April 2006 ISSN 1020-3435 13 An information bulletin on Non-Wood Forest Products EDITORIAL CONTENTS orest-dependent communities have always recognized the importance of NWFPs in 3 SPECIAL FEATURES their everyday lives – whether as food, shelter or medicine. Over time, recognition of • Economic value of NWFPs F the importance of NWFPs in poverty alleviation and knowledge of the multiplicity of - Forestry products gain market in uses and benefits deriving from NWFPs have grown steadily and many NWFPs are now Brazil traded at all levels: locally, regionally, nationally and globally (although figures on this trade - NTFPs in the Russian Far East: are often unorganized, missing or incomplete, e.g. on bushmeat). challenges and opportunities The Special Features section in this issue of Non-Wood News emphasizes the - Selling forest products to improve economic importance of NWFPs and provides information on economic benefits at the livelihoods in the Gambia local level (see the Siberian Pine Syrup Project pp. 5–6) through to the global level (see - Mushrooms: cash crops from the trade figures on pp. 8–9). forest floor Traditional knowledge is a significant aspect of NWFPs, touching as it does on issues of - Nepal’s lokta resources and benefit-sharing, bioprospecting and biopiracy, all of which have been covered extensively handmade paper in this issue (see p. 15). Information on NGOs working with NWFPs has also been included, - Growth of the bamboo sector in but we would like to hear more about NGO activity at both the grassroots and international China level so please continue to send us your contributions. - Cuban pine resin in the Coverage of products in this issue ranges from the versatility of bamboo (used equally international market successfully to build houses or produce T-shirts) to the extensive use of medicinal plants - NWFP cooperatives and the worldwide. There is information on products Siberian Pine Syrup Project from both tropical and temperate forests, as - Moss is a cash crop for mountain well as from the vast boreal areas. NWFPs people in the United States of exist in all regions of the world and America consequently the Country Compass - Economic benefits of conserving section is particularly rich, with information the rain forest from 34 countries. - La valeur monétaire de la forêt Information dissemination and networking suisse en tant qu’espace de are key aspects of today’s knowledge détente society – both of which have always been - Mondia whitei, a socio- NON-WOOD NEWS important aims of Non-Wood News. In 2005 economically important plant is compiled by Tina Etherington, Forest we carried out an auto-evaluation exercise in • Trade in NWFPs Products Service of the FAO Forest Products order to improve our service and to give you - International trade in NWFPs and Economics Division. Assistance for this an opportunity to make suggestions and - Public-private partnerships and issue was provided by Marisalee Palermo; comments. Over 600 readers completed our global trade in NWFPs design, graphics and desktop publishing were questionnaire (see pp. 69–70 for full results) - Trade data on NTFPs in India coordinated by Tina Etherington. and we were delighted that so many of you - Trade measures – tools to promote Non-Wood News is open to contributions by took the time to share your ideas. Thank you the sustainable use of NWFPs? readers. Contributions may be edited to fit the for such an excellent response. - PhytoTrade Africa: adding life to appropriate size and focus of the bulletin. This issue has started to reflect some of If you have any material that could be trade included in the next issue of Non-Wood News your suggestions and to address your - Aggressive strategy for MFP for the benefit of other readers, kindly send it, comments – the most important of which exports planned before 30 September 2006, to: regarded frequency: a vast majority wanted - Exports of Korean ginseng NON-WOOD NEWS – FOPP Non-Wood News to be issued at least twice - High sales boost plant extract drug FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla a year (with many keen to see it as a 00100 Rome, Italy company E-mail: [email protected] quarterly newsletter). Accordingly, we will www.fao.org/forestry/nwfp/nonwood.htm now be bringing you two issues yearly, 14 NEWS AND NOTES which we ultimately hope will lead to a FAO home page: www.fao.org • Alaska paper birch tree holds shorter and more streamlined product. potential for new drugs All Internet links cited were checked on 16 February In conclusion, while many of us are not • Arsenic-eating ferns hold hope for 2006. Articles express the views of their authors, not necessarily those of FAO. The designations employed part of forest-dependent communities, we tainted soils and the presentation of material in this publication are definitely part of a wider global NWFP • Bark paintings do not imply the expression of any opinion community. Our aim with Non-Wood News is • Biopiracy, bioprospecting and whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture to continue to disseminate knowledge on Organization of the United Nations (FAO) traditional knowledge concerning the legal status of any country, territory, NWFP activities from all societal levels - Traditional knowledge: a legal and city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the around the world in order to raise the profile market conundrum delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. of NWFPs and emphasize their importance – - India’s digital library will stop economically, ecologically and socially. biopiracy ➧ 2 CONTENTS - African women against biopiracy • Myrica gale Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, - Curbing biopiracy • Non-profit organizations and NGOs Chile, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, - Moves to protect devil’s claw - Biodiversity Research and Democratic Republic of the Congo, (Harpagophytum procumbens) Development Centre (BIRD) Ecuador, Fiji, Ghana, India, - Amazon countries team up to tackle - Pragya, India Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, biopiracy - Tree Aid Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Myanmar, - Patenting of Peruvian plants - United Plant Savers Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, - Andean nations seek United States • Non-timber forest resource Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, patent protection for native enterprises: fatty oils for edible and Russian Federation, Uganda, United medicines non-edible purposes Republic of Tanzania, United States - Is Brazil beating biopiracy or • NWFP fabrics of America, Viet Nam biodiversity research? - Bamboo charcoal textile products - Bioprospecting programme in - Bamboo T-shirts 67 ECONOOK Malaysia - Modi: ethnic and exquisite • Traditional medicines could help - Bioprospecting in the Pacific region: - United Nations recognizes bark African environment who will benefit? cloth as world heritage • Conservation of the Central • Bird flu is also a forest problem - Fabrics with a healing touch Albertine Rift • Boreal forest garden • NWFP fuels • Transfrontier Conservation Areas • Boswellia serrata: a tree of - Bamboo-fuelled power plants in • Baltic forest possibilities India • Twenty percent of the world’s • Bushmen’s quiver tree threatened by - Ipomoea fistulosa – the crisis fuel of mangroves lost over the last 25 climate change wetlands years • Challenges in the Congo Basin - Mushrooms as fuel? • Asian nations to build biodiversity • Conservation for a future: lessons • Poison frog production and export conservation corridors learned from the extinction of • Trees for health forever • European Union to give €30 million Cupressus torulosa • Twigs and young trees are falling for biodiversity conservation in China • CPF Sourcebook for funding in prey to human hygiene forestry • Vasaka (Adhatoda vasica Nees) 69 INTERNATIONAL ACTION • Does Bacopa monnieri improve • “Wildlife Interpol” • FAO, South and East Asian cognitive function in older Australians? Countries NTFP Network (SEANN) • Domestication 34 PRODUCTS AND MARKETS - Population preferences for local • Bamboo, Chestnuts, Cork, Edible 73 RECENT EVENTS fruit-tree species: implications for insects, Ginseng, Honey, Medicinal the domestication of Dacryodes and aromatic plants, Moringa 75 FORTHCOMING EVENTS edulis and Irvingia gabonensis in oleifera, Rattan, Sea buckthorn, Shea Cameroon butter, Shellac, Truffles 79 PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST - Sustaining forest resources • El camu camu logra certificación 49 COUNTRY COMPASS 88 WEB SITES orgánica • Angola, Australia, Bhutan, Brazil, • Ethnoforestry paradigms 90 READERS’ RESPONSE • Forest cosmetics and fragrances - Sourcing Brazilian rain forest ingredients for cosmetics Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are - Shellac may combat skin disorders goods of biological origin other than wood, - Forest berries find their way to derived from forests, other wooded land and trees outside forests. Non-timber forest cosmetics products (NTFPs), another term frequently - Aniba rosaeodora: a quest to save a used to cover this vast array of animal and tree plant products, also includes small wood and - Sandalwood fragrance fuelwood. However, these two terms are • Incense used synonymously throughout this bulletin. Other terms, such as “minor”, “secondary” • Les sources de la fertilité et de la or “speciality” forest products, are durabilité sometimes used to keep original names • Manejo de semillas forestales and/or titles. nativas de la Sierra ecuatoriana y Norte del Perú NON-WOOD NEWS, No. 13, April 2006 3 SPECIAL FEATURES native cacao from the next harvest stakeholders. It is a vast geographically and ECONOMIC VALUE from