In Cameroon, and definitely in Africa, those who harvest or process rattan and bamboo are local, mostly illiterate, villagers and equally illiterate middlemen and craftsmen who ply their rattan and bamboo trade, in various forms, in towns and cities.

For these people, rattan and bamboo are simply rattan and bamboo. They know nothing about, and are certainly not interested in what experts call 'taxonomy.' Species differentiation is not an issue either.

Without being able to give scientific specifications, these local people appreciate the variety and are able to differentiate between the various strains of rattan and bamboo found in their forests. In the same vein, middlemen and craftsmen also know which rattan or bamboo strains are most suitable for the manufacture of different products.

The point here is that for rattan and bamboo, like for all other Non-Timber Forest Products, local empirical knowledge is as important and relevant as scientific knowledge. The difference is that local knowledge focuses on use values, while scientific knowledge probes many more parameters ranging from ecological, through biological to socio-economic, etc.

Bamboo and Rattan Research

It is not uncommon to find even current research documents conclude that the sustainable harvesting and management of the African bamboo and rattan resources is hindered by a lack of baseline information on their growth, yield and harvest frequency (ARRP, 2004).

We consider this assessment to be incorrect, as it does not take into account past and recent attempts by national and foreign researchers and research institutions in this domain. What, in our opinion, should be decried is the lack of will at country level to translate research findings into concrete actions that can change the lives of people along the harvesting-processing-marketing continuum.

As far back as 1997, some trials and many studies were commissioned in Cameroon to determine the biology, socio economy and variability of bamboo and rattan (Sunderland, 1997; Sunderland, 1999; Defo, 1999; FAO, 1999). In February 2000, the African Rattan and Bamboo Research Programme (ARRP), lodged at the Limbe Botanic Garden in Cameroon, in collaboration with other organisations and institutions, organised a continent-wide workshop with the dual objective of sharing experiences on the current state of knowledge of rattan and bamboo in Africa and formulating strategies for [research] collaboration.

Though in the end participants did no more than have an overview of the biological, ecological and socio-economic importance of these very vital resources, the workshop was instrumental in engraving African rattan and bamboo on the national and international conservation agenda.

In a study conducted by the Centre for Environment and Human Development (CEHDev) - Cameroon in 2004 in the Bachuo'ntai and Eyumojock forest regions in Manyu Division of the Southwest Province of Cameroon, it was observed that 88 percent of all households studied have a long-standing tradition of harvesting and processing rattan and bamboo for household consumption and trade, with different levels of intensity; that exploiting and processing rattan and bamboo is carried out by both sexes, by young people and old people, and that this activity contributes, on average, five to 15 percent to household incomes.

Data collected on volume, yield potential, seasonality, perishability, variability and access/visibility of these resources indicate that the integrity of the resource bases in these regions has been severely tampered with, due in part to uncontrolled harvesting, but especially because the extensive harvesting of wild rattan and bamboo in these areas also encourages and promotes hunting and trapping of bush meat.

Prior to our study, little was known about the distribution and population of bamboo and rattan in this region. In order to improve knowledge on the diversity and their distribution, the transect method was used. Four genera and six species of rattans, and two species of bamboo respectively were identified.

These were found in both closed and open forest areas; that is, in impenetrable forest areas and in old growth areas that had been left fallow for long periods. The zones were mostly at low altitudes and on gentle slopes:

Reconciling Development and Conservation

By extrapolation, therefore, rattan and bamboo are important in many ways for local people in the whole of tropical Africa, and even more so in Cameroon. Their exploitation and transformation take up a good portion of their time; the resources are available throughout the year; they can be harvested during all seasons and they have a very long shelf life.

This means that they have the potential to generate year-round additional cash incomes that households need for survival. The study recommends the putting in place of a programme to assist local people sustainably manage wild rattan and bamboo resources as well as regenerate and cultivate indigenous species, possibly within the ambit of community forestry programmes, as this will augur well for community management by involving broad local participation in decision-making.

The real problem is that, unlike what obtains especially in Asia, the fallouts from these research efforts of African and foreign experts have not yet been felt at grassroots level. Local communities have not had the opportunity to benefit from the vast reservoir of knowledge accumulated by researchers and documented in countless reports.

Country-specific issues relating to cultivation, propagation, harvesting, transportation, processing and marketing of rattan and bamboo are therefore in dire need of promotion, dissemination and support.