Some Common Non-Timber Forest Products Traded by Indigenous Community in Sabah, Malaysia

Author

Julius Kodoh

School of International Tropical Forestry Universiti Malaysia Sabah


Locked Bag 2073, Kota Kinabalu 88999 Sabah, Malaysia Tel: 6-088-320-000 E-mail: Julius@ums.edu.my
Andy Russel Mojiol (Corresponding author) School of International Tropical Forestry Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Locked Bag 2073, Kota Kinabalu 88999 Sabah, Malaysia Tel: 6-088-320-118 E-mail: rmojiol@yahoo.co.uk
Walter Lintangah


School of International Tropical Forestry Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Locked Bag 2073, Kota Kinabalu 88999 Sabah, Malaysia Tel: 6-088-320-000 E-mail: walterjl@ums.edu.my 

Abstract

The survey showed that a total number of 109 species of NTFPs were traded locally in the tamu (open market), comprising 35 species of wild edible plants, 32 species of medicinal plants, 8 species of orchids, 4 species of bamboos, 6 species of rattans, 8 species of fish, 8 species of wild fruit trees and 8 species of other products. This survey covered ten most common tamu and major ethnic groups in Sabah, mainly Kadazandusun, Rungus and Murut.
Keywords: Traded Non-Timber Forest Products, Tamu (open market), Indigenous community, Sabah

1. Introduction
Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play a major role in the lives of more than 30 million forest dependent people in Southeast Asia (de Beer & McDermott 1989). The situation is similar throughout the tropics, where people utilize NTFPs within the household and trade them for money and other products locally or in the region (Tiwari 1994). For many years, non-timber species such aromatic and medicinal plants, bamboo, rattan, fruits, nuts, resins, gums and mushrooms played important roles in the socio-economic development of Malaysia (Azizol & Appanah 1998).

Many of the NTFPs have provided useful and important products for the local people of the state of Sabah. There are about 84 species of rattans found in Sabah (Dransfield 1984). Sabah has at least seven genera of bamboos with an approximately thirty four species (Kulip 1992). There are more than 100 species used as medicinal plants to treat 34 ailments in the west coast and interior of Sabah. The main sources of medicinal plants in Sabah are from plants growing wild in the primary or secondary forests. Some commonly used plants are planted around houses (Kulip 1997). Lee & Gibot (1986) have reported on more than 200 species of native edible plants found in Sabah. Whilst, Wong (1992) reported that Sabah’s tropical is home to about 155 species of freshwater fish and 1500 species of orchids. 

The term NTFPs used in this study include all forest goods, except timber and the forest services. They are tangible objects of biological origin such as plants, animals and their products derived from the forest that traded in the tamu. Tamu or “Open Market” is a place where most of indigenous traders gather to buy, sell or barter their farm produce, NTFPs, handicrafts, traditional ware, musical instruments and etc. Tamu is also one of the tourist attractions. The main objective of this study was to identify the types of NTFPs collected and traded by the indigenous communities at the various tamu in Sabah, Malaysia.

2. Materials & Methods
Sabah, the second largest Malaysian state, has a land area of 7.3 million ha and a population of 2.45 million (Sabah Statistics Dept. 2000). The main indigenous communities are Kadazandusun, Murut, Rungus and Bajau. There are more than 50 ethnic groups in Sabah (Lasimbang and Moo-Tan 1997). The Kadazandusuns alone comprise more than 30 different groups (Tombung 1990). Other groups in Sabah include the Chinese, Bruneians and Indians.

The general approach of this study is to survey indigenous communities involved in the collection and selling of NTFPs at the selected tamu using a structured questionnaire. In each tamu, personal interviews were conducted with the sellers and the data gathered were analyzed to determine the types of NTFPs traded in the tamu. The survey was conducted in ten tamu, namely Tamu Kudat (6052.794’N,116051.128’E), Tamu Kota Marudu (6029.925’N,1160 46.224’E), Tamu Tandek (6032.083’N,116051.197’E), Tamu Tenom (5007.268’N,1150 56.580’E), Tamu Keningau (5020.333’N,116009.551’E), Tamu Tambunan (5040.250’N, 116021.858’E), Tamu Kiulu (6003.527’N,116016.912’E), Tamu Tamparuli (6008.043’N, 116016.097’E), Tamu Telipok (6005.372’N,116011.740’E) and Tamu Donggonggon (50 54.757’N,116006.085’E) (Fig 1).
A personal interview technique was used to collect desired information such as respondent background (this covers age, gender, races, education level, household and employment) and inventory of NTFPs traded by the respondent (this covers species, uses, price, sources, distance traveled). For big tamu, random survey was conducted with each seller of NTFPs and for small tamu a 100 percent survey was conducted with each seller of NTFPs. The survey was conducted during weekday and weekend, in the month of September until November 2004. In cases where the NTFPs were not identified in the field, they were bought and brought to the Forest Research Centre (FRC), Sepilok, Sandakan, where the specimens were identified by the botanists of the centre. This was to ensure that all the species collected and sold in the tamu were correctly identified.

3. Results and Discussion
The total number of respondent interviewed was 102 respondents, comprising 8 males and 94 females. The majority of the respondents were the Kadazan/Dusun ethnic group, followed by the Rungus and the Murut. The average age of the respondents was 46 years. Most of the NTFPs resources came from the forest with the average distance travelled of 2.1 kilometer by the indigenous traders from their house to the source.
From the surveys, the NTFPs were categorized into eight groups, namely, wild edible plants, medicinal plants, orchids, bamboos, rattans, fish, wild fruit trees and others (Table 1). The most common category of NTFPs traded in the tamu were wild edible plants (32.1 percent) and medicinal plants (29.4 percent).

The composition of various NTFPs species found traded in the tamu shows in Table 2. The total number of NTFPs species identified were 109 species, comprising 35 species of wild edible plants, 32 species of medicinal plants, 8 species of orchids, 4 species of bamboos, 6 species of rattans, 8 species of fish, 8 species of wild fruit trees and 8 species of others.
During the surveys, it were also observed that the most expensive NTFPs was Buah Mentayang (Caesalpinia bonduc) followed by Jerangau Merah or Akar Bumi (Baesenbergia stenophylla) and Lumut Gunung (Usnea sp.). All of these species belong to medicinal plants group of NTFPs. In addition, the most frequent of wild edible plants identified were Bungar (Lasia spinosa), Daun Sirih Hutan (Piper betle), Lamiding (Stenochlyna palustris), Pakis (Cylosorus contiguous), Tuhau (Etlingera punicea) and Tutan (Solanum sp.). The surveys also found that the most common species of orchid traded at the tamu ground was Dendrobium sp..

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express our sincere gratitude and thanks to the Herbarium Cestion (Mr. John Sugau, Mr. Leopald Madani, Mr. Dewol Sundaling and staffs) of the Sepilok Forest Research Centre for their assistance in identification of the NTFP species, and to Mr. Azman Mahali, Mr. Matin Tuyok, Mr. M.A. Tajjudin Mustapha and Mr. Kasman Kasbi for their invaluable assistances in the interview of the local traders, and to Associate Professor Dr. Awang Abd. Ghani (Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia) for his invaluable guidance and constructive comments. 

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