20
May 2008 - Cambridge, UK, 20 May 2008: It
is well known that there are plants that
save lives; the question now is who saves
these plants from over- exploitation, habitat
loss and a host of other threats.
Every year, about half
a million tonnes of dried medicinal and
aromatic plants (MAP) are traded internationally,
and an unknown but substantial quantity
is traded on national and local markets.
More than 50% of the plants are harvested
from the wild, and the demand for MAPs is
increasing world-wide. Coupled with land
conversion and habitat degradation in many
regions, it means around a quarter of such
species are under threat.
“About 15,000 of the
estimated 50,000 – 70,000 plant species
used for medicine, cosmetics or dietary
supplements are threatened,” says Susanne
Honnef, Head of TRAFFIC’s Medicinal Plant
Programme.
WWF, the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
their joint affiliate, the wildlife trade
monitoring network TRAFFIC, BfN and partners
have set up an initiative directed to "Saving
Plants that Save Lives and Livelihoods".
The initiative was highlighted at the Ninth
Conference of the Parties of the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) with the release
of a new film on the issue
In many developing countries,
wild-collected plants provide the only effective
medicine for the majority of the rural population,
because other forms of medication are either
unavailable or unaffordable. In richer countries,
many people have rediscovered the benefits
of natural medicine.
New guidance on harvesting
Adding consumer demand
to traditional demand, however, is a key
factor behind over-exploitation and illegal
harvest and trade in wild plants. Teaming
up with the German Federal Agency for Nature
Conservation (BfN), the three groups began
work in 2004 on an International Standard
for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal
and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP).
“Published in early
2007, this standard now provides companies,
governments, resource managers and other
stakeholders in the MAP sector a specific
guidance tool to develop sustainable use
management systems for MAP collected from
the wild,” said Uwe Schippmann, Head of
the Plant Conservation Section of BfN.
Traditional plants,
traditional peoples
Central to ISSC-MAP
are the customary rights of local communities
and indigenous peoples, and the establishment
of benefit sharing agreements over genetic
resources and management responsibility,
reinforced by adherence to such concepts
as prior informed consent (PIC) and mutually
agreed terms (MAT).
The “Saving Plants that
Save Lives and Livelihoods”, supported by
the German Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development (BMZ), has started
implementing ISSC-MAP in projects world-wide.
Projects, operating under a variety of conditions
and organizational structures, are underway
in Brazil, Cambodia, India, Lesotho, Nepal
and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and with alternative
funding, in China and the Ukraine.
In the tropical Amazon
region for example, a women's group that
has struggled for sustainable harvesting
of local plants for years will use ISSC-MAP
within their project and check potential
links to other standards relevant in the
region.
Nepal, with its amazing
variety of ecosystems from the Terai lowlands
in the south to the world's highest peaks
in the north, is home to an astounding plant
diversity, with more than 1,500 plant species
used for medicinal purposes. Like in India,
community forest management structures are
often already in place, which is a good
starting point for ISSC-MAP implementation.
For several collectors
in Lesotho, wild collection of Pelargonium
is the only source of cash income. This
species has been highly valued for its healing
power in fighting cold and other "winter"
infections. The development of management
systems involving all relevant actors are
urgently needed to ensure the long term
survival of the species.
“We are happy to see the ISSC-MAP being
adapted to local contexts and used on the
ground. Several governments, communities,
forestry departments and companies have
shown a keen interest to support the ISSC-MAP
and promote its uptake in their countries”
says Frank Fass-Metz, Head of Division Environment
and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources
of BMZ.
“This will help the
development of capacity-building, technology
transfer, and financial support programmes
to assist developing countries with the
implementation of the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD).”
According to Jane Smart,
Head of IUCN’s Species Programme: “ISSC-MAP
is an excellent toolkit that can help contribute
to national, subregional and regional implementation
of the CBD’s Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.”
The CBD meeting is expected
to review the Global Strategy for Plant
Conservation, following recommendations
made at the Convention’s Subsidiary Body
on Scientific, Technical and Technological
Advice meeting in Paris in 2007.
“We all profit from
the unique therapeutic effects of medicine
from nature’s pharmacy”, says Sue Lieberman,
Director of the Species Programme of WWF
International “but it is high time for an
effective therapy for natural plant populations
under pressure.
“We welcome governments, and committed companies
and NGOs to join the initiative, and work
to ensure products from wild plants are
harvested in compliance with the ISSC-MAP,”
adds Susanne Honnef of TRAFFIC.
