INTRODUCTIONOne of the most basic and rarely questions assumptions underlying much of the current interest in non-timber tropical forest resources is that the commercial harvesting of these commodities has little or no impact on a tropical forest. This ubiquitous idea has appeared in books, magazines, and newspapers, on television and radio shows...and even on the back of ice cream cartons. Unfortunately, this assumption is both untenable and potentially dangerous.
If intensive resource extraction is the only activity planned within a tropical forest, there is a very high probability that these resources will be gradually depleted over time. The basic tenets of forest ecology tell us this. So does the long history of forest exploitation in the tropics. Regardless of the species, land tenure, or marketing system involved, collectors simply cannot harvest commercial quantities of fruits, nuts, latexes, and oil seeds year after year and then expect the forest to magically replenish these stocks. As elsewhere, there is no free lunch in a tropical forest.
In reality, the sustainable harvest of non-timber tropical forest resources requires quite a bit more than "blind faith" in the productive capacity of tropical plants. It requires careful selection of species, resources and sites. It requires controlled harvesting and periodic monitoring of the regeneration and growth of the species being exploited. More than anything, however, it requires a greater appreciation of the fact that ecology and forest management are the cornerstones of sustainable resource exploitation. There are ways to harvest non-timber products without damaging a tropical forest. This report will hopefully provide a framework for taking the first steps to achieve such an objective.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of this report is to give a concise overview of the ecology and exploitation of non-timber tropical forest resources in terms that can be easily understood by non-specialists. The material has been written with two potential audiences in mind. In the first group are the innumerable NGOs, individual entrepreneurs, "green" businesses, and other commercial concerns who are currently promoting the increased exploitation of non-timber tropical forest products. The second group includes local community organizations, extension agents and forest managers who are already actively involved in the harvest of these resources. Although the setting, frame of reference, and scale of operations may be different in each case, both groups have a vested interest in the long-term sustainability of tropical forest exploitation.The controlled exploitation of non-timber forest products holds great potential as a method for integrating the use and conservation of tropical forests. This report attempts to narrow the gap between the potential and the reality of this land-use practice. The following pages provide a general background on the ecology of non-timber resources and present a series of management operations designed to minimize the impact of harvesting these resources. The procedures described are not a blueprint for eliminating the potential impacts on all components of a forest ecosystem (e.g. soils, hydrology, or associated plant and animal species), or for maintaining forests in a pristine condition. The immediate objective being addressed here is simply that of defining a level of resource harvest that can be sustained over time by the plant populations being exploited.
METHOD OF PRESENTATION
The report is divided into three main sections, each section treating a different aspect of the ecology and exploitation of non-timber tropical forest resources:
- Section I summarizes the principal ecological characteristics of tropical plants that limit the nature and intensity of resource exploitation.
- Section II builds on this information by discussing the potential long-term ecological impacts resulting from the harvest of different plant parts.
- Section III takes a more applied, field perspective. A general strategy for managing non-timber forest resources on a sustained-yield basis is outlined, and specific procedures for selecting resources, collecting baseline data, and monitoring the impact of harvesting are described.
Every attempt has been made to make the text as readable and as easily understood as possible. Definitions and supplementary material have been provided as hypertext links for easy reference. A list of pertinent references and relevent internet links are included at the end of each section for those readers desiring additional information on a particular topic.
SCOPE
The report is focused exclusively on non-timber plant resources, with particular emphasis on trees. Crocodiles, butterflies, iguanas, turtles, bird's nests, and the innumerable other animal resources and products collected from tropical forests are not discussed here. The sustainability of harvesting forest fauna is undeniably an issue of great importance. The basic ecology of plants and animals is just too different to lump together in a work of this size.Whenever possible, specific botanical examples are given to illustrate basic concepts. In view of the author's previous field experience, the majority of these examples have been taken from the tropical moist forests of South America and Southeast Asia. This geographical bias should not be taken to imply that there are no interesting or useful plants in the African tropics, that the problems of over-exploitation and resource depletion are absent from this region, or that the extensive dry forests found in more seasonal tropical environments are somehow unsuited for sustainable management.
The text is largely concerned with primary forests, either undisturbed or already subjected to some degree of exploitation, and the ways in which non-timber resources can be harvested from them with a minimum of ecological damage. The selective management of pioneer species, tree felling, or the deliberate creation of secondary vegetation within these forest areas are neither advocated nor discussed. The extensive areas of secondary forest that have been created throughout the tropics indeed represent an important source of non-timber products. A discussion of the use and management potential of these habitats, however, falls outside the scope of the present work.
A final comment. There is no question that economic, social, and political factors play an extremely important role in determining the success or failure of forest exploitation. This report, however, attempts to tell the story strictly from the plant's point of view. The reason why too many fruits are removed from the forest is not really the issue here. What we want to know is what happens as a result to the plant populations being exploited...and what can be done about it. The mechanics of over-exploitation are the same regardless of whether the fruits are collected by a village cooperative or a multi-national corporation, or whether the trees are growing in an extractive reserve, a state forest, or a logging concession.
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