FYI. A call for papers and posters is open until 30 September 1995. Gyde Content-Type: text Content-Length: 00000002330 19-23 February 1996. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DOMESTICATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS IN AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS.. Nairobi, Kenya. (Note: this is was previously announced as "Inventory of Non-Timber Products.") Organized by the International Centre for Research and Agroforestry (ICRAF), IUFRO S 4.02, and the International Society of Tropical Foresters, Inc. Tropical forests are an important source of foods, medicines, and non-timber fibers. While local communities have depended on these products for millennia, very limited scientific research has been directed at their assessment, development,commercialization or possible domestication. Many forest products have been marketed as extractives from natural forests, but have potential as agroforestry crops. To promote their use in agroforestry requires the commercial interest of the trade, and development of nurseries and farmers's co-operatives. Currently, weakness in many of these steps contribute to major constraints to the adoption of these species in agroforestry. This conference sees ways to overcome these constraints. The objectives of this conference are to synthesize available information and to define the future research agenda with special attention to the following themes: Product identification, assessment, and monitoring Indigenous knowledge and ethnobotany Product development and management (biological options, commercial opportunities) Product domestication and adoption by farmers (users, markets) Policy and institutional aspects. The intended outcomes of the conference are: A strategy for monitoring, development, and commercialization of non-timber forest products. A synthesis of information available on products, users and adoption. A mechanism and plan for inter-regional exchanges of information and experiences An updated catalogue of institutions involved in non-timber forest products, with clear definitions of mandates. For further information contact: Dr. Roger B.B. Leakey, Chairman, Organizing Committee, International Conference on Domesticaiton and Commercialization of Non-Timber Forest Products in Agroforestry Systems, United Nations Avenue, Gigri, P.O. Box 30677, Nairobi, Kenya. Tel: +254-2-521450. Fax: +254-2-521001. Telex: 22048 ICRAF. Email: icraf@cgnet.com
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