NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, April 5, 2005

“Allanblackia oil made out of the seed of the tree, is a new commodity with the ability to substitute palm oil for some applications”, he noted. Dr. Cobbinah said the project initiative builds on public-private partnership between Unilever, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), Technoserve and a number of Ghanaian governmental and non-governmental organizations. Unilever wants to secure a sustainable supply of the seeds, while the other parties promote a socially acceptable and environmentally sound market-based financing mechanism to safeguard biodiversity and livelihoods in the tropical forest belt in Africa. Dr. Cobbinah was optimistic that Allanblanckia holds out the potential to provide an improved source of household income for rural population while contributing to forest landscape restoration and community-based fire management. He noted that Unilever would offer a sizeable and commercially attractive market to the project, thus providing a financially sound basis for the future.
Story found here.