Beyond Cork—A Wealth of Resources for People and Nature
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for a living planet Beyond Cork—a wealth of resources for people and Nature Lessons from the Mediterranean Editors N. Berrahmouni, X. Escuté, P. Regato, and C. Stein Contents 1 Foreword WWF 2 Foreword IPADE 4 Introduction Xavier Escuté, and Christoph Stein 8 Cork Oak forest Landscapes: a whole world beyond cork Nora Berrahmouni, and Pedro Regato 16 Case 1 Apiculture products in sustainable agroforestry systems: bees as indicators of healthy and diverse natural landscapes. Luigi Guarrera, and Xavier Escuté 34 Case 2 Mediterranean coniferous forest products: stone pine nuts. Enrique Torres, Pedro Regato, and Xavier Escuté 52 Case 3 Mediterranean mushrooms: how to market them. Davide Pettenella, and Susanne Kloehn 70 Case 4 The economic value of aromatic and edible plants in multi-purpose cork oak forest landscapes: the case of myrtle. Pedro Regato 92 Case 5 Semi-domesticated Mediterranean forest systems: the carob tree. Manuel Caetano, José Rosendo, and Xavier Escuté 106 Conclusions Recommendations for developing successful NTFP-based local economies supporting biodiversity conservation in cork oak forest landscapes. Pedro Regato Foreword WWF If conservation is to succeed, it needs to forge a partnership with the world's rural people who can become nature's guardian. As in all partnerships, both parties must benefit. Rural communities need to find in conservation new ways of strengthening their livelihoods. WWF, the world's largest conservation organization, has long been aware of this challenge, and addresses it in many ways: at the local level, integrating conservation and development in its work with communities in and around protected areas; in the market place, working to increase consumers' and producers' awareness of the value of the environment and the need to pay for its conservation, e.g. through certification and green products; at the national and international level, working to change the rules of the game, e.g. on trade, investment, taxes, and infrastructure, so that they are more favourable to rural environments and communities; and at the conceptual and technical level, promoting new approaches, supporting old ones, and encouraging the mix of old and new, always with the goal of fostering new opportunities for nature and rural people. Regarding the mix of new and old approaches, several recent studies have advocated what in time may become a pivotal change in the way society looks at rural areas. According to these studies — most notably the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment — rural areas should be seen not only as providers of food, plant and animal fibres, and migrants, but also (in some cases principally) as the source of "ecosystem services" that are essential to the survival and well-being of both humankind and nature. These include: water and climate regulation, biodiversity, soil formation, polinization, protection against natural and man-made hazards, landscape protection, and still others. But with few exceptions most of these ecosystem services are difficult to package and sell and hence carry a low value and command even lower prices. Here is where the old might complement the new: a host of traditional rural products and practices that conserve the environment can be recast as providers of natural goods and ecosystem services. This is the case with the five non-timber forest products of the Mediterranean cork oak forest which are analysed in this book: honey, pine nuts, mushrooms, carob-tree fruits, and myrtle. All are part of rural cottage industries that are centuries old and can be sustainably produced while preserving the cork oak forest. Each product could be dismissed as insignificant, but that would be wrong. It is the combination of these and other sustainable activities, across landscapes and rural communities, that makes the difference. Yet technical improvements in the countryside are needed, as is market development in cities. This book, aimed at would-be producers and promoters, makes a valuable contribution toward that goal. Washington DC, April 2007 Pablo Gutman Senior Economist WWF Macroeconomics Programme Office E-mail: [email protected] 1. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment initiated by the United Nations, mobilized hundreds of scientists in an evaluation of the state of the world's environments (World Resource Institute, Washington, DC; 2005, also available at www.MAweb.org ) 1 Foreword The concepts of environmental management and development, protecting ecosystems and IPADE satisfying humanity's basic needs, are the two sides of the same coin. The environment cannot be dealt with aside from development issues: to achieve long-lasting results it needs to be integrated into sustainable-development strategies. In addition, proper equitable management of the environment is crucial to the eight Millennium Development Goals: the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, universal primary education, gender equality, lower child mortality, better maternal health, the battle against disease, environmental sustainability, development. The Instituto de Promoción y Apoyo al Desarrollo (IPADE), is a Spanish development NGO that has accumulated considerable experience of environmental issues in its 20—year history, and continues to believe in the vital importance of ecological sustainability in the future. With local partners IPADE promotes sustainable ways of living for rural populations in remote areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Many IPADE projects for vulnerable populations foster sustainable development through options that are ecologically sustainable, socially and culturally acceptable, and economically viable, and in which resources, benefits and decision-making are all shared equitably. To maximize the long-term impact of its work, IPADE collaborates closely with international environmental organizations, seeking to pool its capacities and develop complementary points of view. This publication is part of our programme (funded by the Spanish International Cooperation Agency) to boost sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable rural people in Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia. Implemented by IPADE and its local partners and backed up by technical assistance from the WWF Mediterranean Programme Office, the programme is being carried out in Talassemtane National Park and the special site of biological and ecological interest at Bouhachem on the River Laou, both in Morocco, and in the Kroumerie region of Tunisia. In these areas local people depend on natural resources for survival, yet their access to them is often restricted, and they suffer the consequences of environmental degradation. The programme encompasses four main components: . Promotion of rural income-generation activities from natural resources as a way of strengthening the livelihoods of, especially, vulnerable groups like women. Promotion of sustainable management of natural resources and acceptance that it is healthy ecosystems that best provide goods and services to the community, locally and beyond; definition and application of new methodologies and ecological criteria for forest restoration and fighting desertification and forest fires in Morocco and Tunisia. Strengthening the capacity of communities and civil society to ensure long-term sustainability of the programme results and the dissemination of lessons learned through environmental education activities in all three countries. Improving information and awareness levels among the Spanish public about environmental issues in the Mediterranean, illustrating the relationship between environment and poverty. The programme supports, among other activities, the development in Morocco and Tunisia of non- timber forest products like honey, aromatic plants, stone pine nuts, and artisanal wood carving. 2 We are conscious of how important it is for local people to diversify, of new criteria that must be introduced to ensure the exploitation of natural resources remains sustainable, and of the need for different thinking by both public officials and the population. The publication highlights different situations where the value of local resources has been maximized and they have become a new or better source of income. Alternatives to the traditional use of resources are also described. Put together this represents a major contribution to the fight against over-exploitation of natural resources, over-grazing, over-fishing, and the destruction of habitats. Raquel Álvarez Flores Co-Director of IPADE e-mail: [email protected] Fundación IPADE C/ Altamirano 50, 1ª 28008 Madrid Tel: 91 544 86 81 www.fundacion-ipade.org 3 Participants of the Sustainable Natural Resource Management workshop held in Tabarka (Tunisia) in June 2005 discussing with local forest workers at Ain Drahim forest © WWF – Mediterranean / Xavier ESCUTE Introduction The Capacity Building Component of the WWF Cork Oak Landscapes Programme Acquiring the knowledge, skills, and understanding to manage forests sustainably Beyond Cork—a wealth of resources for people and Nature is one of the main capacity building tools (CB) developed and published as part of the WWF’s Cork Oak Landscapes Programme. CB is a cross cutting pillar supporting the three main modules of the WWF’s Cork Oak Landscapes Programme (Good Practices, Markets, and Policy-Advocacy). The education and capacity building efforts of WWF are an integral part of a global movement of environmental education for sustainable development, a movement encapsulated in the framework of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable