de resolución de conflictos.
Esperemos que nuestra muy positiva experiencia pueda servir como un modelo metodológico para futuros trabajos de ordenamiento de áreas castañeras, así como otros recursos no-maderables y maderables de los bosques amazónicos.
Copias de la publicación pueden ser obtenidas gratis, comunicándose con Vanessa Sequeira a través de su correo electrónico[email protected]
5. Request for help - cedarwood oils
From: Francisco Marques[email protected]
I am a student working on cedarwood oils (especiallyCedrus deodara) and particularly its insecticidal properties.
Can anybody help me and advise where I can find bibliographies/any other information on this subject?
6. Request for help -Astrocaryum huicungo
From: Victor Acosta Avila [email protected]
I am interested in the cultivation and use of the plantAstrocaryum huicungo.
I have heard that the fruit of this plant is being used in the cosmetics industry. Can anybody help by providing information on this subject?
Thank you in advance.
Victor Acosta Avila
Romulo Espinar 117 (Esquina Colegio Rosa Agustina)
Iquitos, Loreto,
Peru
7. Discovering profits in unlikely places
From: Scott J. Josiah[email protected]
A new publication produced by the University of Minnesota is now available -"Discovering Profits in Unlikely Places: Agroforestry Opportunities for Added Income".
This 20-page full colour publication details many often overlooked opportunities to integrate trees and shrubs that produce commercially valuable specialty forest products into temperate agroforestry systems.
The publication is available from the University of Minnesota Extension Service Distribution Center, 405 Coffey Hall, 1420 Eckles Avenue, St. Paul, MN55108-6068, USA.Cost is $US 2.50.Or email[email protected]or credit card orders at 1-800-876-8636.
Also available on the web:www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources/DD7407.htm
Dr. Scott J. Josiah
State Extension Forester and Assistant Professor
School of Natural Resource Sciences
107 Plant Industry
UNL East Campus
Lincoln, NE 68583-0814, USA
PH: +1-402-472-6511
FAX: +1-402-472-2964
8. Web site - Madagascar and Reunion: flore et plantes médicinales de l'Océan Indien
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
An interesting site in French related to NWFP.
Go to bottom of the Web page and click Madagascar or Reunion.
The site belongs to a retired professor, Mr Alain Petitjean, resident in Madagascar.
http://hala.refer.mg/imra/index.html
9. 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.7), their biannual bulletin covering all aspects of wood energy. One of the Special Features in this issue was wood energy information in Africa.
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].
10. Green market flourishes in Brazil
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
Many natural goods of the Amazon, including fruits, rubber products, cosmetic and medicinal oils, are raw materials for mass consumption products which start to form a flourishing green industry in Brazil.
An example of this is the so-called "Sandal from the Tree", a product created for the sophisticated fashion market that contributes to the preservation of the Amazonian forests. It was launched, under the motto "for a better world", during theRock in Rio, an event which took place from 12 to 21 January 2001 attracting 1.2 million people.
Bold design, comfort, resistance and beauty characterize the footwear, developed by the Institute of Eco-business of the Amazon (Instituto de Econegocios da Amazonia), with financing from WWF. The raw materials, natural rubber and "vegetal leather" (a rubberized fabric), are produced by associations of seringueiros (rubber tappers) and aboriginals from the state of Acre. The sandals are made in a factory in the south of the country and the initial production can reach 4 000 pairs/month, a limit determined by the supply of raw material. Interested buyers exist already in Switzerland, the Netherlands and UK. Besides the international network of WWF, the company Amazon Life also participates in the sales. Amazon Life invoices approximately US$1.5 million/year, two-thirds of which come from export.
However, these products (vegetal leather, gloves, etc.) represent only a limited demand for rubber. The real market is in fact in the tire industry. Big hopes are concentrated in a design by Pirelli, the "Xapuri tire", totally manufactured with natural rubber.The tire will cost more than those made of synthetic rubber, but this additional cost represents an "environmental" tax that society must pay for the preservation of the Amazonian forests.
Source: edited fromO mercado verde floresce no Brasil,Ambiente Global, 8/3/01
http://www.uol.com.br/ambienteglobal
11. Forest Diversification
From: Doug Lauvstad, Mantioba, Canada[email protected]
At the recent Non-timber Forest Products Conference, Conservation Minister Oscar Lathlin of the Manitoba Government, Canada, announced funding of $125,000 for a Northern Forest Diversification Centre pilot project to be located at Keewatin Community College (KCC) in The Pas.
During the pilot project, KCC will design a course for that would form the prototype for product and service delivery in other northern communities. The pilot project will include community consultations and needs assessment, development of community-specific solutions, an inventory of eco-tourism and non-timber forest products (NTFP), as well as product development and support services.
"Many NTFP have a long history of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal use," said Lathlin. "A Northern Forest Diversification Centre could provide many services ranging from product identification to market development, leading to sustainable economic activity and jobs for Manitoba's north."
The centre would act as a Northern Manitoba research and service centre for NTFP and eco-tourism and would provide consulting services, community-based training, business development, entrepreneurial support, and product research and development. By developing the centre, KCC plans to provide the means to diversify the forest and wilderness activities available for economic development and job creation in predominantly remote Aboriginal communities.
"We are pleased to support this pilot project which has great potential for the people of Northern Manitoba, including our many remote Aboriginal communities," said Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson. "The program is an important step in realizing new options for northern communities as they work to ensure long-term economic development opportunities."
"We are encouraged by the government's commitment to the northern forest diversification demonstration project," said Tony Bos, KCC president. "The vision for this endeavour is to empower communities to build viable income streams using local resources for the benefit of local residents. This project will be built around the conceptual framework that economic development must fit the culture, aspirations, history and geographical location of the people of Northern Manitoba. And it must sustain local culture, enhance self-determination and reinvest in the local community."
The pilot project is supported by the departments of Intergovernmental Affairs, Aboriginal and Northern Affairs, Conservation, Advanced Education, Education, Training and Youth, Agriculture and Food, and Industry, Trade and Mines.
12. Publications of interest
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
Acharya, B., Bhattarai, G., de Gier, A. &. Stein, A. 2000.Systematic adaptive cluster sampling for the assessment of rare tree species in Nepal. Forest Ecology and Management 137(1-3): 65-73.
Baruah, A.D. 1999. The economics of sandal oil. The Indian Forester. 5 (125): 640-643.
Bennet, E.L. & Robinson J.G. 2000. Hunting of wildlife in tropical forests-Implications for biodiversity and forest peoples. Biodiversity Series-Impact Studies N. 76. The World Bank, Washington D.C.
Fialho, C., Lopes, F. & Pereira,H. 2001. The effect of cork removal on the radial growth and phenology of young cork oak trees. Forest Ecology and Management. 141 (3): 251-258.
Forests in sustainable mountain development: a state of knowledge report for 2000. Edited by M.F.Price and N. Butt. IUFRP Research Series 5. IUFRO and CABI, UK
Chapter 6 " Multiple functions from mountain forests II: agroforestry and non-timber forest products" includes also case studies on income generation potential of NTFP from Cameroon, Kenya, Korea, Nepal, China.
Hedge, R. & Enters, T. 2000. Forest products and household economy: a case study from Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern India. Environmental Conservation 27(3). p. 250.
G.C Kajembe, M.I. Mwenduwa, J.S. Mgoo,and H. Ramadhani.Potentials of Non Wood Forest Products in Household Food Security In Tanzania: The Role of Gender Based Local Knowledge. Report submitted to Gender, Biodiversity and Local knowledge Systems (LinKS) to Strengthen Agricultural and Rural Development (GCP/RAF/338/NOR). July 2000.
Kapseu, C & Kayem, J. (eds). 2000. Séminaire international sur le séchage et sur la valorisation du karité et de l'aiélé. International workshop on drying and improvement of Shea and Canarium. Ngaoundere, Cameroon 1-3 December 1999. Presse Universitaire de Yaoundé. Imprimée avec la contribution de la FAO. 463 p.
Maharana, I., Rai, S.C. & Sharma, E. 2000.Valuing ecotourism in a sacred lake of the Sikkim Himalaya, India. Environmental conservation 27(3) p 269.
Ojha, H.R., et al. 2001. Assessment and Sustainable Harvesting of Non-Timber Forest Products: Some Initiatives in Community Forestry in the Hills of Nepal. Mountain Forum on-line library document.
http://www.mtnforum.org/resources/library/ojhax01a.htm
Ricker, M., Siebe, C., Sánchez, S. B., Shimada, K., Larson, B.C., Martínez-Ramos, M. & Montagnini, F. 2000.Optimising seedling management:Pouteria sapota,Diospyros digyna, andCedrela odoratain a Mexican rainforest. Forest Ecology and Management 139(1-3):63-77.
Siebert, S.F. 2000.Abundance and growth ofDesmoncus orthacanthosMart. (Palmae) in response to light and ramet harvesting in five forest sites in Belize. Forest Ecology and Management 137(1-3):83-90.
Stepp, J.R. 2000. Mountain ethnobiology and development in Highland Chiapas, Mexico: lessons in biodiversity and health. Mnt. Res. Dev. 20(3): 218-219
Sunderlin, W.D., Ndoye, O. & Pokam, J. 2000.Economic crisis, small-scale agriculture, and forest cover change in southern Cameroon. Environmental Conservation 27(3). p. 284.
Tabuna,H. 2000. Evaluation des é changes des produits forestiers non-ligneux entre l'Afrique subsaharienne et l'Europe. Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'Alimentation et l'Agriculture. Bureau Régional pour l'Afrique. Accra. 91p.
This publication is now available on the NWFP home page at the following address:
http://www.fao.org/forestry/FOP/FOPW/NWFP/public-e.stm
Terborgh, J. 2000. The fate of tropical forests, a matter of stewardship. Conservation Biology 14(5): 1358-1361
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