Regional Training on Rattan Taxonomy and Inventory

Regional Training on Rattan Taxonomy and Inventory

Date & venue: 7-13 September 2008,Bangkok, Thailand

The taxonomy training will be organized and facilitated by the ITTO funded project entitled “Demonstration and Application of Production and Utilization Technologies for Rattan Sustainable Development in the ASEAN Member Countries” [ITTO PD 334/05 Rev. 2 (I)] being implemented by ERDB. It will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from 7-14 September 2008. The venue will be announced soon. This training was identified as one of the priority training for rattan production in eight of the ten countries of the ASEAN during the 2004 Regional Conference on Sustainable Development of Rattan in Asia held in Manila, Philippines.

Taxonomic knowledge of rattan species is still patchy and confusion in nomenclature has proved a challenge to rattan research and development (Perlis, 2001). Basic knowledge on rattan resource is rather limited despite its commercial importance. In addition, the rattans of Africa and much of the Southeast Asia remain to be poorly known. While most of taxonomic studies have been country-based, there is a tendency for unidentified species to be described as new local endemics when they may well be species described and well known in neighboring areas (Dransfield, 2001). These problems occur particularly where species distributions cross political boundaries like in Indochina.

Furthermore, a rather narrow species concept has led to a proliferation of new names. Given language barriers and the difficulty of material exchange has resulted to difficulty in resolving some of the taxonomic and nomenclatural problems. In China , in particular, several taxa widespread in Asia have been described as new Chinese species or varieties (Dransfield, 2001).

Painstaking work has been needed to resolve the major taxonomic problems of Indochinese rattans (Evans et al. , 2001 in Dransfield 2001). Likewise, three large rattans with different ecology and different cane quality in Africa were at some time all referred to in different countries as Laccosperma secundiflorum (Dransfield, 2001) . To sort out this basic taxonomy, a regional approach was required.

Despite the increasing demand for rattan, not enough attention has been given to it in national forest inventories carried out in Southeast Asia , resulting to a lack of information on the available and potential supply of this important resource.

The ITTO-Philippines-ASEAN Rattan project or the “Demonstration and Application of Production and Utilization Technologies for Rattan Sustainable Development in the ASEAN Member Countries” [ITTO PD 334/05 Rev. 2 (I)] aims to strengthen ASEAN collaboration to reduce poverty at the community level through a network that supports and prioritizes the urgent needs and concerns for the development of the rattan industry. It has five components namely, pilot demonstration, training, research, networking and database. Under the training component, thirteen (13) training programs on rattan production, processing and utilization technologies has been conducted in the ASEAN countries such as in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Philippines and Vietnam. One of the training that is identified but was not included in the project workplan due to limited budget is the training on rattan taxonomy and inventory.

Objectives of the Training

To conduct training on rattan taxonomy and appropriate inventory procedures;

  1. To equip the participants on the basic knowledge of rattan taxonomy and inventory;
  2. To enhance skills and abilities of rattan researchers and scientists;
  3. To promote collaboration among the participating ASEAN countries;
  4. To provide information on the following topics:ASEAN Rattans and its Ecology

- Rattan Morphology, Habitat and Description
- Basic Taxonomy, Nomenclature and Classification
- Interactive Keys
- Rattan Resource Inventory
- Field Collection Techniques and Herbarium Curation
- Procedure and Policies in the Exchange of Materials (Local and International)

Sponsors:

Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau – Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ERDB-DENR)

International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)

Forest Products Research and Development Institute - Department of Science and Technology (FPRDI-DOST)

University of the Philippines Los Baños - College of Forestry and Natural Resources (UPLBCFNR)

ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB)

Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI)

National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department of Thailand (formerly Royal Forest Department)

Contact

Dra. Aida B. Lapis

ITTO-Philipines-ASEAN Rattan Project
ITTO PD 334/05 Rev. 2 (I)
'Demonstration and Application of Production and Utilization Technologies
for Rattan Sustainable Development in the ASEAN Member Countries'
ERDB, College, Laguna 4031 Philippines
Telefax: +6349-536-4051
Tel.No.: +6349-536-2229, 536-2269 local 230
E-mail: itto_rattan@yahoo.com, itto@aseanrattan.org
Website: www.aseanrattan.org