NWFP-Digest-L
No. 14/10
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 to Giulia Muir for her help with this issue.
Since this is the last issue of 2010, we would like to wish all our readers a very happy and healthy 2011!
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1. Bamboo: Fight climate change with bamboo, says campaign group
2. Bamboo in India: Social forestry to popularize use of bamboo to save trees
3. Bamboo in The Philippines: Trade sways to winds of change
4. Edible Insects next on the menu in the quest for food security
5. Edible Insects: Insectos se convierten en una alternativa real contra el hambre
7. Maple Syrup: Maple trees in dire straits, say researchers
8. Medicinal plants: Study says some herbs could help fight HIV
9. Medicinal plants in Sri Lanka: Nearly 10 percent of medicinal herbs endemic
10. Medicinal plants in the UAE: Herbal formula to undergo clinical tests
11. Truffles: Macau tycoon pays US$330 000 for two truffles
12. Wildlife: Census finds increase in critically endangered mountain gorilla population
13. Wildlife: Jane Goodall saves chimpanzees using microcredit
14. Wildlife: World Bank President announces Wildlife Premium Market Initiative
15. Argentine shepherds, farmers protect forests from soy
16. Australia: Patent fight erupts over Kakadu plum
17. Australia: Arcadian turpentine forest in good hands
18. Canada: Two provincial parks created in Manitoba
19. Democratic Republic of Congo: UN urges ban on oil drilling in gorilla park
20. Eritrea: Better honey production obtained in Adi-Keih sub-zone
21. Finland: Agreement reached with Sámi reindeer herders
22. India's Kashmiri saffron growers see red
23. Indonesia: Historic Indonesian forest protection deal at risk from industry
24. Nigeria: Government to create one million jobs from Moringa plant
25. Oman: Sniffing out the Frankincense Coast
26. Rwanda: One-third of forest cover coming seven years ahead of schedule
27. UK: British Beekeepers' Association to stop endorsing bee-killing pesticides
28. UK: Scotland invests in green projects
29. Vietnam: Aid for thousands in four poor provinces
30. 35 000 new species "sitting in cupboards"
31. Biodiversity: More species means less disease
32. Bring back lost and degraded forests
33. Climate agreement reached in Cancun, Mexico
34. EU Commission adopts Communication on honeybee health
35. International Year of Biodiversity honoured as Best Global Environmental Campaign
36. New Google Earth technology allows tracking of environmental changes
37. Scientists aim to map and save endangered habitats
38. Swedish-led team "rewrites" Amazon history
39. UNFF celebrates upcoming International Year of Forests 2011
40. Request for contributions to the next issue of Non-wood News
41. Reminder: Request for information: Siltimur (Zanthoxylum oxyphyllum)
42. IASC 2011: Sustaining Commons, Sustaining our Future
43. Western Huckleberry Forum, Cranbrook, BC, Canada
LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEBSITES
44. Unasylva on Forests, People and Wildlife
45. Environment State and Outlook Report for Europe released
46. Other publications of interest
47. European Butterfly populations plummet as meadows and grasslands decline
48. UK: Gene bank for rare fruit species
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1. Bamboo: Fight climate change with bamboo, says campaign group
Source: AFP, 2 December 2010
World leaders pondering the conundrum of climate change should think of bamboo, a group promoting the versatile grass said at the UN talks in Cancun, Mexico on Wednesday.
Cheap, fast-growing and immensely strong, bamboo provides an answer to surging carbon emissions, generates income for the rural poor and helps tackle housing shortages, the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) said.
"Bamboo is a remarkable resource for driving economic development, and is readily available in many of the world's poorest countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America," said Coosje Hoogendoorn, INBAR's Director General. "It helps support the livelihoods of more than 1.5 billion people, generates more than US$5 billion in annual trade and can grow up to 1 m a day."
"Bamboo housing has been around for centuries, but many people do not understand its full potential and still see it as the poor man's timber," said Alvaro Cabrera, INBAR's regional coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean. "In fact, bamboo is stronger for its weight than steel, it is cheaper than timber, uses far less energy in processing than concrete and can dance in earthquakes... Bamboo should be referred to as the wise man's timber."
INBAR, a 13-year-old organization based in China, is an inter-governmental organization, gathering 36 countries under a treaty, that also fosters fair-trade and development schemes involving bamboo and rattan.
It made its pitch on the sidelines of the UN talks in Cancun taking place from 29 November to 10 December, where countries wrestled for solutions to climate change.
In addition to providing livelihoods for people, bamboo forests would be an invaluable weapon against carbon dioxide (CO2), the principal greenhouse gas, through photosynthesis, INBAR said. In addition, bamboo roots reduce soil erosion, preventing hillsides and riverbanks from washing away in floods and landslides.
Hoogendoorn told AFP that the group was working on a certification scheme whereby bamboo would be sold with a label proving that it came from a sustainable plantation and allowed other species to thrive. Even so, certification "is complex and very difficult," she admitted. One of the biggest destroyers of biodiversity is monoculture crops grown on huge spaces on soil treated with pesticides and fertilizers.
Natural bamboo forests, as opposed to plantations, are a haven for many species of wildlife, including the giant panda. World trade in bamboo and rattan is more than US$5 billion a year, with China, Indonesia and Vietnam the three biggest sources, INBAR said.
For full story, please see: www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hGGtlROE_730mkgBMUbbsT35vN9Q?docId=CNG.b4a6d02a31d8042bf09d9cecaccbb511.2d1
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2. Bamboo in India: Social forestry to popularize use of bamboo to save trees
Source: Times of India, 29 November 2010
Skill-building and improving the existing bamboo cover in the state will be the focus for 2010-11 under the National Bamboo Mission in Maharashtra, India. The state directorate of social forestry has chalked out plans after receiving a grant of Rs 2 crore.
"We are working on maintaining the existing bamboo plantations in the forest and non-forest areas of the state. The plan is also to deal with low-quality varieties of bamboo and conducting training workshops for farmers throughout the year," said SWH Naqvi, Director of Social Forestry, Maharashtra.
The National Bamboo Mission was introduced in the state in 2007. So far, social forestry has planted bamboo on more than 500 ha of forest land and over 300 ha of non-forest land.
The Konkan Bamboo and Cane Development Centre (KONBAC), known for manufacturing high-end bamboo furniture and handicrafts, and imparting training, will also conduct five state-level skill-building and training workshops for farmers, and for organizations in the state and the North East that specialize in bamboo products, throughout the year. "The idea is to help farmers, who are cultivating and are interested in cultivating bamboo to make optimum use of this produce," said Naqvi.
Currently, over 20 indigenous and exotic varieties of bamboo are being cultivated in various nurseries across the state. Seedlings grown in these nurseries will be put on field trial in a couple of years. "We will be seeing which bamboos species can adapt to the climatic conditions in different parts of the state," he added.
He said the ultimate aim is to facilitate maximum use of bamboo thereby reducing dependence on trees, especially for furniture and other products usually derived from wood.
For full story, please see: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Social-forestry-to-popularise-use-of-bamboo-to-save-trees/articleshow/7006616.cms
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3. Bamboo in The Philippines: Trade sways to winds of change
Source: http://business.inquirer.net, 27 November
Bamboo as a cottage industry is hardly remarkable. It is stable but thrives exclusively on niche markets, as well as in themed interior and landscape designs. But the global movement to mitigate the impact of climate change and global warming may bring the bamboo to the forefront of alternatives to environmentally intensive practices.
Industry stakeholders believe that bamboo may soon become an alternative to lumber. "This suggests a trade-off to logging and the massive clearing of forests for timber products that tends to upset climate regulatory mechanisms," says Professor Dante Chichioco, a forest products engineer and dean of the College of Forestry at the Benguet State University (BSU), The Philippines.
"If we can reduce the amount of timber extraction by locals and logging concessions because another material offers a viable alternative, then we would have contributed highly to global warming and climate change mitigation while promoting local livelihood and businesses," Chichioco says.
Encouraging producers and consumers to shift attitudes is not just a movement that is being spurred by Chichioco under the Cordillera Bamboo Development (CBD). In the village of Baun Bango in Central Kalimantan, locals have begun to cultivate and harvest rattan for their livelihood because it is hailed as the "material of the future."
In a recent seminar, anthropologist Padmapani Perez said rattan, a raw material commonly grown in Southeast Asia, has been reintroduced as an economically viable industry among indigenous peoples that can take the place of logging. Perez says the program was spurred through the support of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Chichioco's bottom line is that bamboo is widespread and thriving whether these are cultivated or in the wild. "Bamboo can reach maturity in three to five years," he says. "There is a faster cycle of harvest and production that cannot be replicated in timber production where a tree can take decades to reach full maturity."
For now, Chichioco says, bamboo propagation will not replace efforts at reforestation. However, the options offered by bamboo for those that depend on trees for livelihood is serious enough to merit attention from organizations such as the Philippine Bamboo Foundation, the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, and the Resources Centers for Participatory Learning and Action.
For full story, please see: http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20101127-305653/Bamboo-trade-sways-to-winds-of-change
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4. Edible insects next on the menu in the quest for food security
Source: The East African (Kenya), 30 November
According to Prof Monica Ayieko, a nutrition expert at Bondo University in Kenya, insects such as termites and mayflies can be favoured by weather conditions brought about due to climate change and need to be promoted as food.
Prof Ayieko has made dough and butter from the insects, a method she has patented and which has gained popularity in the US. "We managed to change the way insects look on the table during the project. Besides pastries, we can also make samosas and sausages out of them," she said.
According to Prof Ayieko, the changes in weather patterns have led to an increase in insects, including some species that had been thought to be extinct, such as the onyoso, a popular species among the Luo people (an ethnic group of East Africa).
Even though insects have been used as food in many Kenyan societies, she says the major challenge will be to popularize them. According to her, many people have chosen to follow the Western culture and thus view insects as a meal for the poor, so acceptability will depend on those who are aware of the benefits of insects convincing the others."We have to make people understand the importance of these insects in order to change their attitudes," she said.
In her research on climate change and the abundance of edible insects in the Lake Victoria region, Prof Ayieko states that studies in several parts of the world indicate that consumption of insects is becoming popular in many parts of the West, besides rural Africa.
For full story, please see:
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5. Edible Insects: Insectos se convierten en una alternativa real contra el hambre
Source: El Tiempo, 17 November 2010
Para muchos son animales que hay que exterminar, para otros son alimento diario y exquisito. Se espera que para el año 2050 la población mundial llegue a superar los 9 000 millones de personas, un número que colapsará las fuentes de alimentos.
Ante la situación de la que ya infinidad de científicos vienen alertando desde hace tiempo, expertos de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO) han decidido promocionar estos animales, tan denostados en algunas civilizaciones y tan requeridos desde hace siglos en otras, como fundamento de nutrición.
Responsables del Programa de Insectos Comestibles del Departamento de Bosques de la FAO, en Roma, insisten en que no se puede ignorar la eficiencia de los insectos como productores de proteínas, en detrimento de otros animales que se incluyen en la dieta tradicional, pero de los que no todos pueden participar y que, además, provocan graves problemas medioambientales.
Desde hace siglos muchas culturas han mantenido a los insectos como base de su alimentación. En la actualidad, 36 países de África, 29 de Asia y 23 en América consumen alrededor de 527 tipos de insectos diferentes. Entre los más comunes se engloban estos cuatro grupos: escarabajos; hormigas, abejas y avispas; saltamontes y grillos; y por último, polillas y mariposas.
Julieta Ramos Elorduy Blázquez, profesora e investigadora del Instituto de Biología de la Universidad de México, ha dedicado más de tres décadas al estudio de los insectos y sus virtudes alimenticias. Para ello, ha convivido con distintas tribus de México y extraído los conocimientos de estos pueblos para los que los insectos son una tradición gastronómica legendaria.
México es uno de los países con mayor consumo de insectos en su dieta común. Se sabe de su uso culinario desde hace 500 años. Los primeros españoles que se establecieron allí enviaban a los reyes de España ilustraciones de esos pequeños animales que eran consumidos, entre los que se encontraban chapulines (saltamontes), abejas, avispas y escarabajos, todos ellos con el nombre en la lengua que cada pueblo hablaba.
Julieta Ramos nos explica que "en la actualidad, se sigue consumiendo en todo el país, sobre todo en las áreas rurales. Incluso, hay algunos insectos que han alcanzado precios muy elevados, como es el caso del gusano blanco del maguey, que cuesta $US500/kg, el peso de 1.666 gusanos, aunque es una cantidad difícil de obtener dada su escasez".
El valor nutritivo de los insectos es mayor que el resto de las proteínas animales, sostiene la bióloga, "porque los insectos tienen ciclos de vida mucho más cortos que los que tiene una res".
Su contenido en proteínas es comparable al de la carne y su cantidad de fibra es aún mayor. Son ricos en ácidos grasos poliinsaturados de cadena corta, hierro, calcio, vitaminas del grupo B y minerales, por lo que su desarrollo de forma industrial podría ser una importante fuente de alimentación para aquellos países cuyos habitantes sufren de desnutrición.
Para Ramos "es una alimentación que sirve para cualquier país porque los insectos se reproducen geométricamente, es decir que siempre habrá más generaciones de insectos que de vacas, aunque el tamaño sea diferente. Pero a la vaca se le tiene que dar de comer ocho gramos de comida para ganar uno de peso, y los grillos, por ejemplo, necesitan menos de dos gramos para un engorde similar.
Además, las reses apisonan las tierras y no las dejan ser productivas, y el vaho de su respiración genera una gran cantidad de CO2 (dióxido de carbono) que provoca el cambio de la atmósfera, porque nunca ha habido pastos tan grandes como los que hay ahora para obtener carne".
A pesar de la idea generalizada que se tiene de los insectos en algunos países desarrollados, donde están asociados a la suciedad, en Estados Unidos hay empresas dedicadas exclusivamente a su comercialización; en Montreal, Canadá, cada año se realizan festivales de degustación y en otros países europeos, como España, han abierto sus puertas restaurantes en los que los insectos son los únicos protagonistas de sus platos. Aunque su comercialización masiva parece todavía lejana, llegado el momento esta sin duda será mucho más amplia.
www.eltiempo.com/economia/bienestar/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-8380140.html
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Source: Science Daily, 8 December 2010
"Consumers like to see ginseng on a product's ingredient list because studies show that it improves memory, enhances libido, boosts immunity, and alleviates diabetes. But the very compounds that make ginseng good for you also make it taste bitter," said Soo-Yeun Lee, a University of Illinois (USA) associate professor of food science and human nutrition.
In an earlier study, Lee and colleague Shelly J. Schmidt found that ginseng contributes more to the bitter perception in energy drinks than caffeine, an indispensable component of these beverages and the very compound that sensory scientists use as their reference for bitter perception. "Ginseng has over 30 bitter compounds, and scientists still do not know which compound or group of compounds is responsible for the bitter taste," Lee said.
While experimenting with five possible solutions to ginseng's bitterness problem, they discovered that cyclodextrins — hydrophobic compounds made of glucose molecules that occur in a ring form — were able to capture the bitter flavour compounds and reduce bitterness by more than half.
The researchers tested potentially effective bitterness-reducing treatments. "Cyclodextrins were by far the most effective method of reducing the bitterness of ginseng solutions. We also found that gamma-cyclodextrins were more successful than beta-cyclodextrins and were more cost-effective," Schmidt said. These compounds have been used to mask bitterness before, but not at the level of ginseng used in a typical energy drink, she said.
Lee and Schmidt intend to continue studying ginseng's bitterness compounds to learn which are most responsible for producing objectionable flavours, and to gain insight into exactly how these compounds interact with cyclodextrins. That knowledge would facilitate the use of ginseng as a functional ingredient in energy drinks and allow their manufacturers to add health benefits to the beverages beyond general nutrition and the calories they provide, Lee said.
"This new method for masking bitterness in ginseng gives food scientists an opportunity to improve the health of consumers," she said.
The study was published in the September 2010 issue of the Journal of Food Science.
For full story, please see:
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101206161836.htm
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7. Maple Syrup: Maple trees in dire straits, say researchers
Source: www.citizen.com, 12 December 2010
The tree responsible for the most vibrant hues in New Hampshire's fall foliage season — as well as the state's maple syrup industry — may be on the decline in the Granite State and the rest of New England, according to some researchers.
Barrett Rock, a botanist and forestry professor at the University of New Hampshire's Complex Systems Research Center in Durham (USA) has been studying spectral satellite imagery of New England's forests (North-eastern USA) for decades, and said he has seen a pattern of maple tree decline.
Maple trees are being affected by climate change, which over the last 100 years has been unnaturally accelerated by human activity, he said.
One way in which the changes he is seeing via satellite imagery are beginning to manifest to the naked eye is that foliage seasons are more often becoming less spectacular, he said. Global warming in New Hampshire also has meant warmer springs, a time that is typically the height of maple sugaring season, with March of 2010 being the warmest in recent memory.
According to the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association, some 90 000 gallons of maple syrup are produced annually, bringing more than US$3 million to the state.
Rock said his ongoing research is focused on long-term changes, not yearly variations, though he said the last three years have shown how unpredictable the weather caused by rapid climate change can be and how it has affected the foliage season. In particular, the red and crimson hues of the maple tree have been dimmer during the past three autumns, Rock said. If rain comes too late in summer, at the end of July or in August, "it is water the trees cannot use," Rock said.
So the foliage seasons of 2008 and 2009 were not as spectacular because of too much rain either in the spring or too late in the season.
The declining sugar content of maple leaves also has affected recent foliage seasons. "In order to get the brilliant reds and burnt orange colours, you need high sugar content in the leaves," Rock said. The low sugar content in leaves not only affects foliage, it affects another beloved time of the New England year — maple sugaring season, when the sap of maple trees is collected, boiled down to its syrupy, amber essence and sold to consumers the world over.
Rock said if he had to give a prediction, he would say if more is not done to slow the pace of global warming, the maple species will be in dire straits. "In New Hampshire, 100 years from now, we will have a lot of old, dying maple trees and no new maple trees," Rock said. For full story, please see: www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101212/GJNEWS02/312129999/-1/CITNEWS
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8. Medicinal plants: Study says some herbs could help fight HIV
Source: Hindustan Times (India), 7 December 2010
Medicinal plants such as tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum), ashwgandha (Withania somnifera) and shilajit (sometimes referred to as asphaltum) which have so far been used as home remedies for cough and cold, may hold the key to the treatment of people living with HIV and AIDS.
The Department of Virology in Haffkine Institute for Training, Research and Testing in Parel, Mumbai (India) conducted in-vitro tests on the herbal extracts of the three plants against Reverse Transcriptase, an enzyme that is found in HIV and causes it to multiply.
The tests showed that these herbs have the potential to act effectively against the enzyme. "We wanted to know whether these herbal plants have any anti-HIV activity and if they can inactivate the virus or at least prevent it from replicating, or modulate the body's immunity," said Dr Sweta Kothari, senior scientific officer, Department of Virology, Haffkine Institute.
The study began in 2006 with the three herbal extracts being tested against Reverse Transcriptase. Simultaneously, a drug named azidothymidine (AZT), which is used for the treatment of HIV and AIDS, was also tested.
Results of this comparative study showed that tulsi and shilajit gave better results than that of AZT drug on the enzyme. "When AZT was 70 percent effective in blocking the enzyme activity, tulsi and shilajit showed 80 percent to 90 percent activity," said Kothari.
Now that the herbal extracts of these plants have shown positive results, the Institute is planning to take the research to the next level. "We will work on finding the exact molecules in those herbal extracts which are acting against the virus. This can also help in evaluating other herbal plants which have similar active molecules," said Ritwik Dahake, scientific officer, Department of Virology, Haffkine Institute.
"We know a large number of herbal preparations which are used in traditional Indian system of medicine; however, they must be analysed and evaluated in the light of the mechanism of their action and specific site of action.
For full story, please see: www.hindustantimes.com/Study-says-some-herbs-could-help-fight-HIV/Article1-635252.aspx
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9. Medicinal plants in Sri Lanka: Nearly 10 percent medicinal herbs endemic
Source: Daily News (Sri Lanka), 3 December 2010
Over 10 percent of all the medicinal herbs used in Sri Lanka are endemic to the country. Of this number about 80 species are endangered, Peradeniya Royal Botanical Gardens Director Dr Cyril Wejesundara told the Daily News. There are well over 500 endemic species used in traditional medicine among the native flora of Sri Lanka.
There are also over 900 non-indigenous medicinal plants used in native medicine, he said. The populations of medicinal plants are adversely affected by over-harvesting and lack of care to their habitat, he added. In addition, increased demand for agricultural land and unsustainable cultivation practices destroy medicinal plant habitats, he noted.
Sri Lanka is fortunate to have a rich reserve of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants. There are a large number of practitioners of traditional medicine. A very small effort has been made to appreciate and document these indigenous doctors knowledge, he emphasized.
As a result of degeneration in the numbers of indigenous doctors, knowledge on indigenous medicine and vital information on the subject of indigenous medicine is almost lost, he said. "It is necessary to design a national conservation program linked to a sustainable herbal cultivation strategy," he said.
For full story, please see: www.dailynews.lk/2010/12/03/news15.asp
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Source: www.gulfnews.com, 25 November 2010
A herbal-based formula extracted from endangered plants across the United Arab Emirates is set to undergo clinical tests for its efficacy to help combat serious diseases such as diabetes, a health expert said during a symposium on protection of medicinal plants in the country.
A designated farm to help preserve the medicinal plants at the Zayed Complex for Herbal Research and Traditional Medicine in Abu Dhabi has been recently recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a regional centre for herbal research.
"Through evidence based research we plan to introduce our own herbal-based formula, and will continue into clinical trials by offering patients herbal solutions for different chronic diseases such as allergies, asthma, kidney stones, hyper tension and diabetes. A single herb can have 1 000 active ingredients, which can be useful to help combat all these diseases put together," Dr. Mazen Ali Naji, Manager at the Zayed Complex for Herbal Research and Traditional Medicine told Gulf News on the sidelines of Wednesday's meeting.
In line with Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan's vision to preserve medicinal plants, the Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) partnered with the Health Authority Abu Dhabi in a project to help preserve 30 different kinds of plants in the UAE, known for their useful medical components.
"There are 640 different types of plants in rural areas and deserts across the UAE, 30 percent of which are herbal. Most of these herbal plants are prone to habitat destruction due to changing weather conditions and animal feed, that is why we are supporting projects which help preserve these endangered plants," said Eng Ahmad Al Matri, Director, Desertification Combat Dept at the MOEW.
For full story, please see:
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/health/uae-herbal-formula-to-undergo-clinical-tests-1.718063
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Source: AFP, 28 November 2010
Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho paid US$330 000 for two white truffles at a weekend auction, a report said Monday, matching the record price he paid for one of the prized fungi three years ago.
The billionaire made his winning bid through representatives at the event held at his own Grand Lisboa hotel in the Asian gambling hub, the fourth straight year he has won the truffle auction, the Standard newspaper reported.
Ho's winning bid bought him a giant truffle from Italy's central Tuscany region that weighed about 900 g and a smaller one of about 400 g, the report said.
The auction in Macau also saw bidders vie for the delicacy from Rome and London via satellite link, it said.
Ho paid a record US$330 000 in 2007 for a single truffle that weighed almost 1.5 kg. The tycoon's bid came about two weeks after a Hong Kong-based wine critic paid US$139 000 for a giant white truffle at an auction near the northern Italian town of Alba.
For full story, please see:
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Source: WWF, 7 December 2010
A census of the world's largest mountain gorilla population has counted 480 animals, an increase of 100 — more than a quarter — since the last count in 2003.
The gorillas surveyed live in Central Africa's Virunga Massif region, a volcanic mountain ecosystem consisting of three adjacent national parks spanning parts of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and Rwanda.
A fourth park, south-western Uganda's Bwindi, is home to an additional 302 mountain gorillas, the only other remaining wild population, which together with four orphaned mountain gorillas in a sanctuary in the DRC brings the wild population to 786.
The Virunga census was conducted in March and April 2010 by local authorities with the support of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), a coalition of several conservation organizations, including WWF.
''This is vivid testimony to the commitment of the Rwanda, Uganda and DRC governments, in addition to their supporting partners including IGCP, to ensuring the sustained protection of this charismatic species," said David Greer, African Great Ape Coordinator at WWF. "The survey results provide us with an excellent demonstration of how strong law enforcement efforts put in place to safeguard flagship species can advance species conservation, benefit local communities, and provide important revenue to governments."
The current figure represents an annual growth rate of 3.7 percent in Virunga. Of the gorillas surveyed, 352 have been habituated to human presence, 349 living in groups and three solitary silverback males. Habituated mountain gorillas have been the basis of a sustainable ecotourism programme since the late 1970s.
"The mountain gorilla is the only one of the nine subspecies of African great apes experiencing a population increase. While we celebrate this collective achievement, we must also increase efforts to safeguard the remaining eight subspecies of great apes," said Greer.
For full story, please see: http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?197658/Mountain-Gorilla-Census
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Source: Radio Netherlands, 2 December 2010
Jane Goodall came to Gombe National Park (Tanzania) to study chimpanzees 50 years ago. She became one of the world's best known primate researchers. In the early 1990s, she became shocked by the ecological destruction around the park and left the jungle to become an activist. Nowadays she is saving the primates using microcredit.
The 76-year-old chimpanzee expert travels the world to talk about her conservation work. She tells stories about how local people are involved in conserving the area around the Gombe reserve, and about her battle against the trade in bushmeat.
In the 1960s, Tanzania was flooded with refugees from then Belgian Congo. Ten years later it was clear to everyone how fast deforestation was taking place, says Ms Goodall. High birth rates and new influxes of refugees increased the pressure on the population.
"It was not until the early nineties when I flew over the whole area that I realized the deforestation outside the park was total. That the park itself was like a little oasis. It was obvious looking down there were more people living there than the land could support. As the trees went, there was soil erosion, mud slides. The only trees were in the steep ravines where even the desperate farmers couldn't go to cultivate."
Meanwhile the number of chimpanzees decreased proportionately. When Ms Goodall arrived there were an estimated two to three million in West and Central Africa, by 1986 there were only 300 000. It was clear that the chimpanzees did not stand a chance if the living conditions of the people in the area did not improve. The researcher set up the Jane Goodall Institute TaCare (Take Care) Programme, inspired by the Tanzanians themselves.
Conservation was not at the top of their priorities, but enough food, better health and education for their children was. Alongside agricultural projects and programmes concerning health and education, TaCare focuses on women.
"The best example is a woman called Gertruda. She got a small loan and developed tree nurseries around the village. Then she sold seedlings for a very small amount of money, but she was able to pay back the loan." The project is very successful. Around 85 percent of the loans are paid back in full. Up to now microfinance has been associated with combating poverty, but the Goodall Institute shows there are other possibilities.
Although microfinance for conservation is nothing new, the project has inspired other organizations. In Uganda, a conservation project in Budongo Forest in Uganda, where 600 chimpanzees live, also started a microcredit project last year. There are lots of tree nurseries now around the Gombe reserve. New legislation means villagers have to reserve 10 percent of the land for conservation too, which has led to a green zone around the park and two green corridors to other chimp groups.
"So two years ago I sat looking out behind Gombe over hills that were totally bare; and now, thirty-foot trees. It was all green and I was crying because it worked. We do not know if the chimpanzees will use these corridors but it is their one chance for survival into the future because there are only about 100 of them and they need to get genetic exchange with other chimpanzee groups for long term viability."
But the battle is not over for Jane Goodall: the small, grey-haired conservationist has now taken up the cause against the trade in bushmeat.
For full story, please see:
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Source: IISD, 8 December 2010
World Bank President Robert Zoellick announced a Wildlife Premium Market Initiative, which will provide additional incentives to protect endangered animals as part of financing for REDD+.
Speaking at an event titled "New Pathways and Partnerships to Advance REDD+" sponsored by "Avoided Deforestation Partners" during the Cancun (Mexico) Climate Change Conference, Zoellick explained that the Wildlife Premium Initiative will focus on species like tigers, lemurs, elephants, great apes and others that require large forest areas. The Wildlife Premium Market Initiative aims to complement REDD+ programmes by giving value to forest wildlife and make payments to local communities for wildlife protection.
Other speakers at the event, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Conservation International CEO Peter Seligmann, and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, stressed the need to act now to protect the world's forests. Zoellick also stressed that a formal decision on REDD+ in Cancun would help scale up efforts in forest conservation and wildlife protection, but that interested parties should proceed with actions in any event.
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Source: AFP, 10 December 2010
Some 20 families have been living for more than a month next to a highway outside Vilmer, some 1 000 km northwest of the capital Buenos Aires, and block the road once a day to show their discontent for the deforestation taking place."If they kick us off the land of our ancestors to plant soy, the only thing left for us is to go to the towns," said protest leader Guido Corvalan.
Argentina is the world's largest exporter of soybean oil, and large soy farmers are snapping up property even in the hilly rural province of Santiago del Estero, where land is cheap but conditions less than ideal for soy growing.
In the process they are clearing out the trees — especially the red quebracho (Schinopsis lorentzii), a tree native to the area between northern Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia. The thin, tall tree is known for its especially hard wood and for its extract, which is used for leather tanning.
Most of Argentina's soy production goes to China: Argentina supplies 70 percent of China's soybean oil imports (4.6 million tons in 2009), representing some US$2 billion a year.
The soy farmers are also evicting the local farmers and shepherds, many of whom have lived on the land for generations but have no ownership documents. The protesters say they are often threatened by thugs hired by large landowners. "Foreign companies and powerful Argentine corporations are coming to the region," said Luis Recio, another protester. "Their intention is to buy and buy. Or directly move to compulsory eviction." According to Recio, "the only thing left for us farmers is to resist. We only want to halt the illegal sale of land and protect the forests to keep our animals."
"I do not understand," said Omar Pranzoni, head of the local forestry department. "In five years the soy farmers may be lucky enough to get a crop only once."
Land however is cheap, about US$150/ha compared to US$10 000/ha in the damp soil pampa area further south, Pranzoni told AFP. "Those people who are clear cutting have no idea of what they are doing," said Pranzoni. "It takes 50 years to re-grow the forest."
By law, property owners need a special permit to cut down quebracho trees. But landowners get around the limits by surrounding their property with tall trees that block the view from outside, then unleashing the bulldozers.
Some 60 000 ha of land have been legally clear-cut in the province, Pranzoni said, a figure he believes is about one-sixth of the total land that has actually been razed.
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Source: www.smh.com.au, 4 December 2010
The Australian government will soon rule on a controversial patent application by an American cosmetics giant to extract ingredients from the Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana).
The company, Mary Kay of Texas, applied for the patent four years ago but, amid opposition from indigenous groups and Australian experts, the application was only recently submitted for examination to Intellectual Property Australia (IP), the office that oversees patents.
IP Australia said it would publish a preliminary report in the next few weeks. The native Kakadu plum acts as an antioxidant when applied to the skin. According to Mary Kay, "the combination of Kakadu plum extract and acai berry extract produce synergistic effects that are beneficial to skin".
Indigenous groups worry that the patent could prevent them from using the plum as traditional medicine. The Mirarr people say they have never been consulted about the patent application, which they strongly oppose. The Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, which represents the Mirarr, said people in the area had used the plum longer than anyone could remember.
"The Kakadu plum has been an important source of food and medicine for the Mirarr," it said. "It also features in oral histories and 'dreaming' stories."
Dr Daniel Robinson, of the University of New South Wales, said Mary Kay may have exploited a loophole in access and benefit sharing (ABS) laws. "Australia has a very well developed ABS system," he said, "but it appears the company has taken [plum samples] out of the country commercially, and so they have actually got around the ABS regime."
Mary Kay's Director of Communications, Crayton Webb, defended the company's use of the plum, insisting it followed "the process that is in place" in obtaining plum extracts. "We are using a local supplier, who has sourced and harvested the Kakadu plum with a licence, under government regulations," he said, declining to name the supplier.
The plum extract is already an ingredient in some of Mary Kay's Timewise line of products. "No one has ever used this fruit in a cosmetic formulation before," said Mr Webb, "so it makes sense to patent it to protect our idea."
Dr Robinson has filed a formal challenge to the patent with IP Australia, but p
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