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such as farmer visits and training, establishment of on-farm demonstra-
tion trials and the development of a silvicultural manual, have improved
farmers’ knowledge and capacity to implement better practices.
Thinned and pruned teak trails resulted in a 60 per cent increase in
diameter growth and a 124 per cent increase in height growth over a
two-year period. The project led to the establishment of a microfinance
institution to enable farmers to borrow against the value of their planted
teak trees. In the Gunungkidul region where the project operated, most
farmers allocated about 10 per cent of their land to growing teak under
a ‘tegalan’ rain-fed agroforestry farming system. Surveys found that 70
per cent of farmers at project sites had increased knowledge of appro-
priate teak silviculture and about 50 per cent had been applying these
skills. Farmers who were able to retain their trees until they reached
diameters of 30-40 cm received 13 times the value for their trees of
those who sold their trees at diameters of less than 20 cm.
Increasing livelihoods from non-timber forest products
Most forest-dependent people or communities utilize a variety of
non-timber forest products, which offer considerable potential for
increasing livelihoods. In the Pacific, ACIAR has conducted research
to support the growth of the sandalwood industry in Vanuatu and
the
Canarium
nut industries in PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
In the past 15 years, Vanuatu has developed domestic sandalwood
oil processing facilities and has encouraged landowners to plant
sandalwood in their gardens and in plantations. ACIAR’s research has
analysed oil concentrations from natural sandalwood trees from six
different islands and found that only two of these populations have oil
contents that meet the international standard. A research programme
is being conducted to enhance the production of germplasm from
these populations. On average, landowners who are currently partici-
pating in the sandalwood industry sell about 120 kg of sandalwood
each year and receive about $A1,000 in revenue, which is used to
meet a variety of domestic needs.
Indigenous nut trees of the
Canarium
genus grow in
south-east Asia and the Pacific and local people have
used these highly nutritious nuts in their subsistence
lifestyles for generations. These trees also produce high
quality timber and can be grown in and around tradi-
tional gardening areas. ACIAR has been conducting
research on the production of high-yielding plants that
begin flowering after four years and also on the process-
ing of these nuts and the development of higher value
products, such as coated nuts and blended foods. This
will enable the development of high-value products for
sale in urban and export markets. It is estimated that
potential markets in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands
could be worth more than $A1million each year, while
an export-focused market in PNG would be worth many
times this amount. While local people understand how
to process the nuts for local consumption, research is
needed on how to manage local processing in a manner
that ensures high-quality nuts can be delivered from
remote locations to value-adding processing facilities.
Collaborative forest research is both an essential
component of sustainable forest management and a very
effective mechanism for generating enhanced benefits for
forest owners, forest-dependent communities and people
engaged in forest industries. ACIAR’s work in a number
of countries clearly demonstrates that these enhanced
benefits can be achieved throughout the broad spectrum
of forestry, including management of native forests,
plantation growing, wood processing, agroforestry and
utilization of non-timber forest products. In addition,
this approach to supporting forestry research develops
local capacity and establishes lifelong friendships and
networks between the research partners.
Communities in Papua New Guinea undertook participatory research to identify the
highest-value local tree species
Solomon Islanders process
Canarium
nuts using traditional methods
Image: Tony Bartlett
Image: Tony Bartlett