Project on Sustainable Use of Wild Medicinal Plants Wins Prestigious Equator Prize

Project on Sustainable Use of Wild Medicinal Plants Wins Prestigious Equator Prize

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.

The collection of medicinal plants in the Upper Yangtze is rising, with households compensating for loss of income from farming and timber logging due to the promulgation of two policies: a 1998 logging ban and a “Grain for Green” program, introduced in 2000, which discourages farming on steep slopes.

To help alleviate matters, an initiative was developed through a comprehensive collaboration between WWF, IUCN and TRAFFIC as part of the EU-China Biodiversity Programme (ECBP), which led to local producer association members, harvesters and governmental officials receiving training in the implementation of organic wild crop harvesting practices and certification procedures, as well as application of the FairWild Standard principles.

“We are delighted to see public recognition of the success of this initiative, which has demonstrated how sustainable harvesting of wild plant resources creates positive benefits for local livelihoods and conservation efforts,” said Anastasiya Timoshyna, TRAFFIC’s Medicinal Plant Program Leader.

Posted by George Daniels on Friday May 25 2012, 6:43 AM EST. Ref: UNDP. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0