NWFP-Digest-L No. 2/09
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.
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1. Bark cloth makes comeback on international fashion scene
2. Bushmeat: Health alert over rise in trade
4. Maple syrup industry hopes product sticks
5. Medicinal Plants: Scientists unveil herbs that treat epilepsy
6. Moringa oleifera: La Meringa – Experimentan con planta nutritiva
7. Mushroom Extract Improves Effectiveness of Prostate Cancer Treatment
8. Rattan in Vietnam: WWF unveils sustainable production plan
9. Sandalwood: A Critical View of Developments
10. Truffles: Italian group defends honour of rare white truffles
11. Vegetable ivory: Sustainable jeweller partners with ethical retailer
12. Amazonia: NWFP valued at €40-80/ha per year in new WWF report
13. Bhutan: Boost for bamboo product makers
14. India moves to protect traditional medicines from foreign patents
15. Japan: Denso develops 'organic' radiator tank
16. Kenya: Rural communities to benefit from plan to market natural plants
17. Malaysia: Agarwood Research Centre in Melaka
18. Malaysia: On a quest to revive tradition
19. Rwanda: Alleviating poverty through silk production
20. Sri Lanka: Saving cinnamon industry
21. Sri Lanka: Relief essential to cinnamon industry
22. Sudan: Ex-official calls for export-ban on Gum Arabic to ICC supporting countries
24. Albert-Ludwig University Freibrug accepting M.Sc FEM. Applications
25. Biodiversity International call for submissions
26. Forest Research Institute University, Dehra Dun, accepting applications
27. Forests and the global economy: 10 million new jobs
28. Forestry in a new economic climate
29. International Year of Natural Fibres 2009 – an update
30. Launch of new superfruit beverage
31. New interactive database on indicators of sustainable forest management in Europe
32. United Nations-Environment Program to protect bees, pollinators
33. UN Forum on Forests (UNFF)
34. Towards a Rights-Based Agenda in International Forestry
35. International Conference on Plants and Environmental Pollution 2009
36. Tunza International Youth Conference on the Environment
37. Secondo Congresso Internazionale Construcciones de Cubierta vegetal "Pinolere 2009"
38. Plant Conservation for the Next Decade: A Celebration of Kew's 250th Anniversary
39. Request for information: Shorea robusta
40. The World Resources Institute (WRI) is seeking a Senior Associate
LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEB SITES
41. Nature-Friendly Land Use Practices at Multiple Scales
42. Other publications of interest
44. Bigger trees helping fight against climate change
45. Palm oil may be single most immediate threat to the greatest number of species
46. Rural depopulation isn't just a social problem: it affects wildlife too
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1. Bark cloth makes comeback on international fashion scene
Source: Inter Press Service, Uganda, 12 February 2009
Kampala: Bark cloth, a fabric historically used by the Buganda in central Uganda to wrap their dead before burial, is making a comeback in the form of trendy crafts, clothing and household goods. The cloth, made from Ficus natalensis trees, was supplanted with the introduction of cotton by Arab caravan traders in the 19th century. Now bark cloth crafts such as tablemats, bedcovers, jackets, purses and wide-brimmed hats are finding their way to the international market.
Bark cloth is exported to Germany, Japan, Australia, the US and Canada where significant populations of Ugandans live in the Diaspora. There is also huge demand from neighbouring Kenya. Kenyan traders blend the cloth and export the products to Europe and the US.
Vincent Musubire, chairperson of Mwangwe Rural Development Association, said "when we look at it critically, bark cloth has a big future but not in the traditional sense of burying people. It has value and can generate income, which is where I am putting the emphasis." The Mwangwe Rural Development Association works to raise consciousness among artisans to improve the quality of bark cloth products. He said the prospects for the bark cloth market were promising, especially internationally. "We want to ensure that the crafts from bark cloth produced by women and men meet the quality requirements of the local and international craft market. That is why we are not leaving it to the local community to produce. I'm linking up with skilled young graduates of industrial art and design to work with local craftspeople to produce quality products," he said.
Nuwa Wamala Nyanzi, an artist and owner of a crafts business at the National Theatre in the Ugandan capital of Kampala confirmed that the demand for bark cloth among tourists is high. But it is not being marketed widely enough at international craft expos, he said.
Nyanzi also told IPS that bark cloth production is suffering because fewer craftspeople remain who have the skill to make quality bark cloth. Traditionally, craftspeople of the Ngonge clan have manufactured bark cloth for the Baganda royal family and the rest of the community. Many of these craftspeople have died without passing on their skill.
Maliza Nantambi, who sells crafts to shops in Kampala, described bark cloth an expensive raw material because it is scarce compared to other materials.
Bark cloth is recognized as part of the world's collective heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Head of the Uganda national commission for UNESCO, Augustine Omare Okurut, said "research is being conducted on the making of bark cloth, how to preserve it and how it can be exploited for the benefit of the local and international community."
For full story, please see: www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=4&article_id=99269
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2. Bushmeat: Health alert over rise in trade
Source: The East African, Kenya, 7 March 2009
Large amounts of illegal bushmeat continue to be sold to the public in Kenya and are even shipped to UK markets, a new report says.
The trade is important not only because many of the species killed for their meat are under threat but also because eating illegal bushmeat can leave humans vulnerable to devastating viruses such as Ebola and HIV.
UK-based conservation organisation Born Free says rising food prices, a rash of crop failures and wide-ranging impacts of the global recession have led to a rise in bushmeat trade in Kenya. "Snaring of wild animals and consumption of their meat, known as bushmeat, is one of the most serious threats to wildlife in Kenya today," Born Free says. "In some areas, commercial trade in bushmeat is threatening to wipe out Kenya's natural heritage.
"Bushmeat also affects the UK. Latest figures indicate that nearly 7,500 tonnes of illegal meat products enter Britain every year. Some of this is believed to be bushmeat disguised as beef." Once in the UK, more than half (55 percent) of the illegal meat is distributed through wholesalers or sold at local street markets.
Detective Inspector Brian Stuart, head of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, states: "Over the past few years the UK Law Enforcement Agencies have become increasingly aware of the illegal importation of bushmeat. This type of meat can and does from time to time contain parts of endangered species. "Introducing bushmeat into the UK illegally will pose some risk of transmitting disease."
A new film produced by Born Free Foundation in conjunction with Land Rover has been created to raise awareness on this issue and provide an insight into some of the challenges faced by people in Kenya trying to stop the trade. Wild animals all over Africa, from giraffe to zebra and even to endangered species such as gorilla and elephant, are snared by poachers, butchered and transported to city markets and restaurants across the globe as part of a widespread commercial trade.
For full story, please: www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/542874/-/rjo558z/-/
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Source: BevNET, USA, 5 March 2009
BAWLS is the brainchild of entrepreneur Hoby Buppert, CEO of Hobarama, LLC, who named the beverage for the caffeinated "bounce" the drink packs. Widely distributed; BAWLS is a premium, non-alcoholic, carbonated beverage made from the guarana berry harvested in the Amazonian Rainforest.
The caffeine found in BAWLS Guarana contains the same amount of caffeine as coffee and nearly three times that of traditional sodas due to a naturally occurring form of the stimulant found in the guarana berry.
For full story, please see: http://www.bevnet.com/news/2009/3-5-2009-bawls_ny_state_distributors
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4. Maple syrup industry hopes product sticks
Source: NECN, USA, 8 March 2009
At the annual Maple Syrup Days in Milton, Massachusetts, USA, kids learned how trees are tapped and syrup is made. But the state's maple syrup industry faces a sticky problem -- most maple farms have not recovered from last December's ice storm, which ripped down trees in the northern part of Massachusetts.
In fact, the head of the Maple Producers Association said, this year's production could be off between 30 and 40 percent. The industry will be effected for decades to come, as new trees must be planted, then grow to maturity.
In addition to bringing down maple trees and branches, the ice storm also damaged this plastic tubing that farmers run between trees to collect the sap. It brought the tubing down and buried it under ice and snow, and now miles of it needs to be replaced.
For now, production in Vermont and Quebec is making up for the shortage in Massachusetts. But fans of "real" maple syrup said, even if the storm leads to higher prices, they will not turn to the artificial stuff.
For full story please see: www.necn.com/Boston/Business/2009/03/08/Syrup-industry-hopes-product/1236549196.html
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5. Medicinal Plants: Scientists unveil herbs that treat epilepsy
Source: Nigerian Tribune, Nigeria, 29 January 2009
In Africa, up to 80 per cent of the population uses traditional medicine for primary health care and several efforts are ongoing to find the most effective medicinal plants through ethnopharmacological studies. Epilepsy is one of such ailments.
Most of the drugs currently in use to combat epilepsy (called "farfadiya" in Hausa and "Warapa" in Yoruba) have undesirable effects and unpredictable pharmacological action. This has led to the need to search for newer drugs with fewer or no side effects and predictable ways that they work in the body since epilepsy treatment is for a long term (at least two years after the last fit). Also, the drug would be withdrawn gradually for about six months.
One effort to search for newer sources of effective drugs from traditional plants used in the treatment epilepsy was done by Dr. J. Muazu from the Department of Pharmaceutical Services, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Nigeria and Dr. A. H Kaita from the Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria.
The review of these traditional plants used in the treatment of epilepsy among the Hausa/Fulani tribes of northern Nigeria was published in 2008 edition of the African Journal of Traditional, Complimentary and Alternative Medicines.
Five prescriptions used in the treatment of epilepsy among the Hausa/Fulani tribe were collected from traditional healers. These five prescriptions containing eight plants were assessed based on previous scientific studies that had tried to ascertain a scientific basis for their use in the treatment of epilepsy.
The review found that the commonly used plants included Securidaca longipedunculata, Mitragyna inermis, Celtis integrefolia and Parkia clappertonianna. Securidaca longipedunculata, a medicinal herb commonly used is various parts of Africa, is known as "uwar maganigunar" in Hausa and "ezeogwu" in Ibo. Its English common name is violet tree. The plant is a savannah shrub with twisted bole or slender erect branches. In herbal medicine practice, it is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, boils, gonorrhoea, and coughs. In the Nsukka community of Enugu State, a poultice of its root bark is used for the treatment of rheumatic conditions such as arthritis. Some chew the root as a stimulant or to relieve toothache.
According to H.M. Burkill, in the book, "The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa," Mitragyna inermis is commonly called false abura. In many African countries like Senegal, the decoction of Mitragyna inermis is used traditionally to treat medical problems like hypertension, diabetes, menstrual cycle, arthritis, rheumatism, diarrhoea, dysentery and some veneral diseases.
Celtis sinensis is known as Zuwo in Hausa and as Nguzo in Kanuri. According to Burkill, it has such English names as African nettle tree: African false elm and hackberry. The tree that is found in Sahel savannah and fringing forest across the region from Senegal to North and Southern Nigeria is used for many medicinal purposes, including small pox, measles, worm expeller, arthritis, epilepsy and convulsions.
The result of the review of these plants showed that Violet tree and Mitragyna inermis have substances in them that are able to prevent convulsions. In addition, African nettle tree was reported to contain a chemical substance called gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) whose deficiency may lead to convulsions. While the remaining plants were helpful in alleviation of associated symptoms of epilepsy, only the use of Centaurea praecox (Star thistle) and referred to as fula-Fulfulde in Adamawa, was reported to have neurotoxic substances that may damage the nerves of the brain, and as such worsen the disease.
For full story, please see: www.tribune.com.ng/30012009/thr/natural_health1.html
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6. Moringa oleifera: La Meringa – Experimentan con planta nutritiva
Source: Noroeste, Mexico, 1 February 2009
El árbol de moringa podría ser el alimento del futuro, ya que de esta planta se pueden elaborar diversos alimentos nutritivos, aseguró Leopoldo Martínez Velarde, presidente de la Red de Inventores Sinaloenses.
Informó que este árbol regularmente crece en los panteones, pero que con el apoyo del Instituto Sinaloense de Desarrollo Social se ha logrado tener un campo experimental de 400 de estos árboles, ubicado en la colonia Loma de Rodriguera. "Éste podría ser un complemento alimenticio que le dé a las madres y a los lactantes todos los nutrientes básicos que se requieren para un sano desarrollo, porque éste es un nutriente de rápido aprovechamiento y sumamente económico".
La hoja verde de la moringa gramo por gramo contiene siete veces más nutrientes y más vitamina C que la naranja, así como más calcio que la leche y el queso, detalló. Martínez Velarde explicó que además con esta planta se puede producir aceite de calidad similar al aceite de oliva, así como a través del mismo aceite se puede producir biodiesel y hasta etanol.
"Esto no lo estamos inventando, si no que lo estamos redescubriendo, porque en el mundo el aceite de Moringa se comercializa, por eso digo que nosotros en Sinaloa, estamos comenzando a hacer lo que otros países ya han desarrollado con este árbol".
For full story, please see: www.noroeste.com.mx/publicaciones.php?id=446269
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7. Mushroom extract improves effectiveness of prostate cancer treatment
Source: Cancer Monthly, USA, 20 February 2009
Adding a mushroom extract to interferon therapy for prostate cancer significantly improves the treatment's effectiveness, and may help reduce both its cost and side effects, according to a study published in the Journal of Hematology and Oncology.
Prostate cancer is the second deadliest cancer among elderly men in the United States. Although treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy are available, their benefits aren't always long-lasting, they can have significant side effects, and the disease can return. Another treatment option is immunotherapy with a class of drugs known as interferons. These drugs provoke the body's immune system to respond against the cancer, and they are thought to inhibit the cancer cells' ability to grow and differentiate. However, studies on interferons have shown mixed results.
"The efficacy of these interferons has not been as good as we expected and also they are rather expensive," says study author Sensuke Konno, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Urology at New York Medical College.
To improve the effectiveness of interferons and reduce the cost of treatment, researchers have been looking at combining these drugs with other substances. Dr. Konno investigated a treatment combining interferon-alpha with D-fraction (PDF), an extract from the maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa). Past studies have shown that this extract can stimulate an immune response against cancer cells. Dr. Konno and his team wanted to find out if the two substances combined might have a synergistic effect on prostate cancer cells.
The authors tested out the two substances, first alone and then together, on prostate cancer cells in the laboratory. Individually the interferon and mushroom extract had no real effects on the cancer, except in very high doses. However, when the two substances were combined, they slowed the growth of prostate cancer cells by up to 65 percent. The combination of the two substances effectively halted the cancer cell cycle, preventing the prostate cancer cells from dividing and multiplying.
Combining interferon-alpha and PDF also reduced the amount of each drug that was needed. Interferon was reduced to one-fifth of its original dose. "It is thus plausible that PDF may not only help potentiate the interferon activity, but also help cut the cost down," says Dr. Konno.
For full story, please see: www.cancermonthly.com/iNP/view.asp?ID=240
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8. Rattan in Vietnam: WWF unveils sustainable production plan
Source: Vietnam News, Vietnam 9 March 2009
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) launched a programme in Ha Noi last week to sustainably manage rattan production in Indochina. The US$3.1 million project will involve 100 villages in three Indochinese countries by 2010. It follows the success of a pilot programme carried out from 2006 to 2009 in six villages in Laos and Cambodia.
"The project aims to limit the negative impacts of rattan production on humans and the environment by getting stakeholders in these three countries to work together transparently," said a representative of the European Commission's delegation in Ha Noi, which will contribute 80 percent of the total cost.
The project will also receive financial support from international home-products retailer IKEA and the German development finance institution (DEG).
The global rattan market is worth around $4 billion and involves more than 50 species of rattan grown in Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam. Viet Nam exports almost 60 percent of all its finished rattan products to the European Union.
But much of the pre-processing in Cambodia and Laos poses serious health risks to workers and the methods they use leave the products at a disadvantage in the global market.
Many villages rely on the rattan trade which accounts for 50 percent of their total income, making this a major contributor to poverty alleviation in rural areas.
"Rattan resources are decreasing because of over-exploitation. The implementation of sustainable harvesting and cleaner production will provide long-term livelihood security to local people," said Thibault Ledecq, rattan programme manager at the WWF's Greater Mekong Programme.
By the end of the project, at least 40 percent of targeted small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain will be actively engaged in the clean and safe manufacture of rattan products, and 15 percent will export sustainable and environment-friendly products to European and global markets.
Around 800ha of forest are under sustainable management with more than 60 households gaining economic benefit from the project.
The first phase of the project helped increase knowledge of rattan and strengthen research capacity at national university level.
For full story, please see: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=03ECO090309
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9. Sandalwood: A Critical View of Developments
From: Cropwatch Newsletter January 2009
The fact that some sandalwood species are under threat is an inconvenient truth ignored by many cosmetic companies and essential oil traders. Four Santalum (sandalwood) species are present in the IUCN Red List 2008, including the extinct Santalum fernandezianum. The more familiar Santalum album L. is one of the remaining three, being assessed as Vulnerable in 1998, but a more detailed breakdown of the eco-status of individual Santalum species from various geographical locations, with ancillary notes, is available on the Cropwatch's website (www.cropwatch.org).
The shortage of sandalwood oil East Indian has been caused by the ravages of spike disease over many decades, and to a lesser extent by fire, vandalism, animal damage and other factors, on the existing Indian Sandalwood forests in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, not to mention the ruthless over-exploitation of this declining resource by illegal distillers, smugglers and corrupt officials. Arguably the over-exploitation of sandalwood only came about because of the persistent market demand for sandalwood logs for incense, wood carving & furniture making, to continue the supply of sandalwood-based attars, and of course the demand for sandalwood oil itself (which some have estimated at 250 tons/annum), despite warnings of serious resource depletion from eco-aware groups.
A few years back, some aromatherapy profession officials and certain aromatherapy essential oil trading representatives belittled the threat to Sandalwood (see Cropwatch sandalwood bibliography), and inferred that if any blame was to be apportioned at all, it should be laid at the door of the major users, the fragrance industry. Even now, within the EU, nationally-run aromatherapy vocational courses still feature sandalwood oil for study. The incense trade, of course, have ignored their obligations almost completely, and as far as we can tell, many parts of the conventional perfumery trade have done the same.
Cropwatch is persuaded that with proper policies and investments, some sandalwood sources can be made truly sustainable, and we believe this may well be the case in Vanuatu. However, taking pure sandalwood oil East Indian as a benchmark, the odour profiles of sandalwood oils from other geographical locations and/or other species are usually different in character, and lack fine notes, and may be over-sweet (as with East African Sandalwood oil) or predominantly woody-camphoraceous (as with Chinese Sandalwood oil), or just plain lacking in impact & character (as with Indonesian Sandalwood oil). From here, the future looks difficult for Sandalwood.
For full story, please see: www.cropwatch.org/sandalcrit.pdf
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