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March 2004 ISSN 1020-3435 11 An information bulletin on Non-Wood Forest Products EDITORIAL CONTENTS or more than a decade, Non-Wood News has provided a forum to discuss themes 3 SPECIAL FEATURES that are influencing the environmentally friendly, economically viable and socially • World Forestry Congress F equitable use of non-wood forest products (NWFPs). This issue of Non-Wood News - Final Statement is no different and contains a multitude of interesting information on NWFPs – from - NWFP side event: “Strengthening bamboo to tamshi, and from Bangladesh to Zambia. global partnerships to advance Having celebrated its tenth anniversary last year, this eleventh issue of Non-Wood News sustainable development of non- is looking ahead to a new decade of challenging activities promoting the sustainable use wood forest products” of NWFPs. What will be the challenges that will determine the debate in the coming years? - INBAR side event: “Resources, The original debate on NWFPs was initiated by some enthusiastic reports on the actual trade and market structure for and potential value of a wide variety of forest products other than wood/timber, which bamboo and rattan” resulted in the creation of new terms – “non-wood” or “non-timber” forest products • Importance of NWFPs for food (NWFP/NTFP) – describing different plant or animal products used for subsistence or security commercialization. Over the years, these reports have been complemented by numerous - Contribution of forest insects to case studies showing not only the food security – caterpillars in important roles of NWFPs, but also the central Africa challenges these products and their users - Mopani worm in danger of are facing. extinction Last year, during a side event to the XII - Dehydrated peach palm nut is a World Forestry Congress on dietary option in Amazonia “Strengthening global partnerships to - Food for life: indigenous fruit-trees advance sustainable development of non- in southern Africa wood forest products” [See Special - NWFPs as food in India Features for more information], three major - Indigenous fruit-trees: Irvingia challenges for the NWFP sector were gabonensis and Dacryodes edulis identified: the “profound lack of information - Fruits comestibles de forêt vendus to realize the full benefits of NWFPs”; the sur les marchés du nord-est du NON-WOOD NEWS “lack of technical, financial, political and Gabon is compiled by Tina Etherington, Forest social capacity to influence policies and to - No need for iron supplement – eat Products Service of the FAO Forest Products generate information”; and the “lack of grewia fruits and Economics Division. Editorial support for this issue was provided by Paul Vantomme and protected rights to access and benefit from - Experts encourage rural people to Sven Walter; design, graphics and desktop NWFP resources”. plant fruit-trees publishing were coordinated by Tina Data on NWFPs indeed remain Etherington. rudimentary and are still not collected in a 12 NEWS AND NOTES systematic way. Reports on NWFPs often • Bicycle made from Amazonian Non-Wood News is open to contributions by vegetable leather readers. Contributions may be edited to fit the focus on commercial products while the appropriate size and focus of the bulletin. description of subsistence uses often • Botanical museum opens “The Gift If you have any material that could be remains anecdotal. Sound information is of the Nile” exhibition included in the next issue of Non-Wood News urgently needed in order to provide the • Certification for the benefit of other readers, kindly send it, necessary information for decision-makers - Beyond timber: certification of non- before 15 January 2005, to: at all levels, such as producers, traders timber forest products NON-WOOD NEWS – FOPW FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla and politicians. - Benefit-sharing using certification 00100 Rome, Italy However, the NWFP sector cannot be - First FSC-certified non-timber E-mail: [email protected] seen as a coherent one. A quick Internet forest products from the Brazilian www.fao.org/forestry/nwfp/nonwood.htm search resulted in 11 100 entries being Amazon found on NWFPs, 30 000 on NTFPs, but • Commercializing NWFPs FAO home page: www.fao.org 25 000 on bushmeat and even 279 000 on - Identifying the “winners & losers” Articles express the views of their authors, not medicinal plants, two major NWFPs. It is - Commercialization of NTFPs in the necessarily those of FAO. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this important to keep in mind that most experts Amazon publication do not imply the expression of any are working on their individual or • Forestry Compendium 2003 edition opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and institutional specialities without being • Global forum calls to curb illegal Agriculture Organization of the United Nations involved in the entire NWFP sector or even logging and promote responsible (FAO) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or without putting their work into an overall forest investment concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or context. Interdisciplinary collaboration and • International fellowship opportunity boundaries. partnerships, e.g. among research • Journals institutions, private companies and - Journal of Tropical Medicinal Plants ➧ ➧ 2 EDITORIAL CONTENTS government and non-governmental - World Bamboo and Rattan 66 ECONOOK organizations, still remain the exception - Nature and Environment Law Times • 2003 IUCN Red List rather than the norm. Therefore, more • Neem tree extracts to kill vegetable • The state of the world’s ecosystems efforts are required from all of us to improve pests • Fungal partners this interdisciplinary collaboration, which • NTFPs revisited • Rainforest Alliance launches will lead to the sustainable use of NWFPs • Sustainable development of rattan in expanded Eco-Index being promoted in a more effective way. ASEAN countries • Africa – the most promising Better data on NWFPs are urgently • The Southern African Natural ecotourism product in the world needed, but these data need to be Products Trade Association • World Tourism Organization to demand-driven and user-friendly. Priorities • Use of an essential oil against become specialized UN agency need to be set. What kind of information is dengue • Amazonia: development without required? For whom? When? These • Vasundhara destruction priorities should be decided together with • Which biodiversity? • Cross-border parks on the way the data users, who should be the • Wildlife and poverty study • Partnership for environmental stakeholders most closely involved in • Women play a central conservation management NWFP use. Their capacities need to be role in Africa strengthened in order to help them to • World Customs Organization 69 INTERNATIONAL ACTION collect and analyse the information they approves new bamboo and rattan • FAO, Center for International require – be it on resources, markets or the customs codes on the basis of Forestry Research (CIFOR), legal framework. FAO/INBAR proposal International Centre for Himalayan However, the main driving force for the Biodiversity (ICHB) development of the NWFP sector will be 23 PRODUCTS AND MARKETS the benefits they provide to producers, • Agarwood, Aguaje (Mauritia 74 RECENT EVENTS users and all the other stakeholders flexuosa), Bamboo, Bushmeat, involved in the production, trade and use Cupuaçu, Guarana, Honey, Lac, 77 FORTHCOMING EVENTS of NWFPs. Only by ensuring these Medicinal plants, Nuts, Tamshi benefits to the people involved will NWFPs 79 PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST be able to play an important role in the 41 COUNTRY COMPASS overall economic development and thus • Bangladesh, Bhutan, Botswana, 92 WEB SITES contribute to local livelihoods. The Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, China, challenge for us will be to find appropriate Czech Republic, Grenada, India, 95 READERS’ RESPONSE mechanisms to balance these benefits in Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, an adequate way among the different Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, interest groups; e.g. rural populations Mexico, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, without secured access to land, urban Peru, Philippines, Russian traders and multinational exporters and Federation, South Africa, Turkey, importers. All these, and many other Uganda, United Republic of stakeholders, are involved in the sector Tanzania, United States of America, and only if their various, and often Zambia conflicting, views can be balanced will the sustainable use of NWFPs be ensured. The FAO NWFP Programme will continue to promote the sustainable use of Non-wood forest products (NWFP) are goods NWFPs by improving methodologies, of biological origin other than wood, derived supporting institutional capacities, from forests, other wooded land and trees outside forests. Non-timber forest products strengthening global networks and (NTFP), another term frequently used to promoting best practices. Non-Wood cover this vast array of animal and plant News will remain one of our prime vehicles products, also includes small wood and to share information on all aspects fuelwood. However, these two terms are covering NWFPs and to provide an open used synonymously throughout this bulletin. Other terms, such as “minor”, “secondary” forum for its readers to exchange or “speciality” forest products, are information and to discuss these and sometimes used to keep original names other emerging issues. and/or titles. Sven Walter NON-WOOD NEWS, No. 11, March 2004 3 SPECIAL