1.2 Regional synthesis

According to the available information¹⁰, the NWFP considered as most important on the sub-regional level are:

· Medicinal plants (in all sub-regions);
· Edible plants (in Insular East Africa, Southern, Central and West Africa);
· Forage (in North, Southern and West Africa);
· Bushmeat (in Central and West Africa); and
· Bee products (in East and Southern Africa).

NWFP of main importance for specific sub-regions are: cork and aromatic plants (North Africa), exudates (East Africa), ornamental plants (Insular East Africa) and rattan (Central Africa).

Table 4. Main NWFP of Africa

To view their regional importance, NWFP have been ranked according to their national and sub-regional socio-economic relevance, as mentioned in the country profiles. Three levels of importance have been identified:

· NWFP of high importance on the sub-regional level (see also table 4);

· NWFP of medium importance, which are of high importance in selected countries (e.g. Christmas trees in Mauritius, Insular East Africa), but which are of medium importance for the respective sub-region;

· NWFP of low importance, which are documented, but not considered important products for the respective country.

Table 5 summarises the importance of NWFP for the different sub-regions, and ranks the NWFP according to their overall regional importance. It indicates that only medicinal and edible plants (many edible plants also have medicinal purposes) are of high and medium importance in all sub-regions. Fodder is mainly of high importance in the arid and semi-arid zones. Other important products for these zones are exudates (especially East Africa and the dry zones of West Africa) as well as cork and aromatic plants (North Africa).

The use of bushmeat (Central and West Africa), living animals (Insular East Africa), bamboo and rattan (Central Africa) is more important in the humid and semi-humid zones with closed forest types and higher forest cover. Livestock production is of minor importance in Central Africa, thus fodder production is not considered important.

Table 5. The importance of NWFP in African sub-regions

*** high importance (main NWFP on sub-regional level), ** medium importance (main national NWFP), * low importance (mentioned in country profiles); ¹ Total: Addition of asterisk for evaluating the overall regional importance of NWFP; ª Animals or animal products.

"Utensils, handicrafts and construction materials" have been identified as an important category in every sub-region. However, the actual main products change according to the respective sub-region: cork is of major importance in North Africa, followed by Alfa grass and other fibres; bamboo is relevant for the East African Islands, Southern Africa and West Africa, whereas rattan is considered important in Central Africa (and to a limited extent in West Africa). Products of similar importance on the regional level include wrapping leaves, thatch, other construction materials (e.g. palm leaves, bark), and handicrafts.

Table 5 also shows that vegetal NWFP are, in general, of higher importance in comparison with animal products. Bee products and bushmeat are the most important animal products, followed by living animals (of particular importance for Insular East Africa) and edible insects, mainly caterpillars and termites which are important products in Southern Africa.

NWFP are provided by wild and/or cultivated/domesticated species. However, most of the NWFP are derived from wild species. Cultivation and domestication is limited to species that provide high value products and for which cultivation is feasible and profitable.

According to the production system, NWFP can be subdivided into four groups:

· NWFP only provided by wild species (e.g. mushrooms, fruits), which have not yet been cultivated;

· NWFP mainly provided by wild species such as Prunus africana and Gnetum buchholzianum, which are currently brought into cultivation due to their growing economic importance and/or decreasing supply of wild products;

· NWFP, provided by both wild and cultivated species such as Acacia senegal (gum arabic) or Azadirachta indica (multi-purpose tree), which, lately, have started to be cultivated extensively ;

· NWFP, provided by species such as Bixa orellana, Chrysantemum sp., Cinchona sp., Cinnamomum aromaticum (cinnamon) or Syzygium aromaticum (clove), which have already been incorporated into agricultural systems for long time. These examples represent a wide range of species and products that can already be considered agricultural crops rather than NWFP.

NWFP are collected in various habitats, ranging from closed forests to woodlands or shrublands, depending on the ecological conditions. Trees outside forests (trees on non-forested lands, agricultural fields or home-gardens) are important in every sub-region and provide either wild or cultivated NWFP.

Inappropriate harvesting techniques and intensive exploitation can affect habitat and its plant or animal population. Fire, used for honey hunting, may result in bush fires causing severe habitat degradation (e.g. in East and Southern Africa). Debarking of species such as Prunus africana can cause the death of the tree and contribute to endangering the entire population. Animals become unavailable due to the trade in living animals and bushmeat (e.g. in West Africa).

The availability of NWFP can also be affected by a variety of circumstances not directly linked to the management of a particular product. Habitat degradation through logging or shifting cultivation, droughts, or other competitive uses like wood production do also reduce the availability of NWFP in all sub-regions.

NWFP are mainly used for subsistence. In particular, medicinal, edible and fodder plants are consumed mostly by the rural population or traded locally (including barter trade). National and international commercialisation is limited to selected species and products of high demand. Important examples of traded NWFP are essential oils (e.g. rosemary, myrtle), medicinal plants (e.g. Prunus africana, Warburgia salutaris), bushmeat, honey or rattan.

Most of NWFP are still considered common goods. However, information from Central and West Africa (e.g. Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Nigeria) indicates a gradual replacement of open-access to the resource with private property. Especially, rare and valuable NWFP are increasingly being considered private property.

The total value of NWFP can not be calculated due to the lack of viable data. Products regarded as very important on the sub-regional level are supposed to be the most valuable.

Outlook of NWFP use in Africa

The importance of the main sub-regional or national products will hardly change in the near future. Bushmeat will remain important in Central Africa, as cork and aromatic products in North Africa.

The use of traded NWFP obviously depends on national or international demand. The demand for cork, for instance, currently exceeds supply as the substitution of natural products, such as cork stoppers, with artificial products is not foreseeable. On the other hand, in the case of gum arabic the food industry has found substitutes after serious supply problems in the 1970s. However, even if the demand for gums has decreased considerably since the late 1970s, these products are still of major importance for some, especially East and West African, countries.

Special cases are medicinal plants used by the pharmaceutical industry. The high demand for specific species and their products (e.g. Prunus africana, Warburgia salutaris) leads to higher prices (which do not automatically correspond to higher benefits for collectors) and over-exploitation of the resources. In order to become independent from the natural resource (and its irregularity in supply and chemical composition), there is a tendency to domesticate highly-valuable medicinal plants and find synthetic substitutes with the same (or better) effects as the natural products.

Very limited information could be collected on the (potential) importance of fair-trade or green markets. However, this type of market is supposed to be of growing importance, but additional information needs to be gathered and analysed in this regard.

Products used for subsistence purposes are often substituted by non-forest or synthetic products, if alternatives become available. However, in rural areas alternatives are mostly not available or too expensive. For this reason medicinal plants, for example, will remain an important African NWFP.

10 If not quoted otherwise, information presented in the regional (chapter 1.2) and sub-regional (chapter 1.3) synthesis is taken from country reports (see chapter 1) and country profiles (see chapter 3).