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Non-Wood Forest Products
In recent years, non-wood forest products (NWFPs) have attracted considerable global interest. This is due to the increasing recognition that NWFPs can provide important community needs for improved rural livelihood; contribute to household food security and nutrition; help to generate additional employment and income; offer opportunities for processing enterprises; contribute to foreign exchange earnings; and support biodiversity conservation and other environmental objectives.
Trees and forests contribute in many ways to combating malnutrition and improving diets in local communities and rural households. Not only do they directly provide food and medicines, but they also indirectly increase income and improve agricultural production, thereby improving access to food. Hunger and malnutrition would be significantly worse if it were not for the contribution of trees and forests to household food security.
Forest foods can offer vital insurance against malnutrition or famine during times of seasonal food shortage or emergencies such as droughts, floods or wars. It is common for rural households to depend on forest foods between harvests, when harvested stocks have been consumed but before new crops are mature. Women, in particular, count on these resources for supplementary nutrition, emergency foods, fuelwood for cooking and many other important products they need to ensure the nutritional well-being of their families.
Probably the majority of rural households in developing countries, and a large proportion of urban households, depend on plant and animal products of forests to meet some part of their nutritional, cooking and/or health needs. There is a wealth of wild fruits and flowers that have great potential for local use as well as commercial development Trees and forests contribute to improving the well-being of local populations by providing a wealth of food, flavourings, medicines and beverages.
In fact, it can be said that nearly every tree, shrub or grass species is used in one way or another for food and nutrition. Plants provide food either directly in the form of fruits, seeds and other edible parts, or indirectly by providing products that facilitate consumption of other foods. Wild food plants can also play a crucial role in supplying essential nutrients, especially during times of acute and chronic food shortages.
The contribution of forests and trees to food security in Africa is significant, diversified and valuable. It ranges from direct production of food to provision of jobs and income. Wild food plants complement food intake and are consumed throughout the year.
Edible plants and plant products (mushrooms, fruits, leaves, tubers, roots, nuts) and medicinal plants are considered as the most important non-wood forest products. Non-wood forest products (NWFP) are first and foremost used for food and medicinal purposes. They serve as important protein providers especially for rural people. The leaves and roots of edible plants have a high nutritional value and can play an important role in the prevention of malnutrition in rural areas. Beyond this, they represent a source of income for a large number of people, especially women, who are the main traders of NWFPs.
Conservation of Indigenous Medicinal and Food Plants
In Africa more than 80% of the continent's population relies on plant and animal based medicine to meet their health care requirements. Since the ancient time plant medicine is an important part of health care system in Africa. The heavy reliance on plant medicine in Africa is attributed to their relative accessibility, low prices, local availability, and acceptance by local communities and the low number of dispensaries and doctors for health care needs especially in rural areas. In addition many Africans residing in rural areas are located far from hospitals or clinics, and transport facilities are often not available.
For the most part the plants and animals used in traditional medicine are collected from the wild, and in many cases, demand exceeds supply. As Africa's population grows, demand for traditional medicines will increase and pressure on natural resources will become greater than ever. The African biological resources provide a wide range of natural products such as medicinal and food extracts, and other natural products. Many of these products are collected for subsistence use. Some of them have served as an important source of innovation for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cosmetic and agrochemical industries.
Overall objective
Assisting local communities to develop their own conservation initiatives (e.g. guidelines, training, seed funding, information dissemination, technical assistance and other incentives).
Specific objectives
- Disseminate information and knowledge in order to increase awareness of the importance of conservation of indigenous medicinal, food plants and other NWFPs;
- Identify and document medicinal and food plants considered as threaten or as of high priority to local communities based on their traditional;
- Carry out propagation of medicinal and food plants at local community level through establishment of nurseries in order to restore local medicinal and food plant biodiversity;
- Recording and promoting traditional knowledge pertaining to medicinal and food plants management and conservation;
- Documenting and collecting experiences, case studies and best practices on sustainable use and conservation of medicinal and food plants;
- Establishing nurseries and ecological medicinal and food centres to encourage propagation of species to the community level for cultivation and domestication;
- Pilot farmer-based cultivation trials for a selected number of threatened and indigenous species in home gardens to supply local health needs, and provide alternative income generation;
- Identification of priority medicinal and food species that need urgent conservation.