SPECIAL FEATURE
Living in and from central African forests: a preview
Eva Muller
This book leads us deep into the heart of the rain forests and Sahelian zones of Central Africa, which constitute a precious ecosystem vital to the daily life of its inhabitants and make up one of our planet’s three main tropical wooded zones.
Ten countries (Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe) are home to these forest and savannah zones so rich in major natural resources. They share a long history linked to colonization, followed by experience of a variety of aid and cooperation initiatives since independence, and are now moving steadily toward economic and monetary integration. + READ MORE
INTERVIEW: Terry Sunderland on the links between dietary diversity and tree cover
 "In the late 1980s, NWFPs were hailed as “silver bullets” and there was a lot of enthusiasm among scientists and researchers that they were going to underpin rural development. I think there is a much more nuanced and realistic argument now which focusses on the contributions of NWFPs to food and nutritional security. This argument is based on evidence gathered in recent years which is very difficult to refute, and it has, not surprisingly, resonated both within the forestry community and beyond, so much so that nutritionists are beginning to look more seriously at forests and NWFPs."
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INTERVIEW: Florence Tonnoir on the nutritional benefits of NWFPs
“Although it is commonly acknowledged that there is no “superfood” and that good eating habits involve food variety to ensure an appropriate balance between nutrients, some NWFPs, generally unknown by most urban people, can contain huge quantities of interesting nutrients. Some fruits, leaves, nuts, for example, can contain higher micro-nutrient quantities than currently consumed products. Forest people have local foods available and it is time to valorize them in proportion to their merit. Facilitating local production diversification of nutrient-dense crops is one of the key recommendations for improving nutrition.” + READ MORE
EXCERPTS FROM THE REPORT
Introduction
Ousseynou Ndoye
The forests of the Congo Basin are our planet’s second-largest tropical forest zone and constitute one of its richest areas in terms of biodiversity. The region is home to 130 million people, most of whom depend directly on forest resources, particularly NWFPs. Some of these products, such as game, fruit, seeds, roots, insects and fungi, are used as a source of food, contributing both to food security and a balanced diet for inhabitants, while others are used for building materials or medicines, or provide support to ancient customs and traditions. Their trade on local and international markets plays a considerable role in generating income for all those involved in the various value chains, not only those who gather them, but also those who process, transport, export or sell them. + READ MORE
Chapter 2: NWFPs in central Africa: history, importance and issues
Ousseynou Ndoye, Juliane Masuch, Armand Asseng Ze, Aloys Nnama
Forests are for the most part seen simply in terms of the number of exploitable timber species they contain and their economic potential as “green gold”: the number of logs to be extracted, the species to be replanted and the management and development approach to be adopted. However, detailed analysis shows that forests also provide other products such as food (staples, spices and flavourings), plants for traditional medicines, oils, clothing (of bark, leaves, feathers or pelts), game and edible insects. These products were long labelled “secondary” or “non-wood” forest products to indicate their lesser importance (Loubelo, 2012). Over the years, however, various specialists have noted the central role of NWFPs in improving the livelihoods of local inhabitants (Ndoye and Ruiz-Pérez, 1999; Belcher and Schreckenberg, 2007). According to some authors such as Peters (1989) and Hall and Bawa (1993), the long-term value of NWFPs could surpass the short-term gains obtained from converting forests to timber harvesting, agriculture and plantations. + READ MORE
Chapter 9: Management and conservation of NWFP resources
Terry Sunderland, Ousseynou Ndoye
In the late 1980s, NWFPs were presented as a possible alternative to deforestation and other activities that convert forest land, such as timber extraction, agriculture or plantations (Falconer, 1990; Plotkin and Famolare, 1992). Since some NWFPs have a considerable market value, the premise was that the long-term gains derived from the sustainable harvesting of these products could exceed the short-term benefits from the conversion of forests or individual trees to other uses (Peters et al., 1989; Godoy and Bawa, 1993).
This concept is interesting from the point of view of biodiversity conservation and improvement in the living conditions of local inhabitants. These people, who live in harmony with their environment and exploit forests to satisfy their essential needs, actively protect them and use “nature’s subsidies” sustainably (Hecht et al., 1988). The concept of “rain forest harvest” (Prance, 1992) is firmly anchored in the extractive culture of Latin America. + READ MORE
Chapter 11: Coexistence of forests and agriculture: repercussions for the availability of NWFPs
William A. Mala
Agriculture and forest management have often been presented as conflicting activities (ASB, 2000) and the conflict has become sharper over the past 20 years with the focus turned on the deforestation and degradation of tropical forests. Shifting or slash-and-burn agriculture (referred to as forest agriculture in the remainder of this chapter) is cited as one of the main causes of such destruction (Palm et al., 2005; ASB, 2000). This divide is seen in a spatial, administrative and conceptual separation of areas spoken of as “agricultural” and forest areas as distinct management and research units (ASB, 2000; Garrity and Bandy, 1995; Zhang and PiKun, 1995; Van Noordwijk et al., 2001; Palm et al., 2005). Based on this biocentric, expert approach, which stresses issues connected with biodiversity conservation at the expense of the development of forest peoples, many political, institutional and technological initiatives are seeking to reverse the trend to deforestation by forest agriculture. They have been launched under various banners, one of the best-known being the research programme Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn (ASB). + READ MORE
Chapter 15: Contribution of participatory domestication to NWFP cultivation: the case of smallholder groups in Cameroon's rain forest and savannah zones
Alain Tsobeng, Zacharie Tchoundjeu, Ann Degrande, Ebenezar Asaah, Bertin Takoutsing, Thaddee Sado (World Agroforestry Centre, ICRAF)
 The Congo Basin contains the world’s second largest closed rain forest after Amazonia, accounting for 12 percent of all tropical forest cover (CARPE, 2001). Added to this amazing extension is an exceptional biological diversity (Tchatat and Ndoye, 2006), with 31 recorded bird species, 35 mammal species and 3 000 plant species. The region therefore has many advantages for the development of agriculture, despite the persistence of pockets of poverty. + READ MORE
PRODUCT WATCH
"Eru","Okok","Fumbwa" (Gnetum spp.)
Commonly referred to as "eru" or "okok" in Cameroon and "fumbwa" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gnetum spp., is made up of two species of climbing plants (Gnetum africanum and Gnetum bucholzianum) that are found across central and west Africa in secondary and primary forests as well as fallow land. Its leaves are eaten and also used for medicinal purposes. They are known for their rich protein and mineral content and year-round abundance. For this reason, they are very important for food and nutritional security in rural and urban households. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 200 tonnes are harvested each year in the provinces of Mbandaka, Équateur and Bandundu, and over 4 000 tonnes are harvested between the central, south-west and coastal regions in Cameroon, with some 500 tonnes exported to Europe. The annual market is estimated at €13.8 million in Cameroon and €1.2 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Interestingly, women dominate harvest activities in Cameroon, carrying out nearly 80 percent of activities, while in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the reverse is true, with men covering an estimated 60 percent of activities.
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LITERATURE
Awono, A., Eba’a Atyi, R. Foundjem-Tita, D., Levang, P. 2016. Vegetal non-timber forest products in Cameroon, contribution to the national economy. International Forestry Review. Vol. 18: 1, pp. 66–77(12).
Brose, M.E. 2016. Why a State with a forest-based bioeconomy as Acre does not produce palm heart? Desenvolvimento e meio Ambiente, 36: 149–165.
Chavan, S.B. 2016. Trees for life: creating sustainable livelihoods in Bundelkhand region of central India. Current Science (Bangalore). Vol. 111: 6, pp. 994–1002.
Fa JE, Olivero J, Farfán MA, Lewis J, Yasuoka H, Noss A, et al. 2016. Differences between Pygmy and Non-Pygmy Hunting in Congo Basin Forests. PLoS ONE 11 (9): e0161703. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161703
Goncalves, A.C., Dias, A.B, Afonso, A. 2016. Mechanical versus manual harvest of Pinus pinea cones. Biosystems Engineering. Vol.143, pp.50–60.
Graham, W. 2016. The application of a prescribed duty of care for non-wood values in forests set aside for resource use on public and private land in Tasmania. Australian Forestry. Vol. 79: 1, pp. 70–73.
Ickowitz A, Rowland D, Powell B, Salim. MA, Sunderland T. 2016 Forests, Trees, and Micronutrient-Rich Food Consumption in Indonesia. PLoS ONE 11(5): e0154139. doi:10.1371/journal.
Islam, M.A., Gangoo, S.A. 2016. Livelihood significance of NTFPs in Jammu and Kashmir. MFP News, 26:3, pp. 10–13.
Ludvig, A., Corradini, G., Asamar-Handler, M., Pettenella, D., Verdejo, V., Martinez, S., Weiss, G. 2016. The Practice of Innovation: The role of institutions in support of NWFPs. BioProducts Business, 1: 6, pp. 77–84.
Mukherjee, D. 2016. Conservation, utilization and indigenous knowledge system of valuable medicinal plants under forest ecosystems. MFP News, 26:3, 5–9.
Rankoana, S.A. 2016. Sustainable use and management of indigenous plant resources: A case of Mantheding community in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Sustainability. 8:3, 221.
Rowland, D., Ickowtiz, A., Powell, B., Nasi, R., Sunderland, T. 2016. Forest foods and healthy diets: quantifying the contributions, Environmental Conservation, pp. 1–13. doi: 10.1017/S0376892916000151.
Salali, G.D., Chaudhary, N., Thompson, J., Grace, O.M., Burgt, M., van der Dyble, M., Page, A.E., Smith,D., Lewis, J., Mace, R., Vinicius, L., Migliano, A.B. 2016. Knowledge-sharing networks in hunter-gatherers and the evolution of cumulative culture. Current Biology, 26 (18): 2516–2521.
Toda, M., Salgado, E.L., Masuda, M. 2016. Assessing medicinal plants as the linkage between healthcare and livelihood and biodiversity: a case study from native villages surrounding a second-tier city in the central-Peruvian Amazon. Tropics, Vol. 25, 2: 53–65.
GENERAL NEWS
Forests foods vital for food and nutritional security in Congo Basin
The contribution of forest foods to food and nutritional security is greatly underestimated, according to a new report on the Congo Basin issued today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Living in and from the forests of Central Africa is based on a decade of work across central Africa and the Congo Basin, which is home to 130 million people, many of whom still depend directly – just as their ancestors did – on non-wood forest products (NWFPs) such as game, fruit, seeds, roots, insects and fungi for nutritious food and overall well-being. + READ MORE
A new global research agenda for food
Around 57 of the 129 countries that have data on undernutrition and obesity are struggling with both. Everywhere, the consumption of vegetables, legumes, fish, nuts, seeds and fruits is much below that recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Meanwhile, people are consuming too much fat, processed meat, salt and sugary drinks. Global food systems are failing to keep us all fed, let alone healthy. How food is grown, distributed, processed, marketed and sold determines which foods are available, affordable and desirable. These factors have a crucial role in the quality of people's diets, and hence play a vital part in health. + READ MORE
Malnutrition in the crosshairs
Responding to the mounting impacts of malnutrition on public health and economic development — estimated to cost $3.5 trillion per year — via a shift to healthier diets and food systems will be the subject of a high-level symposium kicking off here today. The International Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition (1-2 December) looked at country-level challenges and successes to shed light on effective approaches to reshaping food production, processing, marketing and retail systems to better tackle the problem of malnutrition, which blights the lives of billions of individuals and can trap generations in a vicious cycle of poverty and malnutrition. + READ MORE
The smell of Christmas
Researchers at the Institute de Chimie de Nice in France have recently distilled two new “highly potent and substantive odorants” in frankincense, present in fewer than 100 parts per million—the equivalent of a pinch of salt in ten tonnes of crisps. The implications of this discovery are revolutionary for the perfumery world and may even prevent the extinction of the species of tree from which frankincense resin is extracted. + READ MORE
NTFP Carnival highlights non-timber forest products
The five-day Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) ‘Heart of Borneo (HoB)’ Carnival hosted by the state Forest Department aims to bring together local communities within Sarawak’s HoB areas to showcase and sell non-timber goods such as handicrafts, food and health products. The inaugural event, which kicked off at Kuching Waterfront yesterday, is held in accordance with the HoB’s fifth thrust that focuses on community-based and rural poverty eradication. + READ MORE
Five ways agroforestry can grow forest products and benefit your land, your pockets & wildlife
Much of the beauty in American agricultural landscapes is complemented by the trees in those landscapes. We depend on these tree’s products every day – from the paper our children use in school, to many of the fruits we eat, the wood burning in our fireplaces, and the wildlife habitat created by those trees and forests. Forests are vital to our economy, as well. Trees are part of forest ecosystems that play a critical role in our livelihoods, providing environmental, economic and social values. + READ MORE
More news: http://www.fao.org/forestry/nwfp/en/
Articles express the views of their authors, not necessarily those of FAO. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this e-publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the FAO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
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