list of figures - Terry Sunderland

monitored within a few years and the harvesting regime and adjusted accordingly to
ensure a sustained yield.
Not only should ecological sustainability be a guiding factor in determining the
inclusion of rattans within a forest management system, but the social acceptability of
the exploitation system should also be a prime consideration. In terms of ensuring that
the benefits of rattan exploitation benefit forest dwellers and forest-based
communities, conservation and development efforts should concentrate on the
sourcing of rattans from managed high forest and/or agroforestry systems. Not only
does this ensure a level of ecological integrity is maintained, but also, those
traditionally associated with rattan harvesting, can benefit from the wise management
of the resource. Forest management programmes could perhaps be the stimulus behind
initiatives towards better forest management and the attainment of adequate resource
tenure. This is a seemingly impossible goal at present, especially with the present
situation of disenfranchisement through the establishment of commercial rattan
monocultures under a parent mono-crop.
Harvesting levels and quotas need to be determined based on growth rates and
estimates of recruitment. The establishment of these quotas is hindered by the
considerable paucity of baseline information for most, if not all taxa. Undoubtedly, a
great deal more basic ecological and applied research is needed before management
regimes for most species of commercial interest can be suggested.
Finally, the rattan resource is being regarded as being a prime candidate for forest
certification initiatives that are now concentrating on a wider range of forest products
other than timber (Sunderland and Dransfield, in press). The certification process is
perhaps the most beneficial means of ensuring the above conditions need for the
sustainable management of the rattan resource in Africa, and SE Asia, are fulfilled.
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