Pukka Herbs launches FairWild-certified herbal tea

London, UK, 5th July 2012—To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Pukka Herbs has launched a new blend of organic peppermint and FairWild-certified licorice tea.

The licorice originates from Kazakhstan, and was especially selected because it meets the FairWild Standard for sustainability and fair trade.

The FairWild Standard was developed to ensure those collecting wild plant ingredients harvest the produce sustainably and receive a premium price for their efforts.

It is the first time UK consumers will be able to buy a product with the FairWild logo.

The UK is Europe’s third largest importer of medicinal and aromatic plants (8.5% of total EU imports, by value), the majority of which are wild harvested. Up to 90 % of the UK’s requirements are sourced from abroad. Ensuring the market’s supplies are from sustainable sources is vital for conservation reasons and for the thousands of workers involved in the industry.

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

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.

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

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.”

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TRAFFIC launches sustainable wild harvested medicinal plant project in Viet Nam

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.

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FairWild webinar by Institute for Marketecology - May 8

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 

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