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WWF / afrol.com, 10 November - Kenyan woodcarvings make popular souvenirs and items to buy in craft shops all over Europe and North America. Ironically, the economic success of the Kenyan woodcarving industry has severely undermined the natural resources on which it is based: slow-growing hardwoods. Susanne Schmitt reports on the Kenyan woodcarving trade and how the People and Plants Programme, a joint initiative of WWF, UNESCO and Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, UK, is seeking practical solutions. When in Kenya, you see many tourists visiting souvenir shops and stalls that sell beautiful hardwood carvings made from muhugu 'mahogany' (Brachylaena huillensis) or 'mpingo' ebony (Dalbergia melanoxylon). Hardly anyone leaves these shops without either a carving of a spectacular African animal, which they saw on Safari or a beautifully crafted article, such as salad spoons. Little do they know the history behind these carvings and the impact their purchase has on the last remaining forests of Kenya. Mutisya Munge, a member of the Wakamba tribe, learnt his carving skills from the Makonde people when stationed in German East Africa (now Tanzania) during the First World War. On his return to Kenya he began to carve and this one man industry has mushroomed to support 60,000 - 80, 000 carvers, 300,000 - 350,000 dependants, and an export value of US$ 20 million per year. In recent years, however, the industry has become threatened because of increased depletion of the hardwood resources. The felling of over 50,000 trees per year for carving alone poses a major conservation problem - degrading forest habitat and leading to the loss of nest sites and shelter for rare, forest-dependent animals. Many plants and animals in the coastal forests of East Africa, from where most of the carving wood originates, are found nowhere else on earth. Spectacular birds, such as the Sokoke Scops owl, and mammals, such as the curious, golden-rumped elephant shrew, are losing their homes - hollow logs. It has been calculated that up to half of all mahogany logs used by carvers are hollow.
Over the past four years, the People and Plants Initiative, a joint initiative of the conservation organization WWF, UNESCO, and Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, UK has been working to raise awareness among carvers about the opportunities of switching to these alternative species. For instance, a play with Wakamba carvers as actors has travelled the major cooperatives and spread the message that there is a need to change to prevent loss of livelihoods. However, carvers are familiar with the hardwoods, and at present they have few incentives to make the switch. Hardwoods cost little more than good woods. Carving hardwoods is also more convenient, because there is no need for first curing the timber. The key is to give carvers an incentive to switch to good woods. Kenyan carvers, as with any business, are very responsive to falling trends in demand and there is a good chance that market-led demand for good woods could change their practice. People and Plants has used posters and produced a video to convey the message to prospective buyers. So, how can a potential buyer distinguish good wood carvings from hardwood carvings in a craft shop? Certification gives consumers an ethical choice. Adopting the label endorsed by the independent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) will guarantee the consumer that the wood from which the product is made comes from well-managed natural forests, plantations or, in the woodcarving case, from farm-produced trees. The People and Plants Programme has now embarked on a campaign to achieve FSC certification for Kenyan carvings and raise awareness amongst importers, exporters and tourists about this ethical alternative. Much progress has already been made. A pilot cooperative is working on fulfilling the preconditions for certification, such as the development of a management plan. At the second International FSC Trade Fair, in the UK in June 2000, which was attended by 1,000 delegates, People and Plants used the Kenyan work as a case study to raise awareness about the need to reduce the costs and administrative burden of getting FSC certification. These barriers currently prevent small-scale producers and farm-forestry operations - which together make up a very large, but non-forest timer resource - from getting certified. One of the greatest successes has been the support shown by during the UK charity's OXFAM Fair Trade. OXFAM is a major importer of Kenyan carvings and other wooden crafts and has shown support of the Kenyan initiative - and FSC certification in general - by becoming a member of the Global Forest and Trade Network, consisting of wood and timber buyers and retailers committed to buying FSC certified wooden products whenever possible. You can 'help save the wooden rhino' by asking for or buying good wood carvings when in Kenya or your local craft shop. There is already an opportunity to buy a genuine good wood giraffe in this year's WWF-UK's Gift catalogue. For a copy, fax: +41 22 1483 426 409.
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