BAMBOO AND RATTAN STATISTICS

Expert consultation on developing an action programme towards improved bamboo and rattan trade statistics

FAO and the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) organized an expert consultation at FAO headquarters in Rome from 4 to 6 December 2002. The aim of this expert consultation was to improve the visibility of bamboo and rattan products in international trade statistics by proposing a set of new and/or improved Harmonized System codes dealing with bamboo and rattan products. This initiative is intended to act as a test case from which we wish to draw lessons for developing better trade statistics for other NWFPs.

Several hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend on bamboo and rattan for their livelihoods. According to INBAR, annual world trade in bamboo and rattan is currently estimated at US$14 billion.

However, the huge economic and social importance of the bamboo and rattan sectors, be it at the national or the global level, is based on estimations and compilations of scattered, often unreliable data or on data that are not even comparable among countries. Indeed, bamboo and rattan are used for a wide variety of products for construction, furniture, papermaking, musical instruments, toys or food markets and at various processing levels. For the vast majority of these uses, no adequate product classification and/or trade codes (Harmonized System) exist. Even when data on production and trade are recorded in national accounting systems and/or in international trade statistics, the majority of bamboo and rattan uses is often grouped together with other products or included in the category "any others".

The Common Fund for Commodities has recently added bamboo and rattan to the list of commodities, with the request that reliable statistics on production and trade be compiled. A critical assessment of the present situation and full economic value of bamboo and rattan products would provide resource managers, decision-makers and investors with the essential baseline information for future investment scenarios; and be a basis for the elaboration of adequate policies and mechanisms to guarantee the sustainable and equitable development of the bamboo and rattan sectors.

This joint INBAR/FAO consultation provided a neutral forum for the representatives of key stakeholders in the bamboo and rattan sector and experts in the field of statistical data gathering on production and trade to meet to discuss and propose a set of Harmonized System trade codes for bamboo and rattan products and a plan of action to guide their implementation at the national and international levels for more reliable and transparent production and trade statistics. The meeting and the subsequent process it set in motion will foster further collaboration among key agencies and facilitate the identification of their respective mandates, activities and responsibilities regarding data gathering on bamboo and rattan.

The proceedings are being prepared and will shortly be available from the NWFP home page.

For more information, please contact:
Mr Paul Vantomme, Forestry Officer (NWFP), Forest Products Division, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
E-mail:[email protected]
www.fao.org/forestry/FOP/FOPW/NWFP/nwfp-e.stm

FAO/INBAR cooperation on bamboo and rattan statistics

The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) has launched a new interactive and searchable database on international trade of bamboo and rattan at the INBAR home page (www.inbar.int). The database is a direct product of cooperation between INBAR, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the European Forest Institute (EFI). It is based on COMTRADE data of the United Nations Statistical Division, utilizing Harmonized System (HS) commodity identification codes approved by the World Customs Organization (WCO). The new database can be searched for products, years, countries and regions. The table below represents aggregates of the database.

It should be noted that the aggregates in the database both overestimate and underestimate the total trade of bamboo and rattan. Overestimation stems from the fact that the aggregates represented may, besides bamboo and rattan, also imply willow, osier and the other similar materials. On the other hand, the established database essentially underestimates trade volumes because it does not consider many new bamboo and rattan products, which have no specific HS 6-digit codes, such as bamboo pulp, paper, flooring, roofing, panels, boards, composite materials and charcoal. INBAR's recent study in China shows that HS codes identify only one third of China's total international trade in bamboo and rattan.

Considering both types of mistakes, experts evaluate the total bamboo and rattan annual trade to be about US$5 billion to $7 billion. The estimates are comparable with the trade value of such commodities as: banana, US$5 billion; cotton, US$6 billion; wheat, US$13 billion; and tropical timber, US$14 billion. The latter includes US$6 billion trade of secondary processed products with an essential bamboo and rattan component.

FAO has recently been helping INBAR to develop its database further. The FAO/INBAR expert consultation was held at FAO headquarters in Rome in December 2002 to review the status and develop a strategy for improving bamboo and rattan statistics. Experts from FAO, INBAR, WCO, COMTRADE, the European Union, National Customs and other governmental and non-governmental national and international organizations have supported the idea to approach WCO with the purpose of introducing more bamboo and rattan codes to the HS. FAO is also considering using this precedent to introduce more codes for the other non-wood commodities in the future.

For more information, please contact:
Maxim Lobovikov, Program Manager, International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), Beijing 100101-80, People's Republic of China.
E-mail:[email protected] or
Paul Vantomme, FAO.
E-mail:[email protected]

BAMBOO

Bamboo research programme: Guadua Bamboo - Research for Sustainable Management and Markets of Bamboo in Colombia and Costa Rica

Duration: November 2001 to October 2004

The overall objective of the project is to improve the basis for sustainable production and management of bamboo, notably of Guadua angustifolia, to the benefit of local growers and processors in Latin America.

Field research regions of the project comprise the eje cafetero (coffee-growing region) of Colombia and Costa Rica on the producers' side, as well as potential bamboo export markets in Germany and the United Kingdom.

The specific research objectives include:

• to assess the potential of bamboos as a sustainable, economically viable resource for farmers;
• to improve the quality of the raw material through improved selection and propagation techniques;
• to improve knowledge of stand management techniques and to define grading standards in order to provide higher quality raw material and/or adequate raw material for defined uses;
• to optimize the value added chain increasing, in particular, the economic benefits of local growers and processors; and
• to set up a comprehensive information system on guadua production and use, including inventory data from Colombia and Costa Rica.

Research partners and their contributions

Partner 1:University of Freiburg, Institute of Forest Policy, Market and Marketing Section, Freiburg, Germany:

• overall coordination of the project;
• research on the socio-economic framework of bamboo production and the marketing chain of bamboo-based products.

Partner 2:University of Costa Rica, Faculty of Agronomy, Research Center for Grains and Seeds, San José, Costa Rica:

• scientific coordination of the biological research within the project;
• genetic selection of Guadua angustifolia and Dendrocalamus giganteus with desirable agronomic and industrial characteristics;
• research on the large-scale microprogagation of selected bamboo plant material.

Partner 3:Technical University of Pereira, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Pereira, Colombia:

• improvement of silvicultural management of guadua stands in Colombia;
• research on carbon fixation and other environmental impacts of guadua stands.

Partner 4:Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), Turrialba, Costa Rica:

• inventory of guadua bamboo stands in the coffee-growing region of Colombia and of bamboo stands in Costa Rica;
• provide a comprehensive information system on guadua bamboo;
• assist other project partners in experimental design planning and other methodological issues.

Partner 5:Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Department of Biology, London, United Kingdom:

• provide clear and assessable ways in which the quality of guadua bamboo culms and clumps can be defined and measured;
• develop a scheme to define the optimum characteristics of guadua bamboo culms for desirable qualities of end products;
• characterize the ecoprofile of guadua bamboo products using Life-Cycle-Assessment, and also comparing guadua products with alternative materials.

The funding for this research project is being provided by the European Union under its Fifth Research and Technological Development (RTD) Framework Programme (project reference: ICA4-CT-2001-10091).

The project Web site is under construction; for preliminary information consult:http://dbs.cordis.lu/fep/FP5/FP5_PROJl_search.html

For more information, please contact:
Dr Jochen Statz, Market and Marketing Section, Institute of Forest Policy, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Fax: +49 761 2033729;
e-mail:[email protected]

Bamboo in winter

People tend to think of bamboo as a tropical plant. But there is a bamboo park in Beijing where 100 species of bamboos thrive in a climate where night-time winter temperatures of minus 15°C are common. Dr Fu Jinhe of the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) has been working to produce a species-to-site matching tool. He reports that many species are recorded as tolerating temperatures as low as minus 29°C.

Chinese people have always been aware of bamboo's cold tolerance. In fact, they refer to bamboo as one of the "three friends in winter" (the other two being the pine tree and the wild plum). (Source: INBAR News Magazine, 8[2].)

Bamboo juice, beer and medicine

In ancient China, the fresh culm of Phyllostachys glauca was roasted to produce fresh bamboo juice for medicine. Its output was as low as 3.5 kg of juice per 100 kg of fresh culms. However, nowadays bamboo juice is produced by pressure or cooking. The juice is also used to make beverages and a specific liquor.

Beer is a low-alcohol drink mainly made from barley. With the improvement of living standards and health care in China, there is an impetus towards research into new beers fortified with naturally occurring ingredients with specific health attributes.

Bamboo is traditionally used in food and medicine in Southeast Asia. The latest research has shown that there are many different flavone glycosides in bamboo leaves, which have excellent physiological activities as anti-free radical, anti-oxidation and anti-ageing agents.

In this study, green dry leaves from the bamboo genus Phyllostachys were picked in the autumn and extracted. After boiling the bamboo leaves in water, the extract was concentrated in vacuum and the impurities removed, using the ethanol precipitation method, to give a fine bamboo leaf juice. The bamboo beer was prepared by adding the juice to the original beer, then mixed, filtered and bottled. The amount of the juice added, taking its total flavonoids (TF) amount as an index, was between 10 and 50 mg per litre of beer, depending on the requirements.

In addition to the general characteristics of beer, bamboo beer showed multiple health benefits, such as lowering blood lipids and preventing heart disease. Furthermore, bamboo beer presents a typical delicate bamboo fragrance to match the beer flavour. This health beer is available in Chinese markets. (Note: Flavonoids made from bamboo leaves are also used to make medicine such as capsules.)

For more information, please contact:

Jinhe Fu, International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing 100101-80, People's Republic of China.
E-mail:[email protected];www.inbar.int

EC-funded Bamboo Thematic Network is launched

Bamboo experts from China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal and the United Kingdom met in Antwerp, Belgium from 16 to 19 April 2002 for the inception meeting of the EC-funded Bamboo Thematic Network (BTN) project. The meeting was hosted by Oprins Plant NV (OPRINS), Belgium.

BTN is a three-year (2002-2004) project approved and funded by the European Commission within the Fifth Framework programme Confirming the International Role of Community Research. The project is coordinated by OPRINS and involves 15 partners from private companies and academic institutions.

The BTN participants include: International Network for Bamboo and Rattan; Ghent University; Institute for Plant Biotechnology for Developing Countries; Agricultural Research Centre, Gembloux; University of Hamburg; University of Wales; Imperial College, London; University of the Philippines Los Baños; University Sains Malaysia; German Federal Research Centre for Forestry and Forestry Products; CAB International; Forest Research Institute of Malaysia; Technical Centre for Wood and Furniture, Bordeaux; and Cobelgal, Portugal.

The BTN project aims to valorize ongoing research on bamboo forestry and technological applications in order to promote the use of bamboo in industry. It aims to enhance international cooperation among bamboo researchers and industries through a clear focus on new technologies and the global market coupled with a policy of open information exchange. Research on silviculture, biotechnology and industrial processing of bamboo has not yet been fully integrated into the economic and ecological realms. The participants of the BTN project will foster added value by optimizing scientific networking towards the coordination, exploitation and dissemination of bamboo research in four areas, namely: biology; silviculture; industrial processing; and technology transfer.

BTN seeks to facilitate the transfer of knowledge concerning bamboo and to enhance cooperation between researchers and users. It endeavours to guide researchers towards market and consumer needs and to inform industry about scientific and technical advances related to bamboo. BTN will create a knowledge infrastructure to redirect research towards high value-added industrial applications of bamboo. It will pursue an open policy for exchanging knowledge and information in order to increase the economic possibilities of bamboo.

For more information, please contact:

Oprins Plant NV, Sint Lenaartsesteenweg 91, 2310 Rijkevorsel, Belgium.
Fax: +32 3 3402890;
e-mail:[email protected]
www.bamboonetwork.org

Bamboo: more than panda food

One of Asia's traditional building materials has been given a new look with the help of modern industrial technologies and the demand for an alternative to endangered hardwood timbers.

No longer seen as just panda food or raw material for beach huts in Thailand, bamboo is gaining a chic image in Western markets. For example, Madrid's airport has recently signed a deal to install 300 000 m2 of bamboo in its new passenger terminal, at present under construction.

New glues and new thinking are seeing bamboo being used in everything from baseball bats to kitchen cabinets. Bamboo parquet flooring is popular among environmentally conscious Westerners uncomfortable at the thought of using traditional hardwoods such as maple and oak.

The Beijing-based International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) organized a conference in Linan, Zhejiang province, in April 2002. Participants included designers, engineers, processors and sellers of bamboo from China, the United States and Chile, as well as China-based diplomats from bamboo-growing countries as diverse as Uganda, Venezuela and Bangladesh. Linan was chosen as the conference site because it is situated near the centre of China's bamboo production: China is the world's leading source of bamboo products.

The tubular shape of bamboo has traditionally limited its use. But the application of the so-called "flat-pack" technology - used for decades in timber processing - has lent a whole new versatility to basic bamboo. Flat pack involves taking small segments of bamboo and gluing them together to produce larger pieces, for use in furniture and flooring, for example. By combining the flat-pack technique with improved adhesives and manufacturing processes, bamboo can be used to produce everything from kitchen utensils to surfboards and modern musical instruments. The results are impressive and the finish looks, at first glance, like quality timber.

The new techniques are also improving the construction of low-cost homes and schools. For example, the flat-pack method allows for the construction of solid roofing beams, which remain sturdy, unlike bamboo rafters that sag over time. Industrial production of bamboo is encouraging the construction of cheap but sturdy housing in countries where the urban poor live in slums. According to lan Hunter, INBAR's director-general, in the port of Guayaquil, Ecuador, 80 bamboo houses are built daily at a cost of US$385 each as part of a drive to reduce the number of people living in shanty towns. Later this year, INBAR is planning to build bamboo schools in Yunnan province, southwestern China, in cooperation with the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Advocates claim that using bamboo is far less damaging to the environment than timber-felling. There is no need for heavy machinery since bamboo is harvested in a largely manual process rather than clear-felled like timber. It also grows much faster than trees and is harvested in cycles so that there is always some bamboo left standing, in contrast to tree-harvesting which typically leaves swathes of denuded land in its wake. And the capacity of the giant grass to bind soil would be ideal to help protect against erosion in some parts of China where trees have been clear-felled. But some environmentalists caution that bamboo tends to dominate any area where it is planted, blocking light and preventing other plants from sharing space. Nevertheless, if it diverts attention away from slow-growing hardwood trees, that is an advantage.

Bamboo economics

To some people, bamboo is simply a fast-growing pest. A business selling China-sourced bamboo products in Hawaii reported that initially there were more enquiries about how to kill it rather than how to grow it.

However, it is becoming increasingly popular in Western markets and China's bamboo product exports alone are worth US$600 million annually. Some people consider that bamboo's rise in Western markets is inexorable and it is just a matter of time. Timber resources are being depleted and bamboo is a viable, sustainable alternative. (Source: Extracted from an article by David Murphy in Far Eastern Economic Review, 23 May 2002.)

Bamboo in China

The following information is extracted from the China Forestry Development Report 2001 of the China State Forestry Administration.

Bamboo and rattan industry in China

As a country with the richest bamboo and rattan resources, China boasts 4.21 million ha of bamboo forests with more than 400 species. The annual harvest volume of Moso bamboo is 114 million stems, while the output of dried bamboo shoots is

310 000 tonnes. The area, species and stock volume of bamboo rank first in the world. China has been striving to develop its bamboo industry, with an annual output value of Y 24 billion and foreign currency earned through exports reaching US$800 million. The development of woven bamboo articles and processed bamboo products has become one of the economic growth points in some regions of China. (Source: Forestry in China.)

Forestry Industries maintain a steady growth

In 2000, the total output value of forest industries reached Y 355.547 billion, an increase of 11.5 percent over 1999. The added value of forestry reached Y 89.33 billion, an increase of 5.2 percent over 1999.

In 2000, 79 800 ha of bamboo forest were established, 5 percent lower than in 1999. The production of dried bamboo shoots across China reached 339 100 tonnes, 9.2 percent higher than in 1999; 1.233 billion stems of Phyllostachys pubescens and Bambusa pervariabilis were harvested, an increase of 7.1 percent over 1999. The harvesting volume of other varieties was 3.0344 million tonnes. (Source: China Forestry Development Report 2001.)

For more information, please contact:

Fu, Jinhe, Ph.D., Program Officer, International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), Beijing 100101-80, People's Republic of China.
Fax: +86 10 64956983;
e-mail:[email protected];
www.inbar.int/orwww.geocities.com/zhuzi.geo/

Bamboo research and development in Nepal

Bamboos are important sources of income for rural households in Nepal and elsewhere. A recent paper by Shyam K. Paudel and Dr A.N. Das highlights bamboo research and development activities that have so far been carried out in Nepal and the prospects for future research and development.

Bamboos, the perennial woody grasses, are one of the very important non-timber forest products of Nepal. They are an important component of rural farming systems, which play a critical role in the rural economy and help sustain the livelihoods of many rural households, in particular socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Bamboo culms and the various products are readily sold and bought in markets. In this context bamboos are increasingly identified as potential species for poverty reduction programmes in many countries, including Nepal.

Resource inventory, socio-economic studies, taxonomic studies, bamboo propagation, plantation and demonstration, bamboo management, studies related to women in bamboo craft making and studies related to bamboo utilization and marketing are the main areas of bamboo research in Nepal.

Similarly, the establishment of bamboo-based industries, the involvement of communities in bamboo conservation and management and increasing support for and interest from international non-governmental organizations in bamboo projects are important development areas in Nepal.

Prospects of further research and development of bamboo in Nepal

The establishment of germplasm and arboretums, bamboo propagation in agroforestry, and bamboo-related training and extension and market services are the major areas of further research and development that are required in Nepal.

Herbaria have not yet been collected for all species available in Nepal. The in situ and ex situ conservation of naturally occurring bamboos is necessary. In this context, the establishment of bamboo germplasm in different ecological zones of Nepal will help gene conservation and demonstrate species availability in Nepal.

A common complaint against bamboo planting on farmland is that it reduces the productivity of the land, yet no studies have been done to quantify such an effect. Potential developments include agroforestry practices, which allow bamboo to be grown with a minimum impact on food production.

There is a lack of extension materials and publications on bamboos in Nepali and none at all in local languages. An effective mechanism and institutional arrangements are indispensable to carry out such activities in Nepal.

Bamboo growers, traders, craft makers and entrepreneurs lack the necessary information regarding the technical expertise on bamboo growing and its marketing. Similarly, Nepalese entrepreneurs lack information on price differences, demand and supply situations in the national and international markets, global marketing trends of bamboo-based products, and also need suitable multilateral/overseas partners for investment. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a market information system on bamboo so that all the stakeholders concerned would benefit.

It is strongly recommended that training be provided to establish bamboo-based micro-enterprises for rural households with small landholdings that depend upon natural resources for their livelihoods. Enterprises such as these would directly help improve incomes and should also include rural women for whom bamboo craft making can be a full- or part-time employment and a source of income. The publication of extension leaflets; manuals on bamboo craft making; promotional videos; workshops and meetings at the regional and national levels should be highly prioritized for the effective dissemination of research findings.

Conclusions

Bamboo has a great income-generating potential and could be a means of poverty alleviation in Nepal. The increased production of bamboos and their wise use would provide employment and income in both rural and urban areas. (Source: Extracted from an article by Shyam K. Paudel and Dr A.N. Das, Department of Forest Research and Survey, Babarmahal, Kathmandu, in Journal of Forest and Livelihood, 2[1].)

BEES AND BEE PRODUCTS

Bees keeping busy: maintaining biodiversity and helping create livelihoods

The science and practice of exploiting bees' products and services - known as apiculture - has been in existence for thousands of years: keeping bees in hives made by people was already in practice in Egypt in 2400 BC. Today there is a great diversity of apicultural practices throughout the world, although most industrialized countries use standard styles of frame hives in which European races of honey bees are kept.

Apicultural practices

Apiculture is diverse, greatly varying in the way it is practised from one region to another: in Africa, the Near East and Asia, bees are often kept inside the walls of people's homes (and are often not noticed by visitors); while in India, 90 percent of honey is harvested from wild-nesting bees. People practise apiculture not only in different ways, but also for different reasons: some farmers want to have bees to ensure that such crops as fruit, oilseeds and coffee are pollinated adequately; others keep bees to harvest honey and wax; some farmers keep stingless bees for their honey, which is especially valued for its medicinal properties. A recent report from Laikipia Plateau in Kenya describes bees being used as a "living fence" to keep elephants away from smallholdings.

Assets created by apiculture

While products from bees such as honey and beeswax are well known, the main service provided by bees, pollination, remains poorly appreciated and underestimated in most countries. In the United States, scientists have attempted to measure the value of the increased yield and quality of crops achieved by honey bee pollination: during 2000, in the United States, this was estimated at US$14.6 billion. In June 2002, data were published about the beneficial effect of honey bees for coffee pollination: in Panama, coffee bean production increased by 50 percent. We do not as yet have data proving the benefit of honey bees for the pollination of many tropical crops, and it is impossible to put a financial value on the effect of honey bee pollination of indigenous plants, and this important contribution to the maintenance of biodiversity. Other assets created by apiculture such as honey and beeswax are far more tangible, but their value must be far less than the wealth created by the optimal pollination of plants.

Honey

Many bee species collect nectar that they convert to honey as a food source. However, only bees living together in large colonies store appreciable quantities of honey. These are bees of the genus Apis and some of the Meliponinae (stingless bees), and are the species whose stores are recognized by humans as sources of honey.

Bees create honey from the nectar of flowers, with other plant saps and honeydew being used to a minor extent. After visiting a flower, the foraging honey bee flies back to her nest (hive) with the collected fluid in her honey sac, a modified part of the gut. In the hive, she regurgitates the fluid and passes it through her mouth to one or more "house" bees, which in turn pass it to another bee. The liquid travels through a chain of bees in this way before being placed in a honeycomb cell. This route evaporates water and adds enzymes that convert sugars in the nectar into different types of sugars. When the water content is below 20 percent the bees seal the cell with a wax capping - the honey is now considered "ripe". At this stage, the honey is perfectly clean and will not ferment. It is only during the subsequent harvesting and processing of the honey that its quality can deteriorate.

Honey quality

The type of honey produced depends on the species of plants being visited by the bees. Honey is judged by its aroma, flavour and colour, which depend mainly upon the sources of the nectar that the bees have gathered. Usually dark-coloured honeys have a strong flavour while pale honeys have a more delicate flavour. A great number of different substances (alcohols, aldehydes, organic acids and esters) are very important for the flavour of honey. Honey sweetness depends on high fructose content and acidity. A few plants give bitter honey: agave (sisal), datura, euphorbia, senecio - in some societies these honeys are very popular.

Some honeys have a very high pollen content which makes them appear cloudy; this honey is sometimes (wrongly) thought to be of low quality. The presence of any other contaminants in honey (for example particles of wax, dead bees and splinters of wood or dust) give the honey a very low value.

Glucose is one of the major constituents of honey; when this crystallizes the honey becomes solid and is known as granulated honey. Granulation is a natural process and there is no difference in nutritional value between solid and liquid honey. This process may be likened to ice and water - the same substance but in a different form.

Honey as medicine

Honey has traditionally been regarded as a medicine or tonic, rather than an everyday food. Today honey is once again increasingly recognized for its healing and antibacterial properties when taken orally, or applied as a treatment for wounds and burns.

For example, every society knows honey and lemon as an elixir to relieve sore throats. The vitamin C of the lemon has immune-stimulating and anti-infective effects, while the honey has medicinal power. The most common bacterium known to cause sore throats is Streptococcus pyogenes, and laboratory experiments have proved that some honeys can inhibit the growth of this bacterium. Another bacterium that honey has been shown to inhibit is Helicobacter pylori - a causative factor in ulcers. The acidity, enzymic activity, hydrogen peroxide and high osmotic potential of honey are responsible for these healing properties. Honey can also be used in healing skin and drying out wounds: its antibacterial properties and physical composition, maintaining moist conditions and allowing oxygen to pass, is good for preventing infections, reducing inflammation and promoting rapid healing.

Honey production

The type of hive a honey bee lives in has no effect upon the quality of honey that she makes. Honey bees always store clean and perfect honey regardless of where they are living: it is the subsequent handling by humans that leads to reduction in quality. A hive is just a container to keep bees inside, and good, serviceable hives can be made from many different materials. Different styles of hive may be of greater or lesser convenience for the beekeeper, but the honey bee is only concerned to have a safe place, large enough for the whole colony (the bees' family) and its stores, and protected from unfavourable weather and predators.

Constraints to apiculture

In many regions of the world honey bee populations suffer from diseases and parasitic mites. This means that there are sometimes risks of honey and beeswax becoming contaminated by residues of chemicals used to control these diseases and mites. However, elsewhere, and particularly in poor rural areas, beekeepers still harvest from disease-free indigenous bee species and races. This makes beekeeping in some ways relatively easy compared with other regions of the world, and provides economic advantages.

For example, in sub-Saharan Africa, beekeepers harvest honey from indigenous honey bees, which means that African honey can be clean and natural. Assuming that honey is not contaminated in any other way (for example with other pesticide residues), this gives beekeepers a chance to produce honey of excellent, premium quality.

Another issue that affects people's opportunities to create livelihoods from beekeeping is the lack of access to markets, compounded by a lack of suitable containers for transporting and selling the honey, as well as a lack of roads and transport - often the major constraints for rural harvesters.

Honey marketing

Issues concerning access to external markets and the need for product certification and authentication represent a constraint to the industry and an area in which beekeepers deserve support.

Local honey prices are usually higher than the world market price. In this case, it makes sense for producers to satisfy their local market, and to substitute imports, before considering export. Honey export should only be considered when the local market is saturated by local honey.

Product certification

All potential honey traders or importers require certification of the honey they intend to buy. The European Union (EU) uses stringent criteria that are constantly updated as new contaminants are discovered in honey on the world market. While this makes the EU the hardest market for potential exporters to access, it also makes it a worthwhile market for producers with a high-quality product. For a country to be eligible to export honey to the EU, it is essential for its name to be added to the EU's list of "third countries" eligible to do so. To achieve this they need to show that administrative procedures are in place for the analysis of honey for residues of antibiotics, sulphonamides, pesticides and heavy metals. The laboratory used (which does not have to be within the country) has to satisfy EU accreditation legislation.

Bees for Development

Bees for Development helps people in poor countries to create livelihoods involving bees, in ways that are sustainable and environmentally beneficial. The organization provides information on beekeeping development worldwide: for example, in 2002, it responded to more than 2 500 technical enquiries. Bees for Development Journal is published quarterly and has readers in more than 130 countries. The Web site carries a wealth of information on sustainable beekeeping.

Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, NP25 4AB, UK.

E-mail:[email protected];
www.beesfordevelopment.org

APIMONDIA

APIMONDIA, the world Federation of Beekeepers' Associations, represents the interests of beekeepers worldwide, and organizes a major international congress every second year. It includes 55 national beekeeping associations of 49 countries representing all continents and counting over five million members, four associate members (institutes and bodies pursuing studies in beekeeping as well as institutions and firms promoting and trading apiarian products and technical equipment) and three individual correspondents (individuals wishing to support personally the promotion of world apiculture).

For more information, please contact:

APIMONDIA Secretary-General, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 101, 00186 Rome, Italy.
E-mail:[email protected];
www.apimondia.org

African bees and elephants

Bees are able to prevent elephants from mowing down farmers' crops, scientists have revealed. Kenyan farmers who deployed bees in their farms had the double benefit of protecting their crops and producing honey, Fritz Vollrath of the Mpala Research Centre and Ian Douglas-Hamilton of the Nairobi-based conservation organization, Save the Elephants, have reported. The African honey bee is known to be particularly vicious, being able to chase invading elephants for several kilometres. Consequently, elephants have learnt to avoid beehives. The scientists reported that even empty hives were enough to keep off elephants, probably through their smell. (Source: New Vision (Kampala), 13 November 2002.)

Uganda: Arua to process honey for export

A private enterprise, Bee Natural Products (BNP), has set up a honey processing plant in Arua to produce honey for export. The company's managing director said that production was expected to begin in January 2003 at the start of the honey harvesting season. Although some of the honey would be consumed locally, European markets were mainly targeted; the total investment in this region (West Nile) would cost BNP about US$600 000.

Collection centres would be established in Nebbi, Moyo, Arua, Adjumani and Yumbe. BNP said they would sensitize beekeepers on quality requirements and provide them with equipment as loans to the farmers to enable them to collect sufficient honey. The government is expected to provide stainless steel storage and export buckets. (For the full story please see:http://allafrica.com/stories/200211220298.html) (Source: The Monitor (Kampala), Uganda, 22 November 2002.)

ECOTOURISM

Environmental impact assessment

Under FAO's programme of work on the appropriate utilization of forest products, the use of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is promoted as an aid to informed decision-making. EIA can be applied to predict the positive and negative consequences of any forest utilization, both for timber or non-timber products, and help in finding mitigation measures. Among some recent activities a literature review was carried out aimed at finding the state of the art of EIA in forestry and main organizations involved in various aspects of EIA. A study on the environmental impact assessment of ecotourism (particularly in protected areas) will be carried out in the next six months by an FAO volunteer working for the Forest Utilization and Environment programme. We welcome any studies/reports/information on EIA and certification of ecotourism.

For more information, please contact:

Laura Russo, Forestry Officer (Utilization and Environment), Forest Products Division, FAO Forestry Department, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy.
Fax: +39 0657055618;
e-mail:[email protected]

Brazil: Bananal Island on the ecotourist trail

Bananal Island in Brazil is the largest fluvial island in the world, with an area of two million hectares. It is divided into two protected areas, the Indigenous Park and the Araguaia National Park. The island is inhabited by the Karaja and Javae Indians, and they are beginning to see ecotourism as a means of guaranteeing their survival. The island has attracted the interest of researchers worldwide because of its unusual combination of scrubland, swampland and tropical forest. (Source: Amazon News, 14 March 2002.)

Ghana: 14 ecotourism sites

In a bid to promote tourism, 14 sites have been selected to undergo a rehabilitation programme under a community-based ecotourism project in Ghana. These sites are Amedzofe, Boaben-Fiema, Bobiri, Liati Wote, Bunso, Domama, Bonwire, Tafi-Atome, Tanoboase, Xavi, Tangzule, Paga, Red Volta and Weciau.

Nurtured by the Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCEC), a non-governmental organization, the project is being funded by USAID in collaboration with the Ghana Tourist Board, project site committees, the United States Peace Corps and the Netherlands Development Organization which advises the public about the ecotourism site. Funding for the 14 sites started in January 2002 under the first phase. The purpose of the project is to conserve some natural areas for holiday and other recreational purposes aimed at helping project communities to reduce poverty, create employment and provide tourism awareness centres as well as strengthening the existing tourism management terms at each project site in management and banking skills.

Ghana Tourist Board said that the fact that people were nowadays changing from mass tourism to alternative or rural tourism, where people select nature as a priority, was another factor that prompted them to create an ecotourism based on ecological nature.

Since the project started last year, three awareness programmes have taken place at the Bobiri forest reserve at Kubease to educate people about relevant issues in connection with the project, of which the third and final one under the first phase was held in December 2002. (For the full story see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200301230579.html ) (Source: Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra), 23 January 2003.)

Environmental and social impacts of different activities in the field of ecotourism
Impact on fauna	Source
(+) Improved knowledge/data about animal distribution and behaviour	- scientific research on wildlife is more intensive in ecotourism areas owing to increased public awareness - financial gains of ecotourism are partly used for scientific research
(+) Locals promote the protection of wildlife	- locals, working in ecotourism, gain a better understanding of wildlife and change their views concerning the value of fauna because they: - recognize their dependence on wildlife - feel personally connected with wild animals and/or admire them
(-) Decline of rare or spectacular species	- introduction of exotic species by tourists - capture and killing of rare animals for souvenirs - keen wildlife tourists prefer to seek out rare or spectacular animals for observation and photography which increases stress on them
(-) Habitat alteration/destruction	- road, track, campsite and lodge construction - extraction of fuelwood - forest fires caused by tourists (accidentally) - vegetation clearing in order to provide better views for tourists
(-) Death of individual animals	- hunting - vehicle accidents - bigger animals, which have become used to humans, are killed in order to prevent potential tourist injuries and damage to vehicles and campsites - animals may die after they have been startled by tourists
(-) Spread of epidemics and diseases	- humans or exotic animal species, which have been introduced by ecotourists, may transfer disease-causing agents to animals (e.g. mountain gorillas are very susceptible to human viruses and bacteria)
(-) Unnatural and unhealthy food dependency	- feeding by tourists - inappropriate waste disposal and dumping places, which are easily accessible for wild animals
(-) Unnatural concentrations of wildlife	- establishment of artificial assistance such as water-holes and salt-licks - inappropriate waste disposal and dumping places which are easily accessible for wild animals
(-) Unnatural species composition and physical population conditions	- establishment of artificial assistance such as water-holes and salt-licks - artificial feeding programmes (mainly during winters or dry periods) - inappropriate waste disposal and dumping places which are easily accessible for wild animals - feeding by tourists - feeding and baiting by guides
(-) Creation of migration barriers (especially for small animals)	- road, lodge and campsite construction
(-) Alteration of animal distribution (spatial and temporal displacement) and behaviour	- tourist overcrowding - wildlife viewing on inappropriate observatory facilities - guides actively seek rare or spectacular species which are shy by nature - taming of wild animals - animals are caught to show them to tourists - tourists causing stress to wildlife by getting too close - increased hunting pressure driven by the demand for souvenirs such as furs, skins, stuffed animals, teeth or horns
(-) Increase in scavenger numbers and species	- inappropriate waste disposal
(-) Disturbance of predator-prey relationship	- human hunting activities - supporting predators by disturbing preys - (Example 1: night hunting activities of leopards are observed with white spotlights which confuse prey species) - (Example 2: King shags and Magellan penguins in Patagonia tend to move away and leave their nests open for attack when tourists are visiting breeding colonies) - tourist traffic may cause shy predator species to avoid favourable hunting sites/times and therefore support less shy prey species
(-) Alteration of relationship between competing species	- waste disposal favours "problem animals" - some animals are more sensitive than others to human traffic (e.g. while barking deer, sambar and Sumatran rhino moved away from frequently visited areas in Gunung Leuser National Park in Indonesia, primates, squirrels and hornbills became used to visitors) - spectacular species are visited and disturbed more frequently
(-) Alteration of intraspecific relationships (individuals spend less time for breeding, nursing the offspring or social interactions)	- animals are concentrating on tourists and observe their behaviour - tourists are particularly attracted by young animals and want to touch them or separate them from their parents (if separation is prolonged, the young can be rejected by the parents)
(-) Fish decline in enclosed inland water bodies	- overfishing by tourists - overfishing for food supply of tourists - unregulated discharge of sewage changes water quality - oil leakage from motorboats leads to contamination of water bodies - input of detergents, soaps and faecal material changes water quality - sedimentation of water bodies caused by track/road construction: - ditches next to roads/tracks - erosion on tracks next to water courses or in hilly terrain
(Contributed by: Dirk Gaul, Volunteer, Forest Utilization and Environment Programme, FAO.)

(Extract from a forthcoming paper prepared by FAO's Forest Utilization and Environment programme. The full report will also cover flora and other environmental and socio-economic impacts and will be available shortly from the programme's Web page)

Ghana: farmers asked to protect ecology for tourism

A Peace Corps Volunteer, Ms Rita Tiltges, has urged farmers in the Bunso area of the East Akim district to protect the ecological balance in the area to promote ecotourism. Speaking at a two-day workshop on ecotourism awareness organized for 60 farmers by the Ghana Tourist Board, Ms Tiltges said that with the creation of the arboretum by the Plant Genetic Resource Centre in the area they stood to benefit from tourism.

The Eastern Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourist Board announced that the arboretum was among four ecotourism attractions being developed in the region and urged the people to invest in the provision of lodges, handicrafts, and to develop good sanitation and a friendly attitude towards tourists. (For the full story see:http://allafrica.com/stories/200301290556.html) (Source: Accra Mail (Accra), 30 January 2003.)

Nigeria: goldmine in the forest

Despite the government's commitment to environmental protection in the country, Nigeria's tourism sector has not been able to create jobs and wealth for the unemployed young people in the local communities.

International attention is now focused on achieving sustainable tourism development through the use of conservation of the ecosystem. This refers to the natural environment of trees, fishes and animals. Nigeria is no exception. The wind of change has encouraged people to plant trees and start to respect the environment. During the World Tourism Day (WTD) on 27 September 2002, tourism officials around the world planted trees, which are synonymous with conservation.

What role can ecotourism play in the pursuit of sustainable development, economic growth and the integration of the Nigerian economy to the global economy?

Stakeholders in the leisure and tourism industry around the globe are proud of the ecotourisn concept. Countries, including those not considered to have an edge in the sector, highlight their ecotourism potential. Why? Foreign currency receipts from international tourism in 1996 amounted to US$423 billion, which outstripped exports of other products or services. Today, tourism is consolidating its position as the fastest-growing industry in the world: statistics from the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in June 2000 showed that international tourist arrivals reached 666 million in 1999, an increase of 4.1 percent over the previous year.

WTO and the United Nations advised nations to embrace ecotourism. The Secretary-General of WTO, Francesco Frangialli, in his message for the WTD said that the 14th General Assembly of WTO did not hesitate in deciding the theme for this year's WTD as: "Ecotourism: the Key to Sustainable Development". Frangialli said that the theme reflected the "growing recognition by the international community of the potential of tourism, and ecotourism in particular, to contribute to the sustainable development process".

Nigeria now has seven national parks, which were created in line with government policy on the preservation of the natural heritage. Yet Nigeria does not do enough ecotourism, although every state in the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, has one form of ecotourism potential or another. Stakeholders concentrate more on seminars and symposia, business tourism, cultural/religious and sports tourism. It is commonplace to have exotic animals poached and hunted for livelihood. By the 1980s, it was obvious that Nigeria had lost about 90 percent of its original tropical rain forest cover to bush burning, logging and other forms of illegalities in the agricultural subsector. In addition, rare monkeys, chimpanzees and gorillas are being hunted. It is for this reason that the WTD subtheme was titled: "Ecotourism in Nigeria: problems and prospects".

It is important to be more realistic and to encourage rural people to stop indiscriminate bush burning, poaching, killing of animals for livelihood, hunting and so on. The main question is: What can be done to optimize the opportunities inherent in ecotourism in Nigeria?

Ecotourism is expected to play an important role in promoting sustainable development in the entire tourism industry. Put succinctly, ecotourism, which represents rare trees, exotic animals and space, creates jobs and wealth. That was the main message implicit in the Québec Declaration, which summed up the deliberations of more than 1 100 delegates who took part in the three-day World Ecotourism Summit in May 2002.

Another prominent issue raised at the summit was the key role that small and medium-sized enterprises are expected to play if they are given the opportunity and the necessary technical, marketing and financial support.

WTO stressed the need to involve as many stakeholders as possible (but particularly representatives of the local communities which receive the tourists) in the different phases of developing ecotourism, from policy definition through marketing to the distribution of benefits.

Nigeria, blessed with a rich ecosystem, has enormous prospects in ecotourism. (Source: Extracted from an article by Justina Okpanku in This Day (Lagos, Nigeria), 21 October 2002;http://allafrica.com/environment/)

Certification of ecotourism - a tool to maximize environmental and social benefits of ecotourism Ecotourism and nature tourism are the fastest-growing sectors of the travel and tourism industry. This is the reason why today many businesses falsely describe themselves as ecotourism operators in order to attract "green" consumers. These operators contribute to reducing the credibility of the complete ecotourism branch. In that context, certification could provide an opportunity to reveal "free riders" and identify ecotourism operators that operate according to the ideals of ecotourism. At present more than 100 competing ecolabels for nature-based tourism exist, of which none has reached significant market acceptance. The variety of labels and the often controversial methodologies and processes of the certification systems behind them cause considerable confusion and a feeling of helplessness among tourists who want to act as environmentally friendly as possible. The reduction of certification programmes or the formation of an accreditation body which certifies the certifiers are necessary steps for the future. Furthermore, the use of a uniform, easily understandable label has to be regulated and monitored in a much stricter way than is done at present with most brands. Standard controls should not stop after certification. Inspections have to be continued, both announced and unannounced. After certification has expired, the label should be withdrawn immediately, which will increase credibility. It is essential for a certification programme to find influential supporters who comply with the standards. Therefore, promotion of a single label by well-known and publicly accepted non-governmental organizations, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature or Greenpeace, is an additional tool to raise consumer awareness as well as credibility. Governments, on the other hand, could provide budgets or tax incentives for certified operators in order to recognize their efforts towards nature conservation and the well-being of local communities. Moreover, they could deny contracts to uncertified companies in environmentally sensitive areas. Current developments Rainforest Alliance, supported by the Ford Foundation, is carrying out a feasibility study for the formation of a Global Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council (STSC). Based on the model of other accreditation bodies, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the STSC is supposed to establish international criteria for accreditation, monitor compliance with such criteria, promote consumer awareness and increase credibility of certification schemes. The STSC would cover both the sustainable tourism and ecotourism sectors. Results will be made available on the Rainforest Alliance Web site (www.rainforest-alliance.org). (Contributed by: Dirk Gaul, Volunteer, Forest Utilization and Environment Programme, FAO.)

Training courses - ecotourism

The following courses took place in Georgetown, Guyana:

25-30 November 2002. Visitor interaction skills for ecotourism
10-15 December 2002. Community ecotourism mapping.

For more information, please contact:

Training Coordinator, Iwokrama International Centre, 67 Bel Air, Georgetown, Guyana.
Fax: +592 2 259199;
e-mail:[email protected] or[email protected];
www.iwokrama.orgorwww.iwokrama.com