Upcoming event: Sustainable Foods Summit, Amsterdam, 5-6 June

Interested in sustainability and eco-labels? The Sustainable Foods Summit is a series of international events that focuses on the leading issues the food industry faces on this topic.

The European edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit will be held in Amsterdam on 5-6th June. The summit aims to bring together key stake-holders in the food industry to debate sustainability issues in a high-level forum. This year, the event will will focus on clean label developments, debating key advances in these areas.

For more information, visit the website: http://www.sustainablefoodssummit.com/

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Guidelines to "Non-Detriment Findings" available to support CITES implementation for plants

Voluntary guidelines have been produced to support CITES Scientific Authorities to implement the NDF processApril 2014 — New guidelines have been produced outlining straightforward steps for determining whether trade in a particular plant species is likely to be detrimental to its survival, a key requirement for countries before allowing export of their wildlife resources.

The new guidelines are aimed at helping government authorities decide whether a Non-Detriment Finding (NDF) can be issued and export permits granted to allow trade to proceed for a species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This process affects a number of plants of commercial importance, which have been listed in Appendices to CITES as a protection measure.

Determining a robust NDF is one of the key challenges facing governments in implementing their obligations under CITES and some CITES Scientific Authorities have struggled to implement this rather complex process. In recent years there has been a focus on developing guidance for different taxa.

Now, thanks to funding provided by the German Government’s BfN and WWF Germany, new guidelines have been developed by TRAFFIC to assist CITES Scientific Authorities in determining NDFs for perennial plants.

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Communicating sustainability: FairWild at BioFach 2014, Germany

Ben Heron, Pukka Herbs, shares experiences of linking sustainable wild collection to hornbill conservation in India © Anastasiya Timoshyna / TRAFFICMarch 2014 – Sustainable wild collection was again highlighted at the BioFach trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany, last month. The organic trade fair celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, and remains an important event in the calendar for those involved with the trade in wild plant ingredients.

This year, FairWild Foundation co-exhibited with the Institute for Marketecology (IMOswiss AG), accredited certifier for the FairWild scheme. Information on the FairWild Standard and certification scheme was provided to a wide range of visitors to the stand.

A special presentation and discussion session was held on “Communicating sustainability: marketing of wild-collected herbal teas”. The event was facilitated by ProFound – Advisers in Development, who are supporting FairWild Foundation on communications and marketing issues.

The event marked the recent entry to market of several new product ranges bearing the FairWild certification mark, helping companies to engage with the public on the topic of sustainable wild harvesting and fair trade.

Many herbal teas contain ingredients that are collected from the wild although

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TCM sector holds inaugural Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Forum in China

March 2014—The FairWild Standard was introduced to representatives from 30 Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) companies who met last month in Beijing to discuss corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability issues in the TCM industry.

Representatives from 30 TCM companies met last month to discuss CSR & sustainability issues © Ran Zhao/TRAFFIC It was the first Forum dedicated to CSR held by the TCM sector in China under the theme of "Sustainable development in the TCM industry and supply chain management" and as such, was hailed as a significant moment in the industry’s development there.

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Celebrating World Wildlife Day 2014

Learn more about World Wildlife Day at www.wildlifeday.org/3rd March 2014 is World Wildlife Day, chosen to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora. The day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973, a treaty which plays an important role in ensuring that international trade does not threaten the species’ survival.

Over-harvesting for trade is the second-biggest direct threat to species after habitat destruction. Wild plant ingredients are used in a variety of industries, ranging from food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, and are of vital importance to humanity. The trade also provides a source of income to millions of households involved in collection. Medicinal and aromatic plants underpin both traditional and “modern” healthcare systems.

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