Etnoecológica
The cover of Etnoecológica - which
always features Latin American naïf art
- is one of nicest in the business. The
inside pages are graced with black and
white photographs, often by professional
photographers who have lived in Mexico.
Numbers 4 and 5 will form a special
double issue of the journal.
-GJM
Etnoecológica - edited by Victor Toledo
of the Center of Ecology, National
Autonomous University of Mexico - is
dedicated to the study of the traditional
management and conservation of nature.
Each edition contains five sections:
editorial, which contains scientific
articles as well as general commentaries;
breves, which are short communications;
debate, including opinion pieces; voces,
carrying short reflections, often from
indigenous people; and libros, which
closes the journal with book reviews.
Articles are accepted in English, Spanish
or French. An annual subscription, which
includes two issues, is available from
the editor.
‘If one looks at satellite
imagery of a tropical region, for
example the Amazon or the island of
New Guinea, one sees a range of land
use patterns. In some areas, one can
see the impact of urban land use -
complete conversion of natural
habitats in the center with
deforestation for fuelwood and
expansion of neighborhoods and
roadways radiating outward ... The
negative conservation impacts of the
people occupying these areas are
obvious ... Mosaics that include the
bastions of biodiversity - denser
forests, relatively undisturbed
grasslands, reefs, and waterways -
are generally found associated with
lands claimed by indigenous
peoples.’
From:
Alcorn, J. 1994. Noble savage or
noble state?: northern myths and
southern realities in biodiversity
conservation. Etnoecológica
3:7-19.
CONTACT
- Victor
M. Toledo, Apdo.
Postal 41-H, Sta.
Ma. Guido, Morelia,
Michoacán
58090, Mexico; Fax
+52.43.241655
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Plant
Talk
Hugh Synge, one of the co-editors of
Plant Talk, has more than 20 years
experience in international plant
conservation, mostly with IUCN. He was
largely responsible for the launch of the
joint IUCN/WWF Plants Conservation
Programme (1984 - 1990). The other
editor, John Akeroyd, is a
well-established plant taxonomist who has
recently revised volume 1 of Flora
Europaea.
-CL
Plant Talk, a magazine dedicated to plant
conservation around the world, is
designed to provide encouragement,
expertise and information to those
attempting to save plants and their
habitats. First published in March 1995,
it is produced quarterly. Each issue
includes a feature explaining techniques
of plant conservation, an inspiring story
of how conservationists have succeeded in
saving plants in some part of the world,
and news of the threats to plants and
their habitats. Regular items cover new
protected areas and recent Red Data Books
and Floras . There are also regular
updates on CITES, the Convention on Trade
in Endangered Species. The journal has
sections for notices, recent publications
and facts about plants. Comment and
interpretation of the articles is given
throughout by the editors. Letters and
news from readers are welcomed.
‘India’s medicinal
heritage, one of the world’s
oldest living traditions, has been in
danger of sliding towards extinction.
This ancient body of knowledge, based
mostly on plants and built upon
millennia of cultural
diversification, is rooted in the
rich biodiversity of the country.
India’s medicinal plants, like
so many plants and animals
everywhere, are today under various
degrees of threat; so also are the
diverse cultural traditions that have
sustained the use of these medicinal
plants over centuries.’
From:
Tanden, V. & S. Thayil. 1995.
Saving medicinal plants in South
India. Plant Talk 1:16-17.
CONTACT
- Editorial:
John Akeroyd, P.O.Box
400, Richmond, Surrey
TW10 7XJ,UK; Fax
+44.1747.871507
- Subscriptions:
.
Plant
Talk, P.O.Box
400, richmond, Surrey
TW10 7XJ, UK; Fax
+44.181.9745127 or
P.O.Box 65226, Tucson,
AZ 85728-5226, USA
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.Botany 2000 -
Asia Newsletter
Neville Marchant, Director of the Western
Australian Herbarium in Perth, has been a
driving force behind the Botany 2000-Asia
Programme since its inception. In a visit
to the Paris offices of UNESCO in 1995,
he spoke of a growing interest in
ethnobotany among the members of the
Botany 2000-Asia network. Although the
Programme is primarily focused on
taxonomy, he expressed an interest in
exploring the parallels between
ethnobiological classification and
biological systematics and the correct
documentation of useful plants through
collection of voucher
specimens.
-MH
The
Botany 2000-Asia Newsletter is
published four times a year by the
UNESCO Office, New Delhi. A typical
issue contains news on workshops,
training courses, databases, projects
and forthcoming meetings as well as
reports on unauthorized collection
and export of medicinal plants from
the region. The editor requests one
to two page articles and reports of
seminars and meetings of general
relevance to botany and ethnobotany
in Asia. Apart from producing the
newsletter, the UNESCO Botany
2000-Asia Programme sponsors
occasional workshops on the taxonomy,
ethnobotany and chemistry of various
plant families, as well as training
courses in herbarium techniques and
curation.
CONTACT
- Mohan
Perera, Editor, UNESCO
Office, New Delhi, 8 Poorvi
Marg, Vasant
Vishar, New Delhi 110057,
India; Tel.
+91.11.677310 or 676285,
Fax
+91.11.6873351
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Indigenous
Knowledge and Development Monitor
The IK&DM is produced in close
collaboration with 22 international,
regional and national Indigenous
Knowledge Resource Centres, some of which
will be highlighted in future issues of
the Handbook. People in the USA, Canada,
Europe, New Zealand, Australia and other
countries now have to pay a modest
subscription fee for the Monitor, but it
is still free to colleagues from
developing countries.
-GJM
Published
in The Hague, the Indigenous Knowledge
and Development Monitor (IK&DM) is a
publication of and for the international
community of people who are interested in
indigenous knowledge. The Monitor is
produced by the Centre for International
Research and Advisory Networks
(CIRAN/Nuffic) in close cooperation with
the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge for
Agriculture and Rural Development
(CIKARD), the Leiden Ethnosystems and
Development Program (LEAD), and national
and regional Indigenous Knowledge
Resource Centres. The Monitor, which
replaces CIKARD News, is published three
times a year in two regular issues and
one special issue. Each issue contains
articles describing the contribution of
indigenous knowledge to the process of
sustainable development in a variety of
disciplines and development policy
sectors in many parts of the world. A
section called Communications includes
information on resource centers,
networks, research, conferences,
databases, publications and films.
‘There are a number of reasons
to carry out ethnobotanic research in
Ethiopia. First, such research
contributes to our scientific
knowledge of the range and variety of
plants in Ethiopia. Second, it can
promote the further study of the
potentially useful medicinal
properties of plants and their
development for wider national use.
Third, it may shed light on the
relation between plant species and
cultural ... practices in rural
Ethiopia. The knowledge and use of
plants is an integrated aspect of
many ethnic rural cultures in
Ethiopia, the extent of which has not
yet been studied in depth. Plants
have not only nutritional value but
also - in the eyes of local people -
medicinal and ritual or magical
value. This is where an understanding
of the cultural context is of vital
importance. And finally, research on
indigenous plant use can help to
correct the dominant
‘official’ scientific view
among Ethiopian government
representatives - which tends to
devalue local traditions - and thus
stimulate development from within the
ethnic groups themselves.’
From:
Abbink, J. 1995. Medicinal and ritual
plants of the Ethiopian southwest: an
account of recent research. IK&DM
3(2):6.
CONTACT
- Ms.
Akke W. Tick, CIRAN/Nuffic
P.O.
Box 29 777, 2502 LT The Hague,
The
Netherlands; Tel.
+31.70.4260321, Fax
+31.70.4260329, e-mail
tick@nufficcs.nl
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Biological
Conservation Newsletter
With its distinctive green color
showing through a Smithsonian envelope,
the Biological Conservation Newsletter
arrives punctually every month thanks to
Jane Villa-Lobos. I particularly like the
extensive ‘current literature’
section, which contains references from
journals that I don ‘t read
regularly, but probably
should.
-GJM
The Biological Conservation Newsletter,
edited by Jane Villa-Lobos of the
Smithsonian Institution, contains four to
six pages of short contributed articles;
notes on educational materials, new
publications and courses; announcements
of meetings and job opportunities; and
citations of current literature. It is
currently being sent to more than 1200
people in over 90 countries.
‘Isolated oceanic islands
contain some of the world’s most
threatened ecosystems. These unique
communities are home to many species
found nowhere else on earth and
provide a real challenge to
conservationists. However, the main
phase of environmental destruction
for a number of islands has passed,
and the opportunity now exists to
both restore degraded habitats and
reintroduce lost and threatened
species.
Mauritius
and Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean are
recognized as centres of endemism for
vascular plants, birds, reptiles and
molluscs. The islands contain some of
the world’s rarest plant and
animal species. Between 800 and 900
plant species occur on Mauritius,
including 8 endemic genera. Three
hundred species of plants are found
only on Mauritius, and of these about
80% are threatened with
extinction.’
From:
Maunder, M. 1995. Conservation in
Mauritius and Rodrigues. Biological
Conservation Newsletter. 142:1.
CONTACT
- Jane
Villa-Lobos, c/o
Biological Conservation
Newsletter, Smithsonian
Institution, Department
of Botany, NHB
166, Washington,
DC
20560, USA; Tel.
+1.202.3572027, Fax
+1.202.7862563, e-mail
mnhbo019@sivm.si.edu
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Non-Wood
News
In the words of C. Chandrasekharan,
former chief of the Non-Wood Products and
Energy Branch of FAO, ‘The purpose
of Non-Wood
News is to
provide readers with useful information
and insights about the promise that the
future holds in the field of non-wood
forest products and the issues to be
addressed with regard to their
sustainable development.’ I only
regret it comes out but once a
year.
-GJM
.
Non-Wood
News is an annual newsletter produced by
the FAO on non-wood forest products
(NWFPs). The aim is to provide readers
with information on the potential of
NWFPs, and some insight into the issues
regarding their sustainable development.
Non-Wood News includes information on
current developments, initiatives and
research in this field from around the
world. Updates are given on the
activities of organizations and networks,
at both the national and international
levels. An overview of the status of
NWFPs is given in two sections; one
focuses on particular products and
markets, and the other is organized by
country. The newsletter also reports on
recent and forthcoming meetings and
conferences, and lists new publications
of relevance to NWFPs.
‘The use of non-wood forest
products (NWFPs) is as old as human
existence. In subsistence and rural
economies, the role and contributions
of NWFPs were crucial because of
their richness of variety, as sources
of food, fodder, fibre, fertilizers,
herbal potions, organic construction
materials and cosmetic and cultural
products. They supported
village-level artisanal and craft
activity. Furthermore, NWFPs can
provide raw material to support
processing enterprises such as those
of rattan and bamboo furniture,
essential oils, resin and
pharmaceuticals. Small-scale units of
these can be linked to central
refining and further processing
units. Some NWFPs are internationally
traded commodities used in food,
flavorings, perfumes, medicines,
confectionery, paints and polishes
...
The development of NWFPs is a
challenging field, because it
involves a fundamental change in
approach to ecological,
silvicultural, socio-economic and
trade issues associated with
forestry. However, authentic
information on NWFPs is generally
lacking and there is a need for
facilitating improved availability of
vital information.’
From:
Chandrasekharan, C. personal
communication.
CONTACT
- Chief,
Non-Wood Products & Energy
Branch, Food
and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations,
Viale
delle Terme di Caracalla,
0100
Rome, Italy; Tel.
+39.6.52251, Fax
+39.6.52253152
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