Dr. Rainer Bächi (1948-2010)In Memoriam

Dr. Rainer Bächi (1948-2010)

Founder & Director of IMO
Founding Member of FairWild Foundation

Died in a car accident in Tiflis, Georgia – 10 June 2010

It is with great sadness that we announce the tragic death of a great inspirational leader and contributor to organic and biodiversity work worldwide.

Within the FairWild Foundation, Dr. Bächi was at the core of developing the FairWild Standard for sustainable wild-collection of natural ingredients. With his profound knowledge of the social and ecological context regarding the sustainable use of natural resources, he particularly contributed to the merging of the initially separate ISSC-MAP and FairWild parts into one Standard. He was also instrumental in translating the FairWild Standard into practical field application, a work that had just begun.

Much more, with his determined personality and drive, coupled with charisma, Dr. Bächi was a key professional and visionary leader in our Foundation, who will be dearly missed. This drive also brought him to Georgia for FairWild certification; sadly enough, Dr. Bächi died on his way back home, on the way to the airport.

Our thoughts are with Dr. Bächi’s family, friends and close colleagues; we will keep Rainer’s inspiration and legacy alive in our work…

Read more at www.imo.ch

FairWild Foundation

Established in 2008, the FairWild Foundation promotes the sustainable use of wild-collected ingredients, with a fair deal for all those involved throughout the supply chain.

Background

The increasing demand for wild plants – as ingredients for food, cosmetics, well-being and medicinal products – poses major ecological and social challenges. The pressure on potentially vulnerable plant species can endanger local ecosystems and the livelihoods of collectors, who often belong to the poorest social groups in the countries of origin.

As a response to these concerns, the FairWild Foundation promotes the FairWild Standard and certification system for the sustainable management and collection of wild plants.

The FairWild standard is also proving instrumental for the implementation of existing regulatory frameworks provided by National Resource Management Systems as well as by International Conventions such as: