Fruit market in Madagascar. (Photo by R. Butler)
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THE HARVEST OF SUSTAINABLE FOREST PRODUCTS
By Rhett Butler | Last updated July 22, 2012
There are numerous forest products that can be collected in a renewable fashion on a small scale by local people.
Although poor farmers must still overcome their ignorance of sustainable forest products and difficulties of distribution, the harvesting of forest products without destroying the forest can be more profitable in the long term than converting forest land for low intensity cattle pasture or marginal subsistence agriculture.
While studies in the late 1980s and early 1990s may have been overly optimistic about the potential for secondary wood products and non-timber forest products (NTFPs or NWFPs), more recent research suggests that forest products indeed serve as an important supplemental source of income for forest communities. For example, a recent CIFOR study estimated that forest product generate up to 20 percent of rural income and often provides the only means to access the cash economy. NTFPs can also be an important source of food and nutritional security.
MEDICINAL PLANTS
Medicines, drugs, and herbal supplements from the rainforest are still largely underdeveloped and only a few may be known to the local people
for harvesting. These are derived from bark, leaves, roots, and other plant parts and can be sold in local markets
to other local people. In some cases, these products can be sold for export provided there is an overseas market (export-oriented harvesting has a greater risk of driving overexploitation).
Local communities generally do not reap much from drugs derived from rainforest plants
by major foreign pharmaceutical companies because of the time and cost associated with drug development. Furthermore, once active ingredients are isolated from a plant, the drug can be synthesized in the lab. However, in some cases the active compounds are so complex or so expensive to synthesize that it is easier to collect from natural forest or cultivate on farms, something which could directly involve small farmers.
More on medicinal plants
FOOD COLORANTS
Although only 10 percent of natural food colorants comes from rainforest products, rainforest colorings could potentially satisfy
a larger proportion of the market. Local people could collect these colorants and sell them in local and urban markets. However, before this practice is feasible, a proper distribution
system for these products must develop.
FOODS
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Brazil nut pods
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Some rainforest food products can be collected in a sustainable manner for profit. Most of these include fruits,
nuts, and flavorings. Tropical American nuts, like cashews and Brazil nuts, account for hundreds of millions of dollars in sales
to the U.S. alone. Many of these foods, particularly Brazil nuts, can be collected only from a fully functioning
forest, and cannot be raised in plantations. The Brazil nut tree is a canopy species that grows in forests with
full canopies.
RUBBER
The crusade of the rubber tappers of Brazil in the 1980s and
the assassination of Chico Mendes became an inspiration for the sustainable use of the rainforest and various grass-roots
conservation projects around the world. Rubber tappers earn their principal income, which can be more than four times higher
than they would earn as factory workers in the city, from the sustainable harvesting of rubber, Brazil nuts, palm hearts, and other
forest products. They understand that their livelihood depends on the functioning forest ecosystem, and are committed
to the preservation of the forests as productive systems.
Natural rubber harvesters lead a markedly different existence from workers on industrial rubber plantations.
The History of Rubber
SECONDARY WOOD PRODUCTS
Wood can be sustainably harvested from the rainforest by locals. In some places, systems have been developed to facilitate the utilization of waste wood discarded by the timber industry. The operations can provides jobs for locals without driving deforestation or degradation of rainforests. One example is Tropical Salvage, a Portland, Oregon-based producer of wood products that salvages wood discarded from building sites, unearthed from mudslides and volcanic sites, and dredged from rivers and reservoirs in Indonesia and turns it into premium wood products. Another example is a project run by FUNDECOR in Costa Rica, whereby villagers collect scraps and discarded tree limbs left by commercial loggers. They saw the wood into boards on location, and sell the products to furniture companies.
OTHER FOREST PRODUCTS
Rattan, a common rainforest liana, is a valuable non-timber forest product, harvested from the forests of Southeast
Asia, that generates US$3 billion annually in a global market. It is probably best known for its use in furniture.
The collection of fragrances for perfumes and flavorings, ornamental seeds and pods, and fibers for weaving and
ropes can all offer economic benefits to peasants. However the concept of sustainable harvesting of forest products
is important because overexploitation has been a problem in the past. For example the fragrant pau rosa tree of the
Amazon has been diminished by overharvesting for the perfume and flavoring industries. Those who collected
the fragrance in the past felled the whole tree. Research shows however that the fragrance can be extracted from the leaves and twigs
of the tree, and now the collectors of pau rosa have been advised.
There are several obstacles restricting the collection of NWFPs from reaching their fullest potential. One problem is the lack of clear laws regarding user rights and access to forest lands. Because in many
countries forest lands are considered common property, it is difficult to monitor collection and determine
who has access rights to what resources. Another problem is how to manage NWFP collection in a sustainable way
without over-harvesting. To date, most extractive products are generally collected without regard to their sustainability.
A third challenge is the lack of adequate distribution systems for bringing goods to market
and a general lack of consumer awareness of existing sustainably harvested forest products. Finally, the traditional
barter system between local harvesters and merchants—especially prevalent in the Amazon as a throwback to the rubber boom—can be troublesome. Under this system—where manufactured goods and some food items are advanced
to harvesters against the future delivery of forest products—many remain perpetually indebted to their creditors.
Despite these concerns some countries have established a system of extractive reserves to set aside areas explicitly
for the harvesting of forest products. Some of these have been established with the hope that users will adopt
sustainable harvesting techniques under the tutelage and guidance of various NGOs and government organizations.
It is important to realize that while the collection of NWFPs can be lucrative, such practices can only support
a limited number of people on a sustainable basis. To raise the standard of living for a broader array of people,
extractive reserves would probably have to be regarded as supplementary sources of income to enhance their earnings
from other activities.
Review questions:
- How can people living near the rainforest earn a living without logging?
- What are some examples of non-wood forest products that can be sustainably harvested from the rainforest?
- How can the harvesting of non-wood forest products damage the rainforest ecosystem?
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Recent news
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(04/11/2013) The basic premise of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) program seems simple: rich nations pay tropical countries for preserving their forests. Yet the program has made relatively limited progress on the ground since 2007, when the concept got tentative go-ahead during U.N. climate talks in Bali. The reasons for the stagnation are myriad, but despite the simplicity of the idea, implementing REDD+ is extraordinarily complex. Still the last few years have provided lessons for new pilot projects by testing what does and doesn't work. Today a number of countries have REDD+ projects, some of which are even generating carbon credits in voluntary markets. By supporting credibly certified projects, companies and individuals can claim to "offset" their emissions by keeping forests standing. However one of the countries expected to benefit most from REDD+ has been largely on the sidelines. Indonesia's REDD+ program has been held up by numerous factors, but perhaps the biggest challenge for REDD+ in Indonesia is corruption.
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