<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Below is the latest plant info from NWFP
Digest. Several articles on medicinals.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Since the urls are not active (and, therefore
do not use up so much memory), I am forwarding the entire document.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">-Patricia</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">- - - - -</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">NWFP-Digest-L</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">No. 2/06</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">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: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en</u></font>
<br><font size=3 face="Arial"><b> </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">==============================================================</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>IN THIS ISSUE</b>:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><b><u>PRODUCTS</u></b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">1.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Bamboo
plastic: Mitsubishi's plastic goes green</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">2.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Bamboo
linen</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">3.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Bamboo:
Kawayan Festival in the Philippines shows best of bamboo</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">4.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Bushmeat:
'Hippie Chimps' fast disappearing in Congo</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">5.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Butterfly
tourism: Mexico logging threat to butterflies</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">6.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Caterpillars:
Good grub in Africa</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">7.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Gum
Arabic: Nigeria hosts 3rd regional conference on Gum Arabic</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">8.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Honey:
European Union suspends import of Brazilian honey</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">9.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Maple
syrup</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">10.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Medicinal
plants in Bangladesh</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">11.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Medicinal
plants in India to be monographed and patented</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">12.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Mushrooms:
Restoring your balance with mushrooms</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">13.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Noni
(<i>Morinda citrifolia</u></i><u>) : Medicinal value of Tahitian noni juice
drink</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">14.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Sandalwood
bonanza, planting tree that is worth more than gold</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">15.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Wattle:
Industry proposed for Dalwallinu wattle</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><b><u>COUNTRY INFORMATION</u></b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">16.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Brazil:
Brazilian companies close US$ 27 million in deals at BioFach</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">17.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Brazil:
EMBRAPA will participate in international research project on tropical
fruits</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">18.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Brazil:
Low-cost machinery for handicraft production</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">19.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Burkino
Faso : La production de karité</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">20.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Kenya
blames drought for increasing wildlife crime</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Times New Roman">21.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>India:
promotion of marketing of tribal products</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">22.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Scotland:
Forestry plan to double tree planting rate</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">23.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Vanuatu:
Nevsem disagree on Vanuatu sandalwood ban</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">24.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Vietnam:
WWF project aims to prevent wild animal trade, promote biodiversity</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">25.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Vietnam:
Non-timber forest product development project underway</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">26.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Vietnam:
Big plans for NWFP </u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><b><u>NEWS</u></b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">27.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Biopiracy:
Brazil grapples with jungle piracy dilemma</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">28.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Biopiracy:
San cry foul over hoodia trade</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">29.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Dual-Campus
MA in Environmental Security and Peace</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">30.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Fair
trade in wild natural resources</u></font>
<br><font size=2 color=#104160 face="Verdana">31.</font><font size=1 color=#104160 face="Times New Roman"><b>
</b></font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Yale
lectures: Viana discusses sustainable development, climate change</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><b><u>REQUESTS</u></b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">32.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Request
for information: case studies on NWFP</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><b><u>EVENTS</u></b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">33.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>UNEP/UNESCO
Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP) – Can the UN Save the Great Apes (and
their Biodiverse Habitats)?</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">34.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Philippine
style bamboo furniture processing</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">35.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Sustainable
Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Workshop on implementation
strategies for the international standard</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">36.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Trees
for improving profitability, sustainability, and resource conservation
on farms and ranches: A professional development workshop in agroforestry</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">37.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Urban
Forestry for Human Health and Wellbeing</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">38.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>4th
International Conference on Aromatic and Medicinal Plants in French overseas
regions</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">39.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>International
Conference on Managing Forests for Poverty Reduction: Capturing opportunities
in forest harvesting and wood processing for the benefits of the poor</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><b><u>LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEB
SITES</u></b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">40.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Other
publications of interest</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">41.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Web
sites and e-zines</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><b><u>MISCELLANEOUS</u></b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">42.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Armenia:
forests to be destroyed in 20 years with today's deforestation rates</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">43.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Chopsticks:
China introduces chopsticks tax</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">44.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>China:
20% forest cover promised</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">45.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Costa
Rica: Rain forests see spate of wildlife deaths</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">46.</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Vietnam:
Slow but promising recovery for nation's forest cover</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>PRODUCTS</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>1. Bamboo
plastic: Mitsubishi's plastic goes green</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: </b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Autoblog,
</b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>28 February 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced that it
is has developed, with the Aichi Industrial Technology Institute, a new
material to be used in the interior of its future vehicles. The material,
which uses a plant-based resin and bamboo fiber, is called “Green Plastic”.
Because of these components, the material produces less CO<sub>2</sub>
emissions and "volatile organic compounds" or VOCs. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Mitsubishi also points out that bamboo, which grows much faster than timber,
will lessen chances for depleting raw resources when mass-producing Green
Plastic.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://audio.autoblog.com/2006/02/28/mitsubishis-plastic-goes-green/</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>2. Bamboo
linen</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: The Columbus Dispatch, 5 March
2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b> </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Fast-growing bamboo makes unlikely but soft,
colourful linens and bath towels. Doesn’t sound very comfortable? Well,
imagine a bamboo cloth mixed with a dash of cotton that feels silky. That
is what manufacturers discovered when they turned hardy bamboo into fabric.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Garnet Hill, a New Hampshire company is almost as excited about the ecological
benefits as the soft sheets: finding a fiber as easily renewable as bamboo
is a nice fit, spokeswoman Janet Partridge said. The plant has a surprisingly
soft feel. Partridge compares it to cotton with a sateen finish. Garnet
Hill has made the 70 percent bamboo, 30 percent cotton material into sheets
of vibrant plum, tangerine, red and green. "It really holds onto the
colour, has a great drape and is not wrinkly or stiff," Partridge
said. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Bamboo is mature enough to harvest in three to five years and can be grown
without fertilizers or pesticides. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
CB2 had the same thoughts about bamboo as they wove the material into towels.
"Bamboo is considered a very friendly environmental plant," said
Bette Kahn, a spokeswoman for CB2. CB2 uses a 65 percent bamboo to 35 percent
cotton mix in its new towels. "It absorbs faster than cotton,"
Kahn said. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
In the two Chicago stores where people can actually touch them, people
are snapping up the towels. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.columbusdispatch.com/homegarden/homegarden.php?story=dispatch/2006/03/05/20060305-I9-00.html</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>3. Bamboo:
Kawayan Festival in the Philippines shows best of bamboo</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: </b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Sun.Star
– </b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Philippines, 4 March, 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b> </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Products made of bamboo were the centerpiece
attraction of the weeklong "Kawayan Festival" that seeks to enhance
the chances of the highly regarded grass as a multi-million peso income
earner. For three years now, the Provincial Government has been giving
importance to bamboo by way of the Kawayan Festival held every February.
This year, the Festival was held in Koronadal City. It is a well deserved
opportunity for craftsmen to showcase their unique creations. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"We have been provided an avenue where our products have bigger chances
of being noticed by buyers. This festival is a big push for us to continue
our trade," said Sandy Torrico, owner of Crossing Palkan Bamboo Craft.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Emmanuel Jumilla, manager of the South Cotabato Productivity and Technology
center where the festival was held, said they want the bamboo industry
to be fully developed for the benefit of both the local economy and tourism
industry. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
South Cotabato Governor Daisy Avance Fuentes said bamboo is an integral
part of the provincial culture, referring to thatched houses in rural areas
made of bamboo. Fuentes said the quality of handicrafts, particularly produced
by the inmates, have improved dramatically. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The festival also highlights the culinary importance of bamboo. Locals
commonly cook the shoots of bamboo by adding coconut milk and different
kinds of vegetables to it like beans and "saluyot."</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2006/03/04/bus/kawayan.festival.shows.best.of.bamboo.html</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>4. Bushmeat:
'Hippie Chimps' fast disappearing in Congo</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: AP in ENN Newsletter, 6 March
2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><i> </i></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Mbihe-Mokele, Congo — Scientists are struggling
to save the fast-disappearing bonobo, the gentle "hippie chimp"
known for resolving squabbles through sex rather than violence. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Unfortunately, bonobos are prized by Congolese for their tasty meat, and
many villagers who are illegally hunting the wiry, wizen-faced apes don't
realize how close their prey is to extinction. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"Bonobos are an icon for peace and love, the world's 'hippie chimps,'"
said Sally Coxe of the Washington-based Bonobo Conservation Initiative.
"To let them die off would be a catastrophe." Female bonobos
give birth to a single infant only once every five years, making the species
especially vulnerable. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The bonobo, or <i>Pan paniscus</i>, is native only to the vast rain forest
in this huge central African nation, living high off the ground in treetop
nests. As few as 5,000 may now remain in Congo, down from an estimated
100,000 in 1984, said Ino Guabini, a primatologist with the World Wildlife
Fund. "There is no question that bonobos are seriously threatened,"
Guabini said. "We need urgent measures or there is no way we can protect
the species." </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
But for poor villagers, bonobos can be lucrative business, with much of
the meat heading for expensive, clandestine meals at restaurants in the
cities. One bonobo can earn $200 for Richard Ipaka, a 50-year-old part-time
poacher who lives in the provincial capital, Mbandaka. "That's
enough money for two months," he said. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Like many Congolese, he said he did not know bonobos are found in the wild
only in his country. And like many others, he was sceptical that the ape
is endangered. "Our ancestors have been eating bonobos for centuries.
How could they disappear?" Ipaka said. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
But the peace-loving bonobos are increasingly difficult to sight, and not
just because they're good at hiding, suspended from the high branches of
trees or swiftly traversing the lattice of thick, muddy roots strewn over
the forest floor. The best place to glimpse them these days may be the
Bonobo Paradise sanctuary in Congo's capital, Kinshasa, which is home to
a few dozen rescued from poachers by police. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The bonobo is the subject age-old songs and legends, and conservationists
hope to turn some of those traditions to their advantage. In the village
of Botwalu, for instance, locals believe the bonobo was once a man who
lived with their tribe but now hides in the forest because an angry tree
stripped him of its clothes. The Bonobo Conservation Initiative has begun
working with villages that hold such hunting taboos to create a series
of reserves for the graceful animals. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
That may not be enough. Even provincial police who are supposed to protect
the bonobo are mostly ignorant about dangers to its survival, and they
are often sympathetic to those who eat it. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Some officers consume bonobo meat, too, said Clerivent Kanyamba, deputy
chief of the Equator province police. "What can we do if bonobo meat
is tasty?" Kanyamba said. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=10002</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>5. Butterfly
tourism: Mexico logging threat to butterflies </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: BBC Online, 6 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Illegal logging in Mexico's national parks
continues to threaten millions of butterflies, despite a government crackdown,
environmentalists warn. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Mexico's government has taken drastic measures to protect the butterflies.
It has formed a team of 17 park rangers, armed with assault rifles and
body armour, to protect the colonies of monarch butterflies in Michoacan
state. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
In 2004, numbers of the migrating monarch butterflies plummeted to 100
million - the lowest ever recorded. The park rangers are there to help
protect the winter nesting grounds of tens of millions of orange and black
winged butterflies from armed gangs of illegal loggers in the 56,259-hectare
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Despite facing hefty jail sentences,
the loggers have continued unabated, say environmentalists. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Mexico's environment ministry estimates the country's highland fir forests
have shrunk by half since 1968, despite massive planting operations. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Logging has been the main source of income for many generations, and while
some communities have turned their hand to 'butterfly tourism', many others
feel cheated. "The environmentalists have pushed the government, but...
we have no other way of making a living," said Homero Gomez, spokesperson
for Rosario, a village which is host to the most monarchs and tourists
each year. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
But Jose Alvarez - head of the Michoacan Reforestation Fund, a group that
has helped villagers plant more than 480,000 trees this year alone - says
this is a near-sighted argument. "If this (logging) continues, we
won't have any butterflies, there won't be any water and there won't be
any villages; the trees are the basis for everything that is living in
this area," he said. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The Michoacan Reforestation Fund is working closely with Professor Lincoln
Brower, a biologist and leading expert on the monarch butterfly and scientists
from the US space agency (NASA) on an aerial reconnaissance programme to
try to understand which parts of the forest are critical for the monarchs,
and where those areas are in relation to the trends in logging activity.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4779092.stm</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>6. Caterpillars:
Good grub in Africa</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: OurPlanet... environmental newsletter,
8 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The news that Espitas, a restaurant in Dresden,
Germany, has lines around the block for its maggot ice cream and maggot
salad was no surprise to entomologist Marc Kenis from Switzerland’s CABI
Bioscience, a non-profit group that works on sustainable agriculture projects.
Kenis has been finding ways to help keep caterpillars on the African menu,
especially during the hungry months when food is scarce. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
There is a long history of insect consumption in Africa. A UN study shows
that 85 percent of participants in the Central African Republic consume
caterpillars of various kinds; 70 percent in the Congo and 91 percent in
Botswana. Kenis has been working with Zambian researcher Gudeta Sileshi
of the World Agroforestry Center to make edible insect larvae a sustainable
cash crop for Africans. He thinks that researchers should promote edible
insect larvae as an answer both to food scarcity and the destruction of
African forests. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
“Conservation laws need to be reinforced and include protection of traditional
[insect] harvesting rules,” explains Sileshi, adding that “caterpillar
reserves” within wildlife parks will need to be clearly marked and breeding
regulations monitored. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Sileshi says that investment from the private sector may be needed to bring
larvae to African tables. He notes that consumption of insects also averts
many cases of kwashiorkor—a type of protein deficiency common in children.
The larvae have more protein and fat than beef or fish, according to the
UN. “I personally know and appreciate the value of edible insects in the
African diet after having lived in Africa for 12 years,” says Gillian
Allard, a forestry officer at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO). </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Professor Jaboury Ghazoul in ecosystem management at ETH Zurich is conducting
research on one breed of about 20 commonly eaten edible caterpillars. “There
is a huge sum of money that these worms are putting into the local economy,”
says Ghazoul. Limitations are currently with collection, marketing and
sales, since caterpillar population explosions occur twice a year, with
no set schedule. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The major hurdle that researchers such as Kenis and Sileshi will confront,
Ghazoul suspects, will be eliminating diseases which prevail when wild
populations of insects become domesticated and bred in high concentrations.
But it’s not an insurmountable problem. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
“People in Zambia don’t have chicken or fish and we forget that,” says
Kenis. “As Africa shifts from its traditional practices that once protected
caterpillars and forests, the people now need new tools to create local
enterprises among harvesters to help the people survive—especially during
the dry months when food is scarce.” </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Westerners may never develop a gourmet caterpillar cuisine. Kenis says
the taste of unseasoned larvae is none too pleasing, and that even Zambians
seem to like their caterpillars best when fried in palm oil and smothered
in tomato sauce and onions. Some grubs are reported to have a nutty flavour,
but they’re undoubtedly an acquired taste.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Contacts</b></font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>World Agroforestry Center</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">:
Phone: (650)833-6645</font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>CABI Bioscience</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">:
Phone: (011)41-0-32 421-4870</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.emagazine.com/view/?3073</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>7. Gum Arabic:
Nigeria hosts 3rd regional conference on Gum Arabic</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: The Tide - Port Harcourt, Niger
Delta, Nigeria. 4 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The purpose of the third regional conference
on the establishment of Gum Arabic buffer stock, which will take place
in Abuja on March 9, is to finalise a regional initiative for the establishment
of a buffer stock in the three leading producing countries of Sudan, Chad
and Nigeria. The conference is a follow-up to two earlier conferences on
the project held in Sudan and Chad in 2005. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The project is being promoted by the FAG, the Nairobi-based Natural Gums
and Resins in Africa (NGARA), the Association for International Promotion
of Gums (AIPG), Germany and the governments of Sudan, Nigeria and Chad.
The meeting is expected to ratify the project documents, leading to the
signing of a final declaration on the establishment of the Gum Arabic buffer
stock. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The world market for natural Gum Arabic had been very unstable over the
years with attendant wide price fluctuations. The situation had made it
very difficult for processors and end users to plan their production based
on the availability of the natural raw material, which was widely used
in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Consequently, long-term industrial
users of natural gums had resorted to using other natural and synthetic
substitutes, which are readily available in large quantities and at predictable
prices. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The establishment of a regional buffer stock of Gum Arabic is expected
to stabilise the volatile international and national markets for natural
gums by giving long-term confidence to end users that a stock exists to
feed the market in times of natural disasters. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Participants at the conference will include
leading African producers of Gum Arabic, top international processors of
the commodity, governors of producing states and farmers.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=03/04/2006&qrTitle=Nigeria%20hosts%203rd%20regional%20conference%20on%20Gum%20Arabic&qrColumn=NEWS</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>8. Honey:
European Union suspends import of Brazilian honey</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: <i>Agencia Brasil</i>, 17 March
2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Starting 17 March, Brazil will not be allowed
to export honey to the European Union (EU). The bloc says Brazil needs
to perform further quality control analysis on the product and that the
country’s processes need to be similar to those performed in Europe.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
According to the Director of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Issues of the
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Odilson Ribeiro, Brazil
already has its own control procedures, but the EU does not consider them
equivalent to theirs. Ribeiro said that the UN gave the Ministry a six-month
deadline for restructuring its National Program of Residue Control in order
to adapt to the EU export norms. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
According to Ribeiro, a plan containing information on the quality of the
product has already been developed and is currently being implemented.
The EU considers this information should have been sent to them earlier,
however, Ribeiro emphasizes, the EU has never found any problem in the
analysis it has made of Brazilian honey.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Honey from the Northeast region of Brazil is produced mainly through extractive
processes. Thus, there is no risk of antibiotic contamination, Ribeiro
explained. He added that producers from the states of Ceará and Piauí would
be the most affected by EU decision.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
In order to minimize future problems, the Ministry of Agriculture intends
to: look for new markets besides Europe; request sanitary requirements
from these countries; promote Brazilian honey; encourage the product’s
organic certification; give support to honey producers’ associations;
and verify sanitary education programs.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the honey exported before this
embargo will have no problem on the EU market. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
In 2005, Brazil exported 14 400 tons of honey to the European Union, which
represented an income of US$18.9 million.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://internacional.radiobras.gov.br/ingles/materia_i_2004.php?materia=259236&q=1&editoria</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">=</font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>9. Maple syrup</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Detroit Free Press - United States,
6 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">According to the Michigan Maple Syrup Association,
the state ranks sixth in syrup production in the United States, with about
90,000 gallons per year. (Vermont is first.) There are about 500 commercial
maple syrup producers in Michigan and a couple thousand hobbyists.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
</b>To get sap for syrup, a hole is drilled into the tree and the sap drips
through a spout or tube into a bucket or plastic bag. Black maple and sugar
maple are the trees commercially tapped in Michigan, though the sap from
red and silver maples also can be made into syrup. A tree needs to be about
40 years old and should be at least 10 inches in diameter to be tapped,
and it can then be tapped for more than a century. Springtime is tap time,
because warmer days and freezing nights make the sap flow. Once a tree
starts budding, the syrup will taste bitter. The season starts in February
in southeastern Michigan and lasts into April in the Upper Peninsula.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
</b>One tap will yield about 10 gallons of sap for the season, and it takes
about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. The colourless sap is
2%-3% sugar, and it's boiled to reduce the water content and concentrate
the sugar until it becomes syrup.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
</b>Michigan maple syrup has 50 calories per tablespoon and is fat-free.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Syrup comes in four USDA grades: Grade A Light Amber is the lightest in
colour and tastes the mildest. Grade A Medium Amber is a little fuller
in flavour and is usually what's used for pancakes and waffles. Grade A
Dark Amber is even more flavourful. It's used on breakfast foods, and for
cooking and baking. The darkest, Grade B, is best suited for baking.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/NEWS05/603060341/1007</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Other maple syrup stories:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Iowa maple syrup production in high gear:</font><font size=4 face="Arial"><b>
</b></font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=9169D73D-BF02-4A31-B8B8B67ECB8201E6</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Maple syrup operation has family sticking
together to get job done: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.thederrick.com/stories/03042006-6102.shtml</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">January thaw stalls maple syrup season: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/NEWS01/603050613/1001/news</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>10. Medicinal plants
in Bangladesh</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: The Daily Star – Bangladesh,
17 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Despite huge export potential, Bangladesh
is yet to reach the $62 billion world medicinal plant market due to lack
of institutional support, speakers told a seminar yesterday. Urging the
government to make a national database for medicinal plants, they said
growers need professional training especially on modern post-harvesting
method. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
They were speaking at the seminar 'Potential of Export of Medicinal Plants'
in Dhaka. The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) organized the seminar as part
of its National Export Training Programme (NETP). </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The speakers said demand for medicinal plants is increasing on average
15 percent annually in the world market. Neighbouring India earns Rs 1000
crore per year by exporting medicinal plants. Bangladesh exported medicinal
plants worth $7,000 in the last fiscal year, they added. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Presenting a keynote paper, Ferdousi Begum, executive director of Development
of Biotechnology and Environment Conservation Centre (DEBTEC), said inadequate
linkage between cultivators, individual buyers and institutional buyers
is also discouraging the farmers. Quoting a WHO survey she said the global
medicinal plant market will increase to $5 trillion by 2050. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The EPB vice-chairman said, "Export earning from medicinal plants
is not encouraging, as the country holds huge potential in some Western
and Middle East countries." </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/17/d60317050346.htm</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>11. Medicinal plants
in India to be monographed and patented</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: NewKerala.com, India, 16 March
2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB)
is in the process of monographing each plant and getting them registered
at various countries, NMPB Chief Executive Officer, S B Sajwan said today.
"The Monographing of each plant is being done to safeguard the interests
of the country and also to protect it by patenting," Sajwan told reporters.
Stating that medicinal plants and herbs were available in abundance in
India, he said there were chances of other countries patenting some herbs.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
NMPB was monographing each plant and getting them registered at various
countries, particularly where plants and other related products were being
exported.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The board has also taken steps to translate Ayurveda and Unani formulations
in Sanskrit, Urdu and Arabic respectively, into English, French, German,
Spanish and Japanese and preserve them in a 'Traditional Knowledge Digital
Library.' One lakh formulations have already been translated into these
languages, Sajwan said.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The domestic medicinal plant market is worth between Rs 5,000 crore to
Rs 7,000 crore, with a 10 to 12 percent annual growth, Sajwan said, adding
that India was exporting medicinal plants and related products worth Rs
800 crore to Rs 900 crore annually. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=26438</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>12. Mushrooms: Restoring
your balance with mushrooms</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Chester Ku-Lea in DailyIndia.com,
7 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Mushrooms are valuable health food – low
in calories, high in vegetable proteins, chitin, iron, zinc, fiber, essential
amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Mushrooms also have a long history
of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Their legendary effects on promoting
good health and vitality and increasing your body's adaptive abilities
have been supported by recent studies. These studies suggest that mushrooms
are probiotic – they help our body strengthen itself and fight off illness
by maintaining physiological homeostasis – restoring our bodies balance
and natural resistance to disease. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
Agaricus</b> is the most widely consumed mushroom in many countries, where
it is regarded as a health food, due to its medicinal properties. Agaricus
is traditionally known as "God’s Mushroom" because of its near
miraculous curative benefits to a wide range of disorders. People have
used it to overcome numerous diseases and disorders relating to the immune
system, cardiovascular system, digestion, and for weight management, diabetes,
chronic and acute allergies, cataracts, hearing difficulties, stress syndrome,
chronic fatigue, diarrhoea, constipation, and disorders of the liver. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
Cordyceps</b> can be a powerful stimulant for macrophage activity, strengthening
the immune system’s ability to fight against bacterial and viral infection.
Human clinical studies indicate that Cordyceps can be effective in the
treatment of high cholesterol, poor libido/impotence, arrhythmia, lung
cancer, and chronic kidney failure. It is also reported that Cordyceps
causes muscle relaxation. This can make it especially helpful for treating
chronic coughs, asthma, and other bronchial conditions. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
Maitake</b> is also known by the name Dancing Mushroom, famous for its
taste and health benefits. In Japan, it is called "King of Mushrooms".
The fruiting body and the mycelium of Maitake are used medicinally. In
China and Japan, Maitake mushrooms have been consumed for 3000 years. Years
ago in Japan, the Maitake had monetary value and was worth its weight in
silver. Historically, Maitake has been used as a tonic and adaptogen. It
was used as a food to help promote wellness and vitality. Traditionally,
consumption of the mushroom was thought to prevent high blood pressure
and cancer - two applications that have been the focal point of modern
research. Clinical research with Maitake mushrooms has increased dramatically
in the past several years. Laboratory studies have shown that Maitake mushroom
extract can inhibit the growth of tumours and stimulate the immune system
of cancerous mice. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
Reishi </b>has been called an “immune potentiator.” Recent studies have
indicated that Reishi can have a number of other effects: analgesic, anti-inflammatory,
antioxidant, antiviral through inducing interferon production, lowers blood
pressure, cardiotonic action through lowering serum cholesterol, expectorant
& antitussive, liver (hepatitis)-protecting and detoxifying, protection
against ionizing radiation, antibacterial, and anti-HIV activity. Reishi
contains calcium, iron and phosphorus as well as vitamins C, D, and B -
including pantothenic acid, which is essential to nerve function and the
adrenal glands. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
Shiitake </b>(for centuries called "Elixir of Life”) has been licensed
as an anti-cancer drug by the Japanese FDA. Lentinan has shown some effect
on bowel cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, ovarian cancer and lung
cancer. Lentinan stimulates the production of T lymphocytes and natural
killer cells and can potentiate the effect of AZT in the anti-viral treatment
of AIDS. Shiitake is rich in several anti-oxidants (selenium, uric acid
& vitamins A, E, & C) as well as vitamin D. Shiitake mushrooms
may also lower blood pressure in those with hypertension, lower serum cholesterol
levels stimulate the production of Interferon which has anti-viral effects,
and has proven effective against hepatitis in some cases. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
Yun Zhi </b>or the Cloud Mushroom has been used to dispel dampness, reduce
phlegm, treat pulmonary infections, to strengthen the tendons and bones,
for vital energy, and to support liver health. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
Benefits:</b> assists with immune function; high in vegetable proteins;
and promotes good health and vitality </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.dailyindia.com/show/5180.php</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>13. Noni (<i>Morinda
citrifolia</i>) : Medicinal value of Tahitian noni juice drink</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Best Syndication, 5 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Tahitian noni juice drink lowers bad cholesterol
and triglycerides - alternative methods to lowering LDL besides statin
medicine or medications</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The human body needs a small amount of cholesterol to function, but too
much cholesterol can cause health problems, including coronary heart disease.
Americans spent over $16 billion on statin drugs last year, according
to the New York Times.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
A recent study has shown that the Tahitian noni juice may lower the bad
cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides in smokers. The sales of the
drink have ballooned to over $1 billion after various news agencies reported
on the study. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
Noni juice</b> is made from a bumpy fruit of the noni plant (<i>Morinda
citrifolia</i></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>)</b></font><font size=2 face="Arial">.
The plants are found in the Polynesian Islands and have a medicinal
history among the locals for some 2000 years. Recent research has
found that the drink contains high levels of anti-oxidants.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.bestsyndication.com/Articles/2006/dan_wilson/health/03/030506_noni_juice.htm</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>14. Sandalwood bonanza,
planting tree that is worth more than gold</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: New Straits Time, Malaysia News
Online, 10 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">A </font><font size=2 face="Arial">sandalwood
tree, <i>Aquilaria malaccensis</i>, measuring 60cm in diameter can fetch
at least RM14,000. Multiply this by 40,000 trees on a 44-hectare plot of
land, and the income from the harvest in six to 10 years would be a staggering
RM560 million.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
This projection has been made by the state Forestry Department, which has
begun planting the tree, commonly known as sandalwood or gaharu, on a trial
basis at its station in Merchang, Marang. The Merchang station was previously
used for research into <i>Acacia mangium</i> (a foreign species) for the
pulp and paper industry. The decision to replant the area with Aquilaria
was made for economic reasons.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
In the wild, sandalwood trees are felled for their heartwood — the precious
gaharu — highly sought by perfume makers. Gaharu has become a precious
commodity because <i>Aquilaria malaccensis</i> is becoming very rare in
the wild due to illegal extraction. "The sandalwood tree is more precious
than gold," said state Forestry director Na’aman Jaafar. "This
is a new source of wealth for the State."</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The trees at the Merchang station have been grown under a silviculture
programme since the middle of this year, collecting and replanting seedlings
from the wild. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The trees should mature in 10 years and provide a continuous seed bank.
"But the trees can be logged after the sixth year," Na’aman
said. "We have found a technique where all the trees can be used instead
of just the heartwood or gaharu.”The trees will be grounded to extract
its resins, which will be processed for the perfume trade."</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
At current prices, the value of a tree ranges from RM14,000 to RM18,000,
and the heartwood from RM100 to RM200 a gram, which is more than the price
of a gram of gold.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
A healthy sandalwood tree does not produce gaharu, which requires inoculation
with a certain micro-organism. It will then take another four to six years
for the resins to develop. Some collectors cut trees in the wild hoping
to find the resins, giving no chance for the mature tree to propagate and
endangering its existence in the forest.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"There simply isn’t enough time for the trees to propagate in the
wild, and their scarcity only results in stronger demand and higher prices,"
Na’aman said.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/National/20051228092131/Article/indexb_html</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>15. Wattle: Industry
proposed for Dalwallinu wattle</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Central Midlands & Coastal
Advocate, Moora, Australia. 27 January 2006 </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Dalwallinu wattle could become a new industry
and not just a flower as the Shire of Dalwallinu look into the development
of a wattle seed industry. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The Shire of Dalwallinu has been awarded $10,000 in funding through the
Wheatbelt Development Commission's (WDC) Wheatbelt Regional Development
Scheme (WRDS) to contribute to a feasibility study into the industry. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Currently wattle seed production in Australia is considered a 'boutique
industry' with most supplies coming from small commercial operators in
South Australia or from Aboriginal pickers. The Shire of Dalwallinu is
hoping to look into the growth of the industry within the region. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Dalwallinu Shire President Robert Nixon said the potential in the project
is significant. "The outcome of the study will determine Dalwallinu's
potential to become a player in the growing bush food industry," Nixon
said. "The potential to export products around the world with Dalwallinu's
name will boost our local gross domestic product output, employment opportunities
and the tourism industry." </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The Shire has been working with Department of Conservation and Land Management
(CALM) wattle expert Bruce Maslin on the wattle seed project. Mr Maslin
said the wattle seed production could have benefits not only as an industry
but also as a way of controlling salinity. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"There are many ways the wattle seed can be used as a food source
and as many species occur naturally in the environment, it could be a different
way of using a natural resource." Wattle seeds can be used in pesto,
biscuits, and medicines, as alternatives to coffee and wheat flour and
as a flavouring agent. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Mark South from the WDC said the idea of wattle seed production was one
with merit, which is why funding was awarded to the project. "We are
keen to see the Shire of Dalwallinu also engage with local Aboriginal groups
to gain some of their knowledge and insight into the wattle seed."
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
More funding will be sought through other means in the coming months for
the study and it is understood the study will go out to tender within the
year.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://moora.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&story_id=454849&category=general%20news&m=1&y=2006</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>COUNTRY INFORMATION</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>16. Brazil: Brazilian
companies close US$ 27 million in deals at BioFach</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: </b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>ANBA,
</b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>2 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The 38 Brazilian companies that participated
in BioFach, the largest organic product fair in the world, made deals of
US$ 27.4 million for the next 12 months, according to the Brazilian Export
and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex). The fair took place in Nuremberg,
Germany, between 16 and 19 February.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Among the products presented by companies in Brazil were raw and processed
fruit and vegetables, juices, jams, sweets, coffee, teas, sugar, soy, honey,
nuts, oils, powdered chocolates, guaraná, cane spirit, fish, beef and cereal
bars, as well as typically Brazilian products, like heart of palm, assai,
cupuaçu, acerola and cashew.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"The Brazilian performance reflects a continuous learning process
by producers of Brazilian organic products and the investment made in training,
research, learning of tendencies and demands and expectations in the global
market," stated the president at Apex, Juan Quirós, through a spokesperson.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Companies that participated in BioFach represented 12 Brazilian states.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Contacts were made and deals were closed with importers from 26 countries:
Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Spain, France, Greece, Holland, Hungary, England,
Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia,
Egypt, Israel, Turkey, China, Korea, Japan, Bolivia, Canada, the United
States and South Africa.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.anba.com.br/ingles/noticia.php?id=10316</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>17. Brazil: EMBRAPA
will participate in international research project on tropical fruits</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Agência Brasil, 21 February 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Ricardo Elesbão Alves, a researcher in the
EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Company) Tropical Agroindustry
unit, which is based in the northeastern state of Ceará, travelled this
past weekend to Costa Rica to participate in a meeting of the program,
"Adding Value to Underutilized Tropical Fruits with Great Commercial
Potential," together with representatives from eight other countries.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The program, which is sponsored by the European Union, foresees an investment
of 1.7 million euros over the next four years on research involving nine
tropical fruits, three of which are Brazilian: açai, cashews, and camu-camu.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
According to Alves, who is coordinating the project in Brazil, the objective
is to develop products that retain the plants' nutritional value. "The
fruits contain compounds that prevent free radicals, which cause the body
to age, from building up in the organism. We want to identify these compounds
and use the fruits to make products that will maintain these compounds
in processed forms like juices and dried fruits."</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The three fruits were chosen for their high nutritional value and economic
potential. From the cashew, Alves explained, only the nut has export value,
while the fruit practically goes to waste. "But since cashew fruit
is good for only two days, it can't be exported as is. It has to be in
a processed form that maintains the quality of the fresh fruit," he
added.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Besides cashews and açãi, camu-camu, which is native to the Amazon, was
included in the project, because it contains "nearly 5% vitamin C,
but only after this potential is scientifically proven will its market
value be enhanced." Alves mentioned the successful example of acerola,
which a US firm in Ceará uses to make vitamin C capsules by a natural method
of fruit dehydration developed by the EMBRAPA unit there. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The researcher emphasized that "most of the fruit is produced by small-scale
growers, who will also be able to benefit from the project." He went
on to observe: "Since the supply chains are still informal and disorganized,
we have problems with the quality and security of the products, and there
has been no assessment of more adequate process technologies. This restricts
the development of local agroindustries and access to the international
market."</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The funds earmarked for Brazil in the program are divided among three research
centers: the EMBRAPA Tropical Agroindustry unit in Ceará, the EMBRAPA Food
Agroindustry unit in Rio de Janeiro, and the EMBRAPA Eastern Amazon unit
in Belém (PA). The other institutions involved in research for the program
are the Center of International Agricultural Research Cooperation for Development
(CIRAD), in France; the Universities of Bonn (Germany), Ghent (Belgium),
and Southampton (England); the National Center of Food Technology Research,
in Costa Rica; the National Polytechnic School, in Ecuador; and the National
Institute of Forest, Agricultural, and Livestock Research, in Mexico.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://internacional.radiobras.gov.br/ingles/materia_i_2004.php?materia=256791&q=1&editoria</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">=</font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>18. Brazil: Low-cost
machinery for handicraft production </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Amazonia.org.br, 9 February 2006
(in Amazon News – 16.2.06)</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><i> </i></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Family labour; raw material collected from
the forest; simple techniques, passed down from generation to generation
– yet, there is more to handicraft produced in poor communities of the
Amazon region than just that. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Just as in almost all productive activities, handicraft production at times
demands the use of equipment, the price of which may make production unfeasible.
"There is no use in promoting courses to help artisans add greater
value to their handicraft without the use of machinery. People gain
the knowledge but have no access to the machinery ", comments Irmânio
de Magalhães, artisan and handicraft businessman in Boa Vista, Roraima.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Brazilian creativity has been useful in helping resolve this problem. Artisans
often make do with what they have, and build their own instruments and
machinery out of discarded material: junk, bits of rock, wood, old motors...
They are thus able to produce faster and produce more highly finished products,
without having to purchase expensive equipment, which can cost over R$
5,000 each.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Surprised with the creativity and technique of these artisans, whom he
calls 'technicians, Irmânio began studying these machine models: simple,
low-cost and easy to acquire. He conducted a project for the purpose
of reproducing them and disseminating this technique, through courses and
manuals or booklets to be distributed to other artisans.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Supported by the local SEBRAE, he raised the funds to purchase material
to build the machines and brought in the 'technicians to participate in
the construction.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The project has already been successful, in Irmânio’s opinion. “The
first machine – for drilling seeds – has already been built. We’re
applying for the patent, so as to protect the artisans."</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Irmânio also supports and is encouraging several poor families in Boa Vista,
who have begun producing handicraft and now make their living from this
activity. He transmits concepts of design, market and primarily,
environmental education.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.amazonia.org.br/english/noticias/noticia.cfm?id=198263</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>19. Burkino Faso
: La production de karité </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source : Hélène Peronny, Le CRDI Explore,
10 mars 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Le Burkina Faso est le deuxième producteur
mondial de karité (aussi appelé arbre à beurre). Selon la pluviométrie,
entre autres facteurs, ce petit pays de l'Afrique de l'Ouest produit de
40 000 à 80 000 tonnes d'amandes de karité par an. Celles-ci, réputées
pour leur haute teneur en matières grasses, sont utilisées localement pour
la cuisine, la pharmacopée et la cosmétologie. Elles intéressent de plus
en plus les pays occidentaux pour les soins de la peau. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Traditionnellement, ces amandes sont pressées par les femmes. Jusqu'à tout
récemment, ce travail harassant s'effectuait à la main ou à l'aide de presses
hydrauliques (faites de crics de camions importés), mal adaptées à la tâche
et souvent défectueuses. Grâce au financement du Centre de recherches pour
le développement international (CRDI), des chercheurs burkinabé et canadiens
ont mis au point des presses à karité qui allègent le travail des femmes
et permettent d'augmenter la productivité. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Le gouvernement du Burkina Faso veut notamment inciter les burkinabé à
utiliser le karité comme substitut alimentaire à l'huile de palme et d'autres
huiles présentement importées du Ghana, de la Côte d'Ivoire et de la Malaisie.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><i>
</i>Le projet karité, qui crée des emplois et procure un revenu supplémentaire
aux femmes, contribue à la croissance économique du Burkina Faso. Il devrait
aussi favoriser la création d'emplois dans le secteur de l'artisanat puisque
les productrices de karité veulent modifier le conditionnement du produit
en se servant des feuilles des palmiers éventails locaux. Qui plus est,
le projet a une incidence favorable sur l'environnement car, en incitant
les burkinabé à protéger les arbres à beurre, il favorise la lutte contre
la désertification.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Pour plus d'informations, voir: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.idrc.ca/fr/ev-5264-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>20. Kenya blames
drought for increasing wildlife crime</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: </b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Mail
& Guardian Online - </b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Johannesburg,
South Africa, 7 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The Kenyan government on Monday blamed increasing
incidents of poaching and illegal trade in bushmeat in the country on a
searing drought that has put millions of people across East Africa at risk
of famine.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Tourism and Wildlife Minister Morris Dzoro said authorities were working
to crack down on illegal trafficking of ivory, rhino horn and other live
animals such as reptiles within the region, despite the drought. "Wildlife
crime has been worsened by the current drought which has exacerbated the
bushmeat trade and killed many wild animals whose trophies now lie in the
wrong hands," Dzoro told an anti-poaching seminar in the Rift Valley
town of Naivasha, about 90km northwest of the capital.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"Environmental crime is a growing problem that is increasingly linked
to other crimes such as smuggling, fraud, money laundering, weapons offences
and drugs," Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said in a message
to the seminar that was sponsored by the International Fund for Animal
Welfare (IFAW).</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
IFAW East African chief James Isiche called on states to cooperate and
end trafficking of wildlife and their products. "Wildlife crime is
a matter of serious global concern -- its magnitude is considered second
only to illegal drug trafficking. Its transboundary nature requires collaboration
both between states and within national law enforcement agencies,"
Isiche said. "This also calls for the deployment of substantial resources
which are more often not available to developing countries," he added.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=266021&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>21. India: promotion
of marketing of tribal products </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Ministry of Tribal Affairs, </b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Press
Information Bureau (press release), </b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>India,
14 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The promotion and marketing of tribal products
is being done carried out through the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development
Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED). TRIFED undertakes the promotion and
marketing of tribal handicrafts and processed/value-added Minor Forest
Produce (MFP) and Surplus Agricultural Produce (SAP) through a series of
marketing and development initiatives, for example:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Symbol">·</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 face="Arial">Direct
sale through their eleven sales-outlets called “TRIBES INDIA” and by
consignment sales through twenty state level Organisations located in 22
cities in various states. It is also engaged in exporting handicrafts abroad.
Retail marketing of tribal MFP products like honey, hill brooms, shikakai,
soapnut, amla and medicinal powders besides organically grown agricultural
produce like rajma, cashew, red chilli, turmeric, etc.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Symbol">·</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 face="Arial">promotes
tribal products by participating in exhibitions and displaying these items.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Symbol">·</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 face="Arial">In
January 2006, TRIFED organized a ‘National Tribal Craft Expo’ in Delhi
for the display and sale of tribal art and craft from various states. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Symbol">·</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 face="Arial">trains
tribals in order to upgrade their skills and to educate them on ways of
sustainable collection as well as improved quality of MFP like wild honey
extraction, production of Hill Brooms, making of leaf-plates and leaf cups
(pattals/donnas) etc. it is also proposing to impart training to gum pickers
and collectors. It has started a project for cultivation and marketing
of medicinal plants (like Safed Musli) at Jagdalpur, Distt. Bastar Chhattisgarh.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=16565</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>22. Scotland: Forestry
plan to double tree planting rate</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: The Scotsman, 14 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">A revised forestry strategy for Scotland
could see 10 000 ha of woodland planted each year, double the present rate.
Draft proposals by the Executive could also bring woodland areas of more
than two hectares within 500 metres of one in four of the population by
2015. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The move would develop further the "green gym" and outdoor classroom
theme that attracted more than 18 million visitors to Scotland's woods
and forests last year. Other key aims of the strategy include reducing
the rate of climate change, helping community development, improving biodiversity
and increasing the volume of timber sales to more than eight million cubic
metres by 2025. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Encouraging tree planting by integrating grants with individual land management
contracts for landowners and farmers could move Scotland up the European
forestry league within the next 20 years. At present Scotland's 1.33 million
hectares of woodland - one-third state-owned Forestry Commission, two-thirds
private - cover 17 per cent of the country. That compares with only 5 per
cent a century ago, but lags well behind the European Union average of
36.3 per cent tree coverage and the world average of 29.6 per cent. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Recent attempts to encourage planting in Scotland have been hampered by
the halving of timber prices since the mid-1990s and a complicated system
of planting and maintenance grants for landowners, farmers and communities.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Rhona Brankin, Scottish forestry minister, said: "This is a major
opportunity for the Scottish public to have their say on a range of important
issues such as climate change, use of woods to provide recreation for health
and wellbeing, increasing business opportunities and improving wildlife
habitats." </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The Executive's first forestry strategy was published in 2000. Ms Brankin
said that produced a remarkable response from the forestry industry to
"deliver an increasing range of benefits", including more than
18 million woodland visitors a year. A review of the original strategy
last year had produced the draft now out for consultation. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The Forestry and Timber Association welcomed the strategy as recognising
the need to support the economic and business aspects of forestry to deliver
environmental and social benefits.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=380502006</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>23. Vanuatu: Nevsem
disagree on Vanuatu sandalwood ban</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: The Vanuatu Independent, 8 March
2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The outspoken spokesman for the Nevsem custom
movement from Erromango in Tafea province, Jacob Narvot, is condemning
the government's ban on sandalwood harvesting.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">He voices concern that the three months of
harvest given by the government through the department of forestry is the
only opportunity for local farmers to cut their timber. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"The government hasn't assisted us local farmers in any way, so why
do they want to ban sandalwood when that represents one of our main income
sources in the islands?" queries Narvot. "We know what we are
doing, so we ask the government to review its policy of banning sandalwood
cutting. We cultivate the sandalwood, so the government should not stop
us harvesting it", Narvot explained.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
He concluded that as the government allows only three months for harvest,
local people and farmers rush to cut trees down, and don't care about size
of timber. As a result, some of sandalwood trees in South Erromango were
totally destroyed.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"We suggest the government concentrate on the issuance of sandalwood
licences and leave us to decide what to do with our sandalwood trees."</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Narvot is a sandalwood farmer and nursery man who has planted sandalwood
also on Efate near Tamanu Beach and Pango. He said he has 1000 seedlings
now ready for sale.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.news.vu/en/business/Forestry/060308-Nevsem-disagree-on-Vanuatu-Sandalwood-ban.shtml</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>24. Vietnam: WWF
project aims to prevent wild animal trade, promote biodiversity</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Viet Nam News, 1 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Viet Nam
has launched a project to raise awareness on the trading of wildlife across
the nation and its impact on biodiversity. The initial phase of the project
involved a survey on use of wildlife products, conducted in Ha Noi.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Wildlife products were found to be favoured by many Hanoians, according
to the survey carried out by TRAFFIC. In Ha Noi, nearly 50 percent of people
who were asked about wildlife consumption said they had eaten wildlife
animal meat at least once. Survey respondents were aged between 18 and
60 and included businessmen, state officers, farmers and students.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The report also said that 82 percent of wildlife was caught for food purposes,
while the remainder were used in the production of traditional medicines
and jewellery.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Wildlife consumption was increasing as more people could afford to pay
higher prices for rarer delicacies, the survey found.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The survey was carried out between last September and December in Ba Dinh,
Dong Da, Hoan Kiem, Hai Ba Trung and Gia Lam district.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The WWF planned to follow the survey with an advertising campaign on the
need to protect local wildlife as well as school education projects set
for the 2006-07 period. School education and advertising will play an important
part in the project, which aims to get most urban residents, particularly
Hanoians to change their taste for wildlife products.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The WWF will be co-ordinating with the Ha Noi Forest Protection Department
to establish a wildlife hot-line (8262869).</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=03ENV010306</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>25. Vietnam: Non-timber
forest product development project underway</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Vietnam Economic Times - Hanoi,
Vietnam, 14 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 color=#5f5f5f face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The Special Forest Products Research Centre
(SFPR) recently designed a 2006-2020 national project on developing the
non-timber forest sector and forest-based livelihoods in a sustainable
manner.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Sustainable livelihoods would help involve local communities in afforestation
and non-timber production with a view to favouring poverty reduction, protecting
forest biodiversity and ecological balance, said an SFPR official.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
By the SFPR's assessment, local authorities have paid too much attention
to the wood processing industry and forest protection tasks rather than
eyeing NTFP as a potential export staple for the country. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Statistics released by the centre show that average revenues from NTFP
in the 2001-2005 period hit US$100 million, and they are projected to top
US$500 million by 2010. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
It is hoped that the non-timber forest industry, after being reformed,
would become more capable of serving the domestic market rather than being
almost totally dependent on foreign markets as is the case at present.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The centre will work closely with relevant local agencies to localise non-timber
product material areas in the proximity of forest product processing areas,
help localities identify key products and multiply wild plant and animal
raising models.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.vneconomy.com.vn/eng/index.php?param=article&catid=08&id=2e59c8fa1c19eb</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>26. Vietnam: Big
plans for NWFP </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Saigon Times Daily, Vietnam, 17
March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">A research center under the agriculture ministry
expects to triple the revenue from shipping rattan furniture, farm animals
and other NTFP by 2010.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The Non-Timber Forest Product Research Center under the Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development predicts these goods can earn at least US$500 million
annually, including US$300 million from export.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Developing the sector helps preserve forests’ biodiversity and improve
the incomes of people who live around forests. It also encourages villages
to make handicrafts for export.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The center said so far Vietnam had underestimated the sector’s potential,
only focusing on protecting and developing forests to serve the wood industry.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The center’s statistics show that from 2001 to 2005 Vietnam annually got
at least US$100 million from exporting non-timber forest products, including
rattan furniture and farm animals, such as snakes and crocodiles. In HCMC,
exporting crocodile products, in line with international standards, gets
almost US$5 million each year, while in the Mekong Delta, the export revenue
from python products is US$20 million each year.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The center carries out the national plan on non-timber forest products
until 2020. Besides animals and rattan, these products include herbal plants
and wild mushrooms. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.saigontimes.com.vn/daily/detail.asp?muc=2&Sobao=2649&SoTT=16</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>NEWS</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>27. Biopiracy: Brazil
grapples with jungle piracy dilemma</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Leading The Charge, Queensland,
Australia, 15 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Sao Paulo, Brazil - In 1999, a young Brazilian
botanist named Eliana Rodrigues dug through forests in an ambitious project
with Krao Indians to collect and identify 400 tropical plants and berries
they use as medicine. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Proud of being socially conscious, she and her research partner, Dr Elisandro
Carlini, signed agreements with three villages to share royalties from
all commercial products and patents developed from the research. To help
the tribal economy near the Amazon rainforest, they agreed to pay the Indians
to cultivate some medicinal plants. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The hope was to identify more of Brazil‘s vast but largely unknown biodiversity,
and find cheap treatments for dozens of ills afflicting the world. But
an employee at the federal Indian affairs agency accused them of biological
piracy and got a court injunction halting their project. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Seven years later, they are still stuck in legal limbo, waiting for Brazil‘s
government to pass laws giving scientists access to plants on Indian reservations
and in national forests, and defining how researchers should share any
profits with poor local communities. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
People who oppose research on Indian lands, many of them in the government,
worry scientists will hand over findings to foreign pharmaceutical companies,
allowing them to make huge profits from unique local cultures in the Amazon.
Indians, meanwhile, resent the paternalistic nature of the state that obstructs
their wishes to collaborate with researchers. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Stopping biopiracy -- which happens when scientists or companies fail to
pay local groups or governments in exchange for their plants or knowledge
-- will be on the agenda at a United Nations conference on biodiversity
in Curitiba, Brazil from March 20-31. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Biopiracy must stop, most people agree. But sharing benefits is complicated.
Anthropologists worry cash payments could erode Indian cultures. Economists
wonder if payments should be made to a municipal, state or federal authority.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Scientists are anxious for change. Brazil has an estimated 60,000 plant
species, but less than half are defined in textbooks. Discoveries could
generate business. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Even when companies risk the uncertain legal environment and cobble together
benefit-sharing plans with poor communities, they are often caught in ethical
dilemmas. Experiments by companies that consider themselves socially or
environmentally aware have had mixed results. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Natura Cosmeticos SA, a company that makes beauty products based on tropical
plants, relies on rainforest communities to help it develop new extracts
and pays them for their help. "Working with locals saves us light
years of research," said Eliane Anjos, the company‘s environmental
affairs director. "But paying locals isn‘t easy. It can destroy local
cultures and cause social and economic imbalances." </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Experts also disagree on how to define who should receive benefits, how
much they should receive and for how long. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Brazil has signed international agreements to protect biodiversity and
has turned parts of those agreements into domestic law, but like other
countries rich in biological wonders, such as many in Africa, it has yet
to decide how to deal with biopiracy. Poor governments are often too weak
to monitor and enforce biodiversity laws. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
As local laws lag, patents that raise biopiracy issues are starting to
be dealt with by the World Trade Organization and the U.N. World Intellectual
Property Organization. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
For a developing country like Brazil, murky laws are holding back a type
of economic development that is far less damaging to the Amazon than activities
like logging, poaching and mining. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"Brazil‘s unique competitive advantage is its biodiversity. It has
22 percent of the world‘s plant species, but federal laws aren‘t prepared
to deal with this," said Antonio Paes de Carvalho, president of Extracta,
a small Brazilian company that isolates molecules to discover drug therapies.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-00158836.html</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>28. Biopiracy: San
cry foul over hoodia trade</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Wezi Tjaronda, Windhoek in BIO-IPR
(bio-ipr@grain.org)</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">San communities in southern Africa have urged
governments of Switzerland, Germany and South Africa to act against the
illegal sale of Hoodia products.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
While the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) stipulates that indigenous
groups be given a share of the profits from the commercial use of local
genetic resources and traditional knowledge, the San are yet to benefit
from the many Hoodia products that are being sold in Germany and Switzerland.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The San people, found in Namibia, South Africa, Angola and Botswana have
known and used Hoodia, a succulent plant, for over 100 years as an appetite
suppressant. The plant was however patented a few years ago by the Council
for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and licensed for further
development to a British company, which in turn sold additional licenses
to drug company Pfizer, and later to Unilever.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The San of Southern Africa, represented by the Working Group of Indigenous
Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA) and other organizations, namely Biowatch,
Berne Declaration and the Church Development Service have written to the
governments of South Africa, Germany and Switzerland to stem the trade
in Hoodia, which they say is an illegally acquired resource.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
In a letter to ministers of the three countries, the organizations said
the intended solution would be not only to suppress the illegal sale of
Hoodia products but also establish a structure that prevents the biopiracy
of many other generic resources as well.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
In the letter, WIMSA’s Roger Channels urged the countries to take "long
overdue steps against the continued trade of Hoodia plants and products
without the return of benefits to the San - the holders of the traditional
knowledge about the plant". He said a recent inquiry found that more
than 10 Hoodia products are on sale in stores and pharmacies in Germany
and Switzerland. "Almost all sellers/distributors market their product
with reference to the traditional knowledge of the San. In other countries
too, notably the UK and US, there is brisk trade in Hoodia products,"
he said, adding that while this is the case, the San have yet to receive
a single penny from the trade.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
CSIR and the San Council three years ago signed a benefit sharing formula
while a second such agreement was signed between the San and the Hoodia
Growers Pty Ltd in early February this year. Channels said through the
CSIR agreement, only the license holders, Phytopharm UK and Unilever have
legitimate access to the knowledge and generic resource but for the moment,
the license holders are not selling any Hoodia products.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
And while the Hoodia growers market the product saying the owners of the
traditional knowledge benefit from the growing of Hoodia, WIMSA says this
is not the case. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"Therefore all Hoodia products currently on the market are not part
of the above-mentioned two San benefit sharing agreements. The San have
not negotiated Benefit Sharing Agreement with anyone except the CSIR and
the South African Hoodia Growers. It seems safe to conclude that all commercially
traded Hoodia products contain illegally acquired resources and traditional
knowledge according to CBD," reads the letter in part.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
So far, said the letter, no user country has made any move to stop the
sale of these products. The countries were urged to "take seriously
their obligations as user countries to initiate appropriate legal, administrative
or policy measures to stop the sale of Hoodia products in their countries
in violation on CBD rules".</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://allafrica.com/stories/200603090311.html</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>29. Dual-Campus MA
in Environmental Security and Peace</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: INFO CENN (</b></font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><b><u>cenn_cenn.org@cenn.org</u></b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>),
22 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The University for Peace (UPEACE), affiliated
to the United Nations, is pleased to announce that applications are now
invited for the Dual-Campus MA program in Environmental Security and Peace,
for the 2006 – 2007 academic year. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The MA in Environmental Security and Peace focuses on the interface between
peace, development and environmental security. In particular, it concentrates
on the links between several factors of insecurity: environmental stress
and degradation, threats to livelihoods, harms to the resilience of fragile
ecosystems, intensified competition over natural resources and, in certain
volatile situations, escalating violence and conflict.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
There is a major shortage of skilled and motivated people who fully understand
these complex issues and their inter-linkages. The MA in Environmental
Security and Peace responds to these challenges by providing motivated
individuals with the necessary skills to understand, define and manage
the actions needed to reduce the threats to peace arising from environmental
change, and to make significant contributions towards improving environmental
security and peace around the world.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The MA in Environmental Security and Peace is delivered in a dual mode
between the UPEACE Campus in Costa Rica and the UPEACE Toronto Centre in
Canada. The complete programme lasts for one year, out of which 4 months
are spent studying at the UPEACE Toronto Centre. By combining the best
resources available in Costa Rica and Canada this program offers a unique
opportunity to study environmental security issues from different perspectives.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
For the 2006 – 2007 academic year, UPEACE will be offering 10 full scholarships
to qualified applicants in the MA in Environmental Security and Peace.
One of these scholarships is designated for a Canadian applicant.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
For more information on the structure and content of the MA in Environmental
Security and Peace, as well as application instructions and scholarship
information, please visit </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.upeace.org/programmes/esp.cfm</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>30. Fair trade in
wild natural resources</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: UN News Centre, 28 February 2006
(in FIU 13 March 2006)</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b> </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">With half the world’s 1.2 billion poor depending
for their livelihoods on harvesting wild natural resources, ranging from
cocoa and rubber to oils and spices, in a trade valued at $4.7 billion
annually, the United Nations environmental agency today released a blueprint
for a fair deal to lift them out of poverty. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
A key recommendation of the report by the UN Environment Programme’s World
Conservation Monitoring Centre (</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>UNEP-WCMC</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">),
is that aid should be targeted at developing the business skills of rural
communities to help them avoid exploitation by entrepreneurs and other
middle men in the trade of non-timber forest products (NTFP). </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
“There is no doubt that if provided with the right kind of support, trading
forest products can genuinely provide a route out of poverty,” (UNEP-WCMC)
project coordinator Elaine Marshall said of the report: Commercialization
of non-timber forest products: factors influencing success (CEPFOR). </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The study identifies how commercial development NTFPs can enable rural
communities to escape poverty without irreversibly damaging the environment.
It examines 19 different case studies in Mexico and Bolivia, involving
products ranging from wild mushrooms and palm fibres to incense and the
agave-based traditional beverage, Mezcal, looking at why some commercialization
initiatives succeed while others do not. In many areas these products provide
the only source of income, and communities are dependent on them for survival.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Entrepreneurs often provide a link between producers and the market place
and play a critical role in determining whether trade is fair to producers
or not. CEPFOR found that they play a number of positive roles, including
identifying markets, providing business contacts, advancing capital and
providing training to producers. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
But the inequitable distribution of power along the market chain was widely
seen by producers as a major factor limiting commercialization success,
with relatively few entrepreneurs resulting in lack of competition. Many
communities are entirely dependent on one or a few entrepreneurs for bringing
their products to market, which can result in exploitation and unfair trade
– hence the need to develop the business skills of these communities as
well as to support socially-minded entrepreneurs and create producer organizations
providing opportunities to share information and contacts. This can greatly
strengthen the ability to negotiate favourable deals and command a higher
price for products.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
CEPFOR also calls for training and education to prevent the widespread
scourge of over-harvesting. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
NTFPs include a wide range of commercial products traded internationally,
including nuts, seeds, fibres, resins, fruits, oils and spices, used for
foods, crafts and medicines, among many other uses.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17645&Cr=&Cr1</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">To download all project outputs, free of
charge, please go to: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.unep-wcmc.org/forest/ntfp</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>31. Yale lectures:
Viana discusses sustainable development, climate change</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source:</b> <b>Yale University Daily News,
3 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 color=#a00000 face="Tahoma"><b> </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Virgilio Viana, the secretary for environment
and sustainable development of Amazonas State in Brazil, presented a series
of three lectures this week as part of a joint program between Yale's School
of Management (SOM) and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
(FES).</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Viana, the first speaker to come to Yale on funding from a grant made to
the SOM-FES joint-degree program by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
in San Francisco, spoke on sustainable development, forest certification
and climate change. His last talk culminated in a round table discussion
of how to apply theories of sustainable development in the Amazon. In his
lectures, Viana focused on applying business and economic concepts, such
as incentives, to environmental problems like deforestation in order to
find effective solutions.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"People don't deforest because they're stupid -- there's an economic
rationality behind it," Viana said in his second lecture. "The
vision is to have good business that treats the environment well by convincing
people that this is good for them. If they perceive that they will get
more benefit by deforesting then that is what they will continue to do."</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Viana suggested a series of economic measures to address the issue of deforestation,
including sales tax exemptions for non-timber forest products and support
for small-scale forestry businesses.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Professor Garry Brewer, who teaches at both SOM and FES, said Viana's work
on the environment and the Amazon provides a good example for countries
seeking to manage their environmental resources.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"Many countries just don't have the capacity to care for their environment,"
Brewer said. "The hope is that our Yale model [of a joint-degree program
in management and forestry studies] will ultimately attract students from
Latin America interested in addressing these issues. We're looking to create
a real relationship between Yale and the Amazon."</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Viana said he hopes Yale's program will inspire similar programs in Brazil.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
"A joint program like Yale's gives foresters a view of business and
how the economy of forest management industries can be improved by better
competition," Viana said. "We're currently discussing the possibility
of receiving a group of Yale students in Amazonas."</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=32161</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>REQUESTS </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>32. Request for information:
case studies on NWFP</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>From: </b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Maria
Helena Cendales, </b></font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><b><u>x05mace1@stud.slu.se</u></b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">I am a Colombian student of the Master of
Science in European Forestry in the EU Erasmus Mundus Programme. Currently,
I am initiating my Master thesis at the Swedish University for Agricultural
Sciences SLU in Uppsala, Sweden. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
My topic is the management and ecological implications of harvesting non-timber
forest products in Europe. Usually, these topics have been studied and
are very relevant for developing countries. Also there is interesting information
of the use of such products in Europe, but in many cases it has been assumed
that wild collection is sustainable and will continue being. Recently,
some facts have called the attention about the sustainability of the use
of NTFPs in Europe, for example the inclusion of several species of European
medicinal plants in CITES lists. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Lately, trade statistics demonstrate the relevance on the commercialization
of NTFPs, for example the European Forest Sector Outlook Study (UNECE–FAO
2005), which shows trends towards a higher demand of these products. Consequently,
there is a worry about the lack of information on biology and production
capacity of the species and their national or European markets.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
I have been researching on these topics the last four months, and I found
out that there is not available literature on quantitative evaluation of
the impact of wild collection on the sustainability of NTFPs and the conservation
of their habitats in Europe. The objective of my thesis is to make an analysis
of such impacts based on existing case studies in Europe and other documents
related such as journal articles, books, reports, theses, dissertations,
etc. The analysis will be focussed on cases of traded NTFPs derived from
wild collection including aspects such as description of the production
and commercialization processes, impacts at population, community and/or
landscape levels, and preferably written in English. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
I want to analyse all of this information for making comparisons, defining
tendencies, highlighting relevant elements and, thus, I want to recommend
some practices and point out aspects that should be included or improved,
in order to promote a more sustainable trade of such products. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Sorry for this long email. I do think your inputs are very relevant to
find out this kind of information and progress with my research. For this
reason, I would be very glad if you can kindly provide me information of
cases studies or experiences. If you do not have any, it would be very
useful if you can contact me with people who could provide me this kind
of information. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
I would really appreciate your help and orientations. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For more information, please contact:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Maria Helena Cendales</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Erasmus Mundus M.Sc. European Forestry Student</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">SLU, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Forest Products and Markets Dept.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">P.O. Box 7060, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Phone +46 18 67 10 00</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Fax +46 18 67 34 90 </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Mobile: +46 (0) 73 841 6785</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Email: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>elenacen@yahoo.com</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">,
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>x05mace1@stud.slu.se</u></font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://gis.joensuu.fi/mscef/</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>EVENTS</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><u>UNEP/UNESCO Great Apes Survival Project
(GRASP) – Can the UN Save the Great Apes (and their Biodiverse Habitats)?</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">(Side event – CBD CoP8, Curtiba, Brazil
[event no.219])</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">30 March 2006</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Curtiba, Brazil</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The great apes are heading for extinction,
unless loss of habitat and hunting are stopped.
The Kinshasa Declaration on the Great Apes was signed last
September by 22 countries and most of the NGOs involved in their conservation.
It affirms commitment to a global strategy and sets a timetable
for reducing the rate of decline of great ape populations by 2010, and
securing the future of 94 priority sites by 2015. If successful,
this will ensure that all taxa of orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and
bonobos should survive in their natural habitat. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Great apes are keystone species in those habitats, and so their survival
affects thousands of other species that are ecologically dependent on them.
Great apes & their habitats are also important economically,
and so conservation policies are being linked to poverty reduction strategies
and sustainable development initiatives.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For more information, please contact:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Ian Redmond, GRASP Chief Consultant</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Contact Info +44 7769 743975 (mobile), </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>ele@globalnet.co.uk</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">
or </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>redmondim@yahoo.co.uk</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><u>Philippine style bamboo furniture processing</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">20 to 29 April, 2006</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Hetauda, Nepal</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The Resource and Environmental Conservation
Society (RES-Nepal) and the International Network of Bamboo and Rattan
(INBAR) have collaborated to design this training course.
The course aims to produce experts of bamboo furniture making, which will
increase the use of bamboo in furniture making and ultimately save a huge
amount of money by decreasing the import of Rattan from abroad. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The course is useful for bamboo and rattan entrepreneurs, and organizations
and individuals working in the field of bamboo promotion. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For more information, please contact:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Suman Sigdel at </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>resnepal@wlink.com.np</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">or visit </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.res.org.np</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">.</font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><u>Sustainable wild collection of medicinal
and aromatic plants: Workshop on implementation strategies for the international
standard</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">5 May 2006</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Teslic, Bosnia and Herzegovina</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">This meeting will be a side event to the
1st IFOAM Conference on Organic Wild Production.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Trade in “organic” wild products is becoming more and more important,
not only within the food sector but also in the personal health care and
the medicinal herb sector. These sectors overlap as one species is often
used for several end products. Currently available certification criteria
or standards addressing wild collection, as for example organic certification
schemes, often do not provide sufficient guidance to ensure the long term
survival of wild populations. The International Standard for Sustainable
Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP) aims to provide
this guidance in form of a set of principles and criteria that can be applied
to the management of medicinal and aromatic plant species and their ecosystems.
It could also serve as a basic tool for audit and certification of wild
collection in the organic sector. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The meeting addresses practitioners active in the collection, management,
trade and processing of wild plants, with focus on South-Eastern Europe:
communities, buyers, processors and users of plants, developers of standards
and certifications systems, governmental and intergovernmental organisations
in the sectors and service providers to any of these groups.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
This workshop is part of the still ongoing development process of the ISSC-MAP,
which is being implemented by the Medicinal Plant Specialist Group of the
World Conservation Union (IUCN), WWF Germany and TRAFFIC, and the German
Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). So far the draft ISSC-MAP
has been discussed and tested for its applicability in several field projects.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
During this workshop possibilities on how the ISSC-MAP principles could
complement or strengthen existing certification systems will be discussed
and analysed considering their applicability in the plants sector of South-Eastern
Europe. South-Eastern and Eastern Europe are the prime source regions for
wild collected plants in Europe and therefore one of the important target
regions for the implementation of wild collection criteria.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The aim of the event is to involve practitioners active in the collection,
trade and processing of wild plants in the development of concrete implementation
strategies for wild collection criteria, which are adapted to their working
and market situations. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For background information and registration
please visit our project website </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.floraweb.de/MAP-pro/</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">
or </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.ifoam.org/events/ifoam_conferences/ISSC_MAP_Workshop.html</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For more information, please contact:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Susanne Honnef and Britta Pätzold </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">WWF Germany and TRAFFIC </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Rebstöcker Str. 55 </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">60326 Frankfurt a. Main </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Germany </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">e-mail: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>MAP-Standards-Criteria@wwf.de</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">
</font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.floraweb.de/MAP-pro</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Trees for improving profitability, sustainability,
and resource conservation on farms and ranches: A professional development
workshop in agroforestry</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">16-19 May 2006: Kona, Hawai'i</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">26-30 June 2006: Guam & Palau</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Topics covered include:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">• diversify income on farms and ranches
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">• increase overall productivity</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">• experience successful agroforestry systems
first-hand</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">• conserve soil and water using trees </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">• choose which species will do best on a
site </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">• select tree products to reach specialty
markets </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">• add value and market directly to consumers</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">• improve soil quality with trees </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">• optimize interactions between trees and
crops</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">• conserve traditional varieties and native
species</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For more information, please contact:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Craig Elevitch</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Project Coordinator</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Permanent Agriculture Resources </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">PO Box 428 </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Holualoa, HI 96725 USA</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Tel: 808-324-4427; Fax: 808-324-4129</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">E-mail: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>craig@agroforestry.net</u></font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Download Hawaii brochure, registration
form, and agenda (pdf file)</u></font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>Download Guam/Palau brochure,
registration form, and agenda (pdf file)</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><u>Urban Forestry for Human Health and Wellbeing</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">(ASEM 2nd Symposium on Urban Forestry; COST
E39 2nd Research Conference<b>)</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">28-30 June 2006</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Copenhagen, Denmark</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Traditional medical and public health approaches
to illness and health are among the successes of modern science. However,
society today is faced with the increasing incidence of various forms of
poor health related to modern lifestyles. Contributing factors have been
identified as an increasingly sedentary population, increasing levels of
psychological stress related to urban living and contemporary work practices,
and exposure to environmental hazards such as air pollution. These problems
encourage new thinking about ways to prevent disease and promote health.
Natural spaces and natural elements such as forests and trees have been
seen as providing opportunities to ameliorate such trends. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For more information, please contact:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">E-mail: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>kjni@kvl.dk</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">.
</font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.e39.com.ee/en/m-main/c-current/d-15/</u></font><font size=2 face="Arial">.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><u>4th International Conference on Aromatic
and Medicinal Plants in French overseas regions</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">11-13 July 2006</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Tahiti</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The conference, which will be held at the
University of French Polynesia, will enable participating scientists to
present the results of their latest research, which sometimes leads to
concrete commercial applications. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The five themes of this year's conference are: </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Symbol">·</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 face="Arial">Essential
oils, concretes and absolutes, a general overview of the most recent works
on patrimonial aromatic plant from French overseas regions; </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Symbol">·</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 face="Arial">New
vegetable substances from newly discovered plants and new molecules representing
new challenges in terms of extraction, analytical methods or efficacy and
safety evaluation; </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Symbol">·</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 face="Arial">Medicinal
plants and traditional medicine involving a field of exploration at the
crossroads of botany, ethnology, phyto-chemistry and biology; </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Symbol">·</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 face="Arial">Regulation
and consumer safety, dealing with the legal status of plants according
to different regulations; and </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Symbol">·</font><font size=1 face="Times New Roman">
</font><font size=2 face="Arial">Valorization
and economical perspectives, dealing with sustainability and reliability
of production channels, environmental and societal responsibilities. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The GEPSUN (Engineering Process, Natural
Substances) technological platform, in partnership with various public
and private organizations, is organizing the conference. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The purpose of the conference is to promote the knowledge and enhanced
value of plants from French Polynesia and all French overseas departments
and territories. Previous conferences were held in Réunion (2000), Guadeloupe
(2001) and Guyana (2004). </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
In French Polynesia, scientists and industrialists are currently interested
in the applications of certain plants, such as Tamanu or Nono. Concerning
Tamanu oil, this partnership work between institutions and producers could
lead to a certificate of origin label for a product that is also found
outside of French Polynesia.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For more information, please contact:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Université de la Polynésie Française - Plate-forme
Technologique GEPSUN </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">BP 6570 - 98702 Faaa - Tahiti - Polynésie
Française</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Tél : (689) 82 71 89</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Fax : (689) 82 71 89</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">e-mail</font><font size=2 color=#2f2f2f face="Arial">
: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>gepsun@upf.pf</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><u>International Conference on Managing Forests
for Poverty Reduction: Capturing opportunities in forest harvesting and
wood processing for the benefits of the poor</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">2-6 October 2006</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For more information, please contact:</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Patrick Durst</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Senior Forestry Officer</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Phra Atit Road 39, Bangkok</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">10200 Thailand</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Tel: + 66-2-697-4000</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Fax: + 66-2-697-4445</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Email: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>patrick.durst@fao.org</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEB SITES</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>40. Other publications
of interest</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>From: FAO’s NWFP Programme</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Blom, A., van Zalinge, R., Heitkönig,
I.M.A., and Prins, H.H.T.</b> 2005. Factors influencing the distribution
of large mammals within a protected central African forest. <i>Oryx</i>
39(4):381-388.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Blundell, A.G. and Mascia, M.B.</b> 2005.
Discrepancies in reported levels of international wildlife trade. <i>Conserv.
Biol.</i> 19(6):2020-2025.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Jones, Eric T. et al.</b> 2005. <i>The
Relationship between Nontimber Forest Product Management and Biodiversity
in the United States<b>.</i></b> Submitted to the National Commission on
Science for Sustainable Forestry. 61 p. </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.ifcae.org/publications/downloads/US_NTFP&Biodiversity_IFCAE2004_Revised2005.pdf</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b> </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Larsen, H.O., Smith, P.D., and Olsen,
C.S. </b>2005. Nepal's conservation policy options for commercial medicinal
plant harvesting: stakeholder views. <i>Oryx</i> 39(4):435-441.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Oudhia, Pankaj</b>. n.d. <i>Traditional
Medicinal Knowledge about Herbs used in Treatment of Cancer in Chhattisgarh,
India. I. Herbs for Cancerous Wounds. </i></font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://botanical.com/site/column_poudhia/publish/journal.cgi?folder=journal&next=11324</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Paudel, S.K.; and Chowdhary, C.L.</b>
2005. Managing rattan as a common property: a case study of community rattan
management in Nepal. <i>Journal of Bamboo and Rattan</i> (Netherlands),
v. 4(1) p. 81-91. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Out of 600 rattan species in the world, only
seven species occur in Nepal, but these play a significant role in the
income generation of communities. However, the rattan resource base has
been severely depleted due to overexploitation, immature harvesting and
habitat destruction. A case study of community rattan management in Kailali
district, located in the Terai (lowland) area of Nepal's Far Western Development
Region, is presented. The income of the community has been increased up
to 30 times after initiation of a proper management regime for the natural
rattan (<i>Calamus tenuis</i>) forest. Since 1996, the community forest
user group has earned about US$ 40 000 each year from the rattan sale and
a number of community development activities has been carried out with
the funds generated. This case study demonstrates how rattan management
can generate positive changes for the local economy, natural resources
and social capital.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Ros-Tonen, M.A.F.; and Wiersum, K.F.</b>
2005. The scope for improving rural livelihoods through non-timber forest
products: an evolving research agenda. <i>Forests, Trees and Livelihoods
</i>(UK), v. 15(2).</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The previously alleged commercialization-conservation-development
links involving non-timber forest products (NTFP) need reconsideration.
NTFPs can play an important role in rural livelihood strategies and can
contribute to sustained forested landscapes in various tropical areas,
but there is no simple answer to how important NTFPs are in rural livelihoods.
A diversified research approach towards forest and NTFP use is described.
In this approach, more attention is being paid to NTFP sources other than
natural forests and to the broader socio-economic and spatial context in
which forest use occurs. The new "resource in context" approach
combines insights into community-level creativity and livelihood dynamics
with those of macro-economic and spatial processes, which provides a more
realistic assessment of the development and conservation potential of NTFPs.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Singh, K. P.; Kushwaha, C. P.</b> 2005<b>.
</b>Paradox of leaf phenology: <i>Shorea robusta</i> is a semi-evergreen
species in tropical dry deciduous forests in India<b><i>.</i></b> <i>Current
Science</i> 88(11) 5 p. </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/jun102005/1820.pdf</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b> </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Sinha, A., and Brault, S.</b> 2005. Assessing
sustainability of nontimber forest product extractions: how fire affects
sustainability. <i>Biodivers. Conserv.</i> 14(14):3537-3563.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Taylor, David. A. </b>2006. <i>Ginseng,
The Divine Root</i>. <i>The Curious History of the Plant That Captivated
the World. </i>Algonquin Books, </font>
<br><font size=2 color=#2f2f2f face="Arial">In the tradition of <i>Nathaniel’s
Nutmeg</i> and <i>Tulipomania</i> comes the epic story of an ancient, elusive
herb with legendary curative powers that have enticed and mystified us
for centuries.</font>
<br><font size=2 color=#2f2f2f face="Arial">
Prized for centuries by Chinese emperors, Native American
healers, and black market smugglers, ginseng launched the rise to power
of China’s last great and influential dynasty; inspired battles between
France and England; precipitated America’s first trade with China; fostered
the study of comparative anthropology; was collected and traded by Daniel
Boone; and has made and broken the fortunes of many. Today its healing
properties are being studied for the treatment of diabetes, cancer, and
Parkinson’s disease.</font>
<br><font size=2 color=#2f2f2f face="Arial">
David Taylor takes readers from forests east of the Mississippi
to the bustling streets of Hong Kong and deep into remote corners of China
as he weaves together the history, culture, and intrigue surrounding the
“Root of Life.” </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The book traces the market links from mountain communities to consumer
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">markets and should interest professionals
working with NWFPs.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Veddeler, D., Schulze, C.H., Steffan-Dewenter,
I., Buchori, D., and Tscharntke, T.</b> 2005. The contribution of tropical
secondary forest fragments to the conservation of fruit-feeding butterflies:
effects of isolation and age. <i>Biodivers. Conserv.</i> 14(14):3577-3592.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Zhu, H., Shi, J.P., and Zhao, C.J.</b>
2005. Species composition, physiognomy and plant diversity of the tropical
montane evergreen broad-leaved forest in southern Yunnan. <i>Biodivers.
Conserv.</i> 14(12):2855-2870.</font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>41. Web sites and
e-zines</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>From: FAO’s NWFP Programme</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><u>Forest Protection in South Finland</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Forests in southern Finland (South of Lapland)
are extensively used. They are popular for recreation and contain a large
part of the country’s forest biodiversity. They are also so intensively
cut for industrial use that the current wave of species extinctions is
not even slowing down. Forest conservation measures in southern Finland
are now extremely important.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
This website is about forest conservation, especially in South Finland.
Here you can get acquainted with some of the most important unprotected
forests and appeal for their future. You can also follow the progress of
the Finnish National Forest Conservation Initiative for Southern Finland
(METSO) from an ecological perspective. </font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.etelasuomenmetsat.fi/english/00_johdanto.shtml</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><u>WildFinder </u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">WildFinder is a map-driven, searchable database
of more than 26,000 species worldwide, with a powerful search tool that
allows users to discover where species live or explore wild places to find
out what species live there. Containing information on birds, mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians, WildFinder is a valuable resource for scientists,
students, educators, travellers, birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts alike.
</font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.worldwildlife.org/wildfinder/</u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><u>Xpeditions (National Geographic) </u></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Maps for printing and copying</font>
<br><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>MISCELLANEOUS</b></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>42. Armenia: forests
to be destroyed in 20 years with today's deforestation rates</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Noyan Tapan, 27.2.2006 (in CENN-
March 16, 2006 Weekly Digest)</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Courier New"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Today forests make up only 8-9% of the territory
of Armenia. Though the maximum volumes of deforestation were registered
during the energy crisis years of 1992-94, illegal deforestation continues
with large volumes today. During a discussion dedicated to the methods
and strategy of the lobbying activity in the sphere of nature protection,
which took place on 27 February, Nazeli Vardanian, Director of the "Forests
of Armenia" NGO mentioned that according to specialists' observations,
if deforestation continues at today's volumes, the republic’s forests
would be fully destroyed within years. </font>
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As outlined in the NGO’s brochure "Lobbying Activity and Protection
of the Environment", the trees cut down in the 1990s were used for
heating purpose, while in recent years they are being cut for profit. </font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>43. Chopsticks: China
introduces chopsticks tax</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: BBC Newsroom, 22 March 2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b> </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The Chinese government is introducing a 5%
tax on disposable wooden chopsticks in a bid to preserve its forests. It
produces about 45 billion pairs of chopsticks a year, consuming millions
of birch, poplar and bamboo trees. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The move came as China said it would raise some consumption taxes next
month in a bid to help the environment and narrow the gap between rich
and poor. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
</b>The disposable splints of wood, usually between eight and 10 inches
long, have long been a target for Chinese environmentalists. School children
have written to the Chinese prime minister asking for a ban on disposable
wooden chopsticks, while students have persuaded some college cafeterias
to replace them with spoons. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
In recent years, the government has actually encouraged their use, in a
bid to reduce the spread of infectious illnesses by sharing eating utensils.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Shanghai consumers gave a mixed response to the new tax. "I think
the shop owner should pay for it," one person told the BBC. "It's
no use, people will still buy disposable chopsticks," was the view
of another citizen who doubted if the tax would help protect the environment.
But others were in favour: "It has some good impact. It will make
people buy less disposable products and buy more durable ones." </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4831734.stm</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>44. China: 20% forest
cover promised</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source:</b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>
</b></font><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>China Daily, 28.2.06 </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b> </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">A fifth of China's land area will have forest
cover by 2010, the State Forestry Administration vowed yesterday. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Over the past five years, the percentage of China's land area covered by
forests has risen from 16.6 percent to 18.2 percent, Jia Zhibang, chief
of the forestry agency, told a press conference held by the State Council
Information Office yesterday in Beijing. "By 2010, the country will
strive to raise the rate to 20 percent." </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Jia also revealed that for the first time since 1949, China is seeing a
reversal of land area being degraded into deserts. Desertification had
expanded by 3,436 square kilometres a year by the late 1990s. Since 2001,
however, such sandy land has shrunk by 1,283 square kilometres annually,
according to Jia. "It's the first time since the founding of the People's
Republic of China that we brought about a reversal," he said. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
He attributed the success partly to a national compulsory tree-planting
campaign which started in 1982. Since 2001, China has planted more than
12 billion trees, or nearly 10 trees for each person, according to Jia.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
In addition to tree planting, the country will continue a logging ban in
the natural forest along most of the Yangtze and Yellow River reaches,
while converting more farmlands to forests and grasslands.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-02/28/content_524558.htm</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>45. Costa Rica: Rain
forests see spate of wildlife deaths </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>From: Patricia S. De Angelis, USA, </b></font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><b><u>Patricia_DeAngelis@fws.gov</u></b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source: Hillary Rosner, The New York Times,
March 8, 2006 </b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Toucans fighting over bananas? Animals
breaking into kitchens to steal food? Atypical weather patterns (excessive
rain and cold) are believed to be the cause of the massive starvation and
death of animals along the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Scientists estimate that half the spider monkey population in Corcovado
National Park may have died during the last few months of 2005. Corcovado
is home to the CITES Appendix-I spider monkey, <i>Ateleas geoffroyi</i>
ssp. panamensis. </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
According to a wildlife conservation expert at National University in San
José, "It's proof that sometimes we can establish a national
park and say, 'We're taking care of animals here,' but the situation is
out of the control of humans."</font><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">Full story:</font><font size=2 face="Arial">
</font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/08/healthscience/snrain.php</u></font>
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<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>46. Vietnam: Slow
but promising recovery for nation's forest cover</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"><b>Source:<i> </i>VietNamNet Bridge, 24 February
2006</b></font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">The total area nationwide covered by forests
has risen to 12.3mil ha, or 37.8% of total land area, from 36.7% in 2004.
Forests classified as rich and fully rehabilitated rose to 4.6% in 2004
from 3.4% in 2000, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MARD). Vietnam has set a target of 43% forest cover by 2010.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
However, the MARD said that the quality of the forests has been deteriorating
and natural-growth pockets have become isolated. More than two thirds of
the country's forests were poor or still in the process of rehabilitation.
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The MARD said the Law on Forest Protection and Development, which came
into effect last April, has helped slow deforestation.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Last year, the government gave VND12bil (US$750,000) to mountainous provinces
for the planting of forests, trees for timber, and trees for paper materials.
As a result some 1.7mil cubic metres of timber were produced last year,
a slight increase compared with 2004.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
However, large areas of land that could be used for lucrative crops such
as cassava, cashew nuts and rubber were still being denuded of trees in
the southern provinces of Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau and Ben Tre, the
ministry's Forest Department said.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Illegal timber logging is also continuing, with several hundred hectares
of trees having been chopped down in the Central Highlands. Last year a
total of 36,376 violations of forest-protection regulations were reported,
mostly involving illegal logging and the trafficking of timber and wild
animals.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
The prolonged drought last year resulted in 1,148 forest fires that destroyed
5,765ha of forests and 1,500ha of natural forest, representing an 80% rise
over 2004. Most of the fires, which occurred in the provinces of Kon Tum,
Dien Bien, Long An, Kien Giang and Lam Dong, were caused by slash-and-burn
agriculture and bush-burning to collect honey bees.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Forestry Department head Nguyen Ngoc Binh has proposed that the Government
issue more policies offering incentives to encourage reforestation and
investment in infrastructure. The State should also speed up forest-land
allocation to local people, especially poor ethnic minority people.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Director of the MARD's Forestry Project Management Board, Luong Van Tien,
said a $35.1mil forest development project will be launched in five Central
Highlands and southern provinces. The project aims at protecting and developing
forests with a rich biodiversity and help reduce poverty for ethnic people
living in the Central Highlands provinces of Kon Tum, Dac Nong and Lam
Dong, and the southern provinces of Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">
Vietnam has 1.92mil ha of special-use forests, 5.92mil ha of protected
forests and 4.47mil ha of production forests.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="Arial">For full story, please see: </font><font size=2 color=blue face="Arial"><u>http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2006/02/544592/</u></font>
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