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Non-wood forest products the way ahead
Non-wood forest products: the way ahead
Table of contents
FAO FORESTRY PAPER 97
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 1991
Reprinted, 1992
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
M-73
ISBN 92-5-103042-1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
(c) FAO 1991
Table of contents
Foreword
Executive summary
1 FAO: Involvement in non-wood forest products
1.1 Definitions
1.2 Past involvement
2 Major factors impeding or facilitating development
2.1 Factors impeding development
2.2. Factors encouraging development
2.3 Problems of marketing
3 Needs for assistance
4 Non-wood forest resource management and improvement
4.1 Bamboos and rattans
4.2 Food plants
4.3 Forage
4.4 Handicrafts
4.5 Medicinal plants
4.6 Toxins
4.7 Aromatics
4.8 Biochemicals
4.9 Fibres
4.10 Environmental plants
4.11 Ornamental plants
4.12 Forestry Services
5 Institutional responsibility for non-wood forest products
5.1 Products covered within FAO
5.2 Products covered by other international agencies
6 Approach to development of non-wood forest products
6.1 Multi-disciplinary collaboration
6.2 Geographical and product priorities
6.3 Stages in product development
6.4 Education, training and research
References
Appendix A: Possible action chain for the stages in the development of non-wood products
Appendix B: Acronyms and abbreviations
FAO technical papers
Foreword
Recently increased attention has been focussed on the potential importance of non-wood forest products (NWFP) toward meeting rural communities' needs for food, fiber and forage, as well as essential sources of cash and better income. The value of such products to forest-dwelling peoples underlines the importance of efforts to conserve and manage natural and planted forests. Such resources provide a range of products and services, and their potential contribution to income generation has too long gone unnoticed by the development community.
This recognition of the possible role of national forestry development strategies has led the FAO Forestry Department to embark upon a series of concerted activities to encourage NWFP development through technical assistance activities in member countries.
Thus the Department has established the post of Forestry Officer (Non-Wood Forest Products) in the Forest Products Division, with responsibilities to oversee the initiation and coordination of programmes and projects in this sector. The Tropical Forestry Action Plans in various stages of preparation in over 80 nations include consideration of NWFP priorities and activities, following a consistent set of guidelines.
The present publication, prepared by Dr. G.E. Wickens of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, England, is intended to serve as a broad guide to issues and potentials regarding NWFP development.
As "The Way Ahead" emphasizes throughout, NWFP development must by necessity comprise a multidisciplinary approach, for which task there must be devised close lines of collaboration both within FAO itself, and between FAO and other organizations, both international and national, governmental and non governmental. Efforts to strengthen common programmes toward sustained use of NWFP should be encouraged, as one among many approaches for the conservation and wise use of forest resources.
C H. Murray
Assistant Director-General
FAO Forestry Department
Executive summary
Non-wood forest products (NWFP), as used in this report, refers to market or subsistence goods and services for human or industrial consumption derived from renewable forest resources and biomass, bearing promise for augmenting real rural household incomes and employment. The products include the use of plants for food, forage, fuel, medicine, fibre, biochemicals, as well as animals, birds, reptiles and fishes for food, fur and feathers. Wood used for handicrafts is included, as are services derived from the standing forest that generate such benefits as tourism revenues and preservation of biodiversity.
An extensive bibliographical search revealed that there have been numerous meetings and conferences where the more commercially important NWFP (tannins, cork, turpentine, fungi, etc.) have been the focus of discussion. The more domestic activities, such as food, handicrafts, fuel and fodder derived for subsistence purposes have been increasingly discussed in the realm of the Community Forestry programme.
The division between forestry, agriculture and horticulture is ill-defined, both at national and international levels. Therefore, it is not surprising that there should be some overlap of interests between FAO Departments concerning NWFP. For example, the Agriculture Department has been concerned with the development of wild species of oil producing palms, while the Forestry Department has been concerned with the resource management of vicuna in Peru and the management of captive crocodiles for leather. Inter-and intra-Departmental co-operation can ensure that technical expertise is applied to specific product development problems in response to international need.
The major factors, which have impeded the development of NWFP in the past, include the following:
1. Prejudices against the use of wild resources.
2. A lack of appreciation of the value of non-wood forest products to the national economy
3. A lack of understanding of the role of non-wood forest products in the life of the rural community.
4. Prejudices by both field workers and scientists in favor of products requiring highly specialized technology, rather than natural products, that often require only simple processing.
5. Substitution in industry by synthetics to reduce cost.
6. Lack of information, poor access to literature and lack of adequate training.
The major factors encouraging the development of NWFP are:
1. Deteriorating internal and external economic factors restricting imports and placing increasing reliance on indigenous natural resources.
2. Increasing publicity regarding the benefits to be derived from developing NWFP for national and community economies and environmental conservation.
3. New market opportunities created by the green movement in western countries and new ethnic markets created by the migration of peoples.
4. The ever increasing search for new biochemicals for pharmaceuticals and industry.
Marketing new NWFP requires a niche in the market waiting to be filled by either replacing an existing product with a superior and/or cheaper product, or to supply a demand that has until now been unfilled. Price information and market infrastructure are necessary to ensure adequate returns to the producer. There may be financial problems for the individual supplier when increasing production to meet the demands of new markets. Institutional changes in property rights arrangements may be necessary to avoid over-exploitation and resource exhaustion.
Because of the wide range of products and other contextual conditions affecting development prospects, it is difficult to select any particular ecological zone as a priority for development of NWFP. The humid tropical forests present the greatest range of unexploited NWFP. The arid and semi-arid areas, on the other hand, with their limited natural resources, lack a wide range of options, but a concerted effort to develop any potential product is likely to be beneficial. Food, forage and medicine will always rank high among any community's needs, but product development efforts should give priority to those non-wood sources that promise to improve incomes and employment, while also providing other benefits for local consumption.
The development of NWFP is a multi-disciplinary task requiring close collaboration between specialists within FAO and other international and national organizations. An insufficient effort has been made in the past to strengthen common programmes on sustained use of key NWFP among concerned agencies. Such efforts should now be encouraged, as one among many approaches toward conservation and wise use of forest resources.
1 FAO: Involvement in non-wood forest products
1.1 Definitions
1.2 Past involvement
1.1 Definitions
1.1.1 "Wood products"
The distinction between wood and non-wood products is ill-defined. In the present context "wood" refers to round wood, sawn timber, wood-based panels, wood chips and pulp, and usually involving commercial enterprises as well as the domestic use of unfinished poles for construction purposes.
1.1.2 "Forest"
The term "forest", as used here, embraces all the natural ecosystems where trees and shrubs form a significant component. Here "forests" range from evergreen rainforest to desert, although in the latter the trees and shrubs are confined primarily to oases and waterways. In certain areas, plantings of non-wood forest products (NWFP) on farmlands constitute chief supplies available for household consumption or sale (eg., bamboo in Bangladesh; forage species), or have potential as sources of supplemental income (eg., medicinal herbs; mushrooms). In these cases, coordination among NWFP and agroforestry activities is required.
1.1.3 "Non-wood forest products"
Non-wood forest products (NWFP), as used in this report, refers to market or subsistence goods and services for human or industrial consumption derived from renewable forest resources and biomass, bearing promise for augmenting real rural household incomes and employment. The products include the use of plants for food, beverages, forage, fuel and medicine (Table 1.1), animals, birds and fishes for food, fur and feathers, and of their products such as honey, lac, silk, etc. (Table 1.2) and the services of land for conservation and recreation (Table 1.3). These tables may be considered to form a preliminary basis for the classification of NWFP.
Forage, in the sense applied by FAO usage (Ibrahim 1975), includes "all browse and herbaceous food that is available to livestock or game animals". Thus forage includes NWFP that sustain such animal populations.
Fuels derived from wood or NWFP are not considered in this report, although there is an overlap of interests where biofuels have as secondary products tar or chemicals useful to industry. Similarly, handicraft products derived in part from wood are included in this report, as they are insufficiently covered by other FAO branches.
Table 1.1 non-wood plant products
Food / wild, domesticated, semi-domesticated plants, useable weeds, fungi, etc. and their edible roots, tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, shoots, flowers, fruits, seeds, etc. to provide cereals, vegetables, edible fats and oils, spices and flavourings, salt substitutes, sweeteners, rennet substitutes, meat tenderizers, beverages, cordials and infusions, thirst quenchers, etc.Forage / food for livestock and wildlife, including birds, fishes, and insects such as bees, silkworms, lac insects, etc.
Pharmaceuticals / drugs, anaesthetics, salves, ointments, lotions, purgatives, etc. for both human and veterinary use.
Toxins / for hunting, ordeal poisons, hallucinogens, pesticides, fungicides, etc. Note, some may have a pharmaceutical potential, especially as anaesthetics.
Aromatics / essential oils for cosmetic and perfume industries (international market highly specialized and vulnerable), unguents, incense, etc.
Biochemicals / non-edible fats and oils, naval stores, waxes, gums and latex, dyes, tannins, biochemicals for plastics and coatings, paints and varnish industries, etc.
Fibre / cloth, matting, cordage, basketry, brooms, stuffing for pillows, cork, etc.
Wood / wood for handicrafts.
Ornamentals / aesthetically pleasing plants for horticultural and amenity planting, cut- and dried-flower trades, etc.
Table 1.2 wild animal products1
1Note: Some Wildlife Products are Protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Mammals / meat, hides, skins, furs, wool, hair, horn, bone, pharmaceuticals, etc.Birds / meat, eggs, feathers, edible nests, guano, etc.
Fishes / food, fish oil, feed protein, etc.
Reptiles / food, skins, shell, toxins, pharmaceuticals.
Invertebrates / edible invertebrates, plant exudates (manna), honey, wax, propolis, silk, lac, etc.
Table 1.3 Services Functions of Forest Lands
Habitat / Grazing, browse, shade and shelter for domestic livestock and wildlife, etc.Soil improvement and protection / green manure, humus, N-fixation, soil stabilization, shade, shelter, hedges, etc.
Protected Areas / non-consumptive use by such tourism/recreation use as wildlife viewing, photography, bird watching, etc. i.e. eco-tourism carried out in National Parks, Wildlife sanctuaries, etc.
consumptive use by such recreational activities as hunting, shooting, fishing, insect and plant collecting, etc. carried out in hunting reserves and similar areas where such activities are permitted/promoted;
aesthetic, scenic and historic sites are some of the additional "tourist attractions" which may be present in protected areas and add to their value, rather than a source function of forests.
1.2 Past involvement
1.2.1 FAO collaboration with external agencies
The Forestry Department has been involved in several relevant conferences, symposia and other meetings in collaboration with other agencies, which have included discussion of NWFP as tannins, cork, furfural, rosin, camphor, turpentine and edible fungi2. The emphasis has historically been on the better known, commercial NWFP rather than those of more domestic importance to the local communities, such as food plants and handicrafts. The latter has, however, been increasingly addressed through the programme of the Community Forestry group during the past few years.
2See, for example, FAO/ECA/BTAO (1965), ECE/FAO (976a, b, 1982, 1988), FAO/ECE (1978), FAO, ECE, FINNIDA (1987) and FAO/Instituto Italo-Latino Americana (1980) for relevant conference proceedings.
The recognition of the need for community involvement has led to a number of projects with SIDA, such as a community study in the Republic of Korea on mushrooms (FAO/SIDA 1982). More recent collaboration includes a useful series of Community Forestry publications where the role of NWFP in the community is discussed and analyzed (FAO/SIDA 1989a-e), as well as the final report on the first FAO/SIDA expert consultation (FAO/SIDA 1989f). In a similar vein, a major FAD/WHO/UNICEF effort is the organization in 1992 of a conference on Human Nutrition, in which NWFP are one of the focuses for their role in food security and nutrition.
Training courses have also been organized in conjunction with DANIDA (FAO/DANIDA 1985) on dune stabilization, a subject which also included forage plants.
Joint studies involving government institutions include a series on forest fruit trees that involved cooperation with the Silvicultural Research Institute, Lushoto, Tanzania (FAO 1983), Forest Research Institute, Laguna, Philippines (FAO 1984) and the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Manaus, Brazil (FAO 1986).