NEPAL

INTRODUCTION

Main non-wood forest products

The most important NWFP of Nepal are medicinal and aromatic plants, lokta paper, resin and turpentine. Other important NWFP include sal seed, katha and cutch, sabai grass, bamboo and cane.

General information

In Nepal, NWFP are used for subsistence as well as for trade at national and international levels. Edwards (1996) has summarized a list of 39 of the most important NWFP at national and international levels. These NWFP contribute 4 percent of the total contribution of forestry to the national economy. In Nepal, jaributi refers to a group of NWFP collected from the wild in the mountains and traded in India as raw materials for industries related to pharmaceuticals, food, beverages or perfumes. The trade volume is enormous but for the most part remains invisible (Sharma 1995).

Table 1. Sale of NWFP

*only 41 districts

Source: Department of Forests (2000)

FAO (1982) reports that there are more than 700 different species of medicinal and aromatic products in Nepal. The proceedings of the third South and East Asian Countries NTFP Network Workshop on Community Based Non-timber Forest Products Management reported that about 2 000 plants in Nepal have medicinal properties and 1 463 plants are known to be used locally (Shrestha and Shrestha 1999).

The majority of NWFP fall into two contrasting groups: high value products from high altitudes, and low value products from lower altitudes (below 2 000 m). Most NWFP collection in Nepal occurs at high altitudes and in remote Himalayan regions. The primary collectors are women and children near villages and men in remote areas. In general NWFP are collected from forest land. Much of the harvesting takes place between August and September through December. The decision to engage in the collection of NWFP depends on product value, distance and access to collection area, abundance of plants in that area, alternative employment opportunities and the relative wealth of the household. Typically, it is the poorest household that engages in commercial collection of NWFP (Olsen 1998). Income from the collection of medicinal and aromatic plants for rural households varies from 0 to 50 percent of annual household earnings.

Table 2. The volume and value of high- and low-value NWFP traded from 1991 to 1992 (at 1993/1994 prices)

*US$1.00 =NR74

Source: Edwards (1996)

Table 3. Quantities of major NWFP at the market (1995 to 1999)

Source: New Era (2001)

Table 4. NWFP exported to India from 1999 to 2000 in NRs

Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (2000)

Table 5. Collectors’/producers’ price trends of certain NWFP, from 1995 to 1999 (NRs/kg)

Source: New Era (2001)

Various reasons (e.g. illicit collection) have caused a decrease in the NWFP resources of Nepal (Amatya 1995). Recently HPPCL (Herbal Products Processing Company Limited), a governmental organization, and Dabur Nepal initiated the cultivation of some important NWFP. According to Bhattarai and Maharjan (2000), HPPCL has introduced farming, processing and sustainable collection practices for NWFP on its own farms, private land and community forests involving local communities.

Table 6. Sales rates for some NWFP traded by HPPCL from December 2000

Source: HPPCL (2000)

No documentation is available on honey and beeswax, which are faunal-derived NWFP in Nepal. In Nepal fodder is not regarded as a minor forest product, being one of the main products of the forests, and therefore it is not included in descriptions and analyses of NWFP (Khatri 1994).

PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS

Food

Aside from being a major source of building timber, sal (Shorea robusta) is a prolific producer of seeds. Sal seed has a high oil content and the oil extracted from it has many industrial and household uses. Sal fat has been used as a partial substitute for cocoa butter in Japan, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Large quantities of sal fat, either crude, neutralized or dry-fractioned, have been exported to the United Kingdom, Japan and some other countries since 1970. Studies documenting export quantities and their values have not been carried out (Khatri 1994).

Katha is an extract derived from the heartwood of khair (Acacia catechu) by boiling. It is a clay-coloured crystalline substance used in the preparation of pan, a chewing material popular in Asia and East Africa. Cutch, a by-product of katha production, is a black reddish gum resin which is used in tanning, dyeing and as a lubricant in oil-well drilling. It is also a traditional component for making medicines (Khatri 1994). Almost all katha and cutch is exported to India (best quality katha at US$15/kg, kutch at US$0.80/kg) (Coppen [1994] in Edwards [1996]).

Some important edible fruits are Aesandra butyracea, Choerospondias axillaris, Syzygium cumini, Terminalia chebula, T. bellerica, Zizyphus incurva and Morus alba. Edible seeds and nuts include Castanopsis hystrix, C. indica, C. tribuliodes and Juglans regia.

Medicines

Medicinal plants play an important role in satisfying the health needs of the population because access to modern health facilities in the country is limited. Trade of medicinal plants provides crucial income to rural collectors. A small portion of the plants collected is used locally and about 90 percent is sold as crude herbs, mainly for export (Khatri 1994).

Usually, medicinal plants are harvested from common property resources. Some valuable medicinal plant species are facing the threat of extinction due to indiscriminate collection for swift monetary gains (Rawal 1995). A total ban on collection, use and export has been imposed for Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Juglans regia (bark) and Picrorhiza scrophulariflora (Nepal Gazette 2001). Nine species are banned for export without processing (Nardostachys grandiflora, Rauwolfia serpentina, Cinnamomum glausescens, Valeriana walichii, Parmelia sp., Abies spectabilis, Taxus baccata, Organic exudate and Cordyceps sinensis). Trading, movement and export has been banned on Michelia champaca, Acacia catechue, Shorea robusta, Bombax ceiba, Pterocarpus marsupium, Dalbergia latifolia and Juglans regia (from natural forests).

Table 7. Annual production of selected medicinal plants (tonnes)

Na = not available

Source: Annual Reports, Department of Forests, HMG/Nepal (1998). Data from 1994 to 1996 are not available.

The leaves and small branches of Taxus baccata (lauth salla) produce resin, which can be used as an anticarcinogen. Up to 72 kg of fresh leaves per day can be harvested, equivalent to 36 kg of dried leaves (Paudel and Rosset 1998). According to the Department of Forests the collection of leaves has been increasing (227 tonnes in 1997/1997, 253 tonnes in 1997/1998).

Table 8. Annual collection of Taxus baccata leaves

Source: DNPL (2001)

Information and knowledge on the cultivation, production and export of different medicinal plants varies. Cultivation practices have been developed for some species. Nepal has some processing facilities but these facilities are quite insignificant relative to the volumes traded in India and most of the value added production is performed in India (Sharma 1995).

The production of atis (Delphinium himalayai) was 2 800 tonnes in 1995 (New Era 2001) and the production of ritha (Sapindus mukuorossi) 746.16 tonnes in 1996/1997 and 1 042.57 tonnes in 1997/1998.

Table 9. Seedlings of selected medicinal plant species, from 1999 to 2000

Na = not available

Source: DNPL (Dabur Nepal Private Limited)

Nepalese essential oils have been well received in the regional and European markets. The conventional oils such as palmarosa, citronella, lemon grass and tagetes have a growing demand from foreign customers. The case is similar with certain newly introduced unconventional items such as Rhododendron anthopogon oil. Jatamansi oil (Nardostachys jatamansi) and xanthoxylum (Zanthoxylum armatum) oil require greater efforts for successful export. The future of the essential oil industry looks promising, with foreign firms entering Nepal for the manufacture of soaps and detergents (Rawal 1995). It has been estimated that about 39 300 kg of dried jatamansi were marketed whereas its production potential could be more than 100 000 kg (New Era 2001).

Indian traders have estimated that 90 percent of the jatamansi drug in the Indian market originates from Nepal. The figure for the export of jatamansi oil was about 500 kg of oil during the fiscal year 1994/1995.

Utensils, handicrafts and construction materials

Daphne spp., locally known as lokta, is used as raw material for hand-made paper. It is the basis for an expanding cottage industry with an annual turnover of around NR10 million. The industry provides direct employment for about 1 500 families (Khatri 1994).

Lokta paper is used for many purposes, from legal documentation to record-keeping paper, religious scriptures, file folders, envelopes, greeting cards and calendars. The total domestic consumption as office paper comes to about 7.4 million sheets annually, or about 185 tonnes. Other end-users consume the remaining 115 tonnes. Nepali hand-made paper is consumed in local as well as international markets. From 1981 to 1985, UNICEF purchased about 1.6 million sheets for greeting cards. The value of exports of hand-made paper has varied between NR0.2 million and NR1.2 million between 1982 and 1986 (Khatri 1994).

Table 10. Annual production of lokta paper

Sabai grass (Eulaliopsis binata) is used traditionally in rope making, paper making and thatching. For paper making, sabai is reputed to be superior to most other available grasses. Small paper mills have been operating since 1986. These paper mills have been designed to take sabai grass and straw as raw material. These mills have a combined capacity of about 70 tonnes per day (Khatri 1994). Although the Indian paper industries have been using Nepal's sabai grass for a long time, after the establishment of paper industries in Nepal the Indian industries have been discouraged from purchasing Nepalese sabai. Thus there is now no significant export of sabai grass (Khatri 1994).

Bamboo is economically important both for rural and urban people as a construction material. Karki and Karki (1997) have listed 15 types of major bamboo species and their traditional uses. The largest bamboo in Nepal is in the genera Bambusa and Dendrocalamus. The smaller bamboo falls in the genera Arundinaria and Thamnocalamus.

Bamboo and cane are used extensively by the Nepalese for fodder, to make traditional baskets, mats and furniture, and for building in rural areas. The habitats of commercially exploitable bamboo and cane have been reduced to the brink of disappearance (Kathri 1994). At present there is no significant export of bamboo from Nepal.

Recent studies by Amatya (1997) and Amatya et al. (1998) showed that three types of rattan (Calamus tenuis, Calamus leptospadix and Calamus acanthospathus) are found in Nepal. Among them Calamus tenuis is used most widely and economically it is the most important. Rattan is used mainly in furniture. There are a few cottage industries that utilize rattan. The monthly turnover of these industries ranges from US$35 to US$107.

Other important fibres used in paper and rope making include Girardinia diversifolia, Edgeworthia gardeneri, E. papyrifera and Agave sp.

Exudates

Resin is tapped from pine trees and has great economic significance. It provides raw materials for domestic use and for the rosin and turpentine industries in Nepal. Oleoresin gums are obtained from the native chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) and blue pine (Pinus wallichina). Only chir pine can be tapped economically, yielding about 3 to 5 kg annually per tree. The estimated potential of pine resin in Nepal is about 21 700 tonnes per year (Khatri 1994).

Local production of rosin and its derivatives has provided much needed income to collectors in rural areas, and has reduced the need to import rosin and turpentine (Khatri 1994). Some rosin is exported to India.

Table 11. Annual production of rosin and turpentine

Source: Nepal Rosin and Turpentine Company Limited (2001)

Recently, forest user groups in community forestry have been collecting resins. The figure from Dhankuta District of east Nepal shows that production has been increasing in recent years.

Table 12. Production of resin

Source: Dev and Sizeland (2000)