RECENT RESEARCH INTO AFRICAN RATTANS (PALMAE): A VALUABLE NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCT FROM THE FORESTS OF CENTRAL AFRICA

Terry C.H. Sunderland

Abstract

Four genera, representing 16 species, of rattan occur in West and Central Africa. African rattans form an integral part of subsistence strategies for many rural populations, as well as providing the basis of a thriving cottage industry. Although many of the rattan species are used locally for a multiplicity of purposes, two widespread and common species, Laccosperma secundiflorum (formerly Ancistrophyllum), and Eremospatha macrocarpa, are favoured throughout the region and are integral to both subsistence-level and commercial utilisation.

African rattans have long been recognised by donor agencies and national governments as having a potential role to play on the world market, as well as a greater role within the regional NWFP sector. However, the development of the rattan resource in Africa has long been hindered by a lack of basic knowledge about the exact species used, their ecological requirements and hence appropriate management strategies that might be implemented to ensure sustainable exploitation. As increased interest is being shown in the potential role of NWFPs to contribute to the conservation and development paradigm, rattan has been one of the oft-mentioned products that could be developed and promoted in a meaningful way. Because of this interest, recent work by the African Rattan Research Programme has concentrated on the taxonomy, ecology and utilisation of these taxa; baseline research that is critical for the development and promotion of any high value NWFP.

Key words: Rattan, climbing palms, conservation and development, NWFP.

1. Introduction: The trade in rattan

The international rattan trade is currently worth some US$ 6.5 billion a year (ITTO, 1997) with the majority of this trade concentrating on species of Asian origin. In the past ten years, restrictions in the trade of raw cane by some of the larger supply countries, notably Indonesia, has encouraged rattan dealers and gross users such as China and the Philippines to investigate non-traditional sources of rattans, predominantly Indo-China, Papua New Guinea and more recently, Africa. Some raw cane has been recently exported from Ghana and Nigeria to South East Asia. In addition, trade within and between countries is reported to be growing significantly across West and Central Africa (Falconer, 1994; Morakinyo, 1995). However, as this trade grows, the pressure on remaining wild populations also increases and a number of workers report the increasing scarcity of rattans and the associated market implications (Pokam-Wadja, 1979; Shiembo, 1986; Defo, 1997; Sunderland, 1998).

Historically, there has been a significant and proven trade in African rattans. Cameroon and Gabon supplied France and its colonies (Hedin, 1929), and Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast) supplied a significant proportion of the large UK market in the inter-war period (Anon., 1934). The export industry was not restricted to raw cane and in 1928 alone over 25 000 FF worth of finished cane furniture was exported from Cameroon to Senegal for the expatriate community there (Hedin, 1929).

More recently, an initiative promoted by UNIDO in Senegal was exploiting wild cane for a large-scale production workshop and export enterprise (Douglas, 1974). After managed exploitation, replanting was undertaken using seedlings and wildings grown on in nurseries. There is no information as to the status of the workshop and associated activities today.

2. The African rattans - biology

Rattans are climbing palms (family, Palmae) that belong to the sub-family Calamoideae (Uhl & Dransfield, 1987). The Calamoid palms are characterised by distinctive scaly fruits and the sub-family includes not only rattans but also Raphia, another African taxa of considerable economic importance. Worldwide, there are estimated to be around 650 species within the Calamoideae belonging to twenty-two genera (Uhl and Dransfield, 1987). The majority of these genera occur in the humid tropical forests of south and south-east Asia, Malaysia, and the west Pacific. Indeed, the word rattan is derived from the Malay "rotan" meaning, literally, "climbing palm".

In Africa, there are around 16 species of rattan, representing four genera. Three of these, Laccosperma, Eremospatha and Oncocalamus are endemic to Africa and possess a unique morphology to that of the Asian taxa. The species of these genera climb with the aid of an extension to the leaf called a cirrus which is often up to 2-3m long. The cirrus possesses large grapnel hooks which are modified leaves and these aid the progress of the rattan into the canopy. These hooks are called acanthophylls. The fourth genus present in Africa, Calamus, is specifically an Asian genus with over 370 species there and only one highly variable species in Africa (Uhl and Dransfield, 1987). Calamus deërratus differs from the other African taxa in that it climbs with the aid of a flagellum, a long appendage arising directly from the stem that is armed with small recurved prickles, the whole representing a modified sterile inflorescence.

3. Ecology and distribution

Rattans in Africa grow in a wide range of ecological conditions. The majority of the species naturally grow in closed tropical forest and are early gap colonisers. Because of this they are extremely light demanding and respond well to a reduction in the forest canopy. Increases in forest disturbance, such as logging activity, encourages the regeneration of rattans and they are often a common feature along logging roads and skid trails. For some rattans such as Oncocalamus, their light demanding characteristics are such that they are often the earliest colonisers of heavily disturbed areas. Other species of rattan, notably Calamus deërratus, grow in swamps or alongside river banks prone to flooding whilst other species, such as Eremospatha hookeri, are highly shade tolerant and grow under the forest canopy.

Even after germination, rattan seedlings can remain on the forest floor for some time, waiting for the optimum light conditions needed to begin the long journey to the canopy. High numbers of seedlings of light demanding species in particular are a common component of closed forest. The seeds of most rattans are dispersed mainly by hornbills but also by some primates, the drill and mandrill (two species of forest primate related to the baboon), chimpanzees and gorillas, and are often scattered far from the mother plant. However, significant germination also occurs near to the parent plants through natural fruit fall and further predation by rodents accounts for some additional, although limited, dispersal. Interestingly, despite intensive field work and herbarium collection in the past two years, there appears to be no obvious phenological pattern to flower development and seed production for the majority of the species.

Because of their proclivity for the colonisation of recently-disturbed forest, rattans are widespread throughout West and Central Africa and are a common component of the forest flora. Some species, such as the two main commercial species, Laccosperma secundiflorum and Eremospatha macrocarpa, have large ranges and occur from Liberia to Angola, whilst Calamus deërratus occurs from Côte d'Ivoire to Kenya. In terms of diversity, the greatest concentration of rattan species is found in the Guineo-Congolian forests of Central Africa. Over 90% of all the known rattan species occur in Cameroon and during a recent survey of the small territory of Rio Muni in Equatorial Guinea (an area of only 26 000 km²), eleven species of rattan were recorded; 70% of the total number known to occur on the whole continent (Sunderland, 1998).

However, despite the relative abundance of rattans throughout West and Central Africa in areas where large quantities of cane are sold and processed, such as Yaoundé in Cameroon and Bata in Equatorial Guinea, over-harvesting and poor management practices are causing considerable local scarcity. Many of these urban centres are currently experiencing significant price increases of raw cane due to the mounting costs of transportation (Defo, 1997; Sunderland, 1998).

4. The importance of basic ethnobotany and taxonomy for conservation and development

The long flexible stems of rattan make it ideal for furniture, basket making and a multiplicity of other uses. Rattan canes are used extensively across West and Central Africa by local communities and play an important role in indigenous subsistence strategies for many rural populations. The range of indigenous uses of rattan canes is vast; from baskets to beds; from fish traps to furniture; from crossbow strings to fishing rods; from food to medicine (author pers. obs). Despite these many uses, there is a common misconception among development agencies that all rattans are useful, and therefore have potential commercial applications. Recent work has highlighted that while there may indeed be substantial spontaneous use for many species, only two species, the large-diameter cane Laccosperma secundiflorum and the small diameter cane, Eremospatha macrocarpa, form the basis of both subsistence and commercial-level utilisation in Central Africa (Morakinyo, 1995; Sunderland 1997a; Trefon and Defo, 1998; Sunderland 1998).

It is only through a thorough understanding of both ethnobotany and taxonomy that meaningful development of the rattan resource can take place. Until recently, very little was known about the taxonomy of the African rattans and estimates of species numbers ranged from 12 or so (Dransfield, 1982) to 30 or more (Beccari, 1908) and in Africa the name rattan became ubiquitous for all climbing palms and their presumed utilisation; hence the lack of distinction between species and the misunderstanding that "all rattans are useful". This situation prevailed until recently, despite the calls of many palm workers that a thorough understanding of the taxonomy and utilisation of the African rattans should precede any development of the resource (Fosberg, 1960; Tomlinson, 1962; Moore, 1971; Letouzey, 1978; Shiembo, 1987; Thomas et al., 1989; Dransfield, 1993; Morakinyo, 1994; Tuley 1995 and 1996).

Figure 1. Laccosperma secundiflorum, a light-demanding species of rattan preferred for its large diameter stems. (Photo: T. Sunderland).

The poor knowledge of the African rattans may be best explained by:

· The paucity of material held in botanical collections: rattans are notoriously unpleasant to collect because of the fiercely spiny leaf sheaths and barbed climbing whips. The frequent presence of ants amongst the spines and bee nests higher in the crown mean also that attack by ants and bees is a common occurrence for collectors and harvesters (Falconer, 1994).

· The considerable morphological variation between juvenile and mature canes of the same species: this is often evident within single clumps. Species descriptions have been based on juvenile herbarium material of previously described species. For example, O. acanthocnemis is undoubtedly a juvenile form of O. mannii (Russell, 1968).

· The considerable infraspecific variation throughout the geographic range of the rattan taxa: some species, notably the genus Calamus, have been split based on undoubtedly natural geographic variation (Beccari, 1908).

Recent work by the African Rattan Research Programme has concentrated on addressing this situation by undertaking an intensive programme of botanical collection of all species of rattan. To ensure that the research is as comprehensive as possible, the programme is attempting to undertake collections in as many areas of West and Central Africa as is feasible. To date, extensive surveys have been undertaken in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni) and SE Nigeria with further field work planned for Bioko (Equatorial Guinea), the Niger Delta, Ghana and Gabon during the next twelve months. The importance of this field work cannot be over emphasised. The taxonomic confusion surrounding the African rattans has been clarified somewhat and the field study has provided a clear understanding of rattan utilisation in terms of which species have potential commercial application.

Table 1. Currently recognised genera and species of African rattans.

Genus	Species	Authority
Calamus	deërratus	G. Mann & H. Wendl.
Laccosperma	secundiflorum	(G. Mann & H. Wendl.) Kuntze
	acutiflorum	(Becc.) J. Dransf.
	laeve	(G. Mann & H. Wendl.) Drude
	opacum	(G. Mann & H. Wendl.) Drude
Eremospatha	cabrae	Wilde.
	cuspidata	(G. Mann & H. Wendl.) H. Wendl.
	hookeri	(G. Mann & H. Wendl.) H. Wendl.
	laurentii	Wilde.
	macrocarpa	(G. Mann & H. Wendl.) H. Wendl.
	haullevilleana	Wilde.
	wendlandiana	Becc.
	sp. nov.
Oncocalamus	mannii	(G. Mann & H. Wendl.) H. Wendl. & Drude
	sp. 1.
	sp. nov.

5. The use of folk taxonomy

The value of folk taxonomy has long been recognised and has often been adopted into Linnaean-based classification (Berlin, 1992; Cunningham, 1994). However, both folk taxonomy and customary knowledge of important plant species remain under-utilised in conservation and management strategies for both wild and crop plants, yet knowledge of local nomenclature, and often use and management, is integral to the understanding of the resource (Berlin, 1992).

During the course of the field work undertaken so far, a number of indigenous classification systems throughout the Central African region have been studied. As there are over 230 linguistic groups in Cameroon alone, this has not been a straightforward process. However, as discussed below, this activity has highlighted the complimentarity between the study of local classification and nomenclature alongside classical Linnaean taxonomy. Of immense assistance to the study is the fact that because of the high level of spontaneous use, many of the species are ascribed local names.

In many dialects, one rattan species can have two local names based on the usage of the plant part used highlighting the different properties of juvenile and mature stems. For example, in the Fang/Bulu tribal group of southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, Eremospatha macrocarpa and Oncocalamus sp. have different names for juvenile - (asa-nlong) and mature stems (ongam). Differentiation is also often made between the raw cane and the cleaned product e.g. the stems of wild Laccosperma secundiflorum are termed `aka' prior to harvesting and `nkan' after cleaning. In addition, use of umbrella terms such as `nlong' or `melong' for juvenile forms of Eremospatha macrocarpa and Oncocalamus sp., for two distinct species led many workers not to differentiate between these species during resource inventories (van Dijk, 1995) despite one species having considerable economic value and the other being of little value. In contrast, the use of local nomenclature has helped clarify the taxonomic differences between species such as Laccosperma secundiflorum (aka, nkan, meka) and L. acutiflorum (ekwass), two morphologically similar species but the latter is not utilised on any level by local people.

Figure 2. Rattan plays an integral role in indigenous subsistence strategies. Fish trap from Equatorial Guinea. (Photo: T. Sunderland).

The understanding of folk classification for African rattans has been crucial in the determination of species delimitation, through an understanding of the radical changes in morphology from the juvenile to adult forms for most species, but also through the utilisation both of preferred species for large-scale subsistence and commercial purposes but also for more limited spontaneous use.

Table 2: Fang/Bulu names for rattans in southern Cameroon and Rio Muni, Equatorial Guinea.

Laccosperma secundiflorum	aka, nkan, meka
L. acutiflorum	ekwass
L. laeve	ndele
L. opacum	npue-nkan
Eremospatha macrocarpa	melong, asa-nlong, ongam
E. laurentii	ebuat
E. wendlandiana	akot
E. cuspidata	ndera
Oncocalamus sp. 1	melong, asa-nlong, ongam

6. Harvest and management of the wild resource

Harvesting rattan is currently undertaken solely from the wild and is an unpleasant and often dangerous occupation with dead branches being dislodged from the canopy, as well as ants and wasps being disturbed. The raw cane is bundled and then head-portered out of the forest and either used at the village site or transported further afield to urban centres of production. The majority of harvesting, for commercial trade in particular, is undertaken by individuals, usually farmers, hunters or other people primarily involved in other occupations (see Defo, this volume). Rattan harvesting provides an invaluable source of extra revenue, especially at time of need such as for medical expenses or the payment of annual school fees (Trefon and Defo, 1998; Sunderland, 1998). Many cash-crop farmers also harvest rattan to obtain extra capital to purchase chemicals, planting stock and other necessary items for their primary occupation.

In general, harvesters collect cane from the same area of forest. On each visit, if the harvester is not local to the area, the Chief of the local village is often paid a small retainer for access to the forest. Through their regular trips to the forest, many harvesters know the position of each clump that is potentially harvestable and prefer to collect as close to a motorable road as possible to avoid head-portering the bundled cane too far. The development of a wide network of logging roads throughout many forest areas in West and Central Africa has enabled greater access to otherwise inaccessible areas of forest. This is especially the case where local scarcity is forcing harvesters to cut cane further from many urban centres.

From each rattan clump, harvesters tend to cut only the mature canes; young stems are often left and can be harvested during a later visit. The stems selected are those with no lower leaves and often only the bottom 6m (2 lengths of cane) are cut and harvested. This is because the living nodes provide a considerable obstruction when the cane is split and so the remaining 30m or so of each mature stem is left in the canopy. Previously harvested rattan clumps are often marked by the presence of many dry stems in the canopy. The major disadvantage to this harvesting procedure is that, with the top sections of the cut stems remaining in situ, there is little or no light penetration to the clump. This often means the rhizome has little or no regeneration capacity and, when all of the adult stems have been cut, the clump often dies. However, in some areas in South West Cameroon and South East Nigeria, their is some level of management of wild rattan. Often, the cut stems are also removed to deliberately allow adequate light penetration which is sufficient for the clump to regenerate. The same clump can then be harvested again, 3-5 years later. Some clumps have been known to have been harvested up to four times (author, pers. obs.).

Many harvesters interviewed during the course of our field work have lamented the fact that in the immediate vicinity of many urban centres where indigenous management of the resource is not practised, they were having to travel further and further into the forest to obtain sufficient quantities of raw cane. As discussed above, this added porterage is slowly causing price increases of raw cane. The lack of management of rattan in some areas is undoubtedly due to the lack of tenure or ownership of many forest products per se, and as such, are considered as an open access resource. The majority of rattan harvesters believe that even if they did manage their wild rattan clumps there is no guarantee that somebody else would not come and harvest instead.

The African Rattan Research Programme is undertaking long-term monitoring of the potential yields and growth rates of rattan to determine possible levels of sustainable harvest of the commercial species of rattan. Table 3 shows the potential yield and value of a one-off harvest from selectively-logged forest in southern Cameroon although this figure is much less than estimated projections of income from the harvest of rattan from the forest of SE Asia (Bøgh, 1996). Future estimates of off-take will include a consideration of the growth rates for each species; information that is essential in order to achieve and maintain levels of economically and biologically sustainable exploitation (Peters, 1996).

Table 3. Yield and potential value of one-off harvest of Laccosperma secundiflorum in 1 hectare of selectively-logged forest, Campo, Cameroon.

Total no. of harvestable stems	Average stem length (m)	Total harvestable stem length (m)	Market value
56	21	1,180	78 700 CFA (US$132)

As well as taking into consideration the ecological and market factors of the rattan resource, ultimately sustainability is also dependent upon the issues of tenure and long-term control over and benefits from that resource (Cunningham, this volume). Recent forest legislation in Cameroon now allows for the community management of forest resources to ensure that forest communities benefit from the management and income from those resources. Similar legislation will soon also be in place in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The empowerment of rural communities through recognising of community forests as a legal entity will undoubtedly provide the impetus to the undertaking of the baseline biological and ecological research needed for sustainable resource management. For example, in Gabon, local scarcity of commercial quality rattan has forced many harvesters to collect cane further into the forest where local communities exert strong resource rights over much of this forest. These communities now benefit from these rights both in monetary terms (harvesters pay a fee to collect on communal forest lands) as well as ensuring that harvesting is undertaken with regard for the future resource through monitoring and control of the harvesting process (Profizi, this volume). Without doubt, as a high value NWFP that is capable of rapid regeneration, rattan will play an integral role within the management of community forests.

7. Local trade

Across the Central African region, the unit of trade for commercial cane is the "packet". For the large diameter cane (Laccosperma secundiflorum) a packet represents twenty stems, with each stem being 3-4m in length. For the small diameter cane (Eremospatha macrocarpa) a packet equals twenty stems of 5m length. In general, however, the harvester is paid per stem and, depending on quality, each stem (of both species) is worth between 100 CFA and 200 CFA (US$ 0.16 - 0.32). For very large diameter stems of Laccosperma secundiflorum, the price per stem can be 250 CFA to 300 CFA (US$0.40 - 0.48). In general, a good harvester can cut around 140 stems a day, providing a potential daily income of 35 000 CFA (US$ 58.50). When the average daily wage in Cameroon is at present 1 500 CFA (US$ 2.50), this represents a significant income.

Large quantities of raw cane enter the urban centres of Central Africa each day (Trefon and Defo, 1998; Sunderland, 1998). An attempt was recently made to quantify the trade in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, through the interview of a sample of artisans and rattan traders (Sunderland, 1998). Artisans were selected to represent as wide a range of workshops as possible, from the smallest operator to the largest. All of the artisans encountered were male and generally under the age of forty. The older men in the business are responsible for the design and production of the furniture and generally, the young boys ("apprentices") provide labour for the laborious task of cleaning and preparing raw cane for production, as well as basic weaving and other time-consuming activities.

Table 4: The artisans of Bata, Equatorial Guinea, and raw cane quantities used per month.

Company	No. of workers	Amount of cane used per month	Value CFA
AFROM GUINEA	20+	360 packets (7,200 stems)	1 440 000
Estabon OVONO	7	120 packets (2,400 stems)	480 000
Crisantos OBIANG	10	75 packets (1,500 stems)	300 000
S.A.G.E4.	5	40 packets (800 stems)	160 000
Antonio A. NGUEME	3-4	40 packets (800 stems)	160 000
Thomas OBIANG	2	20 packets (400 stems)	80 000
Fernando EDU	5	12 packets (240 stems)	48 000
ANISETTO	2	7 packets (140 stems)	28 000
Pedro ESONO	3	6 packets (120 stems)	24 000
Martin MBO	3	5 packets (100 stems)	20 000
		TOTAL =	2 740 000 (US$4 560)

Almost without exception, the artisans stated that the demand for rattan was increasing and a much greater amount of cane is being processed in Bata today than was being worked five or ten years ago. This is also the case in other high-consumption areas such as Douala and Yaounde in Cameroon (Defo, 1997; Trefon and Defo, 1998) and Lagos, Nigeria (Morakinyo, 1995). The high value of rattan indicates that, as a non-wood forest product, it compares favourably with other forms of forest extraction and, whilst quantitative date for other NWFPs is incomplete, rattan exploitation and trade is probably one of the most important sources of forest-based revenue outside of the bushmeat trade and commercial timber exploitation (Ndoye, 1994; Sunderland, 1998).

8. Propagation and cultivation

Rattans are harvested almost exclusively from wild populations in Africa and elsewhere. In some areas of SE Asia, rattan is cultivated as part of mixed gardens by sedentary cultivators, or is planted in recently-burned forest by shifting cultivators (Godoy, 1992). No known similar cultivation practices exist in West and Central Africa, although the ecological and social factors prevalent there are favourable to a cultivated and managed rattan resource.

Recent research by the African Rattan Research Programme, in collaboration with the Limbe Botanic Garden, Cameroon, has initially concentrated on the aspects of seed technology through a series of propagation trials, aimed at breaking the prolonged germination of the seed of many of the African taxa. The material made available by these trials has led to the recent establishment of an experimental silvicultural trial. The trial consists of a 1 hectare plot of Laccosperma secundiflorum planted beneath obsolete rubber, and has been undertaken in collaboration with the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC). Growth rates as well as the economic viability of cultivating an African rattan in a plantation system such as this will be monitored and assessed during the seven-year trial period. Further on-farm trials will take place as planting material becomes available with the aim of introducing the commercial species of African rattan into agroforestry systems. This work will be undertaken in collaboration with the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF).

In 1995, a rattan arboretum was established at the Limbe Botanic Garden and now has good semi-mature specimens of a number of species. The intention of this living collection is to monitor changes in morphology as the plants develop from juvenile to mature providing an invaluable taxonomic, as well as an educational resource.

9. Conclusion

Within the current milieu of forestry reforms taking root across Central Africa, allowing for direct community forest control and access through applied resource management regimes, as well as the inclusion of rattan in small-scale agroforestry systems, African rattans could provide a real opportunity for the development of a non-wood forest product that would make a meaningful contribution to forest conservation whilst augmenting rural incomes. There is also considerable scope for the African taxa to be introduced to the thriving world rattan market, further increasing the potential growth of forest-based economies.

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4 Societe Artisanal de Guinea Ecuatorial.