New Books from People & Plants

Early 2002 sees the publication of the next three titles in the Conservation Series.

Now available:

Campbell & Luckert (ed.): Uncovering the Hidden Harvest:
valuation methods for woodland and forest resources

Soon to appear:

Laird (ed.): Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge:
equitable partnerships in practice
NB The appendix material from this book is available on this website (see Series section under Publications)

Shanley et al. (ed.): Tapping the Green Market:
management and certification of non-timber forest products

Meanwhile, the fourth book is now published in Spanish:

Anthony B. Cunningham:
Etnobotánica Aplicada:
pueblos, uso de plantas silvestres y conservación

Kenya Woodcarving Workshop

This meeting will be held in Malindi, Kenya, from 17-22 February. It will bring together people with experience of the woodcarving trade, to present case-studies and to draw up models for 'wise' practice. Comparative analysis of these case-studies will enable the team to identify appropriate ways of improving/sustaining income and employment opportunities.

One of the aims of the meeting is to plan and create a book dealing with the international woodcarving trade, and many of those attending the gathering will be contributors to the publication. The resultant book is planned as a future volume in the now well-established People & Plants Conservation Series.

It is clear to all stakeholders involved that the Kenyan woodcarving industry needs to be placed on a sustainable footing. There are two main reasons for this. First, to secure the livelihoods of thousands of carvers and their dependants, and second, to conserve globally important biodiversity in forests in Kenya and other East African countries.

Uganda -- Bwindi

A four-year project linking primary healthcare with medicinal plant conservation has now become operational in Bwindi, SW Uganda. This is largely being implemented by the Department of Community Health at Mbarara University for Science and Technology and will operate around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The initiative builds on earlier studies supported by the People and Plants programme on sustainable and safe use of medicinal plants from multiple-use zones within the national park as well as the surrounding areas.

In early 2002, a formal Steering Committee will be set up for this project. Besides Mbarara and Makerere universities as well as UNESCO, representatives from THETA (Traditional and modern health practitioners together against Aids and other diseases) and JCRC (Joint Clinical Research Centre) among others will help to guide the project. This will ensure that the work conducted fills existing gaps, and contributes to generating meaningful and applicable results.

A first group of 4th-year students from the Community Health Department has completed their community placement in Bwindi. Their findings will help to formulate more precisely the subjects of the two research projects. Interviews for the two study grants will be held in the first months of 2002. Meanwhile, UNESCO has prepared a draft document to ensure that research protocols recognize the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) of research participants, particularly traditional healers, as stipulated by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The newsletter, reflecting a selection of the many activities of People and Plants, is compiled by:

Martin Walters
People & Plants Editor and Web-manager