Global & European Strategies for Plant Conservation
ESPC Target 11
No species of wild flora
endangered by international trade
TARGET 11. NO WILD FLORA ENDANGERED BY TRADE
Information: Europe is a major consumer of wild medicinal and aromatic plants, either collected here or imported from other regions of the world. This target is complementary to target 12, but focuses specifically on the conservation of wild plant species which are actively traded. There are 21,000 plant species listed on CITES Appendices I-III (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna), 300 of these are used medicinally and 64 are listed on CITES expressly because of the threat of over-harvesting. There are 32 plant species listed on Annex V of the EC Habitats and Species Directive. A TRAFFIC report on trade in medicinal and aromatic plants in Europe (Lange, 1998) identified that 90% of these plants and fungi are collected from the wild and identified 15 priority taxa that required action. There are several research and conservation networks for medicinal and aromatic plants active in Europe (see below), the International Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP) and the FairWild certification system
Targets: (for details of lead partners download pdf of ESPC)
GSPC target 11
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No species of wild flora endangered by international trade. |
ESPC 11.1 |
Action plans implemented and methods disseminated to ensure that 15 priority wild medicinal and aromatic plant taxa traded within Europe are not endangered by trade (based on recommendations in Lange 1998) |
ESPC11.2 |
Ensure that CITES and the EC Habitats Directive are effective in protecting wild plant species from trade through updating of the annexes and appendices of CITES and the EC Habitats Directive (Annex V) and providing recommendations for effective implementation. |
Actions to mitigate the effects of climate change: Action plans and methods should consider the potential effect of climate change on the species collected for trade and where possible propose solutions or adaptations which could mitigate these effects. |
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European Projects/Databases/Organisations:
Organisation
Project/Database (DB)/Aims
Online DB
CITES
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna – website contains identification guides, & searchable species and trade databases
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ECPGR – Medicinal & Aromatic Plants Working Group
Working group of the European Cooperative Programme on Plant Genetic Resources – aims include inventories of MAPs, conservation in situ & ex situ, MAP database & coverage of 10 priority species.
http://www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/Workgroups/Med_aromatic/ med_aromatic.htm
EC Habitats & Species Directive
Annex V of the European Commission’s Habitats and Species Directive lists those plants and animals which are under threat from unsustainable exploitation
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/habitatsdirective/index_en.htm
Fairwild
Fairwild is a certifiable standard for the collection of wild products in a socially & ecologically sound way – it has been developed as an additional module of the ecological standards of ISSC-MAP (see below) – it was initiated & is supported by SIPPO, Forum Essenzia & IMO.
ISSC-MAP
International Standard for the Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants – principles & criteria for resources users, collectors, producers and collectors – began as joint initiative of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, the IUCN Medicinal Plants Specialist Group, WWF Germany, & TRAFFIC – latest version
Royal Botanic Garden Kew
CITES checklists, user & training manuals , including: CITES & Plants; CITES & Succulents; CITES & Slipper Orchids
AMAPSEEC
Association for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of South East European Countries – network of scientific institutions, trade and enterprise organisations working on MAPs in the SEE region
TRAFFIC Europe
The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network – the European Office is one of 8 regional offices & monitors European wildlife trade
TRAFFIC – report 1998
Europe ’s Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Their Use, Trade and Conservation. Lange, D. (1998). A TRAFFIC Species in Danger Report – 150 species identifies as possibly in danger – 15 priority taxa
WWF/ Girda de Sus Community
Conservation of East European Medicinal Plants - Arnica montana in Romania Project
WWF Germany
Many activities concerned with medicinal and aromatic plant use and trade in Europe www.wwf.de/
Link to case-studies/tool kits: (.pdf)
- Arnica montana conservation in Romania (see also target 12)
- ISSC-MAP
- TRAFFIC Report on 15 wild species
- Medicinal plants in Conservation and Development
- Scotland Mushroom Collecting Code
International Projects:
- IUCN Medicinal Plants Specialist Group - (http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/mpsg/)
- Plantlife International and National Partners – Important Medicinal Plant Areas in the Himalayas ( Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan) (http://www.plantlife.org.uk/international/plantlife-ipas-regional-global-activities.htm#himalaya)
- Plantlife International and National Partners – Medicinal Plants Conservation Initiative (Africa, Himalayas, South East Europe) (http://www.plantlife.org.uk/international/plantlife-med-plants-intro.htm)
- TRAFFIC – The International Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network www.traffic.org/
- WHO – World Health Organisation – Guidelines on good agricultural and collection practices for medicinal plants (http://www.who.int/medicines/library/trm/medicinalplants/agricultural.shtml)