XIV WORLD FORESTRY CONGRESS, Durban, South Africa, 7-11 September 2015
Non-Timber Forest Products for Food Security, Income Generation and Conservation in Asia Maria Cristina Guerrero1, Ramon A. Razal2, and Madhu Ramnath3 1
Senior Adviser, NTFP-EP Asia,
[email protected], Quezon City, Philippines Professor, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna, Philippines 3 Country Coordinator, NTFP-EP India, 104 Ganga Compound, Kodaikanal, India 2
Abstract In a forest ecosystem, often timber products only comprise 10% of all products whereas 90% are nontimber forest products. NTFPs are estimated to account for as much as 25% of the income of close to one billion people (Molnar et al. 2004). FAO clearly makes the case that 50 million people in India depend on forests, mainly NTFPs for subsistence (FAO 2013). In Laos, wild foods are consumed by 80% of the population daily and similarly in Cambodia, 50-70% of all meat and vegetables consumed are from the forest (Nomad, et al 2012). Unfortunately, NTFPs are still barely recognized for their importance in rural livelihoods and in forest conservation in general. This is evident as NTFPs are rarely present in trade statistics, and enforcement on illegal trade and forest conversion is minimal. NTFPs hardly emerge in food security plans or land use planning models. Policy and business incentives are lacking and access to markets and technology is still weak and not integrated. Asian and global leaders would do best to acknowledge the need for forests for food security and community and national economies. Policy support and the systematic and regular capture of NTFP data to generate analysis needed by governments are important. Documentation and programming of NTFPs and wild foods in nutrition improvement and food security plans is crucial. Finally, community-based NTFP enterprises need support in consolidating, scaling up, improving efficiency and connectivity across the value chain. Congress sub-theme: Forests for Socio-economic development and Food security
Keywords: non-timber forest products, honey, crafts, resin, food security, income generation, conservation, Asia
Introduction, scope and main objectives In a forest ecosystem, often timber products only comprise 10% of all products whereas 90% are nontimber forest products (NTFPs). NTFPs are estimated to account for as much as 25% of the income of close to one billion people (Molnar et al. 2004). FAO makes the case that 50 million people in India
depend on forests, mainly on NTFPs for subsistence (FAO 2013). In Laos, wild foods are consumed by 80% of the population daily and in Cambodia, 50-70% of all meat and vegetables consumed are from the forest (Nomad et al 2012). Despite their relative importance, especially to indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities, there is little attention given to NTFPs in government policies and programs. This slack is filled by non-government organizations (NGOs) that work handin-hand with these often neglected communities who are poor, vulnerable to the vagaries of weather and the whims of big business. The Non-Timber Forest Products-Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP) is a network of civil society organizations primarily engaged in assisting forest-dependent communities in a number of Asian countries to establish and operate enterprises that generate sustainable livelihoods through the use of NTFPs as raw materials. NTFP-EP maintains a presence in India, Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia Indonesia and Viet Nam. During field work in forest villages in these countries, NTFP-EP has documented indigenous practices that communities employ in their day-to-day activities in securing food, or collecting NTFPs for barter or for cash income, while simultaneously ensuring that the sources of these benefits are conserved and protected. This paper highlights the work that NTFP-EP has done in partnership with local organizations and selected communities on honey collection, crafts, resins, and wild foods and how these products have made an impact on food security, resource conservation and income generation. Although there is an enormous range of NTFPs (more than 682 tropical plant and animal species have been documented as NTFP sources in Asia)1 that tropical forests can provide, the present paper has limited the cases to the above-mentioned products as they best illustrate how indigenous peoples are able to pursue the three-fold objectives of food security, livelihood, and conservation. Methodology As earlier mentioned, NTFP-EP and its partner organizations undertake field work in remote villages where economic activity is centered on the gathering, use for sustenance or livelihood, and sale of unprocessed NTFPs, finished materials, or crafts derived from them. Through efforts directed at becoming the communities’ partner organization in realizing common aspirations associated with NTFP-based activities, staff and field workers of NTFP-EP lived and mingled with community residents, as well as participated in events and activities associated with the various aspects of community-run enterprises. Through knowledge sharing and capacity building in areas where communities have gaps in knowledge, NTFP-EP workers gained the confidence and trust of community members. Thus, a long-standing working relation emerged with several indigenous communities that enabled important data collection not possible with a more structured method of gathering information. Communities that afforded opportunities for documenting practices, lessons, and ideas invaluable to this paper include the Punan community, Sumbawa honey gatherers and West Kutai weavers in Kalimantan in Indonesia, the Durwa and Bhatra in Central India and the Cholanaicken and Kurumba in the Nilgiris in Southern India, the Pala’wan, Agta and Aeta tribes in the Philippines, and the Penan in Sarawak, Malaysia. The following discussion summarizes the various interventions and findings for the four selected cases, namely honey, crafts, resins and wild foods. Results and Discussion Case I. Honey
Honey gathering is a traditional practice for most forest-dependent communities. Beyond collection however, there is little in terms of expanding markets and ensuring quality that communities undertake in this enterprise. In the area of markets, community organization and quality improvements, NTFP-EP has done substantial work with local organizations and communities for the latter to realize increased income benefits from honey. Two areas show significant improvements in the ability of forest honey to contribute to the communities’ income: Sumbawa in Indonesia and Tamil Nadu in India. 1
NTFP-EP online product database has recorded 682 species across the Asian region. (NTFP-EP 2015)
More than ten years ago, honey collection on the island of Sumbawa, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia, was less organized and largely individual and without much interaction with the other collectors. Consequently, incomes were low as the gatherers could not command a good price for their produce. In some cases, honey production was threatened through unsustainable harvesting methods and conversion of the forest as bee habitat. In 2007, NTFP-EP and its network partner National Forest Honey Network Indonesia (JMHI) assisted in the registration of the Sumbawa Forest Honey Network (JMHS) network of honey gatherers, with over 400 members in 11 cooperatives covering an area of 17,000 has. JMHS, at this time, also became a member of JMHI. Through JMHI, JMHS started to use the sustainable harvest methods and hygienic processing as better quality honey demanded better prices. Product diversification and improved packaging also helped marketing to local and national buyers. JMHS was able to sell to the international company, AMWAY that then distributes the honey across a vast web of distributors. This was made possible through JMHS’s engagement with a social marketing firm, Dian Niaga which has helped bring regular orders for honey gathering groups, boosting the stability of forest honey as an income source. In 2013, JMHS produced over 21 tons of honey or 30% of all production of JMHI in that year. The dramatic increase in prices of honey by up to 150% since 2008, thereby increasing the incomes of Sumbawa honey gatherers for their honey enterprise, can be seen in Table 1 below: Table 1: Historical Farm Gate Prices per kilogram of Forest Honey in IDR for JMHI members (Rakib 2014) Year
APDS
JMHS
APMTN
KTMUK
LPMA
WASLIT
JMHU
2008
28,000
30,000
12,00015,000
25,000 / bottle
30,000
40,000
No information
2009
45,000
40,000
17,00020,000
No information
35,000
45,000
No information
2010
45,000
45,000
20,00023,000
30,000/ bottle
50,000
50,000
2011
60,000
55,000
27,00032,000
30,000/
50,000
60,000
60,000
40,00050,000/ bottle
75,000
60,000
32,00035,000
50,000
2012
2013
90,000
75,000
38,00040,000
75,000/ bottle
50,00070,000
Bottle
35,000
35,000
40,000 75,000
40,000
APDS – Asosiasi Periau Danau Sentarum (W.Kalimantan) JMHS – Jaringan Madu Hutan Indonesia (Sumbawa) APMTN – Asosiasi Petani Madu Tesso Nilo (Riau) KTMUK – Kelompok Tani Madu Hutan Ujong Kulon (Banten) LPMA – Lembaga Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Adat (Central Kalimantan) WASLIT – Wahana Advokasi Lingkungan Terpadu (S.Sulawesi) JMHU – Jaringan Madu Hutan Uluiwoi (S.E.Sulawesi)
Consequently, a Sumbawa farmer who also engages in honey gathering, can make up to 36% of his income from harvesting honey as can be seen in Table 2 below:
Table 2: 2013 income sources for JMHS members in the highlands (Julmansyah, Personal communication, June 10, 2014) Product
Volume harvested per year
Price per kilo
Honey
(IDR)
Income per year (USD)
% contribution to income
400 kilos
75,000
2,640
36%
Candle nut
2 tons
5,000
876
12%
Coffee
2 tons
22,000
3,876
52%
In Tamil Nadu, India, similar interventions were introduced by Keystone Foundation, NTFP-EP’s partner organization in the area, such as training honey-hunters on various aspects of sustainability, hygiene as well as in marketing. Prior to Keystone’s entry, honey collection was unorganized, also as it was ‘illegal’ in forest areas that were state jurisdiction, preventing any intervention that could improve sustainable collection, value-addition and marketing. Honey sold then was from hives that were crushed along with the larvae and badly filtered, leading to fermenting and low quality. Over the years, each honey collector has been registered, and the source of the honey brought from specific areas monitored. Substantial improvements in honey trade were realized following the innovations introduced by NTFPEP’s partner, Keystone Foundation. In the Nilgiris district, for example, 160 honey-hunters are now collecting on average, about 5 tons of honey, earning an income of Rs 10 lakhs. In the Hasanur area, 90 honey-hunters have been collecting about 5 tons and earn an income of Rs 8 lakhs. Case 2. Crafts In 2007 and 2008, NTFP-EP organized several meetings and trainings attended by weavers from Pepas Eheng village, West Kutai, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The activities were designed to increase the weavers’ capacity to improve product quality, develop new products, and strengthen marketing efforts. After holding the said activities with help from NTFP-EP, the Bina Usaha Rotan (BUR) was organized in 2008. This is primarily a business organization of Dayak Benuaq rattan handicraft weavers from the Pepas Eheng Village, with a membership of more than 50 women. BUR helped rattan crafts produced by the weavers reach local, national and international markets through various channels and collaborations. Approximately 13% of all income of BUR weavers now comes from rattan craft (NTFP-EP Indonesia 2015). In addition, sale of various NTFPs contribute up to 35% of all income of BUR weavers (Guerrero 2014). The main craft produced by BUR's weavers is the anjat. It is a traditional rattan backpack decorated with traditional motifs, and used to carry food and other items when going into the fields and forests. Rattan often comes from sophisticated rattan gardens or simpukng found in their village. Simpukng is an example of forest regeneration which moves from swidden to forest in a rotational cycle. Growth of natural vegetation in these gardens leads to ecological dynamics that resemble natural succession (Joshi et al 2004. Annual swidden agriculture for upland rice combined with extraction of forest products form the core of Dayak subsistence strategies in Dayak Benuaq systems in Kutai Barat as in other parts of Borneo. Plants were used for food, medicines, constructions, fabrics, fuel, arts and local technology, dye, poison, ritual ceremony, etc. (Medi 2012). Studies in Dayak Benuaq simpukng have shown that from 300 species, 143 are local valuable plants. (Joshi L et al 2004). Some studies show that at least 30 plants in the rotational simpukng systems are used for food (Crevello 2003).
Case 3. Resins In the island province of Palawan, Philippines, one of the most valuable traded NTFPs is almaciga (Agathis philippinensis) resin. In Brooke’s Point, resin is gathered primarily by indigenous peoples belonging to the Pala’wan tribe; tree tapping is done in the Mt. Mantalingahan Protected Landscape, considered to be a key biodiversity area needing protection. NTFP-EP supported the provincial federation NATRIPAL (United Tribes of Palawan) in helping almaciga tappers document their indigenous tapping practices, and prepare their resource management plans. NTFP-EP and NATRIPAL supported the local indigenous association, Samahan ng Mga Palawano ng Amas, Brooke’s Point (SBABP). SBABP has a membership of 43 tappers. SPABP has resource rights within its ancestral domain covering 750 has and is seeking expansion with other villages to 14,000has. Resin harvests now total 50 tons annually, each almaciga tree yielding 5-10 kilos per harvest. Tapping is done at least twice a month. With 43 tappers each of whom “owns” 25-50 trees, potential monthly production can reach up to 21,500 kilos of resin. At a price of P19-30/kilos, almaciga resin gathering can contribute between 19-32% of the tapper’s monthly income, depending on the availability of other sources such as the sale of copra from coconut (NTFP-EP Philippines. 2015). The entry of migrants and the pressure to harvest more almaciga resin to meet market demands threatens the sustainability of resin gathering. Thus, SBABP, with assistance from NATRIPAL and NTFP-EP, documented their harvest protocols to guide gatherers in ensuring the sustainable harvest and management of the almaciga resin gathering areas. The protocols include the following set of guidelines (Table 3). Table 3. Guidelines in tapping almaciga resin in Brooke’s Point, Palawan, Philippines (NTFP-EP Philippines, revised 2015) 1) 2)
3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)
Only the tree owner can harvest resin from an almaciga tree. Trees are inherited from one generation to the next. The list of owners is an important SBABP record. The owner of the tree has the responsibility to take care of the almaciga trees by doing the following: a) Cleaning the area around the tree, especially around wildlings b) Cleaning the “tarasan”, the place on the tree where the resin will flow c) Removing the the bark or remaining resin on the tree where termites likely to build their nests An almaciga tree can be tapped if its diameter is big enough for a person to wrap his arms around the tree. The tapping incision should not be more than 3 inches in length along the tree’s circumference One should wait 3-4 months before making an incision again on a previous tapping Before taking the resin off the tree, the resin should be dry and resin flow should have stopped No farming is undertaken around the almaciga trees Tappers must establish a nursery and plant almaciga trees
SPABP imposes penalties on almaciga gatherers who do not follow the set protocols. First offenders receive warnings. A fine is imposed for a second offense. Upon the 3rd offense, the tree is taken away and awarded to a more responsible gatherer. An offender could even lose his membership from SPABP. SPABP has reforested 100 has of land with hardwoods and local fruit trees through its participation in the government’s National Greening Program (NGP). Forest guards (Bantay Kalikasan) have been established with the local village officials and SPABP leaders have started to identify and map out the bird sanctuary areas. The communities believe that these areas are not only important for spiritual functions but also because they contain seeds of many species in the forest, including the seeds of almaciga. Case 4. Wild foods In the course of NTFP-EP’s field research, it found that indigenous communities in various parts of India, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia gather and consume upwards of 200 species of wild foods that include both plant and animals (Ramnath M 2013, NTFP-EP, 2013, Ramnath and de Rozario,
2011). These uncultivated foods are mostly seasonal and supplement what is grown, providing much needed micronutrients and vitamins that are usually not available to indigenous peoples living in remote areas. Apart from being food-security buffers, wild foods are therefore essential for the health of these indigenous peoples. Such wild foods are procured from the forests - be they privately owned or commons - gratis, paid only by the effort of going out to collect them. To assist communities in ensuring that wild foods are properly utilized and conserved, NTFP-EP and its partners embarked on identifying wild food species in the field along with an assessment of their consumption among the community. These afforded a list of wild foods, with local and scientific names, enabling cross references and comparisons between communities. NTFP-EP found that many species of fresh water fish have declined in quantity due to the pollution of water after coal mining in the area. Such threat to aquatic foods that provided a regular supply of protein to indigenous communities was common across many parts of Kalimantan and central India. NTFP-EP’s analysis of what foods among those listed were still a regular part of the community’s diet showed that many species were neglected and seldom consumed despite their availability. The reasons were found to be various, ranging from the lack of resources to fashion tools/traps; lack of skill to identify certain foods such as yams or plant poisons that stupefy fish; displacement from an area due to a forest being declared a forest reserve or national park; destruction of habitat; pollution of rivers due to mining, the migration of youth that led to a decline in meats generally brought home by them, such as boar and deer; an alarming decline in transmission of traditional knowledge; and the overall pervasiveness of modern/fast foods and subsidized rice. The reduced intake of wild foods by indigenous peoples is becoming a common pattern across much of tropical Asia. The lesser proportion of wild foods in indigenous diets also reflects on the declining health of the community (Oenema 2014). This observation was borne out of initial findings on health checks conducted among five communities - Cholanaicken, Bhatra, Durwa groups in India, the Aeta in the Philippines and the Penan in Malaysia - to ascertain how changes in diets have affected their health (Oenema 2014, Keystone Foundation 2014). ‘Modern’ ailments, such as hypertension, anemia and diabetes, are prevalent among indigenous communities that have undergone dietary changes; in contrast, many of the older generation among some communities such as the Penan were in perfect health. CONCLUSION That NTFPs play a crucial role in food security, forest conservation and in improving the incomes of forest communities is a significant result of NTFP-EP’s work. What NTFP-EP has seen is that these three aspects are inter-related in an intricate way, with conservation being bound to forest use especially as food, and with income generation. Unfortunately, these interactions have not been clearly understood by policy makers and government agencies. Traditional knowledge on the sustainable use of NTFPs is also being lost due to non-transmission of knowledge between generations of indigenous peoples, and the neglect by governments that seem to favor commercial exploitation of forests over the forest-dependent communities’ well-being. It is hoped that this paper helps make a case of the need for increased recognition of the value of forests beyond timber.
Acknowledgements Authors would like to thank the various indigenous communities and producer groups that have shared their experiences, stories, livelihoods as related in this paper. They continue to maintain their NTFP based livelihoods despite the struggles that face them. Specifically we appreciate the support of Bina Usaha Rotan (BUR) in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Samahan ng mga Palawano sa Amas Brooke’s Point (SPABP) and Nagkakaisang Mga Tribu ng Palawan (NATRIPAL) in Palawan, Philippines, Jaringan Madu Hutan Sumbawa (JMHS) and Jaringan Madu Hutan Indonesia (JMHI) in Indonesia. We also thank the Bhatra and Durwa,communities in Chhattisgarh, India and the Kurumba and Cholanaicken communities in Tamil Nadu, India. Likewise, we appreciate the support and wisdom of the Agta in Quezon, the Aeta in Tarlac Philippines and likewise the Penan in Sarawak, Malaysia. We recognize as well the information provided by the following persons: Julmansyah, Hermanto, Rio Bertoni, Katherine Mana - Galido, Tanya Conlu, Manny Uy, Merry Tobing. Finally, we thank those that have provided financial support for the various projects in the field that has made this work possible: Ecosystem Alliance -IUCN-NL, Ford Foundation, Anton Jurgens Fonds, ICCO, BothENDS - Rich Forest Program The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. References Crevello SM. 2003. Local Land Use on Borneo: Applications of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Natural Resource Utilization Among The Benuaq Dayak of Kalimantan, Indonesia. Dissertation. School of Renewable Natural Resources. Guerrero MCS. 2014. Is Community –Based Forestry Improving Livelihoods. Presentation to the ASEAN Senior Officials In Forestry, Siem Reap, Cambodia. FAO 2013. Forests For Improved Nutrition and Food Security. Available at: http://www.fao.org/forestry/27976-02c09ef000fa99932eefa37c22f76a055.pdf [accessed 15.04.15] Joshi L, Wijaya K, Sirait M, Mulyoutami E. 2004. Indigenous systems and ecological knowledge among Dayak people in Kutai Barat, East Kalimantan – a preliminary report. ICRAF Southeast Asia Working Paper No. 2004_3. Keystone Foundation. 2014. Report on Health Monitoring and Nutritional Support Program for Cholanaickens, October 2013 to March 2014, Tamil Nadu. India. Medi H. 2012, Ethnoecology of shifting cultivation and traditional botanical knowledge on dayak benuaq society in Kutai Barat Regency, East Kalimantan. Dissertation, IPB – Bogor Agricultural Institute. Molnar, A., S. Scherr, and A. Khare. 2004. Who conserves the world’s forests? Community-driven strategies to protect forests and respect rights. Washington, D.C.: Forest Trends and Ecoagriculture Partners Nomad RSI, NTFP-EP, CNWG, IADC, ICC. 2012. Participatory Needs Assessment on Wild Foods Diversity Towards Food Security and Climate Change Adaptation in Ratanakiri Province. Cambodia
NTFP-EP 2013. The Changing Forests and Food Systems of the Punan Adiu. NTFP-EP. Bogor, Indonesia. NTFP-EP. 2015. NTFP Product Online Database. Available at http://ntfp.org/index.php?go=ntfp_db [accessed 15.04.15] NTFP-EP Indonesia. 2015. Income and Impact Monitoring Reports –Crafts Kalimantan 2014. Unpublished NTFP-EP Philippines. 2015. Income and Impact Monitoring Reports – CBNE 2014. Unpublished. NTFP-EP Philippines 2015. Guidelines in tapping almaciga resin in Brooke’s Point, Palawan, Philippines. Edited version from workshops in 2014. Unpublished. Oenema. E. 2014. How good is your food? Article in Voices from the Forest - NTFP-EP Issue 27. Available at: http://ntfp.org/ntfpadmin/nbta-vftf-pdf/1414436906Voices%2027%20102314LR%20%20FINAL.pdf [accessed 14.04.15] Rakib M. 2014. Creating market access for forest honey in Indonesia: Lessons from the Forest Honey Network in Sumbawa. Presentation at CIFOR Forest Asia Summit, Jakarta. Ramnath M. 2013. Enriching the Palate: a compendium of forest foods consumed by the adivasi people in peninsular India. NTFP-EP Asia and Keystone Foundation. Tamil Nadu, India. Ramnath M, de Rozario J. 2011. Thematic paper on Subsistence Wild Foods presented at the NTFPEP Straegic Planning Workshop, Bataan. Philippines Ramnath, M.:The role of wild food in tribal culture in India: as taste, identity, metaphor; forthcoming in A. Baviskar (ed) Nature Today. New Studies in Ecology and Environment, New Delhi, Oxford University Press.
