The Official News Bulletin of the ITTO PD 334/05 Rev. 2 (I) No. 2 Vol. 1 June 2007 ISSN 1908-5974 ITTO– Philippines—ASEAN Rattan Project First Project Steering Committee Held The 1st Project Steering Committee ( PSC ) Meeting for the ITTO-Philippines-ASEAN Rattan Project was held on 21 February 2007 at the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau ( ERDB ) Conference Room, College, Laguna, Philippines. It was chaired by the Pro- ject Director and Director of the ERDB Forester Marcial C. Amaro, Jr. The committee members in attendance were: For. Eriberto C. Argete ( Department of Environment and Natural Re- sources ) , Dr. Lauren Flejzor ( ITTO Representative ) , For. Ester Cadiz ( represented For. Romeo Acosta of the Forest Management Bureau ) , Dr. Florence P. Soriano ( Forest Prod- ucts Research and Development Institute) and Dean Ramon A. Razal ( College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines at Los Baños ) . The Project Management Team composed of Dr. Aida B. Lapis ( Deputy Project Director and Leader Research Compo- nent ) , Dr. Merlyn Carmelita N. Rivera ( Project Leader, Production Aspect and Leader, Net- working Component ) , Dr. Magdalena Giron ( Project Leader, Utilization Aspect and Leader, Training Component) , Dr. Armando M. Palijon ( Leader, Pilot Demonstration Component ) and For. Imelda C. Pangga ( Database Administrator ) participated during the meet- ing together with Dr. Florentino O. Tesoro, Technical Consultant on Utilization. The other members of the project team namely: Ms. Norma Pablo, For. Kharina G. Bueser, For. Gregorio E. Santos, Jr., and For. Moreno L. Santander ( Philippine Contact Person ) also attended the meeting. The Project ’ s objectives, outputs and detailed work and financial plans, organiza- IN THIS ISSUE tional chart and progress report were presented by Dr. Lapis. Specific comments and suggestions were forwarded by the PSC. One of the major comments was to prepare First PSC Meeting Held …………………..1 The ITTO-Philippines-ASEAN a sustainability plan on the financial, social and environmental aspects of the project. Rattan Project Museum…………………1 Another was to get the profile of website browsers and their feedbacks to be used as Perspectives...………………………………. 2 bases for webpage improvement. It was likewise recommended that the possibility of Highlights of Accomplishment establishing the Philippine Rattan Information Center must be explored. for the 5 Components under the ITTO-Philippines-ASEAN Rattan Project…………………………...2—3 Activity Notes………………………………. 4 The ITTO-Philippines-ASEAN Rattan Bits…………………………………………… 4 Rattan Trivia ……………………………… 4 Project Museum formally opened Things to look forward………………….. 4 The RATTANewsletter is produced bi- The Rattan Museum of the project was estab- annually and is mainly aimed to promote cooperation among ASEAN member coun- lished at the ERDB-DENR office building in Los tries by providing information on the ac- tivities carried out with regards to Rattan Baños, Laguna, Philippines. It was formally resources. opened on February 21, 2007. Dr. Lauren Fle- Executive Advisers jzor, ITTO Representative and For. Marcial C. Marcial C. Amaro, Jr. Amaro, Jr., ITTO-Philippines-ASEAN Rattan Pro- Aida B. Lapis ject Director, together with the members of the Project Steering Committee, Project Manage- Editor-in-Chief Merlyn Carmelita N. Rivera ment Staff and Senior Officials of the ERDB Editors: graced the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The mu- Magdalena Y. Giron, Armando M. Palijon, Imelda C. Pangga seum showcases the ingenuity and creativity of Layout Artists/Circulation the ASEAN peoples in coming up with versatile Kharina G. Bueser Agnes M. Mora rattan products such as baskets, trays, bags, mats and other functional and decorative materials. Edible rattan shoots ( d ried and Contact information: ITTO-Philippines– ASEAN Rattan Project, bottled ) are also on display. These products came from the ASEAN member- Ecosystems Research and Development Bu- countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People ’ s Democratic Re- reau, College, Laguna 4031 PHILIPPINES Telefax: (6349) 536-4051, public, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The existing display Email:[email protected], con- [email protected]; will continuously be improved by the project team as they travel and collect various [email protected]; Visit us at: rattan items in the ASEAN countries. www.aseanrattan.org Perspectives... He also informed the group that in November 2005, he was the For. Marcial C. Amaro, Jr., Project Direc- th tor and Chairperson of the PSC delivered the Philippine representative to the 39 Session of the International opening remarks during the 1st PSC Meeting. Tropical Timber Council (ITTC) held at Yokohama, Japan. That was He expressed his sincerest gratitude for the op- the time when he fought and lobbied hard for the approval of the portunity given by the ITTO to the project project proposal. Never did he imagine that he would lead this pro- team to implement the ITTO-Philippines- ject two years later. ASEAN Rattan Project. He mentioned that in Director Amaro recognized the merits of the project with its ob- the past, rattan seemed to be relegated to the shadows of other forest resources. But ITTO jectives of strengthening ASEAN collaboration, uplifting the socio- has again brought rattan to the foreground economic status of village people and sustainably managing rattan through this project. resources through the demonstration and application of production and utilization technologies. Some of the gaps, issues and concerns He appreciated the chance given to ERDB-DENR to collaborate identified in the rattan pre-project in 2004 are hoped to be addressed with institutions like the FPRDI, UPLBCFNR, the ASEAN Contact through the implementation of the research grants of the project. Persons and their institutional affiliations, local government units, the He then inspired the group with a statement that greatest accom- rattan manufacturing industry and upland communities engaged in plishments are not done alone but as a TEAM…where Together Every- the production and protection of our rattan resources. one Accomplishes More!!! Highlights of Accomplishment as of June 2007 for the 5 Components under the ITTO-Philippines-ASEAN Rattan Project Pilot Demonstration Component stration were visited and assessed. These sites were 1) Considered as the heart of the ITTO Rattan Project, the pilot Gabriela Multi-Purpose demonstration component showcases mature and/or well-developed Cooperative, Diffun, Quir- technologies that ensure sustainable production of quality rattan ino; 2) Spirit Woods, Dif- poles for the industry. Its main strategy is village participation primar- fun, Quirino; 3) Sta. Maria, ily for the upliftment of the socio-economic status of the target com- Laguna; 4) Angat Dam, munities. Norzagaray, Bulacan; 5) Sta. The ASEAN member countries composed of Vietnam, Lao PDR, Catalina, Atimonan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Philippines have signi- Quezon; 6) Mts. Palay-palay fied their participation in the establishment of pilot demonstration and Mataas na Gulod, plots covering a total area of about 220 hectares. Work plans and Ternate, Cavite; and 7) financial requirements for the establishment and management of the Bicol Natural Park (BNP), pilot demonstration areas were submitted by each country. Funds Daet, Camarines Norte and were released to Vietnam, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Lupi, Camarines Sur. Philippines. The BNP was chosen as the plantation site for the pilot demon- Malaysia opted not to participate in the pilot demonstration es- stration based on the criteria set by the project. These include tablishment since they have already developed appropriate production among others (a) accessibility (b) suitability of rattan to the bio- technologies. Brunei Darussalam also bowed out from the pilot physical conditions (c) receptivity of the community or social accept- demo component because of the negligible contribution and least ability (d) acceptance, cooperation and support of the concerned au- priority of rattan in their local and national economies. These two thorities (e) relevance of rattan to the socio-economic upliftment of ASEAN countries, however, expressed their interest to be part of the the community. project’s networking activities and exchange of information. Strategic planning was con- Initial activities in the establishment of pilot demonstration areas ducted with the San Jose have been conducted in the participating countries as seen in the suc- Rattan Pilot Organization ceeding paragraphs. (SANJORAPO) members, Protected Area Superinten- Cambodia dent (PASu) and Rattan Two sites were visited and selected as pilot demo areas by the Project Staff. The project Contact Person (CP) and his colleagues. Three hundred (300) seed- site was characterized based lings were raised while two hundred (200) wildlings were maintained on the biophysical, social at Vor Yiev Nursery in Kampong Thom Province. The CP also coor- and economic parameters. dinated with the communities for the collection of rattan seeds next The socio-demographic year. profile of the community as well as a community/spot Indonesia map were prepared. Home The pilot demonstration and nursery sites were identified. nurseries were established Lao PDR and wildlings collected from the BNP were maintained in these nurseries. The CP introduced the project and coordinated with leaders and A Barangay Ordinance (local law) adopting the ITTO