Harnessing NTFPs for the Green Economy in the ASEAN Region

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Harnessing NTFPs for the Green Economy in the ASEAN Region RAMON A. RAZAL 1 AND MARIA CRISTINA S. GUERRERO 2 1 PROFESSOR, UPLB AND 2 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NTFP-EP

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This presentation by Ramon Razal and Maria Cristina Guerrero given during the Forests Asia Summit in the Discussion Forum "Equitable development: Social forestry and sustainable value chains towards a Green Economy in ASEAN" focuses on trends and related statistics on NTFPs, introduces its new study and scope, methodology and limitations of the study, the findings of the study, recommendations for ASEAN and gives a review of AEC impact study on social forestry.

Transcript of Harnessing NTFPs for the Green Economy in the ASEAN Region

Page 1: Harnessing NTFPs for the Green Economy in the ASEAN Region

Harnessing NTFPs for the Green Economy in the ASEAN Region

RAMON A. RAZAL1 AND MARIA CRISTINA S. GUERRERO 2

1PROFESSOR, UPLB AND 2EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NTFP -EP

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1) Trends and related statistics on NTFPs

2) Scope, methodology, limitations of study

3) Findings of the study

4) Recommendations for ASEAN

5) Preview of AEC impact study on Social Forestry

Outline of presentation

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NTFPs in the countries visited

Cambodia Indonesia Lao PDR Malaysia Myanmar Philippines• Bamboo poles

& shoots

•Corypha

lecomtei leaves

• Honey

• Medicinal

plants

• Rattan

• Resins

•Wild grapes for

wine

• forest foods

• Bamboo

• Biofuels

• Dyes

• Essential oils

• Forest Fruits

• Gaharu

(Aquilaria

wood)

•Honey

• Medicinal

plants (Jamu)

• Rattan

• Resins

• Animal

products

• Bamboo

• Charcoal and

fuelwood

• Fibers

• Forest foods

• Ornamentals

• Rattan

• Resins

• Bamboo

• Forest

foods/fruits

• Gums, resin &

oleoresin

(eaglewood,

jelutong latex)

• Honey

• Medicinal

plants

• Rattan

• Bamboo

• Dyeing

materials

• Fibers (Bast)

• Gum, resin &

oleoresin

• Medicinal

plants

• Rattan

• Roofing

materials

• Scented wood

and bark

• Spices

• Bamboo

• Biofuels

• Exudates

(almaciga and

pili resins)

• Forest foods

• Honey

• Palms (buri

midribs,

anahaw leaves,

nipa shingles)

•Rattan

•Vines

•Corypha

lecomtei leaves

• Honey

• Resins

• Bamboo

• Gaharu

(Aquilaria

wood)

• Honey

• Bamboo

• Rattan

• Rattan • Rattan

• Scented wood

and bark

• Medicinal

plants

• Medicinal

plants

• Exudates

(almaciga and

pili resins)

• Gums, resin

& oleoresin

(eaglewood,

jelutong

latex)• Forest foods

• Bamboo

• Bamboo

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Trends and related statistics

• wide range of NTFPs across ASEAN countries: e.g., bamboo, rattans and other palms, resin and gums, wild foods and medicinal plants

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Trends and related statistics

• wide range of NTFPs across ASEAN countries: e.g., bamboo, rattans and other palms, resin and gums, wild foods and medicinal plants

• for similar NTFPs, the levels of processing and utilization, and hence benefits derived by forest-based communities differ across countries. In many areas, NTFPs remain unprocessed at the community level; having a visionary in the community is important to pursue value addition/enterprise activities

• gatherers and producers of the NTFPs initiate the value chains, but the performance of this vital function is largely underrated in the distribution of margins and benefits

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• An estimated 300 million people in the ASEAN region live and depend on the forest for sustenance in forest areas that are managed by the local people, where indigenous peoples significantly make up such communities (FAO, 2010)

• NTFPs account for as much as 25% of the income of close to one billion people (Molnar et al. 2004).

Trends and related statistics

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• largely undocumented or poorly recorded volumes of NTFP production and harvest

• existence of local markets, and possibly significant, cross-border (but mainly illegal) markets

• fluctuating volumes of globally-traded, commercial NTFPs from ASEAN

• intra-regional NTFP trade (among ASEAN member states) small compared to trade between ASEAN and the rest of the world

Trends and related statistics (continued)

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Scope, methodology, limitations of study

• processed products from, and technologies using NTFPs to determine what can be shared across countries, consistent with the emergence of a global green economy

• By technology, we mean an activity or intervention that adds value to the resource, so that the primary producers and their community can receive a higher, more equitable share of the benefit that accrue from its commercial sale

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Scope, methodology, limitations of study

• processed products from, and technologies using NTFPs to determine what can be shared across countries, consistent with the emergence of a global green economy

• By technology, we mean an activity or intervention that adds value to the resource, so that the primary producers and their community can receive a higher, more equitable share of the benefit that accrue from its commercial sale

• Six ASEAN countries – were visited for interviews (mostly government and NGOs, very few private, actual NTFP processing operations)

Malaysia

Indonesia

Myanmar

PhilippinesLaos

Cambodia

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Findings of the study: Selected NTFPs and associated technologies

•Technologies on bamboo dominate R&D activities, encompassing propagation and plantation development studies, product development, pole preservation, and analysis of bamboo supply/value chains

• Rattan forests have been certified as sustainably managed (in Laos), and rattan poles are delivered to a FSC chain-of-custody (COC) certified manufacturer who makes products following sustainable designs with minimal use of materials, less wastes and avoid nails and screws for fastening. Efforts have to be sustained as well as replicated, however

•Cebu (Philippines) rattan furniture companies produce innovative high-end furniture designs, use mixed materials, and continuously train the workforce to become more skilled in furniture making and design

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•FRIM (Malaysia) formulates and develops an array of plant-based health products, such as nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, essential oils and plant extracts, and disinfectants, with an herbal-based industry roadmap that seeks community participation in sharing traditional knowledge, provisioning of sustainable supply of raw materials, to post-harvest facilities and product manufacture

• In Indonesia, an inoculation method was developed to “infect” the Aquilaria tree to accumulate the resin; this involves the use of liquid preparation of tree-compatible inoculant strains, which are injected at the right time into several small holes on the stem for resin induction

• enterprise undertakes drying of Corypha leaves in Cambodia, with mechanical bundling equipment prior to shipment

Selected NTFPs and associated technologies (continued)

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• Indonesia Forest Honey Network (JMHI) leads network-based cooperation among honey collectors and supporting NGOs, with improved organizational management and business planning, better protection of forest areas, improved quality control, and skills on marketing and promotion of honey

•The composition of Dipterocarp oleoresin from Preah Vihear province (Cambodia) was determined, expanding end-uses and enabling better tapping and handling practices that increased take home benefits for resin gatherers

• Also in Cambodia, the sources of, and collection methods for wild food, recipes used, and the loss in natural flavoring due to use of synthetic condiments were documented; and agrosystem models for better management and conservation of forests for food

Selected NTFPs and associated technologies (continued)

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• The Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) developed environmentally-friendly extraction processes from different plant sources that yield a variety of colors when applied to different types of fibers, yarns, and fabrics; Crude extracts can be converted into dye powder, rendering longer shelf-life, convenience in transport, and a broad range of applications

Selected NTFPs and associated technologies (continued)

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Issues in the Development of Technologies for NTFPs

• Paucity of research on NTFPs. Only about 10% of the total research activities in forestry research institutes are on NTFPs and correspondingly, little research funds have been allocated for such purposes.

• Mismatch between NTFP research priorities and actual gaps. Research on NTFPs follow tried-and-tested models or frameworks for timber; Research organizations must interface with NGOs and communities to make their research more relevant to the needs of NTFP-using clients.

• Sustainability of NTFPs. Inventory data on NTFP resources are lacking, and there are methodological challenges to determine if the resource is adequate to support the emergence of NTFP-based industries. Alternative harvest techniques, and regimes that allow time for regeneration, and wild resource management techniques may improve sustainability and reliability of wild plant resources.

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• Availability and access to information. People who depend on NTFPs are often isolated from the knowledge centers responsible for data collection, related technologies and novel breakthroughs. Information, technologies and techniques often fail to reach farmer-gatherers, households, and rural-based entrepreneurs.

• Access to financing for the acquisition of new technologies/processing equipment. There are no provisions for funding to acquire equipment, and communities are not aware that they must set aside income to repay loans to finance such acquisitions.

• Scaling up and transforming NTFPs to meet industry needs. Substantial costs are incurred in pursuing long-term studies on NTFPs, but funders of research such as the government are generally impatient providers of financial grants for research.

Issues in the Development of Technologies for NTFPs (continued)

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The role of policy

• Few national forest policy issuances specifically mention NTFPs; still often defined as minor products with no specific agenda to promote development, management, or sustainable utilization except to spell out rules on extraction, export, and fees. The absence of specific policies makes it difficult for households, communities and the private sector to set out long-term plans for plantation and business enterprise development involving NTFPs.

• In contrast, Indonesia has recently completed a set of NTFP-specific policies (sentra) designed to stimulate development and production of 30 priority NTFPs through the establishment of centers of excellence across the country. Likewise, Cambodia has provided 3-year tax breaks for community-based honey enterprises.

• Overall, contradicting policies remain that continue to hinder NTFP sector development across the region.

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Recommendations: Strategies and Mechanisms for NTFP Technology Development and Information Sharing across ASEAN

• Creating a network of institutions in the different ASEAN countries, established on the basis of capacity that exists in each country, to facilitate cooperation on NTFPs across the region.

• Creation of an ASEAN expert working group on NTFPs that will provide regional coordination among the proposed country-based centers; this working group can conduct and support ASEAN-wide NTFP value chain analyses and implementation of interventions to complement national activities, and facilitate the process of responding to expressed NTFP capacity-building needs in a member country.

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•Propagation and production of NTFP resources should be expanded, through inclusion in reforestation programs such as the National Greening Program in the Philippines and the One Billion Trees Program in Indonesia.

• National Policies should also be more aggressive in promoting NTFPs, and formulated in a manner that carefully considers all possible impacts to avoid being counterproductive.

Recommendations: Strategies and Mechanisms for NTFP Technology Development and Information Sharing across ASEAN

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ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (AEC)•ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015 - blueprint agreed upon during the ASEAN

Summit in Singapore on November 20, 2007.

•Designed to liberalize trade in the ASEAN thru elimination of intra-regional tariffs and non-tariff barriers. It intends to make the manufacturing sectors more efficient and competitive in the global market. At the same time, consumers will source goods from the more efficient producers in ASEAN thus expanding intra-ASEAN trade.

•The key characteristics are: (a) a single market and production base, (b) a highly competitive economic region, (c) a region of equitable economic development, and (d) a region fully integrated into the global economy.

••• by a single market and production base means a region marked by the free flow of (i) goods; (ii) services; (iii) investment; (iv) capital; and (v) skilled labor.

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Preview of AEC Impact Study on Social Forestry

Main objectives:

1. situate the different ASEAN Member States (AMS) in terms of how their forestrysectors will be affected by economic integration and trade liberalization as embodiedin the AEC Blueprint;

2. review national level policy directives, initiatives, and efforts related to the forestrysector, specifically their bearing on Social Forestry in the advent of the AEC;

3. evaluate the impacts of AEC integration on the production, consumption, and trade oftimber and NTFPs and socio-economic concerns particularly on smallholders in theforestry sector;

4. recommend specific development and policy interventions to minimize potentialnegative impacts or to capitalize on possible benefits or opportunities of the AEC inthe forestry sector; and

5. disseminate the results through seminars and publications.

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Some research questions:

•What are the national level policy directives, initiatives, and efforts related to the forestry sector, particularly in relation to social forestry, which may have bearing or may be affected by the advent of the AEC?

•How will the production, consumption, and trade of timber and NTFPs in the ASEAN member states be affected by AEC? What other socio-economic impacts may the AEC have particularly on the forestry sector? How will the impacts vary among the different AMS?

• How will smallholders in the social forestry sector be affected, considering that social forestry products are offered in niche markets and are not mainstream commodities?

•What can social forestry adherents do at the local, national and international levels to minimize negative impacts and to capitalize on possible benefits or opportunities of AEC?

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Thank you!