Proceedings Book / Bildiri Kitabı - Orman Fakültesi - Süleyman ...

2 nd International Non-Wood Products Symposium 8-10 September 2011 - Isparta/TURKEY
Nuts, fruits, berries, mushrooms, herbs and food
plants, and agricultural products grown at the State
Forest Fund lands as well as beekeeping,
haymaking and hunting products are considered in
Uzbekistan as NWFP products.
Medicinal herbs and food plants are mainly grown
and collected by the MFD’s production company
“Shifobakhsh” for sale to the State Pharmaceutical
Concern “Uzpharmsanoat”. Medicinal powders,
infusions and tinctures made with motherwort,
valerian roots, St.-John’s worth, thyme, tansy,
mint, common wormwood, capsicum burning etc.
are much in demand by the population.
Forest food products are represented by annual
and perennial plants such as kinza (coriander),
basil, fennel (sweet dill), onions, currants,
raspberries etc. By 2020, the Government plans to
increase the forest food production up to 1000-
1500 tons per year to meet the population’s needs
in forest food products. Moreover, fodder
production, beekeeping, mushrooms, tree sap and
hop collecting is done annually at the State
Forestry lands. Rural people also collect
considerable amounts of field mushrooms, steppe
oyster mushrooms, sinenozhka, and morels for
sale at local markets.
NWFPs are collected by the state forest farms in
accordance with the planned amounts set up by the
MFD. Harvest planning for fruit species is made
for a limited number of species, namely walnut,
bitter and sweet almond, apple, cherry-plum,
pistachio, barberry, sea-buckthorn, dog-rose and
herbs. Other kinds of non-timber products are
collected spontaneously by the population. In
Uzbekistan, mushroom gathering is not regulated
and monitored. Amounts of mushrooms gathered
are unknown.
Harvest in forests is implemented by workers
employed from local people to whom forest sites
have been given for lease to collect the forest
products. The expected harvest by type of
products has to be delivered to the state forest
farm but the excess can be taken by the workers
for use by their families or for sale at local
markets.
The essential part of the annual gross revenue of
Uzbek state forest farms is generated by the sale of
NWFPs. In greatest demand for export are:
walnuts, almonds, dried fruits, berries and herbs.
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan are the
major importers. Official data on exported
amounts of nut and fruits and other forest products
is not available.
Forest use is allowed only by special permit and
chargeable with exception of the cases indicated in
the Article 30 of the Law on Forest. According to
this article on the procedures of the use of flora
products, citizens have the right to have access to
forests, and they are allowed to collect for
personal needs, wild-growing flora products and
herbs. The general use of flora’s products is free
of charge but limited to personal needs of
individual users. The commercial use of flora’s
products is implemented on paid basis and
allowed by permits. The payment amounts and
procedure of payments are set by the Cabinet of
Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Special importance of NWFPs in Uzbekistan
forestry has been recognized and reflected within
the organizational structure. Namely, there is a
special centre for NWFPs within the central
forestry structure and at the field level 8 of the 67
forestry enterprises are established and involved in
only management and utilization (e.g.
conservation, harvesting, semi-processing,
packaging, sale) of NWFPs. Importance of
NWFPs was also strongly reflected within the
recently completed National Forestry Programme
2.RATIONALE
2.1. Problems/Issues to be addressed
2.1.1.The potential for increasing the sustainable
and socially equitable production and use of
NWFPs is not realized due to a lack of base
information on the sector and of a holistic strategy
for its development.
The management of NWFPs is a complex
endeavour involving technical and managerial
skills from several partners and sectors and it takes
time before government and people get results
from such work and start applying them. There is
a need to collect, analyse and disseminate relevant
information to all stakeholders and to have this
information available through ways that are
accessible and understandable for all.
The full contribution of NWFPs to rural
development and to increase food security and
income generating activities of poor people has
not yet been assessed. Assisting the Government
of Uzbekistan to design and carry out a strategy to
develop its NWFP sector is vital.
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