NWFP-Digest-L
No. 12/09
Welcome to FAO's NWFP-Digest-L, a free e-mail journal that covers all aspects of non-wood forest products. Back issues of the Digest may be found on FAO's NWFP home page: www.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en.
You can take part in contributing to the continued success of this newsletter by sharing with the NWFP community any news that you may have regarding research, events, publications and projects. Kindly send such information to NWFP-Digest-L@mailserv.fao.org: We also appreciate any comments or feedback.
A special thank you to all those who have sent me links to information and also to Agnese Bazzucchi for her help with this issue.
All best wishes for a happy and healthy 2010.
==============================================================
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Bamboo huts on stilts win climate award
2. Bushmeat: African children on 'gorilla warfare' mission in run-up to COP15
3. Christmas trees: Real trees 'greener' than fake
4. Medicinal Plants: Brazilian mint tea (Hyptis crenata) as good as aspirin
5. Moringa's (Moringa oleifera) power is backed by science
6. Mushrooms 'can help beat cancer'
7. Natural oils: New tree species discovered in Guyana is rich source of oil
8. Neem (Azardirachta indica): The tree of life
9. Snails provide a tasty source of iron, study finds
10. Wildlide: 'Global surge' in rhino poaching
11. Australia: play poker, save a species?
12. Bhutan: Forest management for poverty alleviation
13. Ecuador: Experience wild foods and herbal medicines in a eco-tour adventure
14. Ghana to encourage the planting of indigenous tree species
16. India: Medicinal plants to take root in city schools
17. Kenya: Forest plants in Kenya grown for traditional medicines
18. Venezuela: Clinging to the forest despite the chaos
19. A fair deal for forest people: How REDD can benefit local communities
20. Eco-label for rainforest products could boost sustainability
21. Google to aid tropical rainforests
22. High hopes for forests may be shattered in Copenhagen
23. Time of day matters to thirsty trees
24. WFI International Fellowship Program
26. CIFOR conference: "Taking stock of smallholder and community forestry: Where do we go from here?"
27. People, Forests and the Environment: Coexisting in Harmony
LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEB SITES
28. NTFP trade: A trade-off between conservation and development, Indonesia
29. Other publications of interest
30. Fungi can rehabilitate barren mine waste dumpsite
31. New fossil plant discovery links Patagonia to New Guinea in a warmer past
32. USA: Changing role of forest management in response to climate change
BACK TO TOP
1. Bamboo huts on stilts win climate award
Source: SciDev.Net, 2 December 2009
Building flood-resistant, elevated bamboo houses in Ecuador, and exchanging climate information via 'interactive' radio in Nigeria, are among the ideas that have won funding in a competition for developing countries.
Twenty-six projects were selected for '100 Ideas To Save The Planet', this year's Global Development Marketplace competition, which sought ideas for protecting developing countries from climate change.
The US$5 million competition was co-sponsored by the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), among other institutions. Winning ideas receive up to US$200,000 in seed money, and technical support and guidance on putting the ideas into practice.
The winning projects span the developing world, with Latin America hosting 13 projects, South-East Asia and the Pacific five, North and Sub-Saharan Africa four, and South Asia two. The remaining two projects will be implemented in Europe.
Indigenous communities will run nine of the projects. For example, Nicaragua's Miskito people will cultivate Maya nut trees to slow deforestation and provide better nutrition for 2,500 children, while 200 Ethiopian women farmers will have access to locally-adapted varieties of staple crops to reduce risks to food security.
In Ecuador, INBAR will build 500 elevated houses that should be resistant to flooding as water flows underneath them. "With the funds we will provide an innovative technology to improve the design, durability and resistance of houses traditionally built with bamboo in the area of Guayaquil," Álvaro Cabrera, regional coordinator of INBAR for Latin America and the Caribbean, told SciDev.Net. For example, roofs will be built from resin and bamboo instead of zinc, and concrete stilts will be used to extend the life of the houses from the current 3–5 years to around 30 years.
For full story, please see: www.scidev.net/en/news/bamboo-huts-on-stilts-win-climate-award.html
BACK TO TOP
2. Bushmeat: African children on 'gorilla warfare' mission in run-up to COP15
Source: Mongabay.com, 6 December 2009
"It's the gorillas I've got to thank for bringing me here," said Sephora Binet-Mboti, (13), as she gazed up, wide-eyed, at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. She was a long way from her in home in Central Africa where she lives in Gabon at subsistence level in a clapboard house with her parents and nine brothers and sisters. Sephora had never travelled as far as the capital of Gabon, let alone to the developed world, but on Thursday 3 December she boarded a plane for an all-expenses-paid dream week in Paris, the city of lights.
She was one of two children from Gabon and five from Uganda who were jetted to France by UNESCO and the French Environment Ministry (MEEDDM) to be crowned 'Young Ambassadors of the Great Apes' as a culminating event for the UN Year of the Gorilla (YoG). The event (5 December) was timed to coincide with the run-up to COP15, the United Nations' climate change conference in Copenhagen.
UN YoG Ambassador Ian Redmond, the British conservationist and colleague of the late Dian Fossey, was at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris for the inauguration ceremony of the children who will return to their countries in their ambassadorial roles to spread the conservation message.
They were selected from more than 100 schools in Gabon and Uganda that since 2008 have been taking part in a nationwide educational awareness project called Great Apes and their Habitat to teach them about the importance of protecting great apes from extinction and preventing deforestation and climate change.
"Getting children involved is the key to the future," said Ian Redmond. "Children will be either the conservationists or the bushmeat customers of the future. If we can convince them to help protect the great apes, they will educate their parents and their peers."
The seven children came from poor families who survive mainly by subsistence farming. They all live in close proximity to wild gorillas.
The project is supported by numerous conservation organizations including the Jane Goodall Institute, UNESCO, the Convention on Migratory Species, the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Wildlife Conservation Society. In 2010, it will be rolled out in Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.
The two young ambassadors from Gabon are from forested areas near Loango National Park which is inhabited by western lowland gorillas. The five from Uganda are from near Mgahinga and Bwindi national parks, the only region in the world where tourists can see some of the world's remaining estimated population of 750 wild mountain gorillas. Both species are considered 'critically endangered' by the IUCN and face extinction. The main threats include logging and loss of habitat, bushmeat hunting, disease and the impact of war and political unrest.
In Gabon a survey of the 4,600 children who took part in the Great Apes and their Habitat educational awareness project revealed that up to 70% from the Loango area had eaten gorilla and up to 90% had eaten chimpanzee.
In Asséwé, the small village where Sephora lives, most people get by growing manioc, sweet potato and bananas and small-scale fishing. Over half of the children surveyed here said their fathers regularly went bushmeat hunting, "In my village, people love to eat gorilla and chimpanzee meat," said Sephora. "They will put a bullet in a gorilla as soon as they see one in a tree."
But the awareness project, she said, had changed her mind. "I wouldn't eat gorilla meat now – I couldn't – the education project has given me a different idea of gorillas. We have to protect them, not eat them," she said.
For full story, please see: http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1206-monaghan_gorillas.html
BACK TO TOP
3. Christmas trees: Real trees 'greener' than fake
Source: Environmental News Network, 10 December 2009
It may not sound like "tree-hugging," but cutting down a real tree for Christmas is actually greener than going with the artificial kind, one scientist says. "It is a little counterintuitive to people," said Clint Springer, a biologist at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia (USA).
Because of concerns over deforestation around the world, many people naturally worry that buying a real tree might contribute to that problem, Springer says. But most Christmas trees for sale these days are grown not in the forest but on tree farms, for the express purpose of being cut. Moreover, from a greenhouse gas perspective, real trees are "the obvious choice," Springer said.
Live trees actively photosynthesize as they grow from saplings, which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. After they have been cut and Christmas is over, they're usually chipped for mulch. As mulch, the bits of tree very slowly decompose, releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. So in the end, a real Christmas tree is carbon neutral, putting the same amount of carbon dioxide back into the air as it took out (albeit much more slowly). The tree farms that grew the trees also replant after the trees are cut.
Artificial trees, on the other hand, don't come out even in the carbon balance. Petroleum is used to make the plastics in the trees and lots of carbon dioxide-creating energy is required to make and transport them.
Because these trees just end up in landfills after a few years' use, "those greenhouse gases are lost forever," Springer said. "There's really no opportunity to recycle those."
Springer said he suspects that artificial trees have become more popular in recent years because they are more convenient.
Adding to incentives to "go real," this Christmas may also be economic concerns, as most artificial trees are produced in China, while real trees tend to be grown on local farms, Springer said.
For full story, please see: www.enn.com/top_stories/article/40815
BACK TO TOP
4. Medicinal Plants: Brazilian mint tea (Hyptis crenata) as good as aspirin
Source: NaturalNews, 28 November 2009
Researchers from Newcastle University have scientifically proven that Hyptis crenata, also known as Brazilian mint, is a powerful pain reliever that works just as well as Indometacin, a synthetic drug similar to aspirin. A traditional remedy for treating the flu, stomach problems, high fevers, and headaches, Brazilian mint was found to be extremely powerful and safe.
The team, led by Graciela Rocha, set out to perform the study using the traditional preparation of the herb. Surveys were conducted in Brazil to figure out exactly how this was done and how much should be consumed in order to achieve beneficial results. The preparation the team ended up using consisted of the herb's dried leaves being steeped in boiling water for 30 minutes. Once cool, the tea was consumed in the same way as any other brewed tea would be. The results indicated efficacy in a wide range of ailments.
Graciela emphasized the fact that more than 50,000 plants worldwide are used for some type of medicinal purpose and that researchers should focus on identifying these types of plants and testing their efficacy. Since more than half of all prescription drugs are derived from plant compounds, it is a worthy effort to study plant medicines in their natural, safe forms.
Findings were put forward at the 2nd International Symposium on Medicinal and Nutraceutical Plants in New Delhi, India and are set to be published in the society's journal Acta Horticulturae. Clinical trials are the next step for the group who hopes to discover not only the various effective dose levels for various pains and illnesses but also the specific characteristics of the herb that make it so advantageous.
For full story, please see: www.naturalnews.com/027608_mint_tea_pain_relief.html
BACK TO TOP
5. Moringa's (Moringa oleifera) power is backed by science
Source: AllAfrica.com, 16 December 2009
Just imagine a tree in your backyard that meets all your nutritional needs, takes care of you medicinally, and purifies your water. Moringa (Moringa oleifera) is perhaps the most popular and fast growing tree that endures drought, provides nutrition, medicine and cleans water. For centuries, the natives of Northern India have known the many benefits of Moringa.
Virtually, every part of the tree is useful. Immature pods are the most valued and widely used of all the tree's parts. The pods are extremely nutritious, containing all the essential amino acids along with many vitamins and other nutrients. They can be eaten raw or prepared like green peas or green beans, while the mature pods are usually fried and possess a peanut-like flavour.
The pods also yield 38 - 40% of non-drying, edible oil known as Ben Oil. This oil is clear, sweet and odourless, with its nutritional value being close to what Olive oil gives. The leaves are eaten as greens, in salads, in vegetable curries, as pickles and for seasoning. They can be pounded and used for scrubbing utensils and for cleaning walls. Leaves and young branches are relished by livestock.
Its bark can be used for tanning and also yields a coarse fibre. The flowers, which must be cooked, are eaten either mixed with other foods or fried in butter and have been shown to be rich in potassium and calcium.
Moringa can be useful in combating malnutrition, especially among infants and nursing mothers. Moringa is especially promising as a food source in the tropics because the tree is in full leaf at the end of the dry season when other foods are typically scarce.
This tree's leaf composition has significant quantities of vitamins A, B and C, calcium, iron and protein. According to Optima of Africa, Ltd., a group that has been working with the tree in Tanzania, 25 grams daily of Moringa Leaf Powder will give a child the following recommended daily allowances: Protein 42%, Calcium 125%, Magnesium 61%, Potassium 41%, Iron 71%, Vitamin A 272%, and Vitamin C 22%. These numbers are particularly astounding, considering this nutrition is available when other food sources may be scarce. Scientific research confirms that these humble leaves are a powerhouse of nutritional value. Gram for gram, Moringa leaves contain: seven times the vitamin C in oranges, four times the calcium in milk, four times the vitamin A in carrots, two times the protein in milk, and three times the potassium in bananas.
India's ancient tradition has it that the leaves of Moringa prevent 300 diseases. One area where there has been significant scientific research is the reported antibiotic activity of this tree. Moringa species have long been recognized by folk medicine practitioners as having value in the treatment of tumours.
Studies examined certain compounds for their cancer preventive potential. Recently, two of these compounds were shown to be potent inhibitors of activation of lymphoblastoid (Burkitt's lymphoma) cells. One of these compounds also inhibited tumours in mice bred to be prone to tumours.
However, more rigorous study is required in order to achieve a level of proof required for full medical endorsement of Moringa.
Moringa has been known to purify water. After the oil is extracted from the pods, the seed-cake remaining contains active components that can remove turbidity (solid particles) from water. Because bacteria adhere to the solids, this seed-cake also effectively removes bacteria.
For full story, please see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200912170770.html
BACK TO TOP
6. Mushrooms 'can help beat cancer'
Source: Thaindian News, 30 November 2009
A mushroom common in Chinese and Japanese cooking can help beat bladder and prostate cancer, according to a new study.
Scientists in the Department of Urology at the New York Medical College found that the maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa) can shrink tumours by as much as 75% and may lead to new treatments.
Lead researcher Dr Sensuke Konno, head of urology at the NYMC, said the breakthrough research on the giant edible mushroom would help in improving the quality of life of cancer sufferers.
"It is very significant because the synergy not only enhances the efficacy of the treatment but also improves the quality of life of the patients by reducing the dose of conventional therapies significantly," the Daily Express quoted Dr Konno as saying.
Dr Alison Ross, Cancer Research UK's senior science information officer, added: "Many chemotherapy drugs currently in use have been derived from natural substances found in plants so it is not too far-fetched to think that mushrooms could be a valuable source of potential new cancer drugs."
For full story, please see: www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/mushrooms-can-help-beat-cancer_100282000.html#ixzz0Z5wze1S1
BACK TO TOP
7. Natural oils: New tree species discovered in Guyana is rich source of oil
Source: Mongabay.com, 9 December 2009
Botanists working have discovered a new species of tree with commercial significance in Guyana. The discovery is published in Brittonia, a journal put out by the New York Botanical Garden. The new species, Carapa akuri, had long been mistaken for Carapa guianensis, a tree widely dispersed across the Amazon and commonly logged for the furniture industry.
The find is significant because it is an important source of natural oil for Makushi Amerindians and the cosmetic market, according to Pierre-Michel Forget, lead author of the paper that describes the species and a researcher at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. "Akuri is an important source of sustainable development within the Iwokrama forest," Forget told mongabay.com, referring to Guyana's innovative forest reserve that has become the centerpiece for the country's efforts to protect its forests through sustainable management.
Oil from Carapa's large seeds is used for a variety of purposes, including treatment for dandruff and rashes, insect repellent, and as a moisturizer. When produced from Carapa guianensis the oil is known as Crabwood oil or Andiroba.
The species is also endemic to the region and may be at risk from logging, providing new impetus for protecting its diverse rainforest habitat. "This single tree can save a forest," said Forget.
Carapa akuri is named after the red-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta leporina) which is likely the main seed disperser of Carapa in Guyana. The indigenous Makushi name for the agouti is "akuri".
Co-authors on the paper include Odile Poncy of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scientific Research) in Paris, Rachel Thomas of Iwokrama, David Hammond of NWFS Consultancy, and David Kenfack of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
For full story, please see: http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1209-carapa.html
BACK TO TOP
8. Neem (Azardirachta indica): The tree of life
Source: The Observer, Uganda, 9 December 2009
The botanical name of the Neem tree is Azardirachta indica which literally translated means "the free tree of India". This name denotes both its origin and countless curative properties.
Grown for centuries in the backyard of several African and Indian homesteads, the magical potential of the Neem tree was largely ignored. It was not until the 15th Century that scientists in India began to discover that the huge sprawling tree with a hard brown back was useful as a medicinal plant. From its thick green canopy to its sweet smelling flowers and bitter olive like fruit, seeds, roots and twigs, every part of the tree is a gold mine of curative properties.
Today the Neem is universally accepted as a cure for several ailments, even by the most sceptical of scientists. In India, the Neem tree is referred to as the village pharmacy. According to www.neem-products.com, the plant can cure all sorts of ailments, including skin disorders, eye diseases, cough, asthma, bronchitis, urinary tract infections, asthma, high blood pressure and leprosy. It is also said to increase the CD4 count for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Gerald Luzindana of Kisakye Reflexology and Nutritional Centre corroborates these wonder properties and explains that Neem contains a bitter substance that replenishes the bile and enables the liver to carry out its work of ridding the body of toxins. Drinking extracts from the Neem leaves can help you get rid of malaria and any other form of fever.
He says that Neem also treats typhoid, abdominal complications, gastric ulcers, syphilis when the signs have just started showing, and hepatitis. The best way to consume Neem in order to reap these benefits is by chopping its leaves and cooking it as greens, or taking it raw.
The website www.discoverneem.com lists Neem as the best spermicidal. Its amazing chemical content immobilizes sperm in 30 seconds and remains active for five hours. Unlike most spermicidal, Neem does not cause any discomfort or toxicity; all this in addition to being a good lubricant. The Web site also lists Chlamydia, Syphilis and Candida as some of the infections Neem can prevent. This is because the wonder plant is an antiseptic, anti inflammatory, antifungal, antiviral, anti parasitic and antibacterial agent. Thus it is capable of going to the root cause of almost any illness.
Several products nowadays contain Neem; shampoos, skin creams, toothpaste, body sprays, candles and incense.
Neem is very potent and can be harmful if not taken in moderation, strictly follow a qualified practitioner's advice. Under no circumstance should Neem products be taken by pregnant women. Even with all these curative properties already proven, one should not ignore conventional medicine, and must always seek medical advice.
For full story, please see: www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6347:the-neem-tree-of-life&catid=58:health-living&Itemid=89
BACK TO TOP
9. Snails provide a tasty source of iron, study finds
Source: ScienceDaily, 2 December 2009
Snail meat could be a cheap, tasty and nutritious food, and help reduce anaemia caused by a lack of iron in the diet, according to a Nigerian researcher. Ukpong Udofia, a nutritionist at the University of Uyo, analysed the nutritional value of the meat of the giant West African land snail (Archachatina marginata). She found it to have a higher protein and iron content, and lower fat content, than beef, as well as containing many essential nutrients such as calcium, magnesium and vitamin A.
The snail is native to forests and areas of moist vegetation in West African countries such as Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria.
Udofia tested the tastiness and acceptability of the meat by asking a group of mothers and their school-age children whether they preferred a pie made from snail or beef. Most preferred the appearance, texture, and flavour of the snail pie.
Iron-deficiency anaemia is common in children and women across Africa and the developing world. Caused by a lack of iron it is exacerbated by diseases such as malaria and contributes to a fifth of maternal deaths, according to the WHO.
Snail meat has figured in the diet of Asian countries, and of African people living in forested areas, for thousands of years, Pa Tamba Ngom, a researcher in the nutrition programme at Gambia's Medical Research Council said "Here in the West African sub-region, especially Senegal and The Gambia, it is very famous and included in one of our main rice dishes, known as 'Benachin'." Ngom said that small-scale snail farming systems should be expanded to protect wild snail stocks from becoming further endangered by over-gathering.
Sonya Begg, an Australian snail farming expert, said the snail could pose a public health threat if eaten raw and infected with the rat lungworm parasite (Angiostrongylus cantonensis), which can cause a rare form of meningitis in humans. She added that people should eat only farmed snails to ensure the snails had eaten only non-poisonous foods.
Udofia's study was published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health.
For full story, please see: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119101207.htm
BACK TO TOP
10. Wildlife: 'Global surge' in rhino poaching
Source: Gaea Times, India 1 December 2009
A new report by TRAFFIC and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has determined that rhino poaching is on the rise worldwide. The report was submitted to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) ahead of its 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP15) in March.
The rhino trade is being driven by Asian demand for horns and is made worse by increasingly sophisticated poachers, who now are using veterinary drugs, poison, cross bows and high calibre weapons to kill rhinos, the report states.
Since 2006, the majority (95%) of the poaching in Africa has occurred in Zimbabwe and South Africa, according to new data. "These two nations collectively form the epicentre of an unrelenting poaching crisis in southern Africa," said Tom Milliken of TRAFFIC.
The report documents a decline in law enforcement effectiveness and an increase in poaching intensity in Africa. The situation is most serious in Zimbabwe where rhino numbers are now declining and the conviction rate for rhino crimes in Zimbabwe is only three percent.
Despite the introduction of a number of new measures, poaching and illicit horn trade in South Africa has also increased.
"Concerted action at the highest level is needed to stop this global crisis of rampant rhino poaching," said Amanda Nickson, Director of the Species Programme at WWF International.
The report also raises concerns regarding the low and declining numbers as well as the uncertain status of some of the Sumatran and Javan rhino populations in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. "Sumatran and Javan rhino range countries need to increase efforts to better assess the current status of many of their rhino populations, to enhance field law enforcement efforts, prevent further encroachment and land transformation in rhino areas, and improve biological management of remaining rhinos to ensure the few remaining Sumatran and Javan Rhino numbers increase," said Dr. Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Chair of the IUCN/SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group.
Most rhino horns leaving southern Africa are destined for medicinal markets in southeast and east Asia, especially Vietnam, and also China.
The report highlights Vietnam as a country of particular concern - noting that Vietnamese nationals operating in South Africa have recently been identified in rhino crime investigations.
In addition, concern has been expressed about the status of Vietnam's single Javan rhino population.
For full story, please see: http://blog.taragana.com/n/rhino-poaching-on-the-rise-worldwide-238515/
BACK TO TOP
11. Australia: Play poker, save a species?
Source: Tree hugger, 6 December 2009
Australia is home to a multitude of species found nowhere else on Earth – but – just in the last 100 years they have had to strike off a whopping 55 animal species from that list because of extinction. Now, due to forest fires, invasive species, and environment destruction caused by climate change, the list of 372 animal species currently classified as 'threatened' in Australia is bound to grow. Even the creation of wildlife preserves and national parks in the country has yet to stave off the threat to Australia's species on the brink.
A recent proposal from a professor at the University of Queensland considers what is reportedly one of the Aussies' favourite pastimes – gambling. Is the creation of an endangered animal lottery the answer to saving threatened species? Or does it diminish the importance of environmental responsibility by pairing it with one of society's shadier habits?
Professor Hugh Possingham, who teaches ecology at the university, outlined a four-tiered solution, as reported by The Nature Conservancy:
- Put the name of each Australian threatened and endangered species in a lottery barrel.
- Each year right before the Melbourne Cup, Australia's biggest horse race, get the environment minister to spin the barrel and draw out a species name.
- Whatever proportion of that species' population lives on a piece of land, the owner of that land - be it a private individual, an indigenous group, an NGO, a corporation, or even a state government - receives the equivalent proportion of $20 million - less than 0.4% of annual gambling revenue in Australia.
- Have the winning species, along with facts about it and where it lives, published on the front page of Australian papers along with the Melbourne Cup-winning racehorse.
Sadly, many species on the endangered list do not have the PR prowess of the Koala or Platypus, despite facing even more serious threats, and often being just as cute. In many ways, Professor Possingham's proposal, designed to expand awareness of the less popular threatened species, is as much of a publicity campaign for the animals in need of protection as it is actual help. Perhaps he sees ignorance of endangered species to be the real threat to their survival.
Sure, it is a bit unconventional to use gambling to help save threatened species, but when it comes to conservation strategies, let's not be afraid to put all the cards on the table.
For full story, please see: www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12/play-poker-save-a-species.php?campaign=th_rss
BACK TO TOP
12. Bhutan: Forest management for poverty alleviation
Source: Bhutan Observer, 27 November 2009
Poverty alleviation by managing forest resources and other issues related to forestry were discussed in the annual forestry conference in Zhemgang from 29 October to 31 October 2009.
Addressing to chief forest officers, park managers, forest officers and senior range officers from across the country, Agriculture Minister Dr Pema Gyamtsho said managing forestry resources well would help alleviate poverty. "Preserving the forest has a huge role in generating revenue for the country and income for the people," he said.
The minister urged the forestry officials to take initiatives and be creative, which is valuable for the country.
During the two-day conference that concluded on 31 October, participants discussed emerging issues such as role of forest resources in poverty alleviation, payment for ecosystem and environmental services, and making conservation programmes such as eco-tourism and urban recreational centres.
Strategy on plantation, watershed management, human-wildlife conflicts, sustainable forest resource management and community forestry, and the feasibility of expanding the role of territorial forest divisions, and situations and problems in each sector of forestry were also discussed.
Noting the ever-increasing pressure on the forest for production of timber and non-compliance to forest management plans, the participants decided to form a team under Dr D B Dhital, forest management specialist, to examine forest management plan implementation and recommend future directions by March 2010.
Forestry officials said the department is currently revising its policy and strategies and therefore, the conference provided them with ideas and inputs from the participants.
For full story, please see: www.bhutanobserver.bt/2009/bhutan-news/11/forest-management-for-poverty-alleviationt.html
BACK TO TOP
13. Ecuador: Experience wild foods and herbal medicines in a eco-tour adventure
Source: NaturalNews, 13 December 2009
Imagine walking through the rainforests of Ecuador, surrounded by medicinal plants and wild foods. Harmonies of birds and locusts blanket the forest from lush treetops. The group pauses for a moment to take it all in and that's when you discover you're standing right next to a sacred Sangre de Drago (Croton lechleri) tree, rich with natural medicine, standing five stories tall with a gorgeous canopy of leaves shaped like hearts. The guide makes a small incision on the tree bark and the medicine begins to flow: It is an anti-cancer tree sap, made of 90% proanthocyanidins. It has been used by the Shuar Indians as living medicine for centuries and now you're getting to taste it fresh, raw and wild, right off the tree.
This scene is not fiction; it is all part of a January eco-tour being offered by an Ecuadorian-owned company based in Vilcabamba. The experience includes hikes through the national forest, the identification and sampling of wild herbs, and the tasting of all varieties of exotic wild foods that you never even knew existed. This tour, called the "Amazon Wild Foods and Medicinal Plants Adventure," promises five days of adventure in Ecuador that you'll remember for a lifetime.
For full story, please see: www.naturalnews.com/027724_wild_foods_Ecuador.html
BACK TO TOP
14. Ghana to encourage the planting of indigenous tree species
Source: Ghana News Agency, 11 December 2009
A group of research scientists at the Forest Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) have appealed for the inclusion of indigenous tree species in the national reforestation programme.
The nation should consider planting at least 30 per cent of the total forest area earmarked for reforestation using the mixed indigenous tree species approach. This, they said, would not only help to restore species, which are getting depleted but also replace planted exotic trees that are becoming prone to tropical diseases and pests.
Dr. Paul Bosu, leader of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), that sponsored "mixed indigenous species plantations project", made the call at a workshop to disseminate information on the outcome of the project at Fumesua, near Kumasi. The five-year research project looked at how to develop "alternative mixed plantation systems and restoration strategies for conservation and sustainable production of native timber species in Ghana."
The objective was to develop and promote sustainable planting of mixed indigenous plant species like Odum, Oframo, Mahogany and Afromosia. These have high economic value and essential to the sustenance of rural communities that have traditionally depended on the forest.
The research was conducted in Abofour, Bia Tano, Fomanso, Bobiri forest area and Mesewam, to develop a novel system to restore genetic diversity for sustainable production of native tropical timber species and shrubs to provide wood, NWFPs, NTFPs and other ecological benefits not provided by exotic plantations.
Dr. Bosu said concentration on the planting of exotic trees such as teak, only provided wood for industrial purposes as they fail to take care of myriad of other NTFP that come from natural forest. He pointed out that most of the exotic tree plantations were beginning to be infected by diseases and pests and therefore it is important to encourage and promote the planting of indigenous species, which have high economic and ecological value.
The economic benefits to both farmers and the nation would be tremendous apart from protecting the natural forest ecology.
Dr. J.R Cobbinah, former Director of FORIG, said the country loses about 1.7 per cent of its forest annually and there is the need to find sustainable way of regaining the lost forest.
For full story, please see: www.ghananewsagency.org/s_science/r_10369/
BACK TO TOP
15. India: Kinnaur tribals of Himachal agitated over damage to rare Chilgoza pine trees (Pinus gerardiana)
Source: myHimachal, India, 8 December 2009
High altitude tribals of Rispa panchayat in Kinnaur are an agitated lot as a hydropower construction company executing 100 MW project in the vicinity tears through steep mountains slopes constructing roads, damaging precious Chilgoza trees (Pinus gerardiana) and raising clouds of dust along.
With the private company allegedly violating both tribal land laws and forest act, Narender Negi, panchayat pradhan, Rispa over phone said, "neither was the government intervening nor was the contractors paying heed to the objections being raised by the resident villagers. "With over 2,000 trees already damaged the construction company has already exceeded the 1261 number of trees that were permitted for the project," he said.
Following the rising protests, the divisional forest officer and the additional district magistrate are scheduled to make a spot visit on Tuesday. "We intend to record our side of the damage being done before the visiting officials," said Narender Negi.
Work on the 100 MW Tidong I project began in June and the Kinnaur villagers have raised objections, and held demonstrations against the violations taking place. The issues did figure in the local area development committee (LADC) meeting on 30th November.
Forests of Chilgoza (locally the edible pine is called Neoza) are highly valued in Kinnaur for not only are they part of community ownership but also provide livelihoods means as one tree produces about 10 Kgs of Chilgoza annually which fetches about Rs 3000/- for the villager.
The clouds of dust and rolling boulders causing heavy soil erosion has damaged our local environment badly says Bhuvneshwar Negi, president of Paryavaran Evam Van Sanrakshan Samiti, a local NGO. "Damage to these rare trees, which are only found in parts of Afghanistan, Kashmir and Kinnaur has threatened our livelihoods," he said.
RS Negi, a retired IAS officer who heads Him Lok Jagriti Manch says, the government does not support us who are fighting climate change on the ground but holds big conferences in cities in order to demand and pocket green bonuses.
The power company executing the projects while owning up for some damage to trees where road construction was taking place say that the issue was being exaggerated.
BD Sharma, general manager Tidong project said, "trees on the forest land that has been diverted for construction of the project are to be felled by the HP forest corporation." Some trees where road construction is taking place have been damaged but not as much as is being made out, he said.
When contacted, Vinay Tandon, Principal Chief Conservator Forests said, "as the matter has been brought to notice, the damage reported will be assessed and if violations are found action will be taken."
For full story, please see: http://himachal.us/2009/12/08/kinnaur-tribal%E2%80%99s-of-himachal-agitated-over-damage-to-rare-chilboza-pine-trees/17574/agriculture/ravinder
BACK TO TOP
16. India: Medicinal plants to take root in city schools
Source: Times of India, 8 December 2009
Pune - With the intention of taking students back to grandmother's remedies and to the wonders of traditional medicine, the Directorate of Social Forestry will introduce the concept of herbal gardens in various schools across the state of Maharashtra from early 2010.
The directorate will set up the herbal gardens under the promotional scheme of the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Government of India. "The objective is to sensitise students about conservation of the rich biodiversity and the role of medicinal plants in providing a holistic healthcare, both in traditional and modern systems of medicine," said Prakash Thosre, nodal officer for Directorate of Social Forestry, Maharashtra.
As many as 32 types of plants and trees have been short-listed to be planted in the herbal gardens. These include amla (Phyllanthus emblica), brahmi (Bacopa monnieri), kokum (Garcinia indica), tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum), saffron (Crocus sativus), kalihari (Gloriosa superba L.), jatamansi (Nardostachys jatamansi) and sandalwood (Santalum album).
So far, around 80 schools have been selected for the project.
As per the NMPB, the herbal gardens project will initially cover 1,000 schools in 50 districts across the country. The Directorate of Social Forestry will provide the seedlings as also the training to students to start herbal gardens. "To start a herbal garden, a school should have an open area of at least 1,000 sq metres. A budget of Rs 14,000 for each herbal garden will be sanctioned for its running and maintenance," said Thosre. "The students will be prepared to begin planting the seedlings just before the monsoons, that is just when the next academic year begins," he added.
Schools which are not part of the NGC programme can also be part of the herbal gardens initiative. "The deadline for registering with us is December 31," said Thosre.
For full story, please see: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Now-medicinal-plants-to-take-root-in-city-schools/articleshow/5312806.cms
BACK TO TOP
17. Kenya: Forest plants grown for traditional medicines
Source: Voice of America, 26 November 2009
Kakamega Forest is one of Kenya's last remaining virgin forests, containing many trees and plants that have curative properties. To protect these medicinal plants from harm, local farmers are being encouraged to grow them instead of harvesting the plants from the forest. The farmers also win by getting good money for their crops.
This is an increasingly common sight in Kenya, graveyards of what once were mighty forests, teeming with life. The Kakamega Forest in Western Kenya is one of the country's last remaining stands. Plants in the forest are being damaged or killed because people harvest them for traditional medicines.
So, to save Kakamega Forest, an international research group has transferred two popular plants out of the forest and into the hands of farmers such as Mary Shimuli. Shimuli grows a half-acre's worth of Ocimum kilimandscharicu and harvests the plant every six months. She says that, besides saving the forest, her harvests bring her family a better income. "I used to go to the forest for firewood, but I was afraid of being arrested. After I realized that the project is fruitful for me, I stopped going to the forest. I managed to buy three cows," she said.
Shimuli and other farmers bring what they harvest to a nearby factory owned and operated the community and supported by African Insect Science for Food and Health, or ICIPE. The Ocimum is weighed, dried, and then processed.
The oil extracted is used to manufacture Naturub, a balm and an ointment used to treat flu, cold, chest congestion, aches, pain and insect bites. The products have been certified and approved by the government.
The products are sent to the capital Nairobi, where they are packaged. They are sold in 80 outlets, including Kenya's major supermarkets, and are gaining in popularity, says Frederick Nduguli, a marketing consultant with ICIPE. "Natural products have been used since time immemorial, so they are well-known in the marketplace as natural products but they have always been consumed in their raw form. Our role as ICIPE has been to add value to these natural products," he said. He says that, by commercializing Ocimum, the plant is used more efficiently, it is available to more people, and Kakamega Forest is conserved. Wilber Lwande explains the science behind Ocimum, "We found that the major constituent of this plant is a compound called camphor. Camphor has been shown scientifically to be having medicinal properties. Mainly it relieves pain and also it is an anti-microbial - it kills germs. Camphor has been used in various medicinal preparations such as Vicks, Robb, Deep Heat, but they use synthetic camphor," he said. "So we thought that this was a good source of medicinal product which would actually be of natural origin." Another medicinal plant found in Kakamega Forest is Mondia whitei , a vine that has for centuries been used as a flavouring agent and medicine. Farmers are now starting to cultivate Mondia.
A community group processes the root to produce a powder branded Mondia Tonic. It is said to be an antioxidant, a revitalizer, and a cure for hangovers.
For full story, please see: www1.voanews.com/english/news/environment/Forest-Plants-Kenya-Damaged-Harvest-Traditional-Medicines-72451027.html
BACK TO TOP
18. Venezuela: Clinging to the forest despite the chaos
Source: The New York Times, 30 November 2009
The hunt for the tapir, a large mammal that roams the remote Caura forest in southern Venezuela, began at dawn. Sunlight peeked through the tree canopy, a piece of one of South America's last virtually pristine river basins.
Menace lurked on branches in the form of inch-long bullet ants, called "veinticuatro" since the intense pain from their sting lasts 24 hours. The shed skin of a bushmaster viper decomposed on the ground. Resonating moans of howler monkeys drowned out the buzzing of sand flies, which transmit a dreaded spleen-enlarging disease.
"Temblador," said Romero González, 18, a Ye'kuana tribesman, grasping a machete in one hand and a 16-gauge shotgun in the other. He pointed at the carcass of a six-foot-long electric eel his hunting party found in a stream a day earlier. They sliced off part of the eel's head and ate it quickly for good luck. Then they came across a black curassow, a bird resembling a wild turkey, and promptly shot it. "The curassow is my favourite bird," said Mr. González, referring to the roasted meat consumed for dinner the previous night.
Undisturbed by roads or hydroelectric dams, and largely forgotten by the rest of the world, the remote Caura forest covers a section of southern Venezuela larger than Belgium. Only about 3,500 indigenous people from two forest tribes, the Ye'kuana and Sanema, live in its rain forest and savannas, which are fed by rivers flowing down from the Venezuelan table-top mountains known as tepuis that geologists think are remnants of the mountains of the Gondwana supercontinent.
The Ye'kuana and the Sanema cling to their way of life here by hunting peccary, spider monkey and tapir. They farm manioc and use barbasco, a vine poison, to rouse fish from streams.
But their traditions are coming under siege, and anthropologists say it is a wonder that their cultures remain intact at all. Among the daunting challenges they face are a thriving illicit bushmeat trade, incursions by gold miners and the government's resistance to requests by the Caura's forest dwellers that they be given greater administrative control over their land.
Conservation efforts here are almost nonexistent. One project by Caura Weichojo, an NGO in the hamlet of Edowinña, records and catalogs the songs of hundreds of birds in the forest to teach children here about the Caura's rich wildlife, knowledge that is being eroded as the Ye'kuana and Sanema become increasingly exposed to the chaotic Venezuela around them.
"The sound of the Tokolomawai guides one under the tree cover to where the peccaries roam," said a Sanema who gave his name as Wokía ("just Wokía," he smiled) and said he believed he was in his 50s. He used his language's name for the bird called the marbled wood-quail in English.
The birdsong project, supported by ornithologists from the March Foundation, a California environmental group, stands in contrast to the pressures faced by the Ye'kuana and Sanema as the outside world sets its sights on their forests and rivers.
A glimpse of one possible outcome for the groups – assimilation – can be seen in Maripa, a town of about 4,000 residents six hours by canoe from Edowinña. A strong military presence there — ostensibly to combat illegal gold mining in the Caura that is polluting rivers with mercury and resulting, in some cases, in miners burning the huts of the Ye'kuana and Sanema — serves as a source of tension. Last month, residents responded to a shooting episode by army soldiers, which wounded three people, by setting fire to the town's main military checkpoint.
At a truck stop in Maripa, a dealer in illegal bushmeat listed his products: tapir, agouti (a coveted rodent), curassow and peccary. He said prices ran about $4/Kgfor the wild animals, which had been killed near indigenous communities by poachers.
As others encroach on their land, the Ye'kuana and Sanema go on with their lives. They farm. They fish. They hunt. The results are not always promising. On the day of Romero González's hunt, the desired tapir was elusive.
A day later, the hunters' canoe drifted past a clearing in the forest where poachers had left the innards and bones of a freshly killed tapir to decay.
The canoe's pilot, Mocuy Rodríguez, a 23-year-old Ye'kuana, pondered the significance. "Call it our reality," he said, as the rapids of the river swirled around his canoe. "Call it the end of our reality if it is not stopped."
For full story, please see: www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/world/americas/01caura.html?_r=3
BACK TO TOP
19. A fair deal for forest people: How REDD can benefit local communities
Source: Mongabay.com, 27 November 2009
Less than a month away from the 15th Conference of the Parties for the UNFCCC, and serious debate continues on how a Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) mechanism could be incorporated into a 2012 climate change agreement.
Fauna & Flora International (FFI) believes REDD should compliment a broader set of climate change mitigation strategies, which does not diminish the global imperative to reduce fossil fuel consumption or to set strict emission reduction targets for Annex 1 countries. However, well-designed REDD activities can make an immediate and direct contribution to reducing carbon emissions, whilst delivering biodiversity conservation benefits, and enhancing sustainable development and rural livelihoods.
As tropical forests are cleared in the face of a changing global climate, biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate and forest dependent communities are growing increasingly more vulnerable as their resource base dwindles. Local inhabitants have few, if any, alternative livelihood strategies to pursue. These global and local realities motivated FFI to design REDD projects with a focus on getting it right on the ground by tackling local livelihood issues.
FFI maintains that by designing REDD projects focused on local, forest dependent communities, we will conserve the forest. Thus, we see the forest not only for the trees and the sequestered carbon but in a more holistic way – biodiversity, watershed conservation, sustainable forest management and the people who depend on the forest resources.
The FFI's methodology aims to enhance historic rights to forest resources by addressing key equity and rights issues in the design and development of REDD projects in diverse settings. Early and active community involvement in decisions about roles, responsibilities and benefits build trust among stakeholders. Through careful and fully participatory project design and implementation, REDD can be a win-win-win situation for the global climate, forest dependent communities, and biodiversity.
All the areas FFI has identified for prospective REDD projects in West Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) are on the brink of being cleared for timber and conversion to palm oil or pulp and paper plantations. Forest dependent and Adat communities, some of whom have customary rights but no statutory rights to the forested land, have been hitherto unsuccessful in stopping the primary drivers of deforestation resulting in destroyed local livelihoods and eroding the socio-cultural base of these communities.
Developing robust and equitable methodologies and implementation approaches is complex, but a few broad principles guide our work; full stakeholder participation, a multi-tiered approach, a commitment to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), a recognition of and focus on local resource use and management rights, equitable benefit sharing and the need for strong forest governance.
For full story, please see: http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1127-redd_commentary_ffi.html
BACK TO TOP
20. Eco-label for rainforest products could boost sustainability
Source: Mongabay.com, 6 December 2009
Tropical forests around the world continue to fall, largely the result of logging and conversion to agriculture. But new hope for forests has emerged under a scheme that would reward countries for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation. Some variations of the concept, which is known as REDD, would allow for "sustainable forest management" (SFM), that is, reduced impact logging of forests, as well as harvesting of NWFPs like seeds, fruit, and game. But the extent, to which this harvesting affects forest ecology, and therefore carbon sequestration, is still poorly understood.
A new paper, published in the open access journal Tropical Conservation Science, proposes a new protocol for assessing human impacts on how effectively seeds get dispersed and seedlings germinate and survive critical processes for forest health and regeneration. The paper applies the protocol to Andiroba (Carapa surinamensis), an important timber species that produces oil-rich seeds used for a wide range of purposes that are dispersed by large rodents which are deemed "tasty" by local human populations.
Working at sites in French Guiana, Clément Lermyte and Pierre-Michel Forget of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Brunoy, a suburb of Paris, France, found that the protocol is an effective means to rapidly assess how seed dispersal and seedling recruitment are affected by hunting and logging. Hunting reduced seed dispersal -- possibly by reducing the abundance of seed-scattering rodents -- while canopy gaps resulting from logging, as well as the reduction of seed-eating peccaries by hunters, increased the life expectancy of seedlings.
The authors argue that the results produced by the protocol could be used to create an ecological 'sustainable management' label (eco-label) for the harvesting of forest products and hunting.
"The eco-label will serve to promote all conservation and protection measures useful for the regeneration dynamics of commercial large-seeded hard-fruited species harvested for NTFPs," the authors told mongabay.com.
In other words the eco-label could be used to certify that products sold in international markets have been produced in a manner that doesn't result in long-term damage to the environment.
For full story, please see: http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1207-seed_dispersal_tcs.html
BACK TO TOP
21. Google to aid tropical rainforests
Source: Middle East and North Africa Financial Network, Jordan, 23 November 2009
A proposed Google program would allow anyone with Internet access to spot illegal logging in tropical rainforests and report it, the company said.
The program, to be released next year, would let so-called armchair detectives report their findings to an agency monitoring whether countries were meeting their commitments to reduce deforestation, The Times of London reported Friday.
Countries allowing illegal deforestation would lose their share of a new $30 billion global fund established to pay nations for leaving forests standing. The fund (REDD) is to be approved at the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December, said Google executive Philipp Schindler.
Schindler spoke Thursday at a seminar on deforestation in London attended by Britain's Prince Charles and leaders of several rainforest countries, including Guyana and Brazil.
Frequently updated satellite photos in the Google program will allow comparisons with historical images and let those viewing the images spot rainforest destruction almost as soon as it happens, Schindler said.
For full story, please see: www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=%7B82221688-BAB2-4E91-9BD3-5526C1333860%7D
BACK TO TOP
22. High hopes for forests may be shattered in Copenhagen
Source: Global Witness, 7 December 2009
Talk that an agreement to address deforestation will be the silver lining at Copenhagen hangs under a cloud as climate change negotiations open today. Wide expectations that the United Nations initiative to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries (REDD) could be one of its few tangible outcomes are shadowed by inadequate language in the REDD negotiating text1 and alarmingly low ambitions for reducing fossil fuel emissions at the talks, according to forest and climate experts of the Ecosystems Climate Alliance (ECA).
"We must save forests to save the climate, but saving forests alone will not prevent dangerous climate change," said Bill Barclay of Rainforest Action Network, one of ten NGOs which constitute ECA. "REDD only works as part of a comprehensive climate deal at Copenhagen that both reduces fossil fuel emissions and protects the world's remaining tropical forests." The heavily-bracketed REDD text which emerged from the November talks in Barcelona and will serve as basis for negotiations in Copenhagen still contains:
- no explicit language that will ensure an objective of protecting intact natural forests;
- no provisions to monitor vital social, environmental and governance safeguards in developing countries;
- no text addressing the social and economic forces which drive demand for forest products and result in continued forest destruction;
- no accounting of the massive emissions from peat soils;
- inadequate protection for the rights of Indigenous peoples; and
- inadequate safeguards for the conservation of biological diversity.
"We're seeing excitement in the media about forest protection in the climate treaty," said Dr. Rosalind Reeve of Global Witness. "If the U.N. implements a treaty without the rules and monitoring needed to combat weak governance and corruption in REDD-eligible countries, however, REDD will be a disaster." Charismatic but controversial, REDD has become a popular idea but is plagued by potential problems on the ground. To be successful, REDD must actually save forests, which means strong safeguard language and an overall climate change treaty that avoids massive die-off of forests due to warming temperatures - a tipping point widely agreed to be probable if temperatures climb two degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.
Many options appear conceivable for a REDD agreement and ECA stresses that the ground may shift quickly. Portions of the current text may be inserted into a proposed COP15 agreement, variously rumoured to be the "Shared Vision" document from Barcelona, or a document said to be circulating among Annex 1 (developed) countries, or others yet unknown. A non-binding, "political" agreement, however, will likely contain only a short section on REDD and refer to a separate, subsidiary decision.
ECA is also tracking the first-week meetings of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) which provides methodological guidance for activities relating to REDD. SBSTA will consider a draft decision from June meetings in Bonn, Germany which will affect any potential REDD treaty.
REDD monies are projected to help developing countries protect their remaining intact natural forests and reduce the approximately 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation, forest degradation and peatland destruction. Estimated sums required to implement REDD are €15-25 billion2 from 2010-15 to support preparatory activities and proxy-based results (assuming 25% REDD implementation), and €7-14 billion3 per year by 2020 for fully measured, reported and verified emissions reductions and removals (assuming 50 percent REDD implementation). But some experts challenge those figures as far too low to achieve the projected levels of emissions reductions.
Meanwhile, disarray prevails on forest management accounting for developed countries (known as LULUCF for "Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry") in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations (AWG-KP). Countries have put forward various loopholes that will allow each to pick and choose their own reference level year, effectively allowing them to erase increases in greenhouse gas emissions from forest management in their accounting.
"Countries view REDD and LULUCF as loopholes to avoid reducing emissions rather than seriously addressing problems with forest protection," said Sean Cadman of The Wilderness Society. At Copenhagen, we need more focus on protecting forests and less focus on protecting logging profits."
Although some type of agreement on REDD may be a Copenhagen outcome, without explicit commitment to protecting forests and rules to enforce vital safeguards as key priorities, and accompanying deep emissions reduction targets, it will threaten rather than preserve the integrity of the world's remaining natural forests and ecosystems.
For full story, please see: www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/896/en/high_hopes_for_forests_may_be_shattered_in_copenhagen_
BACK TO TOP
23. Time of day matters to thirsty trees
Source: United Press International, 25 November 2009
Canadian scientists say they've found the manner in which a forest's trees genetically cope with drought differs according to the time of day.
A University of Toronto research team led by Professor Malcolm Campbell examined how poplar trees use their 45,000 genes to respond to drought. Campbell and doctoral student Olivia Wilkins said the use of different combinations of genes creates different programs. The genetic combination that trees use in response to a stress, such as drought, determines whether the tree can survive.
In the past, researchers examined drought-responsive gene programs at a single point in time -- normally during the day. But Wilkins said she conducted her genetic experiments at multiple times throughout the day and night. She said she discovered trees use different drought response programs at different times of day.
"Previously, researchers referred to the drought response as though it was a single, simple program that ran all the time," Campbell said, noting the new research shows the story isn't that simple.
The scientists said their discovery that trees use different programs at different times of the day is a critical finding, since previous studies might have overemphasized the importance of some genes in helping trees contend with drought, and totally missed others that are important.
The research is reported in the 13 November issue of the Plant Journal.
For full story, please see: www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/11/25/Time-of-day-matters-to-thirsty-trees/UPI-56981259159205/
BACK TO TOP
24. WFI International Fellowship Program
Source: World Forestry Centre, 10 December 2009
For over a decade, the World Forest Institute (WFI) has offered a unique International Fellowship Program to professionals in natural resources--such as foresters, environmental educators, land managers, NGO practioners and researchers--to conduct a practical research project at the World Forestry Centre in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
In addition to their specific research projects, Fellows participate in weekly field trips, interviews and site visits to Northwest forestry organizations, state, local and national parks, universities, public and private timberlands, trade associations, mills, and corporations. The Fellowship is a unique opportunity to learn about sustainable forestry from the Pacific Northwest forestry sector, and to work with colleagues from around the world.
The WFI Fellowship is a great way to continue learning, explore career paths in the natural resource sector, and develop contacts in the region. We have enjoyed the participation of over 80 Fellows from 25 countries. The program is open to applicants from any country (including the U.S.), and there is a matching grant from the Harry A. Merlo Foundation. Applications are accepted year-round.
For full story, please see: http://wfi.worldforestry.org/index/international-fellowship.html
BACK TO TOP
8 -12 March 2010
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
IUFRO Kuala Lumpur 2010 is the joint conference of IUFRO Working Parties 2.04.01 (Population, Ecological and Conservation Genetics) and 2.04.10 (Genomics) and will be hosted by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). The conference includes invited and contributed presentations and posters, discussion sessions, workshops, satellite and business meetings and an in-conference tour.
Objective:
- To provide a platform for exchange of ideas and information amongst researchers and practitioners in forest genetics, breeding and conservation.
- To discuss and evaluate the latest approaches and techniques in forest genetics research and management of forest genetic resources.
- To promote international co-operation and networking amongst practitioners and researchers involved in forest genetics, breeding and conservation.
For more information, please contact:
Wickneswari Ratna wicki@ukm.my
Norwati Muhammad norwati@frim.gov.my
website: www.iufrokualalumpur2010.org
BACK TO TOP
CIFOR conference: "Taking stock of smallholder and community forestry: Where do we go from here?"
24 - 26 March 2010
Montpellier, France
Conference sessions will be organized to maximize comparisons of key topics drawing from cases in temperate and tropical forests from around the world. The workshop will be multidisciplinary, and papers may be presented from biophysical, socio-economic, policy or development perspectives. Particularly welcome are papers that compare or synthesize research across countries or regions, but country-level comparisons will also be considered. Each paper should close with a section aimed at answering the question, where do we go from here?
Topics include, but are not limited to:
- Relations between local forest practices and environmental, forestry or multisectoral policies and regulations
- Organizational patterns, institutions and governance concerns, including tenure and rights
- Practices, knowledge, particularly the interactions between local and extralocal systems (professional forest knowledge, NGOs, scientific knowledge)
- Management and marketing issues regarding timber, NTFPs and multiple-use management, including relations with the private sector and new certification mechanisms (ecolabeling, fair trade, and geographical origins)
- Gender issues
- Property, legitimacy or rights issues
- Approaches and methods for supporting smallholder and community forestry (NGOs, extension services)
- The role of the state and NGOs
If you are interested in presenting a paper or poster please submit a title, an abstract of 250 words and 3 keywords to l.feintrenie@cgiar.org by 10 January 2010.
For more information please contact:
Ms Laurne Anne Feintrenie
e-mail: l.feintrenie@cgiar.org
Website: www.cifor.cgiar.org/Events/Smallholder+and+community+forestry/
BACK TO TOP
People, Forests and the Environment: Coexisting in Harmony
25- 27 May 2010
Casablanca, Morocco
The conference will explore the conflicting relationship between Population, Forests and the Environment, and will examine long-term problems and their governance challenge from different angles, towards coexistence in harmony between people, forests and the environment, at local, regional and global level.
The programme promises to be exciting including numerous prominent speakers covering topics including the latest developments on various themes, such as forest and local development, forest and climate change, forest environmental services, biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, man-made plantations, the forecasting of needs and resources, people and forest coexistence in harmony, education and knowledge systems for sustainability, among others.
For more information, please contact:
Amina Zerktouni
Secretariat of the Conference
Telephonic queries: +212661328797
E-mail: sylva.world@fr.fm or sylva.monde@yahoo.fr
Website: http://sylvamonde.110mb.com/welcome.htm
BACK TO TOP
LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEB SITES
28. NTFP trade: A trade-off between conservation and development, Indonesia
A recent PhD dissertation "Non-timber forest product trade: a trade-off between conservation and development: assessing the outcomes of non-timber forest product trade on livelihoods and the environment, with special emphasis on the damar agroforests in Sumatra, Indonesia" by Kusters K,examines the proposition that trade in non-timber forest products – such as medicinal plants, fruit and rattan – would simultaneously lead to forest conservation and rural development. In doing so, it touches on a range of related topics such as tenure security, agroforestry and the non-agricultural sector. The book contains both a meta-analysis of 55 cases in Asia, Africa and Latin America and an in-depth study of the damar resin agroforests in Sumatra, Indonesia. The findings indicate that the relationship between forest conservation and rural development is characterized by trade-offs. Policymakers and practitioners working in conservation need to acknowledge that win-win approaches are often unrealistic and sometimes even naive. Supporting agroforestry is, however, a promising strategy to achieve a balanced trade-off between conservation and development.
Download: www.narcis.info/publication/RecordID/oai:uva.nl:314295/Language/en/;jsessionid=fngo7tcvffcx
BACK TO TOP
29. Other publications of interest
From: FAO's NWFP Programme
Karki Madhav, Rasul Golam, Sah Ram P. 2009. The role of non-timber forest products in poverty reduction in India: prospects and problems. Development in Practice 18: 6
The vast natural resources of India's forests, including NTFPs, such as medicinal and aromatic plants, leaves, fruits, seeds, resins, gums, bamboos, and canes, offer employment that provides up to half the income of about 25 per cent of the country's rural labour force. However, poor harvesting practices and over-exploitation in the face of increasing market demand are threatening the sustainability of these resources, and thus the livelihoods of forest-dependent tribal communities. This article analyses the role of NTFPs in livelihoods-improvement initiatives and considers recent initiatives intended to enhance their conservation and sustainable management. It recommends policies to optimize the potential of NTFPs, both to support rural livelihoods and to contribute to India's social, economic, and environmental well-being.
Karesh W. B., Noble E. 2009. The bushmeat trade: increased opportunities for transmission of zoonotic disease. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine 76(5): 429-434
Bushmeat is a term that refers to the use of wild animals, ranging from cane rats to gorillas, for food. The term typically refers to the practice in forests of Africa. The bushmeat trade is an example of an anthropogenic factor that provides opportunities for the transmission of diseases from wildlife to humans. The expansion of the bushmeat trade over the past two decades has provided a venue for the emergence of zoonotic diseases by providing an increased opportunity for the transmission of organisms known to cause disease and organisms with an unknown impact on humans. Because the bushmeat trade is embedded in a complex cultural, political, and economic context, efforts to prevent the emergence of zoonoses require a multidisciplinary approach.
Klaver, Dieuwke. 2009. Multi-stakeholder design of forest governance and accountability arrangements in Equator Province, Democratic Republic of Congo IUCN, Wageningen International
BACK TO TOP
MISCELLANEOUS
30. Fungi can rehabilitate barren mine waste dumpsite
Source: Philippine Star, 13 December 2009
Technology that can bring back life to a once barren mine waste dumpsite has been proven viable. The technology entails the inoculation of forest trees with the versatile fungi Mycorrhiza before these are planted in once degraded areas.
It made wonders on the mine waste dumpsite of the Manila Mining Corp. (MMC) in Placer, Surigao del Norte (Philippines), as attested by results of a research and development (R&D) project conducted jointly by the MMC and Department of Environment and Natural Resources CARAGA Ecosystems Research and Development Service (DENR-CARAGA-ERDS).
Since the dumpsite is characterized by a mountainous and hilly terrain, it is prone to soil erosion. The threat of acidic runoff, especially during the rainy season, is great because the area has very loose soil and rock fragments. Erosion can also lead to siltation of nearby rivers, streams, and coastal areas, on which fisherfolk rely for their livelihood.
This led Buiser's team to come up with a project beneficial to surrounding communities. To rehabilitate the dump area, the team established a plantation of nitrogen-fixing trees and used the fungi Mycorrhiza, which are known for their extraordinary capacity for growing and surviving stress periods.
The DENR-CARAGA-ERDS project used two soil-based biological fertilizers, Mycogroe and Mykovam. When inoculated to seedlings, these biofertilizers are absorbed through the roots and in turn help the plant absorb water and nutrients, prevent root infections, and increase plant tolerance.
For the project, narra, rain tree (acacia), mahogany, falcate, and auri were inoculated with Mycogroe before these were planted in the degraded area. Liming and incorporation of humus soil were also resorted to improve the acidic and nutrient-deficient soil.
Of the five-hectare degraded site, three hectares have been planted to trees that are now starting to add green cover to the former dumpsite.
The project won recently the bronze medal of the prestigious Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practices given by the England-based Green Organization, an independent environment group founded in 1954 to recognize undertakings that help improve the environment.
For receiving the award, the project merits publication in the Green Book, the world's only annual work of reference on environmental best practices.
For full story, please see: www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=531910&publicationSubCategoryId=77
BACK TO TOP
31. New fossil plant discovery links Patagonia to New Guinea in a warmer past
Source: e!science news, 30 November 2009
Fossil plants are windows to the past, providing us with clues as to what our planet looked like millions of years ago. Not only do fossils tell us which species were present before human-recorded history, but they can provide information about the climate and how and when lineages may have dispersed around the world. Identifying fossil plants can be tricky, however, when plant organs fail to be preserved or when only a few sparse parts can be found. In the November issue of the American Journal of Botany
Peter Wilf (of Pennsylvania State University) and his U.S. and Argentine colleagues published their recent discovery of abundant fossilized specimens of a conifer previously known as Libocedrus prechilensis found in Argentinean Patagonia. This plant was first described in 1938 based on one fossil vegetative branch whose characteristics were said to most closely match those of a living South American dry, cold-climate conifer found in the study area: Austrocedrus (Libocedrus) chilensis, the Cordilleran Cypress.
However, numerous characteristics of the leaves, including their distinctive shape and stomatal arrangements, as well as seed cone details of the newly discovered specimens entirely match those of extant Papuacedrus, a closely related genus, currently found only in tropical, montane New Guinea and the Moluccas.
Based on the newly discovered fossil specimens from 52 and 47 million years ago, Wilf and colleagues reassigned the fossil species to Papuacedrus, under the new name combination Papuacedrus prechilensis. One of the major implications of this reassignment is that, because Papuacedrus is known from tropical montane habitats and is physiologically limited to extremely wet climates, it adds to the emerging evidence that Patagonia in the Eocene was a warm, wet tropical place and not a cold, dry steppe as much of it is today. It also adds a tropical West Pacific connection for Papuacedrus, further establishing the interchange of flora with Australia and neighbouring areas via a warm and forested Antarctic land connection during the Eocene. Indeed, less complete Papuacedrus fossils have previously been found in Australia and Antarctica.
"This is a wonderful example of how securely identifying well-preserved and well-dated fossils can have many impacts," Wilf noted. "These fossils contribute critical information about conifer evolution as well as the biogeographic history of the Southern Hemisphere. Combined with the robust site geology we have generated, they also contribute to an important environmental reinterpretation of a large area in the past. Papuacedrus physiologically requires lots of moisture and cannot withstand prolonged droughts."
Another important consequence of this find is how it relates to the great diversity of other fossil plant as well as insect species known from the Patagonian fossil sites. The lush, possibly montane, rainforest environment indicated by Papuacedrus helps to explain this stunning richness from the Eocene. "The revision [of this species] not only forces a major shift in biogeographic affinity (Patagonia to New Guinea), but also provides a decisive boost to important hypotheses of rainforest climates during the Eocene in Patagonia that had not been fully substantiated in previous work," Wilf said. "This in turn helps to explain the remarkable plant and insect diversity found in Eocene Patagonia."
For full story, please see: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/11/10/new.fossil.plant.discovery.links.patagonia.new.guinea.a.warmer.past
BACK TO TOP
32. USA: Changing role of forest management in response to climate change
Source: Environmental News Network, 2 December 2009
In a memo sent on 20 November, US Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell told his regional offices and station directors that "responding to the challenges of climate change in providing water and water-related ecosystem services is one of the most urgent tasks facing us as an agency. History will judge us by how well we respond to these challenges." Referring to how the challenge will alter future forestry management, Tidwell said that "Climate change is dramatically reshaping how we will deliver on our mission of sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests and grasslands for present and future generations."
Tidwell's memo follows up on the strategic framework for responding to climate change released last month, and seeks to integrate that framework into the agency's day-to-day operations. Tidwell has proposed dividing the country into five planning regions, asking his managers and area directors to work together to create "aggressive and well-coordinated" area-specific action plans for landscape conservation.
Much of the planning work is already underway, but Tidwell is urging his agency to expand their work into "full blown regions, stations and area action plans" addressing water as "fundamental outcome set."
"The plans should seize opportunities to integrate activities and be innovative," Tidwell wrote in his email. "They should become blueprints for integrating climate change and watershed management. They should use climate change as a theme under which to integrate and streamline existing national and regional strategies for ecological restoration, fire and fuels, forest health, biomass utilization, and others."
Tidwell also intends on naming a "climate change executive" to oversee implementation of the strategic framework through the action plans.
Testifying before a Senate subcommittee earlier this month, Tidwell emphasized the growing need for climate change as a fundamental consideration for sound forestry management. "While healthy, functioning forests may serve as a means to sequester carbon, under current practices, many of our Western forests are at risk of turning from a carbon sink to a carbon source," Tidwell said. "Projections indicate that while these forests continue to sequester more carbon in the short-term," Mr. Tidwell said, "in 30 to 50 years, disturbances such as fire and insects and disease could dramatically change the role of forests, thereby emitting more carbon than currently sequestering".
Tidwell calls for area specific action plans for federal forest management, an idea that has been generally accepted as a step in the right direction.
For full story, please see: www.enn.com/business/article/40776
BACK TO TOP
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
To unsubscribe, please send an e-mail to: mailserv@mailserv.fao.org
with the message:
unsubscribe NWFP-Digest-L
For technical help or questions contact 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
--
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