A new link between rural poverty reduction and forest conservation

The Allanblackia plant has now gained the prominence it deserves, as an economic tree with great potential to reduce poverty, particularly in rural communities where it occurs.It is one of the wild plant species, from whose seeds, oil is extracted by local communities for various purposes such as producing local soap and for cooking. But in the case of the latter, other nut oil (particularly palm kernel oil) is mixed with it to make it more acceptable. It used to be un-popular among local communities because of the perception that the oil was inferior in quality to other locally found fat producing crops.The good news is that oil from the species may be used as a substitute for palm oil to produce commercial products such as margarine and soaps.

The main concern for the environmentalists was that the project did not in any way alter the balance in nature, in view of the magnitude of the collection of seeds involved. Even though the seeds of Allanblackia are not suitable for human consumption, they form part of major stable foods of some animals in the wild, which in turn form a vital part of the bush meat chain. See the full article >>