Non-wood forest products - country information
Introduction
Main non-wood forest products
Bushmeat, nuts (such as cola and sheabutter), chewsticks, canes, medicinal plants and building materials (e.g. roof material obtained from Dalbergia sissoo) are the most important non-wood forest products (NWFP) of Ghana.
The range of other useful plants and products is extensive and includes utensils and construction materials such as bathing and chewing sponges, basketry, fish traps, matting, woven straw, ropes, twines, jute fibre, kapok, bark cloth and fodder (e.g. Parkia clappertoniana). About 300 wild species are documented to provide fruits, some 100 species provide edible leaves and another 60 species are reported to be cultivated. Other NWFP provide latex (20 species), resins for incense and fumigation (25 tree species), tannins (Acacia nilotica), gums (gum arabic, gum copal), mushrooms, beverages (alcohol, palm wine) and edible oils. Some 2 000 forest plants are still used in traditional medicine. Animal products in addition to bushmeat are wax, hides and horns (Timber Industry Association, undated).
General information
No information is available regarding the importance of most of the above-mentioned NWFP for self-consumption or for trade. Nuts (sheanuts and cola) are believed to be the main exported NWFP, followed by medicinal plants, gums and mushrooms. In general, resins, gums, cork and tannins are not widely used in Ghana (Forestry Department, 1991).
Regarding the importance of NWFP on the national scale (self-consumption; local, regional and national trade) FAO (1990) quotes a survey carried out within the framework of the Subri Development Project. This project converted a large forest to a Gmelina arborea plantation for pulp production and fuelwood utilization. The result of an interview among the people living in the surrounding areas showed that 94 percent of them complained that the project had reduced the supply of, or the access to, forest resources. In their view, the most important losses were bushmeat, chewsticks, canes, poles and other housing materials, as well as condiments.
The economic importance of NWFP is shown in the daily urban market of Kumasi, which is the biggest in Ghana. Seven hundred people in the market are involved in trading NWFP on a full-time basis, among which 100 leave traders (esp. Marantacea used for wrapping food), 100 medicine traders, 25 full-time basket traders and 50 traders of smoked bushmeat. A study carried out in two villages indicated that NWFP constitute the main source of income (FAO, 1995).
Most of the information about NWFP in Ghana has been collected in the southern humid parts of the country. This might be an indication of the higher importance of NWFP for local livelihood in the south in comparison with the drier northern region. One important NWFP coming from the woodlands in the northern region is gum arabic.
A household and marketing study on NWFP was conducted by Falconer (1992) in southern Ghana. The study describes among others the utilization and significance of forest foods, medicines, construction materials and household goods for the rural population. In addition, it presents the processing of, and trade in Marantacea leaves, medicinal plants, canes, chewsticks and bushmeat. It is concluded that ".... forests are extremely important to local inhabitants in their role as environmental and economic buffers. They provide subsistence products and opportunities for earning cash, especially at times when there are few other options." (Falconer, 1992).
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