Towards sustainable harvests of natural medicines |
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| Southern Africa Sustainable Indigenous Resource Use | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Three new books have sparked moves to balance competing demands on threatened forests in southern Africa. One in three people in developing countries use traditional medicines, especially the very poor. But, because gatherers collect tree bark and other natural medicines from communal or state-owned forests, supplies are threatened. The new books suggest sustainable ways of harvesting bark for traditional medicine from forests and woodlands, commercialising medicinal plants and taking stock of non-timber products from forests. Together, the three books offer vital information for preparing forest management plans - including community management. Already, many different stakeholder groups, from traditional healers to senior forestry officials use the books. This is a positive step towards collaboration to sustain forest resources in southern Africa. Project Ref: FRP39:
Research Programmes:
Relevant Research Projects: R8305 Lead institutional partners
Other institutional partners
The project produced three principal outputs commencing in 2005 and continuing until mid 2007. (1) Books which present the state-of-the-art in; (a) bark harvesting (Wong et al, 2007), (b) medicinal plant commercialisation (Diederichs, 2006) and (c) NWFP resource assessment (Wong & Kleinn, 2007) in a form suitable for use by forestry technical officers, NGOs, community groups and natural resource managers. The bark handbook[1] (a) presents advice on the selection of appropriate harvesting regimes for harvesting bark for use in traditional medicine from afro-montane forest and miombo woodlands. Three basic management regimes are presented based upon species response to wounding and simple experiments are described to select the best regime for species other than the 20 included in the project experiments. The CPWild book (b) is concerned with the commercialisation of medicinal plants to enhance livelihoods. The FAO guidelines (c) provide decision-support for the selection of appropriate inventory techniques for any NTFP. Together these three books address several technical shortcomings in previous approaches to sustainability of medicinal plant management. (2) A new SADC institution to foster collaboration in the development and implementation of sustainable use of the indigenous resources of southern Africa. As a multi-country project R8305 fostered the development of a regional perspective which was consolidated at the Trees for Health Forever workshop held in Johannesburg in November 2005. The meeting culminated in a resolution (See Annex 1) that formed a regional working group (later termed the Indigenous Resources Working Group - IRWG) to foster close collaboration and action to implement sustainable forest management with an initial focus on medicinal plants. This was signed by policy advisors, forest managers, herbalists, traders and NGOs from seven SADC countries. A meeting in March 2006 prepared a programme of activities for the IRWG (See Annex 2). A regional response to forest resource management issues had previously been lacking. (3) Awareness of the risks to health security, livelihoods and forest biodiversity posed by unsustainable harvesting and inter-regional trade of medicinal plants. The findings of the various components of R8305 were summarised in a series of policy briefs and media stories intended to alert people the supply of medicinal plants is endangered by current demand. The messages generated by R8305 proved to be an emotive issue, of interest to local media and has generated considerable demand for further interaction particularly from TMP. This has potential as an entry point for civil society engagement in forest sustainability which has proved elusive.
Bark collected from indigenous forest trees for use in traditional medicine The output also applies to other medicinal plants, use of bark for other purposes and non-timber forest products in general.
Clustering R8305 outputs with those outlined below would facilitate the development of an integrated approach to NTFP management, the adaptation of research outputs for use in the SADC region and an exemplar pilot study of the integration of science and development: R8295 - developed a participatory approach which applies scientific principles to the development and validation of harvesting prescriptions for medicinal plants. This will complement R8305 which did not identify optimal site and species-specific harvesting techniques. R6709 - generated methods of tree regeneration and woodland management for wood. These methods are applicable to the production of bark where whole-tree harvesting is recommended. R7475 - developed a manual to assist in the development of biodiversity guides. Many of the medicinal plant species are not well known and a guide to the commonest medicinal species in miombo woodland would be invaluable. R7925 - the decision-support tool developed by this project could be used to identify business models for medicinal plant based enterprises which would complement the CPWild experience in South Africa. The institutional output (IRWG) is intended for regional dissemination and action - as such it offers an opportunity to add significant value to all the projects listed above. Since the IRWG is also intended to encompass other NTFPs, it could act as a dissemination channel for: R7822 - this Zimbabwean project deals with domestication and commercialisation of mopane worm which is an important resource across the region. R7250 (Flexibility Fund) - this Malawian project investigated edible miombo fungi which are an important food resource especially in the hungry period of the early rains across the region. Collaboration with non-DFID projects would also add considerable value to the output. Early discussions have been held with IUCN and FAO to identify areas of synergy with new and existing SADC programmes. [1] Even before publication the project is receiving requests for this book outside the project partner countries. In particular from SAFIRE in Zimbabwe to support their GEF medicinal plants project and also from Indian collaborators on R8295 as they did not include bark harvesting in their experiments and this is a common practice in India. How the outputs were validated: The outputs for R8305 have only just been completed and key outputs have yet to be disseminated so it is too early to demonstrate the full impact of uptake on dependant livelihoods or the resource base. However, during the project the R8305 team worked closely with many and varied stakeholder groups from village-based healers through to senior officials of the Forestry Departments and including forestry training institutes. In all but a minority of cases the project outputs were well received and have resulted in many expressions of demand for completed outputs (see under "Where the outputs were validated"). Representative examples of stakeholder responses to project outputs are:
Where the Outputs were Validated: The majority of project outputs to date are concerned with awareness raising and advocacy except in a few instances where the project team worked directly with primary stakeholders during information collection (IK and market surveys) or monitoring of experiments. The main stakeholder groups with whom there was significant interaction during the project as listed in Table 1. This list is restricted to those stakeholder groups where uptake can be verified or there has been feedback to the project team, other users known to the project team are listed in Table 2. Table 1 Stakeholder groups who have validated project outputs
End users/beneficiaries for technical outputs i.e. bark collectors highlighted in bold, other targeted groups are intermediate users on the uptake pathway. All technical outputs are intended for use in the forest-agriculture interface production system. Although most collectors are likely to combine farming with collection, trade or TM practice, they are not necessarily farmers or reside close to the forest. [1] The extreme vulnerable poor group of Hobley & Jones (2006) Who are the Users? Outputs 2 and 3 (see above) are being actively promoted by FRIM and CBU in their respective countries and in SADC as opportunities present themselves. In Malawi, advocacy for sustainable management of medicinal plants has been particularly successful. In particular the media (TV documentary, radio programmes and newspaper) continues to make use of Output (3). Interest sparked by the media has also been sustained with more than 20 telephone enquiries to FRIM from traditional healer groups, forest managers, forest educational institutes and NGOs requesting more further information. The lead collaborator for Malawi is a member of a traditional medicine steering committee which provides an on-going opportunity to include resource issues in traditional medicine research programmes. Various technical outputs are in use in teaching in CBU and GAU. All project collaborators are engaged in the finalisation and dissemination of Output (1) publications. DWAF have agreed to publish the Bark handbook (1a) and FAO the NWFP assessment guidelines (1c). Where the Outputs have been Used: Outputs are currently in use mostly within the project team though interim reports and components of the technical work have already been incorporated into teaching in several universities. Table 2 Current users of project outputs
Scale of current use: Current use of project outputs is low compared to expectations as major publications have yet to be disseminated. However, interest in the project is high among many stakeholder and target user groups based on relatively modest, albeit targeted advocacy programmes. With regard to uptake of policy messages uptake has been remarkably rapid and is spreading. With careful cultivation of current interest and opportunities it is likely that there will be rapid uptake of publications and that this has potential to spread relatively rapidly across the region. Useful indicators of the spread of interest in project outputs are the hit rate and download statistics for project pages and documents available on the internet. A description of the project and its outputs to date are available on two web sites; http://www.wildresources.co.uk/ and http://www.frp.com.uk/. Figure 1 illustrates activity on the first of these for the nine months from April to November 2006. This shows relatively constant but low levels of activity. However, experience with other sites suggests that it can take 2-5 years for a site to become established as a resource. It is also apparent that hit rates from SADC is less than half of the total which reflects the relative ineffectiveness of the internet for regional dissemination. Given that access to the internet is likely to remain restricted across much of the SADC more conventional, paper-based dissemination products will be required.
Figure 1 Web activity statistics Policy and Institutional Structures, and Key Components for Success: The partner countries have forestry policies and programmes in place that promote and make provision for collaborative management of forest resources. South Africa has some experience with the implementation of participatory management, Malawi is piloting co-management and Zambia just initiating co-management. Participatory management is strongly associated with the development of management agreements as a pre-requisite to regularisation (legalisation) of access to NTFPs. However, there has been very little systematic research to support management prescriptions for the wide variety of species and products which can be used as NTFPs. There is therefore demand and ready acceptance for any tools which can be used to put NTFP management onto a scientific basis. There are a number of projects which are intended to facilitate the dissemination of environmental messages. In Malawi, USAID (COMPASS II) and the Department of Environmental Affairs sponsors environmental journalism particularly radio. This has been particularly valuable as it meant that it was possible for the project to access journalists who were interested in chasing stories rather than funding. SADC has a number of institutions relevant to NTFP management such as the Biodiversity Support Programme and Forestry Technical Group. Unfortunately it has not been possible to engage the interest of the former and an anticipated meeting of the latter has been repeatedly postponed. Likewise the Lusaka Accord on regional trade in endangered species has no programme or monitoring for medicinal plants or NTFPs. The project itself gave rise to a new regional institution (Output (2) the IRWG). This nascent institution needs sympathetic nurturing if it is to become a credible and effective organisation. Perhaps the key factors for success has been the incremental formation of a flat, open-ended project team. Regular, informal working meetings focussed on capacity building, technology transfer and joint problem solving served to create a vibrant team. As the project evolved new institutions and people were invited to meetings and were often rapidly absorbed into the team. If the project has real value the team members should natural evolve into project champions and be able to access dissemination pathways within their countries and parent institutions. [1] See request from Sibonginkosi in Annex 3 for assistance with implementing the FAO Guidelines Lessons Learned and Uptake Pathways Promotion of Outputs: The project team are actively promoting outputs whenever an opportunity presents itself. The capacity building in science advocacy provided by FRP in 2004 was timely and greatly enhanced the effectiveness of the project in the policy arena. Table 3 gives details of promotional activities for Output (3). The main targets for these activities are Forestry Departments, educational institutes, the NTFP sector and civil society. Table 3 Current project output promotion
Potential Barriers Preventing Adoption of Outputs: Table 4 Barriers to uptake of project outputs
How to Overcome Barriers to Adoption of Outputs: Change in any area identified as a barrier in Table 4 requires:
Of these the first two cannot be overcome within existing funding arrangements while the second and fourth are to some extent in place. Funding within civil service institutions is perennially in short supply and unlikely to change in the near future. It has been noted that it is easier to secure partnerships with existing programmes such as COMPASS if representation is from an established and resourced programme - there is always suspicion when a relationship is seen to be one-sided so this is not the answer. However, a more serious barrier is staffing. Often little staff time is given over to uptake and this needs to change either by recruitment, re-deployment or by out-sourcing. Institutional support for change is perhaps less of a barrier however, there is considerable inertia within forestry sector institutions - pooling resources across the region may help build confidence to take on larger policy issues, to assess priorities and meet SADC-specific needs. Institution of the IRWG could help achieve this and also open a dialogue outside the forestry sector. Lessons Learned: Project experience confirmed the maxim that involving end users from an early stage in a project will increase its the participation in a project will increase its uptake, in this case the end users being TM practitioners and traders. However, although this is certainly true for those involved and the outputs will be more relevant with their inputs this is not going to serve as a mechanism for reaching large numbers of poor people. Switching delivery of outputs between the forestry authorities and NGOs simply shifts the problems of capacity shortages sideways. Decentralisation and institutional reform of forestry authorities may offer an opportunity for greater involvement of poor users but this is by no means certain. The project experience suggests that there are several ways to stimulate adoption of outputs by end users and intermediaries on the uptake pathway:
Poverty Impact Studies: Not applicable as project outputs not yet disseminated. The market network study and border post monitoring provide a baseline of activity within the trade network where income dependency on medicinal plants is most evident. This could be repeated in the future to determine whether there has been any net change in livelihood security. How the Poor have Benefited (including gender and other poverty groups): There have as yet been no studies which examine the poverty impacts of the project outputs. However, based on the experience[1] of CPWild and Sizamimphilo it is possible to speculate that uptake by traders could have the following impacts in relation to the five capitals of the DFID livelihoods framework in Table 5. Table 5 Livelihoods and capital impacts for Sizamimphilo Association
Similar impacts can be postulated for herbalists and other collectors. Experience with Sizamimphilo also indicates that it may take several years before stable relationships emerge from the upheaval created by the formation of new institutions. [1] http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2002/november/bark.htm Direct and Indirect Environmental Benefits: Direct environmental benefits: · Reduction of deforestation · Conservation of medicinal species · Tending and planting of trees Indirect environmental benefits: · Establishment of TMP as a national and local scale stale collaborator in forest management · Regional monitoring of medicinal plant trade · Validation of policies supporting user group participation in forest management · Regional dissemination of FRP project outputs for a range of NTFPs · Adaptation of FRP outputs from resource identification to commercialisation for use in SADC region Adverse Environmental Impacts: Marketing information could increase interest in harvesting hence lead to destruction of some medicinal plants. Coping with the Effects of Climate Change, or Risk from Natural Disasters: The outputs would increase resilience in that it would ensure the availability of medicinal plants. Abbreviations CBU Copperbelt University, Zambia CPWild Commercial Products from the Wild (consortia of South African researchers derived from Innovation FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN FRIM Forest Research Institute of Malawi FRP Forestry Research Programme GAU Georg-August-Universität Göttingen IRWG Indigenous Resources Working Group IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature NEPAD New Partnership for Africa's Development NGO non-governmental organisation NTFP non-timber forest product NWFP non-wood forest product (term used by FAO ≈ NTFP) RNRRS Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy SADC Southern African Development Community SAFIRE Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources THPAZ Traditional Health Practitioners Association of Zambia TM traditional medicine TMP traditional medicine practitioners Acknowledgements Mr Gerald Meke of the Forest Research Institute of Malawi provided the first draft of the proforma. In his capacity of Interim Secretary of the Indigenous Resources Working Group provided much useful input on the future developments of the Working Group and also served as a contact for R7250 and R6709. Mr Fabian Malambo, Dr Coert Geldenhuys, Prof. Christoph Kleinn also made useful contributions and represented their various countries and particular interests. Mr Hikojiro Katsuhisa of FAO and Mr Stewart Maginnis of IUCN also offered support for the document and any resulting programmes. Correspondence with Kate Schrekenberg (R7925), Anna Lawrence (R8295) and Alan Gardiner (R7822) confirmed the compatibility of their outputs with this cluster of projects and also their willingness to contribute in the manner specified. However, the views expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author. Contents R8305 Annex 1 Trees for Health Forever - Workshop resolution. Johannesburg 1-3 November 2005. Annex 2 Proposals for a southern Africa programme for sustainable development of indigenous resources Annex 3 Evidence of support for proposed interventions List of key publications arising from R8305 Diederichs N. (Ed.) (2005) Commercialising Medicinal Plants: A Southern African Guide. CPWild. African Sun Media. Matieland, South Africa. Wong J.L.G. and Kleinn C. (2007) NWFP assessment guidelines. NWFP Series. FAO, Rome. In preparation. Wong J.L.G., Meke G., Malambo F., Kleinn C., Roux Y., Vermeulen W., Jere M., Syampungani S., Geldenhuys C., Lamy V. and Williams V. (2007) Handbook for harvesting bark for medicinal use in Southern Africa. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Forest Research Institute of Malawi and Copperbelt University. In preparation. Relevant Research Projects,
with links to the
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For relevant research projects, with links to further information  Geographical regions included: Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe,  Target Audiences for this content:Forest-dependent poor, |
