NWFP-Digest-L
No. 1/09
Welcome to FAO's NWFP-Digest-L, a free e-mail journal that covers all aspects of non-wood forest products. Back issues of the Digest may be found on FAO's NWFP home page: www.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en.
You can take part in contributing to the continued success of this newsletter by sharing with the NWFP community any news that you may have regarding research, events, publications and projects. Kindly send such information to NWFP-Digest-L@mailserv.fao.org. We also appreciate any comments or feedback.
A special thank you to all those who have sent me links to information and also to Adam DeHeer for his help with this issue.
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1. Balsam boughs: NTFPs of the Midwest USA
2. Bamboo: Indian artisans weave dreams
3. Bamboo: Indian floor tiles, handicrafts
4. Bamboo planting boosted in Mexico
5. Berry-based natural sweetener "brazzein" to hit the market in 2009
6. Chambira Palm: Baskets bring a new way of life to Peruvians
7. Cork Flooring, A Sustainable Choice
8. Frankincense: Sustainable harvesting by Siddhi Tribe of India
9. Maple Syrup: Tapping trees for that classic Canadian flavour
10. Medicinal Plants in danger of dying out, according to conservationists
11. Pandan prop roots found suitable for handicrafts in the Philippines
12. Pinus sylvestris cones: First FSC Labelled Gin from Belgium
13. Stevia: The Natural Sweetener
14. Rattan: Conserving Forests
15. Bolivia: The Importance of plant knowledge
16. Ethiopia: EU Grants 251 Million Euros to Support Development Programs
17. India: Forest health restored by managing for NTFPs
18. Indonesia: Government team to bolster protection for the country's TK
20. Nepal: Forest Museum in Pokhara
21. Nigeria: Desert Encroaches on Nation at 600 Meters per Annum
22. Peru: Revised laws 'could promote biopiracy'
23. Peru: Region outlaws biopiracy
24. Tunisia: Jendouba region provides 90% of Tunisia's cork production
25. USA: USDA Issues final rule governing NTFPs
26. Ecosystem services reveal relations between humans and nature
27. Non-wood News
28. SEED awards 2009: Call for submissions
29. 19th session of the Committee on Forestry
30. Fourth International Conference on Sustainable Development and Planning
32. Shea 2009: Optimizing the Global Value Chain
33. WFC2009-XIII World Forestry Congress
LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEB SITES
34. Environment Outlook in the Amazonia: GEO Amazonia
35. Other publications of interest
37. Illegal clearing behind human and tiger deaths in Sumatra
38. Mexico: Tree biodiversity improved through traditional coffee farming
39. New edition of UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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PRODUCTS
1. Balsam boughs: NTFPs of the Midwest USA
Source: University of Minnesota, USA, 8 December, 2008
Nontimber forest products (NTFPs) are most everything you find in the woods that is not timber. Mostly, the term refers to the many products that enhance and contribute to our lifestyles and our livelihoods. These products often have strong connections to our respective cultures and shared history and economy.
NTFPs are the berries and mushrooms we pick to eat; they are the game that sustains our families. They are the medicines that we gather and the barks we collect for baskets and crafts. NTFPs are the balsam boughs and princess pine that, when worked by Minnesota hands, become the wreaths upon our holiday doors. For some, NTFPs provide affordable outdoor recreation. For others, they generate a much-needed paycheck. For many of us, they do both.
Winter months offer prime opportunities for exploring forests and discovering NTFPs. Frozen soil conditions allow us to stray 'off the beaten path' in the woods. Winter excursions are memorable and invigorating but most of all will inspire greater appreciation of forests and NTFPs.
Each fall, Minnesotans take to the woods to gather boughs to be clipped and woven into decorative wreaths, swags and garlands. What used to be a family activity has grown into a multimillion dollar industry. Minnesota – in the Midwest USA – is a national leader in the seasonal greens industry, shipping wreaths to every state in the nation and across the globe.
Wreath making provides seasonal employment to people all over Minnesota and there are many non-profit organizations that use wreath and garlands sales as a fund raising event. This short and intense seasonal industry employs thousands of people in Minnesota, and allows many 'home based businesses' to earn a substantial amount of income.
Approximately 98% of the boughs harvested for wreaths are from the balsam fir tree, Abies balsamea. In Minnesota, bough harvesting season begins after hard frosts have "set" the needles on the branches. Other species, including northern white cedar (pictured at right) and white pine, are also gathered to create mixed wreaths.
Boughs harvested properly cause minimal harm to the tree and, in fact, can lead to more prolific branching for future harvests. Careless harvesting can quickly deplete and degrade the resource.
To help protect the resource, members of the wreath making industry, harvesters and land managers formed the Balsam Bough Partnership in 1996. The partnership promotes sustainable harvesting practices of the bough resources and strategies that complement other forest management practices. The partnership meets periodically to review seasonal needs, compliance on legislation and review permits. The Balsam Bough Partnership has also developed educational materials for harvesters and advocates sustainable harvesting practices.
For full story, please see: http://myminnesotawoods.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/ntfp-overview/
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2. Bamboo: Indian artisans weave dreams
Source: The Telegraph, Calcutta, India, 6 January, 2009
Jamshedpur. A career in bamboo craft would help several artisans realise their dreams. Take Ban Bihari Mahali for instance. He is a bamboo artisan who earns between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 per month if he works everyday but now he hopes to turn this figure to Rs 3,000. His dreams have taken shape after the state government decided to open 25 bamboo processing training centres this month.
The project aims to help the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe get professional training in the art. "The three-month long training would give an opportunity to the artisans and help them develop their skill. It will also teach them how to market their products.
The project is estimated to cost Rs 3 crore in the first year. Initially, 450 artisans in groups of 20 would be allotted a shed for the training programme. The artisans would be taught measurement, free-hand drawing, treatment and preservation of bamboo, mat weaving and furniture making for export.
Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Ichagarh, Chandil and Dumaria will house these training centres in collaboration with Guwahati-based Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre. "We have selected these districts after the Institute of Forest Productivity, Ranchi, claimed that raw material (bamboo) was easily available in these places. Bamboo artisans, who earn between Rs 40 and Rs 50 per day, will now be able to earn more," said Dhirendra Kumar, the special secretary with state department of industries.
The artisans will also be provided a platform through Jharcraft, a corporation for development of handlooms, handicraft, under the department of industries, in the initial months.
For full story, please see: www.telegraphindia.com/1090106/jsp/jharkhand/story_10349232.jsp
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3. Bamboo: Indian floor tiles, handicrafts
Source: Press Trust of India in Business Standard, India, 20 February 2009
Bamboo, which grows in abundance in Tripura, is now ready for value addition and commercial utilization with technology provided by China's Nanjing Forestry University.
The Bamboo Engineering Research Centre (BERC) at the Nanjing University has concluded after extensive research that the bamboo varieties found in the state could be used in making floor tiles, building materials and handicraft.
The state's Forest Minister Jitendra Chowdhury said the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with the BERC through the Tripura Forest Development and Plantation Corporation (TFDPC) in 2007 for transfer of technology. The TFDPC had last year sent a consignment of two varieties of bamboo available only in Tripura -- Muli and Mirtinga -- to the university for research.
The minister said that the BERC had recently sent some samples of finished building materials with recommendations that the bamboo types available in Tripura had huge opportunity of export. Chowdhury, who had led an Indian delegation in 2007 to seek technical assistance from the BERC, said efforts were being made to use the grass in making organic fertilizer and bamboo fibres for manufacturing pulp.
The TFDPC has already decided to establish a bamboo-based factory at Nagicherra industrial estate here, with the Japan Bank of International Cooperation providing financial assistance.
"The initiative has been taken to exploit the potential of bamboos in the state," deputy manager of TFDPC Madhumita Som said adding the JBIC would provide a financial assistance of Rs one crore to promote NTFPs. She said the factory would produce handicraft items and material for decorating houses. The TFDPC has initiated a training programme for artisans to run the proposed factory. There is a growing demand for bamboo-made products as people have shown interest in different commercial exhibitions in the country.
Abdul Matlub Ahmed, president of Indo-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries and an industrialist himself, announced that he would relocate his Rs 200 crore pulp and paper mill from Sylhat to Tripura as bamboo is available here in plenty.
For full story, please see: www.business-standard.com/india/news/bamboo-floor-tiles-handicraft-in-offing/12/29/55409/on
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4. Bamboo planting boosted in Mexico
Source: Xinhua, China, 5 January 2009
MEXICO CITY. The Mexican government and the United Nations have signed an agreement to boost bamboo planting in the country, its National Forest Commission (Conafor) said Sunday.
Some US$715,000 will be used to establish the Center of Bamboo Technology Development in the east state of Veracruz in part of the country's productive reforestation strategy.
The Center will be the fourth largest in the world, after China, India and Cuba, it said. Bamboo produced in Veracruz will be sent to the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia through the Panama Canal.
The project will improve the livelihood of the peasants in the mountainous area of the Huatusco municipality in Veracruz and help them recover the lost forest land.
For full story, please see: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/05/content_10605146.htm
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5. Berry-based natural sweetener "brazzein" to hit the market in 2009
Source: Natural News, USA, 22 December 2008
We've all heard about stevia, agave nectar, brown rice syrup and other natural sweeteners, but now a new sweetener derived from a West African berry has been successfully synthesized in a form compatible with mass production, and the company Natur Research Ingredients expects to make it commercially available between late 2008 and mid-2009.
The sweetener brazzein, to be marketed under the brand name Cweet, is a protein derived from the berry of the west African plant oubli (Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon). It has long been used as a food source by both humans and animals (particularly apes) in the region, and was first synthesized into a sugar alternative in 1994 by researchers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison (USA).
Because brazzein is anywhere from 500 to 2,000 times as sweet as sugar by weight, the small amounts needed to sweeten food do not add any significant caloric content (stevia, by comparison, is approximately 300 times as sweet as sugar). Unlike many sugar alternatives, brazzein is said to have no aftertaste, and can even reduce the aftertaste of other non-sugar sweeteners such as aspartame or stevia when mixed with them. Brazzein's sweet flavour also sets in slower and lasts longer than other sweeteners.
Brazzein is also soluble in water and stable at high temperatures and a wide range of acidities. For example, it can persist at 980C (2080F) for up to two hours. According to Natur, this makes the products suitable for all forms of cooking, including baking, and as a beverage sweetener. Because brazzein is a protein and not a carbohydrate, it does not affect blood sugar and is safe for diabetics.
Natur acquired the sole rights to manufacture and distribute brazzein from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, which holds a number of patents on the sweetener and the processes used to manufacture it. Although the university has sought ways to commercialize the sweetener since the 1990s, all such prior attempts have failed. According to Natur, a researcher from the university recently discovered an entirely new process that is suitable for mass production.
Because the University of Wisconsin used an artificial process to extract the brazzein sweetener from oubli berries, it was able to obtain patents over the sweetener itself. No credit was given or payment made to the indigenous Africans who had used the sweetener for centuries, drawing accusations that the university had engaged in "biopiracy," stealing ancestral knowledge for private profit. The university retains several patents over the ingredient brazzein.
In a reversal of the university's claim that brazzein is an invented ingredient, Natur says that its sweetener is natural. It has not yet disclosed information regarding the process used to extract the sweetener or any synthetic ingredients that might be used.
"We are using the fruit as a source material for this ingredient," said Loren Miles, Natur's chief executive officer. "Within three to six months we should be ready to publicly announce further details, but we can disclose this information now to interested parties through a confidentiality agreement."
The next step for Natur is to scale-up production and submit an application to the FDA for "generally recognized as safe" status. Natur says that it expects to receive approval at about the same time it is carrying out consumer tests. But the FDA's GRAS approval is not guaranteed: The FDA is known for denying GRAS status to natural sweeteners (like stevia, which was finally approved only days ago) in order to protect the profits of artificial chemical sweeteners like aspartame.
For full story, please see: www.naturalnews.com/025140.html
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6. Chambira Palm: Baskets bring a new way of life to Peruvians
Source: The New York Times, USA, 19 January, 2009
San Antonio de Pintuyacu, Peru. Women in this remote Amazon village can weave fibers from the branch of the chambira palm tree into practically anything they need — fishing nets, hammocks, purses, skirts and dental floss.
But for the last year they have put their hopes in baskets, weaving hundreds to build inventory for export to the United States. Their first international buyers are the San Diego Natural History Museum and San Diego Zoo, and they plan to sell to other museums and home décor purveyors.
The circuitous route these baskets have taken from the jungle to American store shelves started with a bird watcher's passion for natural habitats, passed through a regional government whose policies have become increasingly more conservationist, and, supporters say, should end with better lives for the weavers and their communities.
The enterprise is one of many ventures here in the Amazon aimed at "productive conservation," which advocates say will save the rain forest by transforming it into a renewable economic resource for local people — just as some ecotourism lodges and other ventures in places like Africa and Southeast Asia have tried to do.
The greatest challenge has been convincing residents of the communities along the river, who until now largely supported themselves by chopping down palm branches and fishing, that conservation is in their best interest.
The government of Loreto, Peru's densely forested and least populous region, organized the basket project, which is financed by grants from two nonprofit groups, Nature and Culture International and the Moore Foundation.
"Having the government take such a role in a market-based approach is quite novel," Amy Rosenthal, deputy director for projects at the Amazon Conservation Association, a nonprofit group that works in southern Peru and northern Bolivia, said when told of the program.
But the program in Peru is not without challengers. Iván Vásquez, president of the Loreto region, said he had made some enemies for supporting conservation in a region where fishing and logging have been the primary sources of revenue for decades and where oil and gas are seen as the next frontiers.
The changes in Loreto may correspond to a broader shift in Peru's attitude toward conservation. Last spring, motivated by the signing of a free-trade agreement with the United States, the country set up an environment ministry, which has already started to focus on deforestation.
For full story, please see: www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/business/worldbusiness/20peru.html?scp=4&sq=deforestation&st=cse
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7. Cork Flooring, A Sustainable Choice
Source: Mother Earth News, USA, 9 December 2008
Soft like suede, cork has the insulating qualities and resiliency of carpet; the easy-to-clean surface of wood or tile; plus luxurious appeal from its earthy colours and rich visual texture. Made from tree bark, it's also a natural and renewable resource, so it's environmentally friendly, right?
The answer is yes, but with a footnote.
Cork has a multitude of green characteristics. The material is acquired by stripping most of the outer bark from the cork oak tree. This regular harvesting does the tree no harm, and the bark grows back, to be stripped again every nine years. The trees live for 200 years or so, and the forests, called Montados, are highly prized and passed down through generations of families in the cork-producing business.
Even cork processing is relatively straightforward: The cork sheets or pieces are cured, boiled and pressed. Scraps are collected for reuse, so almost nothing is wasted.
Yet for those of us in North America trying to be more eco-friendly, cork has a notable drawback: It comes from Europe. Forests of Quercus suber, the one oak species that produces cork, grow in the Mediterranean, primarily in Portugal. Fuel consumption from shipping cork adds to the embodied energy in every cork flooring product. Although the trees have been successfully grown in California, they haven't produced the corky bark, likely from a subtle difference in the ecosystem.
The dilemma of long-distance shipping, however, is counter-balanced by the truly urgent need to preserve cork oak forests. Nora Berrahmouni, Mediterranean forest unit director at the environmental nonprofit World Wildlife Federation (WWF), says that cork forest ecosystems are endangered by increasing population growth and forest clearing. With the loss of viable Montados, "there could be intensification in forest fires, a loss of irreplaceable biodiversity and an accelerated desertification process," she says.
"The cork forest loss is coming from the decline of the global cork market," Berrahmouni says, explaining that conventional wine corks are being replaced by aluminium screw tops and petroleum-dependent plastic stoppers. The decreased demand for cork has devalued the forests, leading to sales — even abandonment — of the once-priceless land. Cork products such as flooring, on the other hand, will keep Montados intact and support a sustainable form of agri-forestry, Berrahmouni says. "We encourage consumers to buy cork flooring materials."
According to ReCORK America, a cork stopper recycling project sponsored by Amorim, the world's largest producer of cork bottle stoppers, there are approximately 13 billion corks sold into the market each year. Almost all of them end up in the trash — a sad fact because corks can easily be recycled into flooring and other commercial products.
For full story, please see: www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/Benefits-Cork-Flooring.aspx
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8. Frankincense: Sustainable harvesting by Siddhi Tribe of India
Source: Deccan Herald, India, 30 December, 2008
The people of Malenad have to constantly keep in touch with nature for their livelihood. And they are heavily dependent on forest produce rather than agriculture.
Five-year-old Krishna Siddhi can extract frankincense with dexterity but has no clue about the alphabet. And typically so because those living in the Malnad region have to constantly keep in touch with nature for their livelihood. Though illiterate, they are accomplished in other ways.
The siddhis are a tribe that live in Shirasgaon village, situated 40 kms away from Sirsi taluk in Uttara Kannada district. Out of the 30 families living in the village, as many as 16 families belong to the siddhi tribe. People here rely more on forest produce for their livelihood, because there is not much scope for agriculture here. The village itself is situated in the midst of thick forests. Shirasgaon residents rely on NTFPs such as Canarium strictum (raladoopa), Ailanthus triphysa (halamaddi doopa or frankincense), apiary, Garcinia gummi-gutta (uppage), Garcinia indica (murugalu), Myristica dactyloides (rampatre), cinnamon and the like.
This is that time of the year (between November and January) when frankincense is collected. However, because of indiscriminate collection across the Malenad region, many rare species are on the verge of extinction. Canarium strictum is one of them. According to experts, Canarium strictum is found only in the forests of Shirasgaon in Sirsi taluk and in the forests of Siddapur taluk. Germination is the key problem for the species.
But residents of Shirasgaon are different from other pickers of minor forest products as they know the significance of each tree and they look after trees as one would protect one's own child.
They collect frankincense without causing any damage to trees. Canarium strictum is a product in greater demand in the market than Ailanthus triphysa, thanks to its fragrance. Each family of Shirasgaon collects nearly 10kgs of frankincense every season. But marketing is a crucial problem. People here face similar problems when it comes to other forest products, such as kokum and cinnamon. But, kokum juice has seen some profits in the market.
Janaki, a member of Shridevi Self-Help Group, says the SHG made a profit of Rs4,000 for collecting nearly one quintal of kokum juice during the previous year. The SHG members have also been trained in mat knitting.
Shirasgaon residents have also developed a nursery of rare plants such as Artocarpus hirsitus (hebbalasu), Artocarpus lakoocha (vate), Ochrocarpus longifolius (surige) and 15 other species.
Prakruti Association, an NGO, has been encouraging their activity by providing good price to their products and by providing dryers for drying the peels of Garcinia gummi-gutta and the like. The dryer has helped them save much wood for drying. Prabhakar Gouda, one of the NTFP collectors, says that contractors who had got the tenders collect the NTFP from people.
But some of the collectors do not have knowledge of proper collection and tend to damage the tree while collecting frankincense. Thanks to their lack of knowledge, the tree dies before two-three periods of collection are completed.
Can Shirasgaon villagers be eye-openers to those who destroy forests indiscriminately? The answer is yes, indeed. Residents of Shirasgaon village have set an example to the world on the importance of protecting forests.
For full story, please see: www.deccanherald.com/Content/Dec302008/spectrum20081229109470.asp
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9. Maple Syrup: Tapping trees for that classic Canadian flavour
Source: Canada.com, Canada 23 February 2009
It has been sweet success for a new breed of sapsuckers who introduced the maple syrup industry to Vancouver Island seven years ago.
Ladysmith's Gary Backlund and five others in the Master Woodland Manager program at Vancouver Island University decided to create a West Coast maple syrup industry in 2002. More than 85% of the world's maple syrup is produced in Canada and is most commonly made in the eastern provinces of Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In 2007, more than 40,600 tonnes of Canadian syrup, valued at $231 million, was sold to 45 different countries.
While the Vancouver Island production is a drop in the bucket compared to the Eastern industry. Backlund and his fellow sapsuckers produced 3,000 litres of sap in their first season. Last year, more than 60,000 litres of sap was collected from bigleaf maples all over Vancouver Island.
Backlund and his daughter Katherine don't measure their success in how much money they make from their maple syrup hobby.
While the production is low-cost, it is time consuming. "We get about $1 for every litre of sap or $75 for every litre of syrup, which when you take in consideration the amount of labour it takes to get that, it's not very much," said Katherine. "For us it's really a hobby more than a business." The family enjoys sharing their knowledge, but don't expect to pursue commercial success.
Commercial success was on the mind of Bram Lucieer of Campbell River, one of the original six island sap seekers. He didn't make syrup. Instead, he produced a rare maple wine. Lucieer's ambition to sell his award-winning maple wine in the national and international market was corked when he ran into the arduous commercial regulations.
It is a huge disappointment since he is confident that he tapped into something that has the potential to make a large profit with hardly any overhead.
"The raw material is virtually free for the taking. The commercial profit would be huge. It's not like maple syrup where the reduction rate is about 40 (litres of sap) to one (litre of syrup). One litre of sap makes one litre of wine," said Lucieer from his Campbell River home.
Lucieer says would be willing to share his trade secrets to help others take West Coast maple wine to the next level.