31. In his paper Harvesting wild rattan: Opportunities, constraints and monitoring methods, Mr Siebert presented opportunities and constraints of cane harvesting and methods to assess and monitor their ecological effects based on a case study and ongoing research in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. He further described the social, economic and institutional challenges to rattan harvesting and cultivation by emphasizing the success of smallholder rattan production systems vis-à-vis industrial-scale rattan estates. He concluded that declining supplies, particularly of large-diameter cane, and strong market demand called for better management systems, which would require adequate policy and institutional support to provide small farmers and rattan collectors with adequate economic incentives and secure resource tenure or property rights.
32.In his paper Rattan in the twenty-first century - An outlook, Mr Sastry gave a global overview of the presently known availability of wild rattan resources and of the extent of rattan plantations. He further illustrated the major issues related to ensuring future supplies from managed wild resources and from plantations, the required technological improvements and information exchange needs. He concluded by listing strategic directions to secure rattan supplies for the next century.
33. In his paper Policy and institutional framework for a sustainable development of rattan, Mr Salleh emphasized the global resource depletion due to loss of habitat, overexploitation, inadequate replenishment and inadequate knowledge, all leading to an unsustainable use of the resources. At the policy and institutional levels, he stressed that there were no policies nor institutes specifically addressing rattan conservation and development issues in any country and that national and regional strategies and a global plan for action were needed. He further highlighted several key research needs, such as reducing the rosette stage of rattan plants, and he stressed the need for appropriate certification of rattan products. He called on INBAR and FAO to join forces and take up a leading role among relevant international agencies to elaborate such a global plan of action to guide and assist countries endowed with rattan resources towards a sustainable development of the sector.
34. In closing this session, Mrs Booth, in her capacity as representative of the Philippine Rattan Furniture Industry Association, made a statement to describe how the industry was dealing with the shortage of cane supply by using new species, accepting lower qualities, improving processing technology and searching for better marketing approaches and markets. She made a strong call on the urgent need for concerted action by industry, governments and relevant international agencies to address the critical status of declining supplies of good-quality rattans. She expressed the need for all parties concerned to agree on actions that should be elaborated and implemented in order to remedy the situation and strive towards the sustainable development of the rattan sector in general.
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