A cordial invitation from Manoj Patanaik (Regional Centre for Development Cooperation, Orissa) and a hop and jump journey from Pune to Bombay to Hyderabad to Vishakapatanam brought me to the YMCA in Vishakapatanam right across the beautiful sea. A big warm welcome from Snehlata Nath of Keystone, some quick introductions with people whom I was meeting for the first time, the joy of meeting old friends like Siddappa Setty and Narsimha Hegde from Karnataka and some extra sweet tea paved way for another journey to the venue of the workshop. The two-hour journey by road was filled with chatter and enjoying the sight of mango-laden trees along the road. The venue was a resort named Jungle bells, owned and managed by Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Department, located in a beautiful forest still regaining its natural state.
Policies and legal instruments set the tone
The first session focused on policies governing the trade and management of gums and resins. This session was chaired by Mr. A.K. Singh, the Managing Director of Minor Forest Produce Federation in Chattisgarh. In their state, certain gums are nationalised forest produce – trade is regulated, prices are fixed by the government and a purchaser is appointed by the government. There are certain gums which are non-nationalised and are traded in the open market. Representatives from Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra shared policies governing the trade and management of gums and resins in their respective states.
The similarities and spaces for rationalization of policies to support the trade and management of gums and resins were hotly debated. The sound of the lunch gong persuaded us to bring a logical conclusion to our enthusiastic debates!
Harvest it but sustainably
Our post-lunch session highlighted a bouquet of sustainable harvesting practices and technologies available for tapping gums and resins.
Dr. M.V. Rao, a scientist from Vijaywada, initiated the dialogue by sharing his work with the Girijan Cooperative Corporation of Andhra Pradesh, an institution mandated by the State Government to procure and sell gum karaya (gum from Sterculia urens). The highlight was the turnaround effected by the joint efforts of the gum pickers, Dr. Rao, the GCC team and Kovel Foundation, an NGO based in Vishakapatanam. It rose from a stage of accumulated dead stock of gum karaya to one of the most profitably managed gum karaya procurement and sale mechanisms in the country. This was in response to the situation of dead stock of gum karaya lying in the warehouses of GCC during the 1990s. One gets the feeling of the right people, coming together at the right time with the right perspective from this experience.
Kovel is involved in training gum pickers which has had a dual impact of strengthening the livelihood of gum pickers and a better quality gum karaya being available for exports.
The representatives of Kovel shared a better practice of gum harvesting that they had developed. The girth of the tree is measured by lovingly hugging the tree – if it is not easy to hug then the girth is of the right size. The blaze on the tree should not be more then 15cms and it should be at a height of 3 feet from the ground; subsequent blazes should be made one above the other. In plucking the gum, it is best to use of forceps instead of your hands. Then put the gum in a plastic sheet which has small holes for the air to pass through, and finally use a clean basket for transporting the gum. The entire ritual is like a nurse handling a baby! In the normal course of harvesting, none of these parameters are taken into consideration, resulting in the early death of the tree.
Presentations by Dr. A.K.Pandey from Tropical Forest Research Institute (TFRI) and Dr. Rakhi Yadav of State Forestry Research Institute (SFRI), Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh took us deeper into the dialogue on sustainable harvesting of gums and resins. The harvesting practices of gums and resins from different tree species like Sterculia urens and Boswellia serrata were shared by both. The use of Ethephon (chloroethyl phosponic acid), a growth regulator for increasing the productivity of gum was put forth by Dr. Pandey. The presentation of Mr. Soham Pandya from Maharashtra also focused on the use of Ethephon for gum harvesting. A lot of heated debates was triggered off over Ethephon, raising the question whether the use a chemical/production enhancer could be termed as eco-friendly. We still do not know what and how the tree are affected due to use of this chemical. Dr. Rao posited that the quality of gum from trees which had been treated with Ethephon was not up to the prescribed standards.
The first day’s session was crawling towards an end but we decided that the pending presentations could be made first thing the next morning. Informal discussions and meetings in dyads and triads continued throughout the remaining part of the day.
The next day…
We began the day with a trek for bird watching in the forest around the resort. It was quite a rejuvenating experience albeit we missed the birds as we were late and they had their own priorities!
The workshop began with pending presentations. Mr. Venugopal from Laya, Vishakapatanam and Mr. Narsimha Hegde from Prakruti, Karnataka continued discussions on sustainable harvesting of gums and resins. We indulged in some warm debates during the presentations.
The market throws some more light…
The next session, chaired by Mr. A.K.Pandey, focused on national and international market trends of gums and resins. Jenne de Beer (NTFP-EP) started with the international scenario. Mr. Lai Tung Quan from the Institute of Tropical Biology, Vietnam mainly delved on the legalities involved in the gums and resins scenario in Vietnam. He shared that gums and resins can be exploited legally everywhere out of strictly-protective, ecological rehabilitation sub-zones and except for endangered, precious and rare species. Forest owners make self-decisions of the extent of exploitation (see his article on his India visit in sidebar, next page).
Likewise our friend Mr. Nerto Colili representing NATRIPAL presented the scene vis-à-vis management and trade of resins and gum in Philippines. He shared the harvesting practices adopted by the community and the aspects of conservation which the community had adopted are interesting to note and learn from. Challenges the community face are that of migrant concessionaires having control over the resources and additional management guidelines dictated by the government agencies.
The Indian canvas of market trends for gums and resins was painted by the Regional Centre for Development Cooperation, Orissa. Mr. Avinash from the RCDC team along with inputs from Mr. Manoj Patanaik did the honours. The discussions that followed the presentation filled in the gaps and completed the picture.
The export scenario of gum was shared by a young exporter from Hyderabad representing D.K.Enterprises. He shared with the group the concerns they as an export house have vis-à-vis gum supply and quality. He happened to be my roommate and his business sense is as sharp as his sense of humour!
The session continued post-lunch on strategies for market intervention and enterprise development as cornerstones for developing the market of gums and resins were debated. The floor was thrown open for discussion and everyone participated vociferously. The tradition of informal talks over refreshments and dinner was adhered to by all of us after the workshop sessions were concluded.
Action in the field
The third day was marked for learning from and understanding the gum pickers. The better practice of harvesting gum karaya developed by Kovel Foundation was demonstrated. Of the two groups, my group had to climb a steep hill to reach our gum tree. Once there, the gum picker showed the steps to choose the tree, prepare for making the blaze, actually make the blaze, prepare for collection and finally pick the gum from the wound in the tree. The entire experience was like watching a film. In the entire display of the harvesting practice it was interesting to watch the way the way in which the tree was treated (hugging the tree for finding the girth size, dusting the tree with a cloth!). The experience throws before all of us the challenge of minimizing the impact of our footprint on the belly of Mother Nature.
Inching towards a conclusion
Back on firmer ground, we deliberated on the ways and means to take ahead the discussions and ideas born in the workshop. The workshop concluded with a warm vote of thanks.
Meeting old friends and taking our discussions on NTFPs further, learning about the different dimensions of gums and resins, and interacting with a variety of stakeholders in this field was a very refreshing experience for me. It reinforces the need for a collective, ecologically sensitive and economically sound response for efficient management and development of trade in NTFPs. This could in turn feed into the designing of community-oriented policies and other frameworks. Fingers crossed!
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