The National NTFP Network has released the June 2010 newsletter.

The Centre for Livelihoods and Ecology

 The first applied research and development centre established at Royal Roads University is rebranding itself as the Centre for Livelihoods and Ecology. The new name highlights commitment to sustainable resource management.  
 
"This new identity more accurately describes the focus of our activities," said Brian Belcher, the Centre's Director. "We are dedicated to improving people's livelihoods and resource management through strategic and applied research on forest resources and rural economies."
 
"Originally created in 2004 as the Centre for Non-Timber Resources, the Centre has built a good reputation among policy makers in the forestry and agricultural sectors, as well as among resource managers, Aboriginal people, and rural communities. But the Centre's previous name led to a lack of understanding of the Centre's activities and its mandate", says Belcher.
 
"We wanted our name to reflect what we do. The whole area of community- and small-scale resource management and development remains poorly understood and insufficiently supported. Aboriginal people continue to rely heavily on these resources, and there are new markets and new opportunities to use these resources to create value and to improve livelihoods, especially in rural and remote communities. Our work aims to help recognize and realize the potential for sustainable natural-resource-based development and we want our name to emphasize the intended outcomes more than the products."
 
The Centre for Livelihoods and Ecology has a unique mandate dedicated to strategic and applied research on forest resources and rural economy. It works to fulfill its mandate through three programs - socio-economics and policy; ecology and management; and extension, training and sector support.
 
"We do policy-relevant research, strategic research and applied research in the first two programs. The third program - extension, training and sector support - puts research into practice," said Belcher.
 
The staff at the Centre partner with university, government and private researchers in B.C., across Canada and internationally on a range of research activities. Their projects have earned them a solid reputation with funding agencies, communities, Aboriginal groups, resource-based enterprises and various government organizations.
 
Among the general public, the Centre is best-known for its Buy BCwild initiative, which includes a public directory of B.C. businesses that provide mostly wild-harvested products and associated services (like eco-tourism), as well as the Shop the Wild Festival at Royal Roads University that last year attracted over 2,000 people to its unique mix of a market and public education about the sector.
 
"As more typical resource industries such as forestry and fishing continue to face challenging times in B.C., there is an urgent and growing need for diversification and a recognition of our dependence on forest systems," says Belcher. "Through our applied research programs, we will help those rural and resource-dependent economies to diversify and sustain themselves."
 
For further information, contact:
 
Brian Belcher
Director, Centre for Livelihoods and Ecology
(250) 391-2600 ext 4407
brian.belcher@royalroads.ca

Local foods

B.C. bigleaf maple syrup finding its niche

Gary Backlund hooks up a pipeline to bigleaf maple trees on his Ladysmith, B.C., property. Katherine Backlund

Sugaring is hard work, but Vancouver Island producers are finding that demand outstrips supply

Read the full article in the Globe and Mail.

Nature News recently published an article highlighting studies presented at a meeting of the Zoological Society of London, held in April 2010.  Dr. Brian Belcher presented the results of a project that has been assessing the contribution of NTFPs to household income across 26 countries.

Read the full article.

http://www.lacdubonnetleader.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2557222

The Lac du Bonnet Leader recently published an article about the NTFP training course in Pine Falls, MB.  The course was delivered by Tim Brigham at CNTR and Dave Buck, former manager of the Northern Forest Diversification Centre in The Pas.

Goods from the Woods: Manitoba Model Forest hosts Introductory NTFP Training Course

From April 12-23 the Manitoba Model Forest (MBMF) hosted a 2 week program on Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs) at the Winnipeg River Learning Centre.   This program represents a collaboration between the MBMF, the Centre for Non-Timber Resources at Royal Roads University (Victoria, B.C.), Manitoba Forestry Association and the Woodlot Association of Manitoba.

Participants learned about a wide variety of topics related to NTFPs, including: what are NTFPs, local and international marketing, adding value to products, and an exploration of what’s in our community’s backyard.  They gained hands-on experience.  Some participants attended the workshops out of interest in starting up a business, while others are attended out of interest in learning about NTFPs for our own use.

This program is part of a longer-term plan to build capacity and expertise in NTFP businesses in the model forest area.  A new curriculum on NTFPs has been developed by Royal Roads University and Dave Buck for this intensive training course.  The MBMF is supporting the development of the curriculum

Presenters include Tim Brigham (Royal Roads), Dave Buck (former manager of the Northern Forest Diversification Centre in The Pas, Manitoba), Ken Fosty (Manitoba Forestry Association) and Dr. Brian Kotak (Manitoba Model Forest).

An article discussing the release of a new report: "Conservation Value of the North American Boreal Forest from an Ethnobotanical Perspective".  Read the full article.

Source: United Nations University – IAS, 19 October 2009

A new policy brief discusses laws and policies relevant to sustainable and equitable NTFP use. The policy brief is a collaboration between the United Nations University - Institute of Advanced Studies (via the Traditional Knowledge Initiative), Centre for International Forestry Research, People and Plants International, Environmental Evaluation Unit, University of Cape Town and the Insitute for Culture and Ecology. It draws from the book Wild Product Governance: finding policies that work for non-timber forest products to be published by Earthscan in 2010 as part of the “People and Plants” series.

            People have long developed and depended upon useful species from diverse ecosystems. Even today, botanical NTFPs provide critical subsistence and trade goods for forest and other communities. In many areas, NTFPs are the main source of cash to pay school fees, buy medicines, purchase equipment and supplies, and even buy food. However, NTFPs have been both overlooked and poorly regulated by governments. Laws tend to be inconsistent and confusing, with little resembling a policy ’framework’ or strategy. Many are opportunistic or drafted in response to perceived threats, and rarely do regulations follow from consultations with stakeholders or careful analysis of the complex factors involved in the sustainability and equity of NTFP management, use and trade.

            Despite wide variations in cultural, economic and political conditions, experiences with NTFP law and policy are remarkably similar around the world, and are characterized by common regulatory features. This finding applies to both developed and developing countries, and includes regions that still have strong traditional and subsistence use of NTFPs and those that may have reduced their dependence on NTFPs, but have recently ‘rediscovered’ natural products.

            Case studies which contributed to this project include those from Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, China, Fiji, Finland, India, Mexico, the Philippines, southern Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. Important lessons for policy makers, NGOs, community groups, and others working with NTFPs include the need for better information, simplification, clarity, and consistency in NTFP policy frameworks.

For full story, please see: www.unutki.org/news.php?news_id=83&doc_id=103

The third edition of the National NTFP Newsletter, dedicated to 'NTFP Education', is now available.

A recent front page feature in Monday Magazine discusses 'Shop the Wild' and profiles some of BC's NTFP-based businesses.  Read the full article.