News

Panda landscape project on sustainable use of wild medicinal plants wins Equator Prize

2012-05-17T17:31:09Z

An award winning project in China's Yangtze's ecoregion scaled up from one village sustainably havesting Schisandra fruits in 2008 to 22 villages by 2011 Click image to enlarge © TRAFFICMay 2012—A project to promote sustainable harvesting of wild medicinal plants in the mountains of China’s Upper Yangtze ecoregion has won the prestigious Equator Prize 2012.

The Equator Prize recognizes outstanding local initiatives working to advance sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities in countries receiving support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

It is the second time the success of the project has been publicly acknowledged; in October 2011, the project received an “Outstanding Contribution Award” from the Chinese State Ministry of Environmental Protection, EU-China Biodiversity Programme (ECBP), Ministry of Commerce and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Over-harvesting of wild medicinal plant species is a serious conservation concern—aside from problems caused by the harvesting itself, the collectors can also have serious secondary impacts through camping within reserves, hunting and gathering fuel-wood to dry commercial quantities of medicinal plants. Such habitat destruction and disturbance also threatens endangered wildlife, including the Giant Panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca and the Takin Budorcas taxicolor.

Wild flora, sustainable use and livelihoods: progress on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation

2012-05-14T16:05:19Z

Dr Peter Wyse Jackson, President of Missouri Botanical Garden and Chair of the GPPC addresses a side event on capacity building for implementation of the GSPC, at the CBD SBSTTA-16 meeting in Canada this week © A Timoshyna / TRAFFICMontreal, Canada, 4th May 2012—Plant conservation came under the spotlight during a preparatory meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) currently underway in Canada.

In particular, discussions focused on developments with the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), whose over-arching aim is to halt the continuing loss of plant diversity. As the Strategy’s webpage notes: Without plants, there is no life.

Generally delegates to the 16th meeting of the Susbsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-16), who included a wide range of government representatives, many from Parties to the Convention, as well as non-governmental organizations, were pleased with progress with developing the GSPC, particularly the development of the online toolkit for its implementation.

TRAFFIC’s Medicinal Plant Programme Lead, Anastasiya Timoshyna, highlighted how the FairWild Standard’s principles could act as a tool to assist Parties, other governments and the private sector to implement particular targets within the GSPC, through relevant plans, programmes and policies, such as National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). According to Timoshyna “Conservation of wild plants has never been more urgent, and the FairWild Standard is the right tool to help with implementation of the Strategy that will help secure the future for this invaluable resource.”

TRAFFIC launches sustainable wild harvested medicinal plant project in Viet Nam

2012-04-10T09:35:26Z

TRAFFIC's Forest Trade Officer Nguyen Thi Mai addresses participants at the launch of a sustainable medical and aromatic plant project in Northern Viet Nam Click image to enlarge @TRAFFICHa Noi , Viet Nam, 9th April 2012—TRAFFIC in co-ordination with the Bac Kan Forest Protection Department (FPD), has launched its first project in Viet Nam to protect plants that rural communities rely upon for traditional medicine. The plants targeted by the project are threatened by unsustainable harvesting and habitat destruction.

The project in the South Xuan Lac Species and Habitat Conservation Area in northern Viet Nam will implement the FairWild Standard, guidelines drawn up to ensure the sustainability of wild medical and aromatic plant harvesting.

FairWild incorporates principles of ecological and social responsibility providing a worldwide framework for implementing a sustainable, fair and value-added management and trading system for wild-collected natural ingredients and products thereof.

South Xuan Lac was chosen for its unique floral composition, local communities’ use of medicinal plants and evidence of uncontrolled harvesting.

The project will be implemented jointly with the Bac Kan FPD and the People Resources and Conservation Foundation (PRCF) with support and funding from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).

Working with local harvesters, traders and the government, TRAFFIC and PRCF will apply FairWild principles to conserve biodiversity and improve the livelihoods of local community’s dependent upon the plant products. Ultimately, the project aims to develop a model that can be applied throughout Viet Nam.

FairWild webinar by Institute for Marketecology - May 8

2012-04-05T13:54:16Z

The FairWild Standard Version 2.0 - Fair trade for wild collected plant products: a novelty?

Join us for a Webinar on May 8

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/554348826

FairWild webinar by Institute for Marketecology - April 12

2012-04-05T13:27:24Z

An introduction to the FairWild Standard Version 2.0 - Sustainable management practices for wild collected plants

Join us for a Webinar on April 12

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/788362746

"Wild thing" event highlights industry interest in sustainable sourcing

2012-03-02T10:05:39Z

Over 80 participants attended the FairWild Foundation and IMO joint event during the BioFach fair 2012.More than 80 participants attended a special event organized by the Institute of Marketecology (IMO) and the FairWild Foundation during BioFach 2012 entitled “Wild thing: I think I love you…Wild Plants and the Herbal Industry.”

Biofach, the World Organic Trade Fair, this year took place in Nürnberg, Germany.

Those attending the “Wild thing” event included representatives of collection operations, traders and manufacturers of final products, NGOs, government agencies and intergovernmental organizations.

“The level of engagement and interest of participants of the Wild thing event demonstrated how the issue of wild collection and ensuring sustainability of supplies has never been higher on the industry’s agenda,” said Bryony Morgan of the FairWild Foundation’s Secretariat.

Bert-Jan Ottens, FairWild Foundation board member, set the scene by introducing trends in market demand for wild collected natural ingredients, and the importance of sustainability.

Japanese delegation visits India to learn about responsible & sustainable trade in medicinal plants

2012-02-10T18:24:11Z

A Japanese delegation including representatives from leading companies dealing in medicinal and aromatic plant products is visiting India to learn about sustainable practices used in plant harvesting and collection Click image to enlarge © Kahoru Kanari / TRAFFICBangalore, Karnataka, India, 9th February 2012—Representatives from leading herbal companies in Japan are visiting India this week as part of a drive to promote responsible and sustainable trade in medicinal and aromatic plants between the two countries.

India is the second largest supplier of medicinal and aromatic plants to Japan, many of them wild sourced. At the same time, almost 1,000 medicinal plant species in India are of conservation concern, and over-exploitation of wild medicinal plants remains a major environmental protection issue.

Non-sustainable harvest practices, coupled with accelerating trade demands, can lead to losses of large numbers of individual plants within populations, local population depletions and eventually extermination of a species.

The private sector is considered one of the most important and influential stakeholder groups along the trade chain. Working with industry members, therefore, is a key step in the promotion of sustainable practices for harvest and collection of medicinal plants from the wild.

MKS Pasha, Co-ordinator of TRAFFIC India said “This visit is a critical step towards TRAFFIC’s aim of bringing positive behavioral changes in the herbal industry—a sector which deals with cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food products manufactured from wild medicinal and aromatic plants.

CBD and UNEP-WCMC Release Draft Study on Standards and Certification Schemes

2011-12-19T10:27:40Z

December 2011: The FairWild Standard has been included in a study on Standards and Certification Schemes, authored by authored by experts from the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and published as part of the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) Technical Series. The new draft study reviews the biodiversity requirements of 36 environmental standards, sampled from eight business sectors.

South Caucasus pilot study demonstrates feasibility of FairWild implementation

2011-11-24T10:56:02Z

Bilberry collectors, Georgia © Heiko Schindler, IMOA pilot project in the South Caucasus has demonstrated how implementation of the FairWild Standard can improve the quality and sustainability of plant products from Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The South Caucasus region is well known for its high diversity of fauna and flora. However, the fragile ecosystems are threatened by over-exploitation of natural resources.

A total of 340 plant collectors and 17 collection companies received specialized training from the Institute for Marketecology (IMO) on implementation of FairWild principles, with particular emphasis on best practices in wild plant collection, and improving product quality and traceability.

“For most participants, the notion of outside interest and potential for development in this area was a novel one and it was especially pleasing to see the involvement of several young people in the programme as there is a need to recruit a new generation of collectors,” said Heiko Schindler of IMO.

Provision of market information helped producers to identify opportunities for national and regional trade in sustainably produced plant ingredients, while a network of regional experts was also created to provide long-term support. Liaison with government agencies helped lay the foundations for national standards on wild plant collection.

According to GIZ’s Dr. Christian Goenner, “The concept of sustainable use of biodiversit

Liquorice named “Medicinal plant of the year 2012”

2011-11-21T09:14:05Z

A plate from Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz published in 1885 depicting liquorice; the plant has been used as a medical cure for centuries.Frankfurt, Germany, 21st November 2011—Liquorice has been selected as “Medicinal plant of the year 2012” because of its paramount importance to human well-being world-wide.

The selection was made by a panel from the University of Würzburg, WWF and TRAFFIC and will be announced today at an event organized by WWF Germany.

“Liquorice is special because it can quickly soothe sore throats and coughs and was used centuries ago to treat coughing, hoarseness and asthma by Ancient Greek and Egyptian physicians,” said Professor Johannes Mayer, an expert on the history of medicinal botany at the University of Würzburg.

According to the mediaeval German nun, Hildegard von Bingen, or Saint Hildegard, liquorice can help lift peoples’ moods and has anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antispasmodic actions, and can also protect mucous membranes.

The liquorice plant is a woody shrub native from the Mediterranean to East Asia, the Americas and Australia, and grows up to a metre tall and is a member of the Fabaceae (pea family).
It is widely cultivated for its medicinal properties, and also for use in beverages.

Only the root is utilized, from which a wide variety of compounds—400 to date—have been isolated. Among the most important is glycyrrhizin, a chemical that possesses almost 50 times the sweetening power of cane sugar.