SukaFloraPro: NWFP-Digest-L No. 8/09

NWFP-Digest-L

No. 8/09

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 <mailto: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 Agnese Bazzucchi for her help with this issue.

==============================================================

IN THIS ISSUE:

PRODUCTS

1. Berries: Superfruit Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum)

2. Brazil Nuts Are Seeds, Not Nuts!

3. Bushmeat: Gorillas orphaned by bushmeat trade

4. Bushmeat: Gorilla virus in our midst

5. Cinnamon possible cure for diabetes

6. Devil's Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) holds key to
arthritis treatment

7. Honey more effective than antibiotics

8. Medicinal Plants: Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) to battle
swine flu

9. Medicinal plants; Withania somnifera - Rediscovering the
"Indian Ginseng"

10. Mushrooms: Food security project offers hope of
self-sufficiency

11. Shea Butter: Empowerment and knowledge for women

COUNTRY INFORMATION

12. Brazil: Can NTFPs help conserve the Amazon?

13. Canada: NTFP Newsletter

14. Ecuador: 'Carbon bonds' to save forest

15. Ghana: Promotion of non-wood products may save the forests

16. India: Aboriginal uses and management of ethnobotanical
species

17. India: Bamboo drive to beat rebels

18. India: Bamboo shoot raises hope for sweet profit

19. Nepal: Herb farming shows way out of poverty

20. Peru to pay Indians for conservation of Amazon jungle

21. Rwanda: Local institute beats target of biodiesel production

22. USA: Native plants recovering after pigs, goats fenced out

23. USA: USDA proposes label for bio-based products

NEWS

24. Biopiracy: Developing nations demand bio-piracy protection
in Trips

25. Disappearance of honey bees has devastating affects

26. Indigenous peoples protect the rainforest with hi-tech tools

27. Killer weeds turn into stylish handbags, sturdy hammocks

28. New way to benefit from tropical forests

29. 'Trees of life' are vital food source

30. Vietnam succeeds in farming medicinal mushroom

EVENTS

31. 11th Annual BIOECON Conference on "Economic Instruments to
Enhance the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity"

32. 4th Shop the Wild Festival

33. Forum on non-timber forest resources

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

34. Capacity building opportunity for upcoming African
Conservation Biologist

35. Position of Program Coordinator for Latin America

LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEB SITES

36. New publication from FAO's Forestry Department

37. Other publications of interest

38. Web sites and e-zines

MISCELLANEOUS

39. Cosmetic company finds alternatives to palm oil

40. Flying frogs and the world's oldest mushroom: a decade of
Himalayan discovery

41. New artificial bone made of wood

42. USA: Proposed biomass plant would run on trees killed by
pine beetles

PRODUCTS

1. Berries: Superfruit Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum)

Source: The Examiner.com, 10 August 2009

Superfruits are a relatively new addition to contemporary diets. They are,
for the most part, small fruits with some amazing claims as to their health
benefits and nutritional content. Since they are relatively new there have
been few clinical trials on which to find these claims.

The bright orange to red goji berry is grown mainly in Tibet.
There is some debate linking the goji berry to the wolfberry which, although
the same species, may come from two different places. China and Mongolia are
thought to be home to the wolfberry, while "goji" has been specifically
linked to the berry in Tibet. The Tibetan goji alone is thought to have over
40 species. The inside of this colourful berry is laden with seeds. Berries
are not picked but shaken from the trees onto mats where they are left to dry
before packaging. Touching the berries before packaging and or drying is said
to cause oxidation, turning the goji black

According to goji legend, use of the berry stretches back over
3000 years. It is said that Tibetan monks who drank from a well surrounding
goji berry vines found longevity by drinking the water into which goji
berries fell at random. The monks then spread the word through travellers,
creating a conspicuous amount of interest about the new anti-aging miracle.
Legend further tells of Li Qing Yuen who lived for 252 years (1678 to 1930)
on a diet which consisted mainly of goji berries.

Goji berries seem to explode with nutritional value. They have at
least 18 amino acids, 21 trace minerals, protein, and are a truly rich source
of carotenoids. Of the 21 trace minerals one, germanium, is of particular
interest for fighting cancer. Vitamins contained include vitamin C, vitamin
B, vitamin E, and essential fatty acids. As with any product, though, it is
wise to watch the processing and labelling to make sure that you are getting
the full benefit, as nutrients can vary according to growing environment and
processing.

Aside from its anti-aging uses, goji berries are recognized for
quite a few other uses as well. The berries have been used to protect the
liver and kidneys, help eyesight, improve circulation, bolster immunity,
soothe skin problems, and to help with anxiety and sleeplessness. Although
not all of these uses have been proven via clinical studies, there are some
studies that seem to have a positive bearing on the use of goji berries
overall.

For full story, please see:
www.examiner.com/x-14543-Jacksonville-Natural-Health-Examiner~y2009m8d10-What
-are-the-superfruits-and-what-can-they-do-for-you--Goji-Berry

2. Brazil nuts are seeds, not nuts!

Source: Plank Talk, 13 August 2009

The Brazil nut is known to most people as the largest nut in a can of mixed
party nuts, but other than that, most people know little about it, including
that it comes from an Amazonian rain forest tree of the same name or that it
is really a seed, not a nut.

For the past 35 years an interesting research led by Dr. Scott A.
Mori of the New York Botanical Garden has focused on the classification and
ecology of species of the Brazil nut family. The Brazil nut itself is only
one of what it is estimated to be about 250 species of that family found in
the forests of Central and South America. This number includes nearly 50
species that do not have scientific names, mostly because collectors are
usually not willing to climb into tall trees to gather the specimens needed
to document their existence.

The Brazil nut flower is large, roughly two inches in diameter,
and fleshy, and the male part of the flower has a structure not found in any
other plant family in the world. The fertile stamens are arranged in a ring
that surrounds the style at the summit of the ovary. This ring has a
prolongation on one side that is expanded at the apex to form a hood-like
structure. At the apex of the hood are appendages that turn in toward the
interior of the flower. A small amount of nectar is produced at the bases of
these appendages. The fleshy "hood" presses directly onto the summit of the
ovary and the six petals form an overlapping "cup" that blocks entry to the
flower to all but the co-evolved pollinators.

The Brazil nut is known to be pollinated only by large bees with
enough strength to lift up the hood and enter the flower. These bees are
presumably rewarded for their efforts by the nectar they collect from the
interior of the hood. When the bees are in the flower, pollen rubs off onto
their heads and backs from where it is transferred to the stigma of
subsequent flowers visited.

For the most part, a Brazil nut tree cannot fertilize itself so
the bee pollinators are needed to carry pollen from one tree to another. This
is an example of a biotic interaction in which both the bee and the tree
benefit-the former is rewarded with a nectar meal and the trees end up
producing seeds.

At maturity, the round, woody fruits the size of cannon balls
fall to the ground with 10 to 25 edible seeds about 1.5 inches long trapped
inside. In botanical terminology, a nut is a kind of fruit so this is why the
Brazil nut would have been more appropriately named the "Brazil seed."

The fruit walls are chewed open and the seeds are removed and
carried away by agoutis (rodents about the size of a cat) and less frequently
by squirrels. Because the seeds are trapped inside the thick, woody fruits
and because the boney seed coats are difficult to open, only animals with
sharp teeth or a strong bite are able to consume the seeds. The agoutis and
squirrels eat some of the seeds and cache others for future consumption. Some
of the cached seeds are forgotten by the animals, and it is these seeds that
may germinate and grow into the next generation of trees. Once again, the
animals and the trees benefit, the former get a meal and the latter have
their seeds dispersed to an area where they have a better chance growing into
adult trees.

The Brazil nut is a NTFP that provides income to the Amazonians
that harvest it for food. The harvesting of Brazil nuts has long been cited
as a prime example of how human economic activity can provide income for
people and protect biodiversity of tropical forests at the same time.
However, a study by Carlos Peres and colleagues have demonstrated that
continuous harvesting of Brazil nuts over long periods results in Brazil nut
groves without juvenile trees; thus, there will be no replacement by younger
trees when the older trees senesce and die. We continue to learn that
tropical rain forests are so complex that every time they are exploited by
humans they suffer negative impacts to their ecology and diversity.

For full story, please: www.nybg.org/wordpress/?p=3615
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20I
nternet%20Files\OLK119\www.nybg.org\wordpress\%3fp=3615>

3. Bushmeat: Gorillas orphaned by bushmeat trade

Source: Mongabay.com, 10 August 2009

The Fernan-Vaz Gorilla Project has set free six young gorillas on an island
outside of Loango National Park in Gabon. The release marks a new stage in
the rehabilitation of the gorillas.
The six western lowland gorillas, ranging from two to seven years of age,
were orphaned when their respective parents were killed for bushmeat.
Before the release the gorillas underwent a three year 'rehab
program' on another island with their keepers. For younger gorillas, still
capable of being released into the wild, the program is meant to provide them
with the essential skills needed to survive. Such skills are usually taught
to baby gorillas by their parents in the first six to eight years of their
life. The island provides a refuge from poachers and other predators where
the gorillas are able to acclimate to the wild in safety. "We have to find
ways to restore value to Africa's forests, and reintroduction places focus on
the African wildlife in the African forests," said Doug Cress, executive
director of the Pan African Sancuary Alliance, which has worked closely with
the Fernan-Vaz Gorilla Project. "It's no good for any of us to aspire to
having the world's largest captive population of chimpanzees or gorillas -
even if we are saving lives. That is not conservation and it is not sending
messages that can be translated into environmental action."

For full story, please:
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0810-hance_gorilla_release.html

4. Bushmeat: Gorilla virus in our midst

Source: ENN Daily Newsletter, 6 August 2009

Researchers are shaking up the HIV family tree again. For the first time,
investigators have found what looks like a gorilla version of the AIDS virus
in a person. They do not know how the woman became infected but suspect that
other humans harbour a similar virus. The possibility that gorillas can
transmit the virus to humans further underscores the danger of butchering the
apes or keeping them as pets, which still occurs in some African communities.

Several studies have shown that the most common form of the human
immunodeficiency virus, dubbed HIV-1, likely evolved from a chimpanzee
relative, SIVcpz. When investigators reported three years ago that they had
found a similar SIV, SIVgor, in gorillas living in Cameroon, a genetic
analysis suggested that it, too, descended from SIVcpz. Now the finding of
SIVgor in a Cameroonian woman who moved to France five years ago further
complicates the story.

In a paper published online this week in Nature Medicine,
virologist Jean-Christophe Plantier of the Université de Rouen in France and
colleagues describe how a 62-year-old suffering from fevers and weight loss
sought medical care shortly after arriving in Paris. The woman tested
positive for HIV antibodies and had suffered some damage to her immune cells
but had not developed AIDS. Plantier's lab, however, could not make copies of
her virus, a standard diagnostic step in wealthier countries that quantifies
how much HIV a person has in the blood. He and his collaborators eventually
succeeded by using novel reagents designed to sequence unusual HIV strains.
The virus they found was most closely related to SIVgor. "I was very
surprised to find SIVgor in the human population," says the paper's senior
author, François Simon, a virologist at Hôpital Saint-Louis in Paris.

For full story please see: www.enn.com/health/article/40316

5. Cinnamon possible cure for diabetes

Source: NaturalNews, 31 July 2009

An ancient spice prized for its unique flavour, aroma and healing
capabilities, cinnamon has received a lot of attention by the modern media as
a possible treatment for diabetes. Several studies have shown that cinnamon
is an effective medicine for lowering blood sugar levels. While
most doctors do not suggest replacing traditional diabetes therapy with
cinnamon, many people may find this spice to be an effective way to control
blood sugar naturally.

Researchers aren't completely sure whether cinnamon influences
insulin or whether it affects the rate at which sugars are absorbed, but the
results of many studies are encouraging, and will hopefully lead to more
research about just how cinnamon causes these positive blood glucose results.
For most people, adding a small daily dose of cinnamon to their
diet is almost effortless. In fact, a bowl of whole-grain oatmeal, sweetened
with stevia and flavoured with cinnamon is an ideal breakfast food for
someone aiming to control blood sugar.

For full story, please see:
www.naturalnews.com/026736_cinnamon_blood_sugar.html

6. Devil's Claw (Harpagophytum procumben) holds key to arthritis
treatment

Source: Times of India, 17 August 2009

Deep in Africa's Kalahari Desert lies the Devil's Claw (Harpagophytum
procumben), a plant that may hold the key to effective treatments for
arthritis, tendonitis and other illnesses that affect millions each year.
In the US, Devil's Claw extracts are in phase-II clinical trials for the
treatment of hip and knee arthritis. Other promising uses are not far behind.
Scientists have now successfully reproduced active ingredients in the Devil's
Claw. Their technique may eventually lead to the development of
"bio-factories" that could produce huge quantities of rare plant extracts
quickly and at little cost.
Milen I. Georgiev, a scientist who organizes and teaches
environment protection, pointed out that for thousands of years, native
populations in southern Africa have used the Devil's Claw as a remedy for a
huge number of ailments, including fever, diarrhoea and blood diseases.
But while the demand for these beneficial compounds is
increasing, the supply of natural Devil's Claw is dwindling, thanks to years
of drought, which have pushed the plant towards extinction. Today, there are
dozens of medicinal and herbal products around the world that are based on
chemicals derived from the plant. "In Germany, 57 pharmaceutical products
based on Devil's Claw, marketed by 46 different companies, have cumulative
sales volumes alone worth more than $40 million," Georgiev noted.

Currently, more than 25 percent of all prescribed medicines used
in the industrialized countries are derived either directly or indirectly
from plants, many of which are rare and sometimes endangered.

For full story please see:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/health-science/health/Plant-in-Africa
s-Kalahari-Desert-holds-key-to-arthritis-treatment/articleshow/4902562.cms

7. Honey more effective than antibiotics

Source: The Medical News, Australia 27 July 2009

A household remedy a millennia old is being reinstated: honey helps the
treatment of some wounds better than the most modern antibiotics.

For several years now medical experts from the University of Bonn
<http://www.uni-bonn.de> , Germany have been clocking up largely positive
experience with what is known as medihoney. Even chronic wounds infected with
multi-resistant bacteria often healed within a few weeks. In conjunction with
colleagues from Düsseldorf, Homburg and Berlin they now want to test the
experience gained in a large-scale study, as objective data on the curative
properties of honey are thin on the ground.

The fact that honey can help wounds to heal is something that was
known to the Ancient Egyptians several thousand years ago. And in the last
two world wars poultices with honey were used to assist the healing process
in soldiers' wounds. However, the rise of the new antibiotics replaced this
household remedy. 'In hospitals today we are faced with germs which are
resistant to almost all the current antibiotics,' Dr. Arne Simon explains.
'As a result, the medical use of honey is becoming attractive again for the
treatment of wounds.'

For several years now Bonn paediatricians have been pioneering
the use in Germany of medihoney in treating wounds. Medihoney bears the CE
seal (a marking which establishes the manufacturer's product conforms to all
applicable requirements) for medical products; its quality is regularly
tested. The success is astonishing: 'Dead tissue is rejected faster, and the
wounds heal more rapidly,' Kai Sofka, wound specialist at the University
Children's Clinic, emphasises. 'What is more, changing dressings is less
painful, since the poultices are easier to remove without damaging the newly
formed layers of skin.' Some wounds often smell unpleasant - an enormous
strain on the patient. Yet honey helps here too by reducing the smell. 'Even
wounds which consistently refused to heal for years can, in our experience,
be brought under control with medihoney - and this frequently happens within
a few weeks,' Kai Sofka says.

It has already been proved that medihoney even puts paid to
multi-resistant germs such as MRSA. In this respect medihoney is neck and
neck in the race to beat the antibiotic mupirocin, currently the local MRSA
antibiotic of choice. This is shown by a study recently published by
researchers in Australia. In one point medihoney was even superior to its
rival: the bacteria did not develop any resistance to the natural product
during the course of treatment.

For full story, please see: www.news-medical.net/news/2006/07/27/19109.aspx

8. Medicinal Plants: Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) to battle swine flu

Source: Thaindia.com, 12 August 2009

The national capital's civic agency is all set to tackle the spread of the
influenza A (H1N1) virus in its own unique way - by distributing medicinal
plants like Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) and giloy (Tinospora cordifolia) to
residents. Ayurvedic practitioners believe these plants can boost immunity
and help fight swine flu.
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) leader of house Subhash Arya
Wednesday said: "The corporation will provide giloy branches and leaves as
well as tulsi plants to the citizens of Delhi free of cost so that they could
safeguard themselves from swine flu."

"These will be distributed through the municipal councillors from their
residential offices. The residents of their ward would collect these herbal
plants from there," he added.

This decision was taken after a meeting of MCD councillors and
members of the civic agency's garden and horticulture departments. "It was
decided that keeping in view the preventive and curative powers of these
herbal plants, these should be made available free of cost to the citizens,"
Arya said.

Arya explained that the ayurvedic system of medicine prescribes
that these herbs should be boiled in water at night till the quantity of the
soup reduces to one-fourth.

"It should be taken in half glass measure after filteration every morning. I
am confident that it will prevent as well as cure the prevailing swine flu,"
he said.

For full story, please see:
www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health1/delhi-civic-body-to-give-citizens-tulsi-
to-battle-swine-flu_100231590.html
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20I
nternet%20Files\OLK119\www.thaindian.com\newsportal\health1\delhi-civic-body-
to-give-citizens-tulsi-to-battle-swine-flu_100231590.html>

9. Medicinal plants: Withania somnifera - Rediscovering the "Indian
Ginseng"

Source: Indian Express, 1 August 2009

Recently it has been found that almost everything that Ayurveda (the system
of traditional medicine native to India) has to say about the herb known as
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) has been backed in recent times by hard
scientific evidence emanating from India as well as from the West.

Interestingly, many Indian physicians who have been trained in
the Western system of medicine do not seem to acknowledge the virtues of
Ashwagandha. However In many countries in Europe and particularly in the US,
there is an ever increasing scientific interest in the knowledge embodied in
the Ayurveda. Ashwagandha, in particular, has aroused enormous interest and
even the Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre has acknowledged its potential
benefits for cancer treatment.

Although Ginseng and Ashwaganda are botanically unrelated, at a
basic level of perception they seem to impart similar benefits - vigour and
strength. Hence, Ashwagandha has often been called the Indian Ginseng. The
two are quite different in their chemistry and in the health benefits that
they provide.

Ashwagandha, which if literally translated means "redolent of a
horse", has many beneficial properties as recent studies have corroborated.
Traditionally, Ashwagandha was prescribed after an illness in order to
strengthen the immune system. It is also an ingredient in the Ayurvedic tonic
Chyawanprash, which also serves as food supplement.

It is hard to conceive that a small shrub of Ashwagandha is
endowed with so many biologically active compounds. These compounds are
extracted not just from its fruit (berries) but also from its leaves and
roots. It is therefore not surprising that its use has been that of an
anti-inflammatory agent, immune system protector, antioxidant, tranquiliser,
anxiety reducer and anti-carcinogenic agent. Immunity-building has been the
forte of Ashwagandha since ancient times. The root extract of this herb
provides the white blood cells with an enhanced capacity to devour the
pathogens.

For full story please see:
www.indianexpress.com/news/Rediscovering-the-Indian-Ginseng--Ashwagandha/4967
44
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20I
nternet%20Files\OLK119\www.indianexpress.com\news\Rediscovering-the-Indian-Gi
nseng--Ashwagandha\496744>

10. Mushrooms: Food security project offers hope of self-sufficiency

Source: Sustainable Food Examiner, 5 August 2009

Eleven years ago Chido Govero, who never knew her father and lost her mother
to AIDS, was rescued from an orphanage in Zimbabwe by a local scientist
working with the ZERI Foundation.

At the young age of twelve she began work in a university
research laboratory, studying local wild mushrooms and their potential as a
domesticated food source. Govero and her colleagues in the university
discovered that for communities lacking a consistent supply of food,
mushrooms offer superior nutrition and have the potential to dramatically
contribute to food security. Govero became fascinated with the accessible and
nutritious mushroom, and became an expert at making them thrive with the
simple materials readily available even to homeless orphan girls.

Now twenty-three years old, she is cultivating native mushrooms
in mulch composed of discarded organic materials, such as fallen leaves and
the husks from coffee beans and is on a mission to teach other orphaned girls
to find the mushrooms in their local environments and cultivate them for food
and income. Govero has already trained a dozen other orphaned girls how to
grow mushrooms from coffee pulp. Her plan is to reach out and network
throughout Africa to create jobs and alleviate hunger with what is locally
available.

In July 2009 Equator Coffees, a successful American-based,
woman-owned company known both for social responsibility and artisan coffees,
launched Chido's Blend(tm) to raise funds to support Govero's work.

"Chido is an inspiration to all women entrepreneurs who work for
social change," said Helen Russell, co-founder and CEO of Equator Coffees.
Russell met recently with Govero, who travelled to the U.S. to visit with
leaders in the specialty coffee industry. "Chido's Blend(tm) will raise funds
critical to the success of her efforts, and inspire coffee lovers to look
deeper into the power of their morning cup. This cause takes coffee to an
entirely new level." 100% of the profits from the sales of Chido's Blend(tm)
go toward Govero's work in coffee growing communities. Her program also
receives vital support from the ZERI Foundation, which specializes in
international sustainable development.

For full story, please see:
www.examiner.com/x-7030-SF-Sustainable-Food-Examiner~y2009m8d5-Equator-Coffee
s-launches-Chidos-Blend
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20I
nternet%20Files\OLK119\www.examiner.com\x-7030-SF-Sustainable-Food-Examiner~y
2009m8d5-Equator-Coffees-launches-Chidos-Blend>

11. Shea Butter empowerment and knowledge for women

Source: IPS, 4 August 2009

While Africa is still far from having adequate capacity for scientific
innovation, women are more and more present in the field of the continent's
sustainable development.

According to Dr Alhadji Wareme from Burkina Faso, knowledge is not
the exclusive preserve of universities and the like, but is also to be found
by building on traditional techniques and craftsmanship. He says women's
groups have made enormous strides in this regard in Burkina Faso, notably in
the production of shea butter.

"The filière (producer to consumer chain) for shea butter produced
by women's organizations offers major opportunities in terms of invention and
wealth creation in a rural or urban setting, providing livelihoods for women
in particular, and a source of foreign currency for the country due to
growing export demand," he told IPS. (Improving shea butter production in
Burkina Faso - and neighboring Mali and Niger - has been directed towards
improving joint action throughout the sector, from producers through
processors, distributors, exporters and consumers: the entirety is referred
to in French as a filière.)
The foundation of these productive advances, Wareme underlines,
is in traditional knowledge. According to him, Burkinabe women have long
processed shea nuts for butter. With assistance from a development partner,
the International Development Research Centre, these women have improved
production techniques, using manure, taking better care of the health of the
trees, as well as speeding up the extraction process using a machine press.

Warame continues: "Women's groups, combining traditional and modern
techniques, have succeeded in creating something good in the shea butter
filière. What's needed now is a programme to share these techniques more
widely."

For full story, please see:

www.ipseurope.org/news/news.php?key1=2009-0810%2009:31:35&key2=1
<http://www.ipseurope.org/news/news.php?key1=2009-08>

COUNTRY INFORMATION

12. Brazil: Can NTFPs help conserve the Amazon?

Source: Amazon Fund, 20 June 2009

Industrial-scale logging and resource exploitation continue to plague the
South American rainforests, contributing to their systematic destruction.
Today, indigenous inhabitants and other local residents of the rainforests
and their surrounding areas, faced with the enormous pressures of the global
economy, often find themselves in a crucible. Many of their opportunities for
supporting themselves and their families financially involve logging or other
large-scale operations that deplete and ultimately decimate the forests. In
order to make even a marginal living, local people often find themselves
forced to participate in the destruction of the very ecosystems that they
live in and depend on. In fact, a recent study in the prestigious journal
Science has shown that while deforestation (in the Brazilian Amazon)
generates some short-term benefits, it fails in the longer term to improve
the quality of life or increase affluence. Thus, deforestation is NOT a
critical step toward development.

Instead, a two-pronged approach of compensation for allowing
forest to stand coupled with development of sustainable activities that
maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services will be of greater benefit. As
the world seeks to mitigate global warming and carbon emissions, this latter
approach will become more and more desirable and feasible.

The Brazilian NGO "Amazon Fund", believes that it is possible for
people of the rainforest to gain a viable living from their environment in a
way that is sustainable and healthy for the ecosystem. Some of the hope for
the future of the forests, the plants, the animals, the people, and the
knowledge of the Amazon lies in NTFPs.

Rich and intricate webs of life, rainforests clearly contain more
than just wood for logging. Viewed through an economic lens, NTFPs are any
non-timber biological materials taken from forests for human use. NTFPs may
be sold commercially or used for personal sustenance by the people harvesting
them. Many NTFPs can be collected in a renewable and sustainable manner on a
relatively small scale, providing local people with adequate income while
preserving the forest. Potential Non-Timber Forest Products include herbs and
other medicinal products, nuts, fruits, mushrooms, honey, gums and resins,
spices, flavourings, sweeteners, fragrances for perfumes, ornamental pods and
seeds, fibers, oils, food colorants, and rubber.
Sustainable harvesting more economically sound than a one-time
timber harvest

For full story, please see:
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0720-amazon_fund_editorial.html

13. Canada: NTFP Newsletter

Source: NTFP Network of Canada, July 2009

The National NTFP Network of Canada has released its second Newsletter.
Inside you will find a series of articles on a range of topics, a description
of upcoming events and other information reflecting the diversity of the NTFP
situation across Canada.

For full story, please see: www.ntfpnetwork.ca/en/node/89

14. Ecuador: 'Carbon bonds' to save forest

Source: Carbon Positive, 9 August 2009

While the UN, World Bank and NGOs work away at creating a new international
carbon payments mechanism to save the world's remaining rainforests, Ecuador
has been trying a variation on the theme - carbon bonds.
The bonds would be issued over a government guarantee that oil
won't be extracted from the Yasuni National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon and
its forest and biodiversity preserved. The project would deliver a total of
407 million tonnes of emissions reduction savings, primarily from the avoided
extraction and burning of 850 million barrels of oil under the reserve, and
the protection of forest. There would also be significant benefits in
biodiversity conservation and protecting the way of life of two indigenous
groups living traditionally in the forest.
Working in a similar way to tradable carbon offset credits
generated in return for emission reductions; the Ecuadorian government
envisages issuing Yasuni Guarantee Certificates linked to the price of offset
credits on the European carbon market.
Revenue from bond sales would offset the royalties foregone to
oil companies in locking up the reserve permanently. If the oil reserve were
to be exploited at some future date, the bonds would be cancelled and the
government would be legally bound to return the proceeds, plus interest.
Ecuador's President, Rafael Correa, has called on developed
countries - governments and companies - to commit to buy the bonds, saying if
the international community doesn't come to the party the debt-strapped
country will have no choice but to allow the oil field to be developed.
The bond sales would take place over a ten-year period with
revenue being earmarked for investment in sustainable energy to wean the
country of fossil fuels.
The US-based World Resources Institute has welcomed the concept in principle
but expressed concern over carbon leakage. That is, should emission
reductions be recognised in this plan when, in the short term at least, the
demand for the oil from the field is likely to be just filled from supply
elsewhere. This would mean no real emission savings.

For full story, please see:
www.carbonpositive.net/viewarticle.aspx?articleID=1636

15. Ghana: Promotion of NWFPs may save the forests

Source: Ghana News Agency, 2 August 2009

Ghana faces the threat of losing its forest cover and becoming a desert if
the current rate of deforestation continued without support from all
stakeholders in efforts to switch on to the use of regenerative and early
maturing plant species, Mr Henry Kamel Ford, a Deputy Minister for Lands and
Natural Resources warned on Friday. He said Government was exploring ways to
conserve the traditional wood species and promoting the lesser used plant
varieties like bamboo and rattan, which had very high regenerative
capacities.

Mr Ford gave the caution when he interacted with Members of the
Greater Accra Bamboo and Rattan Association, occupying the edges of the
Switchback Road, in Accra.

In a stock-taking of the forest resources of the nation, Mr Ford
pointed out that the cover which was about 8.3 million hectares in the year
2000 shrunk to 1.5 million hectares in 2006, adding that if the current rate
of depletion of 65,000 hectares continued, Ghana would have no forests in 23
years' time.

Consequently, Government is promoting the use of bamboo and
rattan as suitable alternative to wood, not only to conserve the traditional
woods, but because bamboo had nutritional values and could be used in the
aviation, construction and the textile industries.

Mr Ford said the Ministry had begun a capacity programme for stakeholders in
the bamboo industry, and was collaborating with the governments of China and
the Philippines for training to enhance its use in Ghana. "We are now taking
bamboo seriously, and we are now sourcing fund for the growth of the bamboo
and rattan industry,"

Mr Ford said government was ready to support the acquisition of
land at Ayimensa, near Accra, to localize the bamboo industry to make it a
one-stop shop for bamboo products.

Currently most artisans in the bamboo and rattan industry are scattered in
the city of Accra at the Switchback Road, along the Achimota Tetteh Quarshie
Road and the Arts Centre, without any good shelter, making it difficult for
them to work when it rains.

The Minister inspected some furniture made from bamboo and rattan
by the artisans and how they had recycled the waste materials to mould
animals such as giraffes, lions and other forest species. The Deputy Minister
said it would perhaps become possible for school children to use bamboo
furniture when the industry was fully developed to save the nation's
traditional wood species.

Mr Vincent Mawuli Vordzi, General Secretary of the Association,
said the main problem facing the 500 member association was the acquisition
of land. He said the nine plots acquired so far was not large enough to
accommodate all its members.

Mr Vordzi called on the Government to empower the Association to
issue licenses for entry into bamboo enclaves for the harvesting of the
plant, and also help the Association check the illegal export of bamboo
products while measures were also taken to expand the market for the bamboo
products.

For full story, please see:
http://ghanabusinessnews.com/2009/08/02/ghana%E2%80%99s-forests-to-go-in-23-y
ears-if/
<http://ghanabusinessnews.com/2009/08/02/ghana%25E2%2580%2599s-forests-to-go-
in-23-years-if/>

16. India: Aboriginal uses and management of ethnobotanical species

Source: Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 4 August 2009

A study by Chandra Prakash Kala on the Journal of Ethnobiology and
Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:20, on the native uses of ethnobotanical species was
carried out in the south Surguja district of Chhattisgarh state in India with
the major objective of identifying different food and medicinal plant species
and also to understand their ongoing management and conservation.
Through questionnaires and personal interviews, a total of 73 ethnobotanical
species used by tribal and non-tribal communities were documented, of these
36 species were used in curing different types of diseases and 22 were used
as edible food plants. This rich traditional knowledge of local people has an
immense potential for pharmacological studies. The outside forces, at
present, were mainly blamed to change the traditional system of harvesting
and management of ethnobotanical species.
The destructive harvesting practices have damaged the existing
populations of many ethnobotanical species viz ., Asparagus racemosus,
Dioscorea bulbifera, Boswellia serrata, Buchnania lanzan, Sterculia urens and
Anogeissus latifolia. The sustainable harvesting and management issues of
ethnobotanical species are discussed in view of their conservation and
management.

For full story please see:
http://7thspace.com/headlines/316230/aboriginal_uses_and_management_of_ethnob
otanical_species_in_deciduous_forests_of_chhattisgarh_state_in_india.html

17. India: Bamboo drive to beat rebels

Source: The Telegraph Calcutta, 31 July 2009

The forest department has embarked on a bamboo plantation drive with the aim
of generating employment for tribals of Naxalite strongholds in Dhanbad and
Bokaro districts so that they are not easily lured into joining the rebel
ranks. The department has already embarked on a mission to plant more than
30,000 bamboo saplings.

The bamboo produced will be used to make handicraft products,
thus providing a boost to the cottage industry and generating jobs for both
young and old. Three villages in Topchanchi block, two in Tundi block, four
in Baghmara and one in Mahuda block of Dhanbad district and two villages each
in Nawadih and Gomia blocks of Bokaro have been chosen for the drive. The
Union government has sanctioned Rs 18 lakh for the project. More funds have
been promised if positive results emerge.

After receiving reports that Maoist top leaders were luring
unemployed youths and even elders sitting idle at home to join them in return
for money and other facilities, the Centre had asked the forest department to
initiate the project.

Talking to The Telegraph, district forest officer of Dhanbad
Sanjiv Kumar said they wanted to create jobs for both young and old
residents. "While the old people can make bamboo products, the youth can sell
them in the market. Besides, we need people for the plantation job as well,"
he said. The villagers, he added, were showing a lot of interest in the
project. "Regular training will be held for them," Kumar promised.

For full story, please see:
www.telegraphindia.com/1090731/jsp/jharkhand/story_11303297.jsp

18. India: Bamboo shoot raises hope for sweet profit

Source: Telegraph India, 30 July 2009

The pungent bamboo shoot that flavours your pork could soon become a staple
ingredient for industrial growth in the under-developed Bodo belt.

The Bodoland Bamboo Development Board and the International
Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) based in Beijing signed a memorandum of
understanding to establish a bamboo shoot processing centre in Kokrajhar on
Friday, in an attempt to use the abundant grass on a commercial scale.

Used to season numerous dishes, the bamboo shoot has found its
way to supermarket racks in both fresh and canned versions. Despite its
popularity in the Northeast, the bamboo shoot has not been tapped as a
commercial potential.

Keeping that gap in mind, the Bodoland Bamboo Development Board
decided to test the waters. Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) executive
member Mitaram Basumatary, who is also the chairman of Bodoland Bamboo
Development Board, and J. Coosje Hoogendoorn, Director General of INBAR,
signed the agreement at the BTC secretariat conference hall.

The bamboo processing centre will be established at the Central
Institute of Technology (CIT) situated at Balajan in Kokrajhar. INBAR will
lend the technical support required.

Besides training the youths, INBAR will emphasize the
commercialization of bamboo-related edible products.

Terming the signing of the MoU as a step for industrial
development in the BTC area, Mitaram Basumatary said all parts of bamboo
plants are useful and can be industrially processed and utilised.

"Bamboo shoot has the largest potential market not only in the
region but also outside, but it lacks commercialization and value addition. I
believe the proposed bamboo shoot processing centre will be able to bring
some dramatic changes in the bamboo sector in the BTC. The emphasis is on
commercialization of bamboo-related spices and preservation of bamboo shoots
through various technologies," Basumatary said.

Speaking about the MoU, Hoogendoorn said the collaboration
between the Bodoland Bamboo Development Board and the INBAR aims to
strengthen bamboo production in the area. "Though people use bamboo for
household purposes, it has been not used for income generation purposes," she
said.

Experts say there is a growing market for processed and packaged
shoots, providing an opportunity for entrepreneurs to explore its commercial
potential.

For full story please see:
www.telegraphindia.com/1090731/jsp/northeast/story_11290115.jsp
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\OL
K26\www.telegraphindia.com\1090731\jsp\northeast\story_11290115.jsp>

19. Nepal: Herb farming shows way out of poverty

Source: Ekantipur.com (Nepal). 2 August 2009

Jumla - The population of 10 Village Development Committees (local
communities of villages) in a Mid-Western district of Nepal have taken to
herb farming in a big way. This endeavour, which enjoys support of the
Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC), is helping bail the people
out of penury. On top of it, commercial farming of herbs has helped conserve
medicinal plants that were in peril in the wild, thanks to unabated
collection that was going on till 2005.

The medicinal plants are in high demand in the international
market and fetch a good price too, says Laxmi Chandra Mahat, district project
facilitator for the herb farming project.

"Apart from herb conservation, this project will be instrumental in raising
the living standard of local people," says Mahat.

According to statistics of the district project office, farmers
have cultivated at least 10 kinds of herbs in some 1,500 hectares in Jumla.
"Cultivating crops, we used to find it hard to meet day-to-day expenses even
for six months. Now that we have taken to herb farming, we hope to get a
better return," says Kali Bahadur Thapa of Patmara VDC.

In the fiscal year 2008/09, people of Patmara sold 120 kg of
herbs and earned about Rs. 130,000. The profit motivated them and they
planted herbs in some 300 hectares in their village.

Taking a leaf from Jumla, the MoFSC plans to expand the herb
farming project in 11 districts of four zones in three phases by 2014. The
International Fund for Agriculture Development has loaned Rs 1.5 billion to
the ministry for the Rs 2.17-billion project, according to Mahat.

For full story please see: www.ekantipur.com/kolnews.php?&nid=207501

20. Peru to pay Indians for conservation of Amazon jungle

Source: Latin American Herald Tribune, 9 August 2009

LIMA - The Peruvian government will pay Indian communities for their work in
preserving the Amazon jungle as part of an ambitious program that seeks to
protect 55 million hectares of rain forest in the country, Environment
Minister Antonio Brack told Efe.

"One of the worst problems about global warming is that mankind
in the last 500 years has destroyed 50 percent of the forests on the planet
and that is a very serious problem indeed," the environment minister said,
adding that in Peru 10 million hectares (39,000 square miles) of tropical
forest have been destroyed. Up to now development has consisted of the
woodland practice of slash and burn to clear land for crops and livestock,
but that has given mediocre results because of the 10 million hectares where
that has been carried out, 8 million hectares are unproductive. It's shameful
and we can't keep doing it," Brack said.

The Peruvian administration's program is not limited to
compensating native communities economically, but will also initiate other
actions like employing 600 Indians as forest rangers to protect these areas,
and to award scholarships so that natives can be trained in such activities
as ecotourism and beekeeping.

For full story please see:
www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=340515&CategoryId=14095
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20I
nternet%20Files\OLK119\www.laht.com\article.asp%3fArticleId=340515&CategoryId
=14095>

21. Rwanda: Local institute beats target of biodiesel production

Source: The New Times (Kigali), 3 August 2009

Kigali - After one year of launching the production of biodiesel, the
Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (IRST) has achieved its
strategic projection of producing 2000 liters of biodiesel per day.

The biodiesel that is produced from the palm oil, Moringa oil,
Jatropha oil, avocado seeds and animal fats among others will help the
country break away from dependency of imported petroleum products, since
Rwanda is a land locked country.

The land mark achievement has been accomplished due to the
purchase of machinery from Europe and plans are under way to purchase bigger
machines with higher capacity that can produce 340,000 liters of diesel per
day. However, Rwanda still imports most of the raw materials from the
neighbouring countries for the production of diesel oil. It imports a total
of 11.5 tonnes of raw materials. According to Nduwayezu Jean Baptist, the
Director General of IRST, for Rwanda to attain fuel independence, it needs at
least 225,000 hectares of land to produce raw materials.

For full story, please see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200908040202.html

22. USA: Native plants recovering after pigs, goats fenced out

Source: Haleakala Times (Hawaii), 29 July 2009

HALEAKALA - Native species in the shrub land and forest of Waikamoi Preserve
on the north slope of Mount Haleakala have staged a dramatic recovery after
hoofed animals were fenced out. In some cases, native plant cover increased
by 300 percent or more.
The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii reported that work at the site
confirmed that strategic conservation efforts, like fencing and feral animal
removal, can help restore damaged ecosystems.
The conservancy conducted two surveys - one immediately after
fencing and removing goats and pigs from part of its Waikamoi Preserve in
1994, and another survey last year. The results surprised scientists. When
they went back for the second survey, they found the land was far denser with
native plants than it had been.

"The message is that it's really worth protecting important
native forests and watersheds from invasive animals. You really do get
remarkable results," said Mark L. White, Maui program director for The Nature
Conservancy.
Native trees and ferns sprang up. Native shrubs and forest-floor
mosses and lichen exploded. And remarkably, several grasses - including an
invasive grass - declined.

In the 1994 survey, the upper sub-alpine areas were open and
dominated by grasses, both native an alien. By the time of the 2008 survey,
grasses and soft-bodied (herbaceous) plants were reduced in number. In their
place were native woody shrubs and ferns.

For full story, please see:
www.haleakalatimes.com/2009/07/29/news/News/native_plants_recovering_after_pi
gs_goats_fenced_out
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20I
nternet%20Files\OLK119\www.haleakalatimes.com\2009\07\29\news\News\native_pla
nts_recovering_after_pigs_goats_fenced_out>

23. USA: USDA Proposes Label for Bio-based Products

Source: GreenBiz.com, 5 August 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a
labeling system to identify products made with renewable plant, animal and
other bio-based materials.

The BioPreferred labeling proposal is an outgrowth of the federal
government's BioPreferred purchasing program, which was created in the 2002
Farm Bill. The 2008 Farm Bill expanded the program to also promote the sale
of bio-based products outside of the government.

The proposal would set up a system in which companies could
voluntarily apply the BioPreferred label to their products. The USDA has
already identified more than 15,000 bio-based products in about 200
categories.
The USDA hopes that a labelling system for bio-based products
would help consumers, businesses and governments easily identify bio-based
products, and also act as a marketing tool for the product makers and
vendors.
The USDA defines bio-based products as items that are made up
entirely or mostly of biological ingredients like plant, animal, marine and
forestry materials. A product would be able to use the BioPreferred label if
it meets or exceeds the USDA's minimum content requirements.

For full story, please see: www.enn.com/business/article/40317
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\OLK26\www.enn.com\business\art
icle\40317>

NEWS

24. Biopiracy: Developing nations demand bio-piracy protection in
TRIPS

Source: The Economic Times (India), 10 August 2009

NEW DELHI: India and eight other developing countries continue to be at
loggerheads with the US over the issue of amending the agreement on Trade
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to include rules on
checking bi-piracy.

This was necessary as a number of individuals or companies in
developed countries were usurping traditional knowledge existing in
developing countries for centuries and getting it patented in their names.
The group has been stressing that disclosure of origin of biological resource
being patented and benefit sharing with the country of origin of the patented
resource should be made part of the TRIPS agreement.

Speaking to the Economic Times, a government official in the
commerce department pointed out that the issue of checking biopiracy through
multilateral rules is very important for India as entities in developed
countries have been continuously trying to patent properties of biological
resources being used in India for generations.
The US had granted patents for certain medicinal uses of
biological products, like neem (Azadirachta indica) and turmeric (Curcuma
longa) that have been known in India for a long time. The US government later
revoked those patents. "If we have proper multilateral rules in place for
disclosure of origin and benefit sharing, then it will lead to a more just
global order and reduce disputes," the official said.

For full story, please see:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Indicators/Developing-nation
s-demand-bio-piracy-protection-in-Trips/articleshow/4875536.cms

25. Disappearance of honey bees has devastating affects

Source: Basil & Spice, 2 August 2009

Starting in the winter of 2006, millions of bees vanished without a trace
from their hives across the United States and Europe, and are still
continuing to do so. The disappearance of the honey bees - who are the
indispensable pollinators of fruits and vegetables - has left billions of
dollars of crops at risk and has threatened our food supply in a manner that
has never been experienced before.

Given the unprecedented nature of the problem, and the
agricultural nightmare that looms ahead with the loss of the vast majority of
fruits and vegetables, scientists are now scrambling to understand the causes
behind the disappearance of the honey bees--both in the West, as well as in
many other parts of the globe.

Scientists warn that if we are unable to stop the further loss of
bees, we are faced with the loss of the very foods (fruits, nuts, and
vegetables) that protect us from chronic illnesses. The reality is that there
are no known means to pollinate the blossoms of fruit or nut trees that can
begin to compare with the efficiency of honey bees. As an example, a hive of
bees pollinates 3 million flowers a day; however, when an effort is made to
pollinate flowers manually, it has been estimated that one human being can
pollinate a maximum of only three trees a day.

It is estimated that if the bees continue to disappear at the
current rate, the honey bee population in the United States will cease to
exist by the year 2035.

For full story please see:
www.basilandspice.com/journal/2035-potential-loss-of-earths-fruit-and-vegetab
les.html

26. Indigenous peoples protect the rainforest with hi-tech tools

Source: DW-World.de, 10 August 2009

Illegal logging is a threat to the rainforests of Peru. But the indigenous
communities are using both ancient knowledge and modern technology to protect
biodiversity and stop further destruction.

The lush green of the rain forest offers rich natural resources
which the Ashaninka Indians have lived on for centuries. At the Yoreka Atame
school of primeval forestry in Brazil, young indigenous and non-indigenous
people have been learning how to make use of them in a sustainable way. Since
2007, the school has taught more than 2,000 participants skills like the
cultivating fruit trees, keeping bees, and erecting dams in creeks and lakes
to enhance spawning grounds for fish.

"That's how we Ashaninka Indians here in the border region
between Brazil and Peru want to pass on our traditional knowledge," said
Moises Piyako. He cofounded the Yoreka Atame school together with his brother
Benki in 2007.

To prevent illegal loggers from wreaking further havoc on
Brazilian territory, Benki and Moises Piyako demand a world-wide ban on
imports of wood illegally felled in rainforests.

"There are only a few specimen left of many of the tree species, and we are
trying to recultivate these economic plants," they said, adding that there is
a lack of understanding for the importance of managing resources sustainable.
"We must make sure that our natural resources are not destroyed in the
struggle for survival."

In their fight for environmental protection, the Ashaninka
combine traditional knowledge and modern technology. Some remote communities
have already set up satellite-supported communication systems in the
rainforest.

In addition, Benki Piyako and his village of Apiwtxa have set up
a video blog on life in the rainforest (http://apiwtxa.blogspot.com
<http://apiwtxa.blogspot.com/> ). There, they also post satellite photos that
document how illegal logging is devastating huge areas. It is their aim to
teach people how the forest and its resources can be used without destroying
them. And they also want to set up a global network supporting the protection
of their region

For full story, please see: www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4547011,00.html

27. Killer weeds turn into stylish handbags, sturdy hammocks

Source: Mid-Day (India), 8 August 2009

Marine weeds, considered an ecological hazard in Kerala's rainforest, turn
into valuable raw material when designers and local craftsmen working with
Inheritance India come together.

Documentary filmmaker Lygia Matthew was shooting the tradition of
snake boat racing in Kerala when she encountered locals who survived on the
brink of poverty despite skills to fashion breathtaking items from cane and
bamboo. Along with four partners, including a naturalist couple who ran a
wildlife camp, a professional with the hospitality industry and a financial
planner, she set up Inheritance India in 2002.

They first bought an abandoned coffee plantation in Kerala to
retail organically-grown coffee in Mumbai and Pune. With help from two
designers from Ahmedabad's National Institute of Design, local craftsmen were
trained in making modern lifestyle items using traditional techniques and raw
materials, like lantana and water hyacinth.

These weeds that thrive in tropical rain forests and end up
choking water bodies and ruining marine life, were often poisoned.
Inheritance India decided to use these sturdy plants to fashion handbags,
mats and lamps, using organic colours obtained from pomegranate and walnuts.

For full story, please see:
www.mid-day.com/whatson/2009/aug/080809-Whats-On-mumbai-Marine-weeds-NID-desi
gners-Inheritance-India.htm

28. New way to benefit from tropical forests

Source: The Statesman, Kolkata, India, 17 August 2009

Researchers have developed a way to reap social and environmental benefits
from tropical forests worldwide, a project which they claim have benefited
many global and indigenous community groups in Orissa.
A team, led by International Institute for Environment and
Development, has said that communities in Orissa have now increased "access
rights" to collect and manage NTFPs in state forest land.
The project also involves forest community groups and
policy-makers across ten countries in Africa and Asia. "With forests set to
take centre stage in a new global deal to tackle climate change, there is a
desperate search for proven ways to improve governance to make sure that
forest resources are managed for the public benefit.
"The search should look at what's been achieved by the Forest
Governance Learning Group (FGLG). Its experience shows how to improve
governance in ways that lead to tangible changes in policy with positive
impacts on people who depend on forests," team leader James Mayers said.
Through stimulation, the project has achieved impacts such as:
forest-dependent households living around Uganda's Mabira forest have more
secure livelihoods after action which reversed a government decision to
degazette the forest and convert it to sugar plantations; improved governance
frameworks in Vietnam have enabled practical actions for local beneficial
community forestry.

For full story, please see:
www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=264983
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20I
nternet%20Files\OLK119\www.thestatesman.net\page.news.php%3fclid=9&theme=&usr
sess=1&id=264983>

29. 'Trees of life' are vital food source

Source: BBC News, 4 August 2009

The "famine food" of trees can keep drought-hit communities alive when all
other food crops fail, says Miranda Spitteler. In this week's Green Room, she
argues that policy makers need to recognise the important role trees play in
providing emergency food aid.

Food insecurity is a defining characteristic of life for many of
the world's poorest people, exacerbated now by climate change and the rise in
food prices. Emergency food aid has been the staple of international
responses to crises, such as drought and famine for decades.

However, it is much better that the emergency is addressed before
it happens.

Farmer Arzouma Thiombiano from eastern Burkina Faso recalls how trees saved
lives in the mid 1980s. "Over 20 years ago, a big famine came but people
escaped starvation by eating baobab leaves and fruit," he says.

Communities living in countries most affected by food shortages
have long known about the key role that trees can play in reducing the need
for conventional aid. Recognition of this by the West, and practical support
for a localized tree-based solution is urgently needed.

Widespread droughts across Africa have devastated crops this
year. According to FAO, 30 countries around the world are in crisis and
require help from overseas. The effects of climate change are making droughts
more of a norm than an exception. This is a pattern that places some of the
most vulnerable communities in an increasingly precarious position when it
comes to meeting basic food needs.

In Burkina Faso, malnutrition affects nearly 40% of the rural
poor. Climate change is further impacting on already fragile agricultural
lands, and high food costs are affecting people's health. By the time
shortages and hunger in countries like Burkina Faso reach "emergency" levels
and warrant aid, families, communities, agricultural practices and lands will
have suffered greatly.

The G8 summit held in Italy at the beginning of July pledged $20
billion to support indigenous food production to alleviate the need for such
emergency food aid.

What is missing from this pledge is any mention of the key role
that trees can play. "Conventional" crops are often not native and
require expensive inputs, significant irrigation and land preparation in
order to produce a successful harvest. This means that they are more
vulnerable to droughts. For smallholder farmers in Africa's drylands, a
failed harvest can mean months of malnutrition and hardship.

Trees, on the other hand, often survive when other crops fail.
Commonly seen by the West as "famine foods", tree foods already form a
significant part of daily diets across rural Africa. Trees provide fruits,
nuts, seeds, leaves, flowers, sepals, even sap, which can all be used as
food.

Take Moringa oleifera - its leaves have more beta-carotene than
carrots, more protein than peas, more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium
than milk, more potassium than bananas and more iron than spinach. Data shows
that nursing mothers produce more milk when they add Moringa leaves to their
diet. The leaves can be dried and eaten during the hungry period, and animal
fodder from trees is also vital in producing milk and meat.

This existing localized "emergency relief" is what the G8 funding must seek
to strengthen.

The fight against hunger - especially in drought-hit times - must
target those at the epicentre of world poverty - smallholder farmers in rural
Africa.

They need support to adopt agro-forestry techniques, which boost
soil fertility and provide tree food crops to supplement nutrition. They need
the right environment to invest in their land, the ability to share
information, and modest support at grass roots level. Training and support
can help villagers earn money from things that grow on trees. This income can
give them food-purchasing power when crops fail, and access to vital
services, such as healthcare and education.

This approach can increase self sufficiency for both rural
communities and national economies. It can increase environmental security,
diversify livelihood options and reduce the vulnerability of poor households
to climate change and external shocks. It can bring real, sustainable
long-term returns.

In Dongo, a village in Burkina Faso, Tree Aid's Village Tree
Enterprise project aims to help villagers generate income from tree products.
All the participants are women.

One of their husbands explained: "During the last drought period, when my
granary was empty, my wife's income contributed more than 50% of the
household's income."

Projects like these provide communities with the skills and
support to manage their trees. They enable people like the group in Dongo to
improve their own resilience to drought, crop failure, and higher food
prices.

It is time for the value of trees to be recognized at all levels
internationally. Groups like the G8 must make a commitment to developing the
enormous potential of agro-forestry. In so doing they present a joined up
approach to resolving two of the key issues facing the world today. They will
simultaneously alleviate poverty and food insecurity for people who need it
most, while tackling the impact of climate change by encouraging the
protection and planting of trees.

For full story, please see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8181510.stm

30. Vietnam succeeds in farming medicinal mushroom

Source: SGGP, 12 August 2009

The HCMC Center for Reishi and Medicinal Mushrooms Research has successfully
grown the Thuong Hoang mushroom which has active elements that can help treat
cancers, especially in the breast, liver, and stomach.

Co Duc Trong, chairman of the project to grow the mushroom in the
city said that Phellinus linteus has been used in traditional medicine for a
long time. This mushroom is of particular interest to researchers around the
world because of its tumour-prevention properties. It only grows deep in the
forest and high up in mountains and can live for tens of years.

The total global output productivity of the mushroom is just
around 30 tons a year, mainly from natural sources. Only four countries have
managed to farm it -- Korea, China, Japan, and Thailand. With demand being
high, a kilogram costs VND4 to 10 million (US$228 to 571) and there are a lot
of fakes. In Vietnam, it fetches VND4 million.

Since 2006 the center has successfully grown phellinus in sawdust
made from rubber trees instead of in tree trunks like the countries do. It
has so far produced around 140 kg, Mr.Trong said. This process protects the
mushrooms from diseases and they are cleaner and more uniform.

It can be grown for export and for selling to drug companies, he
added.

For full story, please see:
www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Science_Technology/2009/8/73252/
<http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Science_Technology/2009/8/73252/>

EVENTS

11th Annual BIOECON Conference on "Economic Instruments to Enhance the
Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity"

21-22 September 2009

Venice, Italy

The Conference is targeted at researchers, environmental professionals,
international organizations and policy makers who are interested in working
in the management and conservation of biodiversity. The Conference is focused
on identifying the most effective and efficient instruments for biodiversity
conservation, such as auctions of biodiversity conservation contracts,
payment-for-services contracts, taxes, tradable permits, voluntary mechanisms
and straightforward command and control. Special emphasis will be given to
policy reforms aimed at increasing the commercial rewards for conserving
biodiversity, increasing the penalties for biodiversity loss and circulating
information on the biodiversity performance requirements of firms. An
increasing number of businesses, which were responsible for biodiversity loss
in the past, are now supporters of biodiversity conservation. Markets for
organic agriculture and sustainably-harvested timber are developing at
double-digit rates, while rapid growth is observed in the demand for climate
mitigation services, such as the protection of forests and wetlands to absorb
carbon dioxide. Bioprospecting, the search for new compounds, genes and
organisms in the wild, is another biodiversity business on the rise.

Leading international environmental economists will present their
latest research in two plenary sessions. The agenda also includes two panel
discussions:

* European Investment Bank session (day 1) on Valuing
Ecosystem Services: the Link Between Theory and Practice

* Conservation International session (day2) on Applying
Economic Instruments to Enable People to Conserve Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services
For more information, please contact:

Ms. Ughetta Molin Fop

Fax +39.041.2711461.
E-mail: ughetta.molin@feem.it <mailto:ughetta.molin@feem.it>

Website: http://bioecon.meetingvenice.it/.

4th Shop the Wild Festival

3 - 4 October 2009

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

The Centre for Non-Timber Resources (CNTR) at Royal Roads University in
Victoria, BC will be hosting a public market, a wonderful opportunity for
producers & providers involved in British Columbia's non-timber forest
product sector to showcase their goods.

E-mail: bcwild@royalroads.ca
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\OLK26\bcwild@royalroads.ca>

Website: http://buybcwild.com/shop-wild <http://buybcwild.com/shop-wild>

Forum on non-timber forest resources

6 November 20009

Nanaimo, British Columbia

In partnership with the Canadian Forest Communities Conference, The Centre
for Non-Timber Resources (CNTR) is presenting a one-day forum on non-timber
forest resources. Themes will explore the values of working together,
collaborative community-based research, models for MTFR-based community
development, and policy and resource management.

E-mail: bcwild@royalroads.ca
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\OLK26\bcwild@royalroads.ca>

Website: http://buybcwild.com/2009-ntfr-forum

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

34. Capacity building opportunity for upcoming African Conservation
Biologist

From: Society for Conservation Biology

The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) Africa Section
Communications/Mentoring Program (funded by John D. and Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation) is enrolling new sets of mentors and mentees to
participate in the eight month mentoring program. Enrolment exercise will
commence from 1st to 31st of August 2009.

The program's goal is to increase the capacity of upcoming
African Conservation Biologists to write proposals and publish their research
in international peer-reviewed journals.

Interested mentors and mentees should please fill in the interest
form (www.conbio.org/Sections/Africa/AfricaMentor.cfm). Please note that SCB
membership is not a requirement for enrolment; however, preference will be
given to SCB members. Please send completed forms to babademo2001@yahoo.com
with cc: to mary.molokwu@gmail.com before 1st of September 2009.

For more information please see:
www.conbio.org/Sections/Africa/AfricaMentor.cfm

35. Position of Program Coordinator for Latin America

From: The Rights and Resources Initiative

The Rights and Resources Initiative is seeking to fill the position of
Program Coordinator for Latin America. Applications accepted immediately. For
application instructions and a full listing of job responsibilities, please
see the PDF attached and the listing here:
http://www.rightsandresources.org/documents/files/doc_1199.pdf

Position Description

The Washington-based Program Coordinator for Latin America will ensure the
strategic planning and implementation of collaborative activities with the
Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) Partners in Latin America designed to
advance the tenure rights of forest dwellers and alleviate poverty in forest
areas. The position requires effective and proactive decision-making to
ensure that the activities in the Latin America region do not deviate from
the goals and vision agreed to by the RRI regional team.

The Program Coordinator will proactively coordinate the Latin
America Program within a dynamic environment of shifting priorities,
overcoming impediments and solving problems, while maintaining effective
communication with Program Directors, and effective teamwork with staff and
coalition Partners and Collaborators. The Program Coordinator will fulfill
these responsibilities through a broad range of duties, including both
technical and administrative tasks.

The ideal candidate will possess:

* High level of analytical skills;
* Working knowledge of issues and debates surrounding community
forestry, conservation and social organizations; and rural development
* Excellent interpersonal skills, capacity to work in a team and to
demonstrate initiative;
* Availability to travel;
* Advanced degree in natural resource management, anthropology,
geography, international relations, or related field;
* Complete fluency in English and Spanish essential, fluency in
Portuguese a plus;

For more information, please visit the following link:
www.rightsandresources.org/documents/files/doc_1199.pdf

LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEB SITES

36. New publication from FAO's Forestry Department

From: Marco Boscolo, FAO, marco.boscolo@fao.org

Dijk, Kees van & Herman Savenije. 2009. Towards national financing strategies
for sustainable forest management in Latin America: Overview of the present
situation and the experience in selected countries. Forestry Policy and
Institutions. Working Paper 21. FAO, Rome.

This recently published study on the status, experiences and
perspectives of forest financing in Latin America emphasizes that one of the
main challenges facing countries in their efforts to reduce forest
degradation and deforestation is the need to make good forest management more
commercially competitive and make forests themselves more economically
attractive. Promotion of investment in management and in payment for the
goods and services produced by forests, and also ensuring that total earnings
are a fair reflection of the real costs and benefits of their sustainable
production is key.

There is a growing awareness that traditional views, policies,
sources and amounts of forest financing have been insufficient and
inefficient in achieving SFM. The potential role of innovative market
arrangements is the object of growing attention, and a range of promising new
financing sources, instruments and mechanisms (especially regarding payment
for environmental forest services) and capital market instruments is now
appearing, and these can help to generate additional financial resources. It
is also increasingly being realized that stand-alone financing mechanisms are
less effective and sustainable than those set within a broader and more
reliable institutional and policy and political framework. It is concluded
that comprehensive National Forest Financing Strategies (NFFS) could be
adopted, encompassing the financing of investments (including incentives),
payment for goods and services, and risk mitigation mechanisms.

This synthesis study on the financing of forest management in
Latin America emerged from the joint efforts of two initiatives: (a) the
FAO/IUCN/CCAD project Financing strategies and mechanisms for sustainable use
and conservation of forests - Phase I: Latin America, financed by the
Netherlands; and (b) the ACTO/DGIS-BMZ/GTZ regional programme Sustainable use
and conservation of forests and biodiversity in the Amazon region,
co-financed by the Netherlands and Germany. The present document is based
mainly on studies carried out in 19 Latin American countries to review the
current state and perspectives of forest management financing.

The document is available in Spanish and English and can be downloaded from:
www.tropenbos.org
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\OLK26\www.tropenbos.org> and
http://www.fao.org/forestry/finance/en/. Further information on forest
financing is also found.

For further information contact the authors: Kees van Dijk
(kees.vandijk@tropenbos.org), Herman Savenije (h.j.f.savenije@minlnv.nl), or
Marco Boscolo, coordinator at FAO (marco.boscolo@fao.org)

37. Other publications of interest

From: FAO's NWFP Programme

Abensperg-Traun, M. 2009. CITES, sustainable use of wild species and
incentive-driven conservation in developing countries, with an emphasis on
southern Africa. Biol. Conserv. 142(5):948-963.

Copenheaver, C.A., Predmore, S.A., and Askamit, D.N. 2009. Conversion of rare
grassy openings to forest: have these areas lost their conservation value?
Nat. Areas J. 29(2):133-139.

Crepaldi, Maria Otávia Silva and Peixoto Ariane Luna. 2009. Use and knowledge
of plants by "Quilombolas" as subsidies for conservation efforts in an area
of Atlantic Forest in Espírito Santo State, Brazil Biodiversity and
Conservation doi: 10.1007/s10531-009-9700-9

Dostalova, A. 2009. Tree seedlings: how do they establish in spontaneously
developed forests? A study from a mountainous area in the Czech Republic.
Biodivers. Conserv. 18(6):1671-1684.

Fritz, Ö., Niklasson, M., and Churski, M. 2009. Tree age is a key factor for
the conservation of epiphytic lichens and bryophytes in beech forests. Appl.
Veg. Sci. 12(1):93-106.

Garrido, G.; Rodeiro, I.; Hernandez, I.; Garcia, G.; Perez, G.; Merino, N.;
Nunez-Selles, A.; Delgado, R. 2009. In vivo acute toxicological studies of an
antioxidant extract from Mangifera indica L. (Vimang). Drug and Chemical
Toxicology,
<http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=t713597244~tab=issuesl
ist~branches=32#v32> 32(1): 53 - 58.

Laborde, J., and Thompson, K. 2009. Post-dispersal fate of hazel (Corylus
avellana) nuts and consequences for the management and conservation of
scrub-grassland mosaics. Biol. Conserv. 142(5):974-981.

Magige, F.J., Holmern, T., Stokke, S., Mlingwa, C., and Røskaft, E. 2009.
Does illegal hunting affect density and behaviour of African grassland birds?
A case study on ostrich (Struthio camelus). Biodivers. Conserv.
18(5):1361-1373.

Menton, M. C. S., F. D. Merry, A. Lawrence, and N. Brown. 2009.
Company-community logging contracts in Amazonian settlements: impacts on

livelihoods and NTFP harvests. Ecology and Society 14 (1): 39.

Abstract - As a result of government-sponsored colonization, more than 500
000 km2 of the Brazilian Amazon is managed by settlement households. By law,
80% of this land must remain as standing forest. In this study, we examine
the potential for timber harvesting through company-community partnerships
(CCPs) as a means to increase forest-based revenue without compromising
household use of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Using participatory
rural appraisal, resource diaries, and household questionnaires, we study the
impacts of CCP logging contracts on livelihoods, including household income
and NTFP harvests. Our results show that annual household income from the CCP
logging is equivalent to more than eight years of household gross income from
agricultural production. We also found that there were no significant
differences in NTFP harvests between households with CCP logging and those
without. In CCP-logging communities, households caught 11.9 ± 13.6 game
animals, totaling 74 ± 88 kg of game meat. In the communities without CCP,
households caught 9.5 ± 13.0 game animals, totaling 73 ± 172 kg of game meat.
Annual forest fruit harvests averaged 9.8 ± 13.2 kg in CCP-logging
communities and 13.5 ± 15.9 kg in non-CCP communities. Overall, the CCPs
brought improvements in household income without compromising NTFP harvests.

Nascimbene, J., Marini, L., Motta, R., and Nimis, P.L. 2009. Influence of
tree age, tree size and crown structure on lichen communities in mature
Alpine spruce forests. Biodivers. Conserv. 18(6):1509-1522.

Pareek O. P & Sharma Suneel 2009 Underutilized Fruits and Nuts

38. Web sites and e-zines

From: FAO's NWFP Programme

Live interactive web events from sustainability experts.

Beginning on 19 August 2009, Earthscan will offer a free one-hour webcast on
a different topic each month, giving viewers the opportunity to learn from,
and interact with, leading authorities from a range of different fields.

The audio presentations will be accompanied by illustrative
slides and viewers will have the opportunity to contribute to discussions by
submitting questions during the events. The subjects covered will include all
of Earthscan's specialties, including business, climate change, energy, the
built environment and natural resource management.

The first Earthcast, entitled Carbon Markets and Climate Change
Mitigation, will be broadcast on 19 August 2009 when the authors of Carbon
Markets
<http://www.earthscan.co.uk/bdlink.aspx?id=1808289&link=http%3a%2f%2fwww.eart
hscan.co.uk%2f%3ftabid%3d57004> and Voluntary Carbon Markets
<http://www.earthscan.co.uk/bdlink.aspx?id=1808289&link=http%3a%2f%2fwww.eart
hscan.co.uk%2f%3ftabid%3d56974> debated the effectiveness of market based
mechanisms in helping to mitigate climate change.

The second Earthcast, entitled Sustainable Business Practice:
Process and Implementation, will be broadcast on 30th September 2009. Join
the authors of The ISIS Agreement
<http://www.earthscan.co.uk/bdlink.aspx?id=1808289&link=http%3a%2f%2fwww.eart
hscan.co.uk%2f%3ftabid%3d1157> , The Step-by-Step Guide to Sustainability
Planning
<http://www.earthscan.co.uk/bdlink.aspx?id=1808289&link=http%3a%2f%2fwww.eart
hscan.co.uk%2f%3ftabid%3d30188> and The Business Guide to Sustainability
<http://www.earthscan.co.uk/bdlink.aspx?id=1808289&link=http%3a%2f%2fwww.eart
hscan.co.uk%2f%3ftabid%3d65242> for an event that presents different yet
complementary methods of providing sustainability training.

For more information and to register please visit:
www.earthscan.co.uk/earthcasts
<http://www.earthscan.co.uk/bdlink.aspx?id=1808289&link=http%3a%2f%2fwww.eart
hscan.co.uk%2fearthcasts>

MISCELLANEOUS

39. Cosmetic company finds alternatives to palm oil

Source: Tree Hugger, 10 August 2009

LUSH Cosmetics is washing its hands off palm oil, and is encouraging other
multinational corporations to lather up to something else. Found in food
products, biofuels, and many cosmetics, palm oil has been pilloried for the
destruction of rainforests in Southeast Asia and driving the endangered
orangutan to the brink of extinction.

The bodycare purveyor-which is phasing palm oil out from its
headily aromatic collection of soap and shampoo bars, shower jellies, body
butters, and fizzing bath bombs-is now selling a newly formulated soap that
is completely palm-free.

As part of its nationwide campaign against palm oil, LUSH is
writing to the top 300 companies that use the ingredient, including Procter &
Gamble, Unilever, and Nestle, to urge them to look for alternatives. Any
company that reformulates its products to remove palm oil will get a year's
supply of LUSH soap for its headquarters.
For the past three years, LUSH has worked to develop a soap base
that does not contain palm oil. All new soaps are made with this palm-free
base, a move that the company estimates reduces the amount of palm oil it
uses by 133,000 pounds per year, or the equivalent of 36.3 acres of primary
rainforest.

Traces of palm oil still remain, however, because the ingredient
is also used to make common soap additives like sodium stearate and sodium
lauryl sulfate, which LUSH obtains from third-party suppliers. The company
says it's working with its vendors to find out how much palm oil is in these
ingredients and what surrogates exist.

The cosmetics industry uses 6 to 7 percent of the global supply
of palm oil, but the biggest consumer of the ingredient is currently food,
with one out of every 10 items in the supermarket aisles-including chips,
breads, biscuits, and margarine-containing the ingredient.

Roughly 90 percent of the world's palm oil comes from Malaysia
and Indonesia, and the United Nations
<http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/03/un_says_palm_oi.php> estimates that
palm oil plantations are "now the primary cause of permanent rainforest
loss." If action is not taken, 98 percent of the rainforests in Malaysia and
Indonesia could vanish in only 15 years.

For full story, please see:
www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/lush-palm-oil.php
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20I
nternet%20Files\OLK119\www.treehugger.com\files\2009\08\lush-palm-oil.php>

40. Flying frogs and the world's oldest mushroom: a decade of Himalayan
discovery

Source: Environmental News Network, 10 August 2009

A pretty ultramarine blue flower which changes colour in response to
temperature, a flying frog and the world's oldest mushroom preserved in amber
are among the 350 new species discovered in the Eastern Himalayas over the
past 10 years. But experts warn the new discoveries are under pressure from
demand for land and climate change.

A report published today by the WWF, The Eastern Himalayas -
Where Worlds Collide, lists 242 new types of plants, 16 amphibians, 16
reptiles, 14 fish, two birds and two mammals and 61 new invertebrates. The
cache, quality and diversity of species newly discovered between 1998 and
2008 make the mountainous region one of the world's most important biological
hotspots.

The WWF is asking the governments of Bhutan, India and Nepal to
commit to cooperate on conservation efforts in the geographic region that
transcends the borders of the three countries to protect the landscape and
the livelihoods of people living in the Eastern Himalayas.

Population growth, deforestation, overgrazing, poaching, the
wildlife trade, mining, pollution, and hydropower development have all
contributed to the pressures on the fragile ecosystems in the region, the
report says. Only 25% of the original habitats in the region remain intact
and 163 species that live in the Eastern Himalayas are considered globally
threatened.

For full story please see: www.enn.com/top_stories/article/40336

41. New Artificial bone made of wood

Source: Environmental News Network, 10 August 2009

A new procedure to turn blocks of wood into artificial bones has been
developed by Italian scientists, who plan to implant them into large animals,
and eventually humans.

Wood-derived bone substitute should allow live bones to heal
faster and more securely after a break than currently available metal and
ceramic implants.

The researchers chose wood because it closely resembles the
physical structure of natural bone, "which is impossible to reproduce with
conventional processing technology." "Our purpose is to convert native wood
structures into bioactive, inorganic compounds destined to substitute
portions of bone," said Anna Tampieri, a scientist at the Instituto Di
Scienza E Techologia Dei Materiali Ceramici in Italy.

For full story please see: www.enn.com/top_stories/article/40333

42. USA: Proposed biomass plant would run on trees killed by pine
beetles

Source: Biomass Magazine, 7 August 2009

U.S. Senator Mark Udall (D-Colo.), the U.S. Forest Service and the Denver
Water Board are behind a proposal to build a biomass plant in Vail, Colo.,
fueled by lodgepole pine trees killed by Mountain pine beetles.
Hayden, Cary & King Paper Co., Darien, Conn., proposed the
combined heat and power (CHP) development project and has applied for a U.S.
DOE technology development and demonstration grant, according to Andrew King,
president of the company. The estimated cost of the gasification/pyrolysis
project, 28-megawatt thermal, 6-megawatt electrical, is about $20 million, he
added. If built, the 18,000-square-foot facility would sit on an industrial
site adjacent to the community's maintenance facility, he said.
A feasibility study will be conducted, according to Stan Zemler,
Vail Town Manager, to address elements like environmental issues, among
others. "There is so much discovery that needs to be done here," he said.
"There are always things that surface about emissions." A sustainable supply
is a very significant factor in the feasibility study and there's decent
confidence in the supply over the next 10 years, he said, adding that there
are recognizable barriers.
Pine beetles have wreaked havoc in forests recently, especially
in Colorado, where it's estimated that 80 to 90 percent of the lodgepole
trees will be killed before the epidemic is over, according to Zemler. "The
pine beetle infestation is pretty dramatic," he said. Vail is a good location
for the plant, King said, because of the amount of dead trees and its
reputation as a world-class resort. "If you can do it in Vail, you can pretty
much do it anywhere," he said. The demonstration project will displace about
17,000 tons of greenhouse gases.
Nearby Holy Cross Energy has expressed interest in purchasing the
electricity produced at the 18,000-square-foot plant and supplying it to the
grid to power local households, providing the plant meets certain qualifying
facility definitions, according to a letter of interest submitted by Holy
Cross. The water produced could be used for domestic hot water and heat, King
said, or for hotels, snow melting, or chilling for air conditioners in the
summer.
"The most striking part is what this particular project will
accomplish," King said. The three main objectives are demonstrating total
thermal efficiency; surpassing California's emission standards; and
exhibiting sustainable forestry while creating a market for trees killed by
pine beetles.

For full story please see:
www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2949
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\etheringto\Local%20Settings\etheringto
\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\OLK26\www.biomassmagazine.com\
article.jsp%3farticle_id=2949>

QUICK TIPS AND INFORMATION FOR NWFP-DIGEST-L

This list is for information related to any aspect of non-wood forest
products.

Cross-postings related to non-wood forest products are welcome.

Information on this mailing list can be reproduced and distributed freely as
long as they are cited.

Contributions are edited primarily for formatting purposes. Diverse views and
materials relevant to NWFPs are encouraged. Submissions usually appear in the
next issue. Issues are bi-monthly on average.

To join the list, please send an e-mail to: mailserv@mailserv.fao.org with
the message:

subscribe NWFP-Digest-L

To make a contribution once on the list, please send an e-mail to the
following address: NWFP-Digest-L@mailserv.fao.org
<mailto:NWFP-Digest-L@mailserv.fao.org>

To unsubscribe, please send an e-mail to: mailserv@mailserv.fao.org
<mailto:mailserv@mailserv.fao.org>

with the message:

unsubscribe NWFP-Digest-L

For technical help or questions contact NWFP-Digest-L@mailserv.fao.org
<mailto:NWFP-Digest-L@mailserv.fao.org>

Your information is secure--We will never sell, give or distribute your
address or subscription information to any third party.

The designations employed and the presentation of materials in the
NWFP-Digest-L do not necessarily imply the expression of any opinion
whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations.

NWFP-Digest-L Sponsor:

Non-Wood Forest Products Programme

Forestry Department

FAO

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla

00100 Rome, Italy

Fax: +39-06-570-55618

Web site NWFP programme:
www.fao.org/forestry/foris/webview/fop/index.jsp?siteId=2301&langId=1
<http://www.fao.org/forestry/foris/webview/fop/index.jsp?siteId=2301&langId=1
>

--
Biological Science Club
Pusat Laboratorium Universitas Nasional,
Jl Harsono RM, No. 4
Ragunan, Jakarta Selatan 12550
telp/fax 021 98119872
Hp: Bambang Ryadi 081802749565
Hp: Agus Supriono 0811343147
HP: Lukman Hakim 08128111123
http://bscc-unas.blogspot.com/
email:
bscc@ymail.com
ryadi.bambang@gmail.com
spirit_outdoor@yahoo.com

Minggu, 27 September 2009

NWFP-Digest-L No. 8/09