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Commonwealth
Forests | | |
 Introduction
Non-wood forest products (NWFP) have been defined as goods of biological origin other than
wood, derived from forests, other wooded land and trees outside forests1. There
is a vast
range of non-wood forest products, from plant products used for food and fodder, the raw
material for medicines, dyes and local tools and utensils, through exudates such as gums to
animal products such as honey, bushmeat and even living animals. Non-wood forest products
are increasing in importance in developed Commonwealth economies and have been important
for some time in developing economies.
In developing countries NWFP can make an essential contribution to livelihoods where many
are of great importance the daily needs and employment of the poorest rural people. Most are
traded locally and a few are traded internationally but although the recent Global Forest
Resources Assessment (FAO, 2006) attempted to quantify the removals and value of NWFP
there is in fact reliable information on production or value of very few (Vantomme, 2003). A
study of the marketing of NWFP in the humid forest zone of Cameroon, however, estimated
that the value of the trade was the equivalent of millions of US dollars and that it offered income
opportunities not only for large specialized traders but also for many small traders, most of
whom were women (Ruiz Pérez et al. 1999).
In most tropical countries fodder is locally important in the dry zones while palm leaves, which
are extensively used for thatching, are in even more demand where the tourist trade is
important to provide the roofing for “authentic” huts. Wood is used for carvings and raffia and
other fibres are used to make crafts for the tourist trade.
Considering the Commonwealth countries of Africa, honey and beeswax are important exports
from Tanzania and Zambia, with some 10,000 beekeepers obtaining employment in Zambia
(FAO Non-wood News, 2007). Some species such as the leaves of Gnetum spp and the fruits
of Irvingia gabonensis provide food in the “hungry season” in West Africa, while the nuts of Cola
acuminata are traded locally and nationally. Bushmeat is of great importance in rural diets
in
many East and West African countries, where it provides a low-cost and high-return
supplement to farming; the poor may benefit in particular but less from their own consumption
and more from market sales (Brown and Williams, 2003). Shea Butter (derived from the
savannah tree Vitellaria paradoxa) is used both internally and exported from West African
countries such as Ghana and Nigeria.
Cinnamomum camphora is grown in plantations in India and Sri Lanka, and essential oils e.g.
Citronella sp. and gums such as Gum Tragacanth (Sterculia sp.) are harvested in India.
Sandalwood (Santalum album and other Santalum species) is a root parasite from which a
valuable essential oil is distilled; it grows in India (as well as Australia, Fiji, Kenya, Tanzania
and Vanuatu) but its high price in recent years has caused over-exploitation and supplies are
threatened so Australia has established sandalwood plantations – with some Indian
companies investing there (FAO Non-wood News, 2007). In both India and Bangladesh NWFP
(including sandalwood oil) are used in Ayurvedic medicine, widely used by much of the
population.
But in fact the most valuable non-wood forest product of all is from the temperate zone and a
developed economy - maple syrup, from Canada. In 2004, 26.9 M litres of syrup were
produced, with a gross value of $Can151.9 M and 23.6 M litres were exported (Canadian
Forest Service, 2006). In Scotland a survey found that for many people the collection of
NWFP was important for personal satisfaction rather than commercial reasons; over 200
products re collected from 97 vascular plants and 76 fungi and non-vascular species, with
edible uses the most popular (Emeryet al., 2006). In developed economies decorative foliage
and Christmas trees have large markets.
1 This is the working definition adopted by FAO in 1999. The evolution of the
definition is described
in Towards a harmonized definition of non-wood forest products. Unasylva 198: 63-64
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