Although there are hundreds of non-wood forest products available for utilization, mostly by rural communities, in Swaziland no information is documented on their statistics. Furthermore, Swaziland was not able to submit a report on non-wood forest products for the FAO seminar on Forestry Statistics in Africa which was held in Malawi in 1989.
In Swaziland, the most important categories, under plant and plant products, are:
· edible fruits and leaves;
· fodder;
· shade and ornamentals;
· medicinal;
· traditional and cultural.
and under animals and animal products are:
· live animals and bush meat;
· insects;
· bees wax;
· other animal wax.
A detailed description and classification of the above is given in table attached to this report.
Swaziland derives considerable income from agriculture (mainly sugar cane plantations) and the commercial forestry sector which specializes mainly on exotic tree species like Eucalyptus and Pinus species, as well as wattle (Acacia mearnisii).
It is however advisable to expand this enterprise by venturing into indigenous tree/plant species, more especially to exploit their potential to supply non-wood forest products.
The National Forest Research Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (1993-2003) has, amongst its five research programmes, a programme for the utilization of wood and non-wood products. This programme has a further has five sub-programmes of which only four address the issue of non-wood forest products.
Development: To reduce the pressure on grazing land by using trees as an alternative source of fodder for livestock.
Immediate objective: To supplement the diet of livestock with forage, more especially, in winter to improve their productivity and for purposes of their survival.
Beneficiaries: Less import of beef and substantial savings for government due to increased animal production in winter.
This sub-programme has been revised into including the use of the Marula fruits as human food i.e. for making jam, jelly, fresh juice and cider as well as using the nut as an essential edible oil for domestic purposes:
Objectives: To determine the value of the Marula fruit and nut for human consumption and as a source of livestock feed.
Development objectives: To provide a scientific basis for the alleged medicinal properties of trees/plants in Swaziland.
Immediate objective: To conduct a survey of those tree/plant species having medicinal properties with the view to protect, conserve and propagate them.
Development objectives: To establish bee-keeping as an income generating undertaking for rural communities. To promote crop production through pollination by bees.
Immediate objectives: To identify and encourage the growth of bee forage plants in community based forests.
1. To boost the production of tannin from the wattle bark in the country, a national project called the Wattle Jungle Management and Rehabilitation Project was started in 1995. This project was sponsored by the Swaziland Government. The main objective of this exercise is to ensure that wattle stands are properly managed and wattle jungles are rehabilitated to enhance wattle bark production in all areas, i.e. Government farms, privately owned farms and communal lands in rural areas.
2. To ensure a consistent collection of seed of indigenous tree species of socio-economic importance to the Swazi Nation i.e. for edible leaves, fruits, seeds, nuts, bulbs, roots and so on, a National Tree Seed Centre was established in 1997 under the auspices of the SADC Tree Seed Centre Network. This centre collects seed for exchange with other SADC member states and for supply to local communities.
3. To boost the capacity of the small forestry section of the Ministry of Agriculture, under the training aspect of The National Forestry Plan. The first ever forestry researcher has been trained at Msc.level in Forestry Biometrics and Tree Breeding. (He recently graduated from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa in December, 1998).
4. Subsequent to the above, the first ever National Forestry Research Centre is currently being established (i.e. in the 1999/2000 financial year, beginning in April, 1999). The new forestry researcher has been assigned to facilitate the establishment of this centre and his duties include the following:
(a) developing and managing a national forestry research programme;
(b) coordinating all forestry research matters in the public sector and between the public and private forest sector and other institutions such as the university and international research institutions;
(c) establish and manage silviculture research
(d) develop and manage a computer and statistical analysis system for the forestry research unit;
(e) to conduct comprehensive yearly surveys for national forestry statistics on wood and non-wood forest products.
5. To consolidate the on-going activities under the National Forestry Research Plan a project on forest policy has been established (in 1998). This is called the National Forest Policy and Legislation Review Project, which has been made possible through a grant from the Government of Denmark. The main objective of this exercise is to review and update the old fragmented National Forestry Policy and Legislation aimed at promoting sustainable management and utilization of wood and non-wood forest products in the country.
According to Cunningham (1993;6) the ratio of traditional healers to total population is 1:110, and that of medical doctors to total population is 1:10:100. This clearly indicates that the majority of Swazis believe more in indigenous medicinal plants than modern medical clinics for their health. This may be partly due to poverty and lack of money to pay for medical bills or due to adherence to the Swaziland tradition and culture. Medicinal species of great commercial potential include: Warburgia salutaris, Siphonochilus aethiopicus and the Alepidea species (A amatymbica, A gracilis and A setifera) Cunningham (1993:7).
Information on the medicinal plants of great commercial value will be available before the end of the year from a study currently carried out by The University of Swaziland (faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry) and The National Herbarium Unit of the Forestry Section in The Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with The Traditional Healers Association of Swaziland. This study is reprioritizing the medicinal plants in order of commercial potential, the rate at which the plants are harvested and utilized, their exportation to other countries, the possibilities of preservation and suitable utilization and management.
It is worth mentioning that currently there is a plant being harvested at an overwhelming rate and utilized by local people and further smuggled into South Africa, called "The African Potato" whose specimen has been sent to Pretoria, in South Africa, for identification (botanical classification). This plant is associated with the treatment of HIV/AIDS, which is a serious epidemic in the country..
The Swaziland National Trust Commission in collaboration with The Swaziland Genetic Resources Centre at The Malkerns Research Station has declared some of the areas where this species grow as highly protected.
Ornamentals from both indigenous and exotic plant species are produced on a commercial basis by privately owned nurseries countrywide. While the same is also produced by The Forestry Section of The Ministry of Agriculture as a means to conserve them through mass propagation in government forest nurseries. The species available are documented but the quantities sold by these different outlets is still to be monitored and documented by The Forestry Research Unit.
The ornamental plants are purchased by tourists and visitors from other countries and to a greater extent by local people for landscaping and gardens as well as indoor decorations. The movement of these plants in and out of the country is controlled by The Swaziland National Trust Commission which is a semi-autonomous body looking at conservation of the National flora and fauna. Some of the nurseries dealing with ornamentals are listed as contributors of information to this report.
In all the five physiographic zones of Swaziland there are indigenous plants that are primarily used for domestic consumption. Some are used as relish, fruits, and so on. The leaves of Grewia caffra, Grewi flavescens and Grewia occidentalis are used as relish mainly in Spring and Summer (Dlamini, 1981) while their fruits are consumed in winter and spring when they play a major role in supplying Vitamin C to rural communities.
The top four species of significant socio-economic importance according to The Swaziland National Tree Seed Centre and Dlamini (1998) are:
1. Sclerocarya birrea sub-species caffra
2. Bequaertiodendron megalismontum
3. Syzgium cordatum
4. Xemenia caffra
Falconer (1990) and Sihlongonyane (1999) mentioned other forest and bush foods which are seasonal in nature like: Mushroom, caterpillars and termites which are available mainly in summer.
Currently these plant species occur in natural forests and as trees outside forests. No inventory on their distribution and quantity has been carried out and documented. What is known is that their fruits are picked by children and women, when they are in season, for sale on road sides as a means to generate cash income. In the case of Sclerocarya birrea traditional liquor is produced from the ripe fruit, by mainly women, and this is sold in rural areas, small towns as well as big towns and is a very famous brew. The nut on the other hand is dried and oil is extracted for domestic consumption (Dlamini,1998). The quantities harvested are not documented yet.
The National Forestry Research Centre has drafted a Domestication and Breeding Programme for the Top Four edible species starting in November, 1999. Rangewide seed collections followed by seed sorting, cleaning and proper storage will be carried out. Germination pretreatments and germination will be done and seedling management before planting out in different sites will be done and then orchards will be established and research will take its course.
