INTRODUCTION

1. In the Near East countries, there is a long tradition of management of forests and forest lands for non-wood forest products (NWFP). This paper describes the importance of NWFP in the region, identifies some of the main issues related to NWFP and presents some aspects for consideration by the NEFC in order to develop their potential in the countries considered.

NWFP AND THEIR IMPORTANCE IN THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEAR EAST

2. Non-wood forest products are goods of biological origin other than wood, derived from forests, other wooded lands and trees outside forests.¹

3. In drylands and other areas of the Near East, NWFP support the livelihoods of millions of people. Traditionally, the most important contributions of NWFP are to health care, food security and nutrition (fruits, leaves, seeds and nuts, mushrooms, honey and animals are all important sources of food and food additives in the Near East), support to agricultural and livestock production, and the provision of construction materials and household items. NWFP vary greatly with local availability and preferences. They range from products used for local consumption to products which are traded in the international markets and which have represented major commodities for a long time. However, in the Near East, the majority of NWFP are used for subsistence and in support of small-scale, household-based enterprises which provide income and employment for rural people, especially women.

4. Examples of NWFP used in the Near East are cork (Quercus suber), honey, edible nuts (stone pine, chestnuts, walnuts), carob pods (Ceratonia siliqua) (used for food, fodder and gum), gum arabic (Acacia senegal and A. seyal), mastic gum (Pistacia lentiscus) and gum tragacanth (Astragalus spp.), styrax (Liquidambar orientalis), alpha grass (Stipa tenacissima), pine resin, mushrooms, argania oil (Argania spinosa) and many plants widely used for culinary, aromatic and medicinal purposes (laurel, rosemary, thyme, etc). Some of these products are commodities traded on the international markets (honey, cork, stone pine, styrax, gum arabic, mastic and tragacanth, aromatic and medicinal plants), while others are used on a local scale (argania oil in Morocco).

5. The table in Annex 1 presents a general overview on the main NWFP in the countries of the Near East; it is not meant to be exhaustive.

6. In the Near East, the goods and services provided by forests and trees are often much more important locally or even nationally than timber production. Sylvopastoralism for livestock production (often based on nomadic systems) is the main land use production system in many of these countries: forest grazing and forest fodder, therefore, represent a major contribution to local and national economies of Near East countries. Collection, grading and processing of aromatic and culinary plants is a major income generating activity. In Tunisia, for example, essential oils are important commodities. In 1995-1998, the annual export of essential oils derived from rosemary and myrtle reached 57 043 kg and 3 787 kg on average, worth about US$1,200,000 per year. Most aromatic culinary and medicinal plants are still collected from the wild and often subject to overharvesting.

7. Recreational values of forests and trees providing NWFP are relatively important in all the countries of the region, while in some protection values are of great importance.

MAIN CONSTRAINTS FACING NWFP DEVELOPMENT

8. Despite their importance for local economies and for the people, NWFP in Near East are still largely neglected in the policy and decision-making processes of natural resource management. The main constraints facing the contribution of NWFP to sustainable rural development are: very little quantitative data available on production and values of NWFP (and few reliable figures on internationally traded NWFP); overemphasis on timber production; lack of research and information on the ecology of the species providing NWFP, management practices, sustainably harvestable level, sound harvesting practices, post-harvesting and processing technologies, market opportunities, quality requirements and control; price fluctuations; lack of clear and appropriate legislations, and policy support.

9. However, in recent years, there has been an increasing interest in NWFP and their potential for forest conservation and rural development. This has prompted various organizations to undertake initiatives in favour of NWFP development. International organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the WWF-Mediterranean Programme have ongoing NWFP programmes in the region.

10. The FAO Forestry Department NWFP Programme has organized two regional meetings with the specific aim of promoting the sustainable utilization of NWFP in the Near East. The first meeting, "Medicinal, Culinary and Aromatic Plants in the Near East", which was held in Cairo in May 1997, opened a forum for the exchange of information on NWFP use in the region, and for the formulation of recommendations on actions to be undertaken in various fields in order to promote the sustainable use of NWFP (see Annex 2). Building upon those recommendations, the second meeting, "Development and Coordination of Regional Activities on Non-Wood Forest Products in the Near East Countries", was organized in Lebanon in May 1999.

11. Participants at the meeting in Lebanon discussed important issues identified during the Cairo meeting , including the main recommendations on priority actions for regional cooperation, among Near East countries in the field of NWFP. The meeting gave an opportunity to the participants to share knowledge and exchange experiences, and to promote the cooperation and coordination of activities among the different organizations and countries.

CONCLUSIONS AND TOPICS FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMISSION

12. With adequate policy support, research, and investment, NWFP can contribute to household economies and food security, to national economies, and to environmental objectives (such as the conservation of biological diversity) in the Near East.

13. Some important issues to be addressed in the Near East are: the need to look at NWFP management and development in the context of integrated land-use practices (silvopastoral systems, support to agricultural production, etc); the compatibility of NWFP with services such as watershed protection; the challenge of domestication (when, where and to what extent NWFP can or should be produced in plantations or agroforestry); the need to address such issues as conflict management (pastoralists/settled farmers), targeting at rural women, and tenure systems.

14. More specifically, the recommendations of the Beirut meeting (May 1999) are brought to the attention of the Commission:

I. On Policy and institutions issues:

The participants:

• Recognized the need for regional cooperation between countries and with the support of international organizations (such as FAO and UNECA/SRDC-NA, IPGRI, the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) in the field of NWFP. For this they strongly recommended the preparation of regional projects and strengthening of networking (for example, organization of regional meeting on specific topics, such as research, processing, marketing, people's participation), and exchange experience on the uses of NWFP.
• Recognized the importance of a harmonized terminology, definition and classification of NWFP and acknowledged the efforts made by FAO on this topic.
• Noted the importance of having appropriate legislation and institutions, which would support the sustainable utilization of NWFP.
• Recognized the vital role of local communities for sustainable utilization of NWFP. Therefore the participants recommended the strengthening of community-based institutions and NGOs and encouragement of their participation in the process of decision making, to ensure fair share of benefits. When necessary, this could be achieved through appropriate incentives for the local people.
• Recognized the importance of extension, education and training and recommended that these aspects be given particular emphasis in the formulation of regional cooperation programmes.

II. Resource management

• Noted the lack of information on the availability and potential of forest resources (including forest genetic resources) providing NWFP and recommended that assessment studies for important NWFP species be undertaken.
• Encouraged the undertaking of yield studies and sustainable harvest levels to accompany commercialization studies for NWFP.
• Recognized that many forest gathered medicinal, aromatic and ornamental plants are overexploited, and that appropriate propagation, cultivation and harvesting techniques of these should be encouraged within a sustainable forest management programme.
• Recognized the importance of awareness raising of all stakeholders (owners, collectors, traders, consumers) to promote the sustainable utilization of NWFP. This includes also increased communication and willingness to collaborate between all stakeholders.
• Recognized the importance of ecological and environmental studies to assess the impact of NWFP utilization on the environment as a whole.
• Recommended that a guidebook on important NWFP species be produced (by FAO, IPGRI, UNECA)

III. Product management

• Recognized the importance of added-value at the local and national level and recommended the strengthening of local processing and marketing capacities. This would encourage the introduction of NWFP to an open market system, whereby the manufactured end products only would be exported. This will encourage local industries, protect the country property rights and foster employment.
• Recognized that, for internationally traded NWFP especially, quality standards for the raw materials and processed products must be ensured. Extension, information and training on quality requirements and specifications should be provided to producers. This is an example of where regional cooperation and support from international organizations could be very useful.
• Recognized the importance of socio-economic studies to assess the impact of NWFP commercialization on local communities, especially when NWFP used at the subsistence level reach national or international markets.
• Recommended that in order to facilitate regional cooperation, a categorization of products be undertaken, on the basis of agreed-upon criteria. An example of this is represented by the criteria used in Sudan: products for which research and development (R&D) is completed and are commercialized; products for which research is finalized and development is still required; and products which have not been the object of any systematic R&D approach.

15. The Commission may wish to address the following issues related to the management and use of NWFP for rural development in the Near East region:

• The assessment, development and promotion of NWFP should be strengthened through improved networking, and/or regional development projects and common programmes, exchange of information and experience related to this field, and the organization of regional meetings between experts. In this regard, close collaboration and coordination should be sought with, and among, the agencies and institutions working in the same or related fields, and FAO could play a key role in this networking process.
• A review of national forest policies and regulations in the region should be carried out, possibly with assistance from FAO, to identify critical gaps which could impede the conservation of forest biodiversity and at the same time the sustainable development of NWFP.
• Each country should become involved in a process of promotion of NWFP and this process should be developed simultaneously at regional, sub-regional and national levels through national forest departments, with the support of the NEFC.
• Follow-up action should be taken, possibly by FAO, in the identification and formulation of regional projects/programmes to promote the sustainable development of NWFP in the Mediterranean basin, and to prepare project outlines for submission to interested donors. This effort should be carried out in close collaboration with relevant sub-regional organizations (such as the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) and others) and with agencies from the countries concerned.
• Strengthened cooperation and twinning arrangements/programmes with the Central Asian Republics should be promoted through south-south partnerships with the support from FAO and a follow-up meeting on NWFP should be held specifically to assist those countries.

1 According to a new working definition of NWFP proposed by FAO in June 1999.

ANNEX 1: GENERAL OVERVIEW ON THE MAIN NWFPS IN THE NEAR EAST

ANNEX 2: RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MEETING ON MEDICINAL, CULINARY AND AROMATIC PLANTS IN THE NEAR EAST (CAIRO, EGYPT, MAY 1997)

The objectives of the Expert Meeting in Cairo in 1997 were to:

• Gain a better insight into the present resource situation and utilization status of Medicinal, Culinary and Aromatic Plants (MAP) of the Near East region, their potential, and the problems and issues to be addressed for their sustainable development;
• Identify and propose priorities for action at various levels and propose programmes and projects to support national/regional efforts for resource conservation and sustainable development of MAP products in the Near East.

The following were the main findings of the meeting and the corresponding recommended actions to be taken:

Information on the resources

It was found that there is a lack of:

• an agreed list of species (including important micro-organism) with standard names, synonyms, and agreed taxonomy;
• information on properties, distribution and dynamics of species and their associated ecosystems;
• information on how plants are utilized, harvested, cultivated and propagated;
• reliable production and trade statistics;
• germplasm/certified/authenticated stock for cultivation;
• data on the socio-economic contribution of MAP and other NWFP to rural development;
• data on the various values of NWFP, including their contribution to income generation, soil conservation, food security, and maintenance of biodiversity.

Some information on the above is partially available from many and often very different sources, however this information base is still far from being comprehensive and adequate to cover the whole Near East region.

Proposed action

• Establish a regional metadatabase on medicinal, culinary and aromatic (and other NWFP) resources of the Near East based on existing efforts/databases;
• Create a "Directory on Who in the Near East is Doing What on NWFP and Where" (including the utilization of the work done by AOAD, MEDUSA, IUCN, and others);
• Improve networking among key institutes in the region to strengthen information exchange, technology transfer, development of regional statistics and propagation methods (need for a regional training programme/center).

Conservation/protection/utilization of the resources

It was found that regulations and forest/rangeland legislation dealing with ownership, user rights, protection, utilization and harvesting of wild populations, at national/sub-regional level are inadequate. This situation is leading to over-harvesting and increased degradation of the natural resources, resulting in the inability of the wild populations to regenerate. It was also found that there was a lack of participatory and integrated forest resource management (combining wood production, grazing and NWFP).

Proposed action

• Review present national forest legislation in the region to identify critical gaps;
• Assist governments in the development of comprehensive strategies to address in a multidisciplinary manner the conservation and sustainable development of their medicinal, aromatic and culinary (and other NWFP) resources;
• Set aside gene reserves/conservation centres. This would require carrying out a feasibility study for establishing regional gene banks on MAP of the Near East.

The need for regional action programmes was mentioned, including developing field projects to:

• Define the role of local people and develop participatory approaches with rural populations for improved conservation/utilization of the resources;
• Strengthen regional research collaboration.

Product Development and Policy/institutional aspects

It was found that there is urgent need for:

• Establishing an integrated approach towards NWFP development (and NOT to focus on one species only);
• Achieving optimization of the use of the products: improve industrialization, better techniques for harvesting, processing, etc.;
• Promoting the domestication of resources when relevant (as sometimes supply from both wild and farmed sources is desirable for social reasons);
• Setting up regional organizations/networks (or centre) on given products;
• Improving the quality standards of products.

Proposed action

• Prepare marketing studies on important NWFP and MAP;
• Organize training workshops on specific topics (quality, marketing, involvement of local people, forest policy, extension).