Antw: [MPWG] Devil's Claw Cultivation by Martin Bauer (fwd)

[Plant Conservation]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 09 Apr 2004 12:20:59 +0200
From: Uwe Schippmann <Uwe.Schippmann at BfN.de>
To: plant at plantconservation.org
Cc: dave.cole at criaasadc.org, Roddy_Gabel at fws.gov, djl at green-word.com
Subject: Antw: [MPWG] Devil's Claw Cultivation by Martin Bauer

Over the past 6-7 years, Martin Bauer is now the third company that makes claims that it is supplying the market with devil's claw material from cultivation in significant volumes. So far this has always proved to be a marketing exercise and all cultivation projects did not make it beyond the state of trials. Devil's claw is obviously not an easy species to propagate, both cuttings and seedlings do not establish well. We will have to wait and see whether time this is more than a claim.

I have incorprated some more comments in the text below...

"Devil's Claw - devilishly good. Market leader Martin Bauer has been investing in the sustainable farming of medicinal plants for many years now."

Dr. Uwe Schippmann

Fachgebiet Botanik und Naturschutz
Bundesamt für Naturschutz
Konstantinstrasse 110
D-53179 Bonn
Fax ++49 / 228 / 8491-119
email: uwe.schippmann at bfn.de

WISIA-online jetzt neu mit erweiterten Funktionen!
Zu finden unter: www.wisia.de

>>> Sustainable farming in the dry areas of southern Africa has to recognize water as a limiting factor. One condition of sustainable cultivation of devil's claw would therefore be that it is based on dry farming. To my knowledge the cultivation trials of Martin Bauer depend on irrigation.

"Amounting to between 600 and 700 metric tons of raw material, the world market requirement can only be covered by wild plants for a short period."

>>> Namibia, Botsuana and South Africa are exporting devil's claw. Exports from Namibia alone have topped 1000 tonnes in the last year. So far all of this is from wild collection. The Namibia government has recently commissioned a country-wide situation analysis which I have not seen yet, but which reportedly arrives at much lesser volumes as being sustainable.

"Apart from the cultivation of Devil's Claw, Martin Bauer and its South African partners are also directing a project concerned with the bio-certified collection of wild-growing Devil's Claw. "

>>> Bio-certified plant material from wild collection is more and more common and in demand for many species. It would be desirable if these certification would be based on sound criteria regarding ecological and social sustainability. Such criteria and standards for medicinal plants are, however, still lacking. The German Ministry of Environment has recently started an initiative to fill this gap.

"For Martin Bauer, sustainability not only means conserving natural resources, it also involves establishment and maintaining minimum standards for the welfare of the local inhabitants. Controlled cultivation and the controlled collection of wild-growing rhizomes will gradually replace the uncontrolled harvesting of wild plants practiced in many places up to now."

>>> In Namibia some 10.000 collectors and their families, mostly belonging to the most marginalized groups in society, receive their only cash income from devil's claw collection. This collection is not sustainable in many cases. Replacing wild collection with cultivation may on the one hand take pressure off wild populations, but would on the other hand do away with this source of income. Cultivation on commercial farms will create jobs, but only a few and of course in other areas as the wild harvest. This effect is of great concern for local communities and their organisations in southern Africa.

Martin Bauer's current success formula for the supply of raw materials amounts to '70 percent from cultivated plants and 30 percent collected from wild-growing plants.' Camomile, peppermint, fennel fruit and thyme are just a few of the products which are now produced completely (100%) within the framework of contract cultivation."

>>> 30 % in volumes or in species numbers? It is most likely that the 70% are provided by just a hand full of species and that quite a large number species make up the 30% from wild collection. These minor resources have not enough market potential to make it into domestication projects, they will probably remain wild collected in the long run. However, wild collection is not a bad thing in itself, as many cultivating companies are trying to convince us. If done properly, it can provide an income to many people and thus be an incentive for sustainably managing the resource. This is the real challenge before us!

Dr. Uwe Schippmann
Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn, Germany
IUCN Medicinal Plant Specialist Group

--------------------------------------------------

Martin Bauer

Press Release dated 01.03.2004

Devil's Claw   devilishly good

Market leader Martin Bauer has been investing in the sustainable farming
of medicinal plants for many years now. Controlled cultivation of Devil's
Claw and controlled collection of wild-growing rhizomes safeguard the
natural populations on a long-term basis and constitute a successful means
of protecting the species.

Vestenbergsgreuth/Germany - Martin Bauer GmbH & Co. KG, the German herbal
and fruit tea producer, has been successful in accomplishing something
that no other company in the world has managed to achieve: cultivation of
the African Devil's Claw, which had previously only grown in the wild. "We
have proved that it is possible to cultivate Devil's Claw", Dr.
Hans-Jürgen Hannig confirmed the most recent growing achievements with
Harpagophytum procumbens in South Africa and Namibia. The head of Martin
Bauer's Cultivation department maintains constant contact with South
African partner Grassroots Natural Products C.C., the company coordinating
the cultivation projects on site. Many years of research were necessary in
order to grow cuttings with the desired concentration of harpagoside, the
active constituent. The pharmacopoeia stipulates 1.2 percent active
constituent as the minimum level, whereby the cuttings produced by means
of vegetative propagation contain up to as much as 2.3 percent harpagoside
- ideal for high-quality phytopharmaceutical extracts.

Cultivation project protects the species
The Devil's Claw growers were able to reduce the vegetation period of this
sensitive desert plant to just 18 months. In 2002, the first plantations
in South Africa and Namibia, the home of the Devil's Claw, were so
successful that it was possible to plant 250,000 seedlings on a large
scale in 2003. Harvesting will be taking place in June 2004, when around
40 metric tons of Harpagophytum procumbens will be collected. The HPLC
laboratory analysis shows that the cultivated drug is of a superior
quality to the wild plant in terms of purity, identity and active
constituent content. Freshly harvested and washed, then machine-cut and
dried immediately afterwards, the resulting Devil's Claw is of a high
hygienic and pharmaceutical quality.

The worldwide requirement for Harpagophytum procumbens, which has been
found effective in the treatment of arthritis, has increased in leaps and
bounds. The pharmaceutical industry's demands have led to a sudden,
dramatic increase in the harvested quantities. Growing wild, the
complicated desert plant needs to grow for four years or more before it is
ready for harvesting.

Amounting to between 600 and 700 metric tons of raw material, the world
market requirement can only be covered by wild plants for a short period.
Because the natural habitats of the Devil's Claw must not sustain any
permanent damage, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been demanding
that the herbal product industry implement consistent measures to protect
the species. Martin Bauer takes this responsibility seriously and has
therefore been establishing future-oriented projects to ensure the
sustainable growing and harvesting of Devil's Claw and other raw materials
that are in short supply.

Controlled collection of wild-growing rhizomes supplements cultivated
produce
Apart from the cultivation of Devil's Claw, Martin Bauer and its South
African partners are also directing a project concerned with the
bio-certified collection of wild-growing Devil's Claw. This project aims
to teach chieftains and collectors how to harvest the rhizome in a
sustainable manner in order to preserve the populations. In many cases,
the method of collecting wild-growing plants up to now is virtually
equivalent to completely rooting out the medicinal rhizome. With
bio-certified collection of wild-growing plants, designated collecting
areas are divided into four quadrants, whereby only one is harvested each
year. This ensures that the Devil's Claw has sufficient time for
regeneration.

In addition to this, the collectors are taught to dig up just the
secondary rhizomes that contain the precious substances and receive
reimbursement for any loss of income incurred if the harvested quantities
are lower than usual. The successful project has been running in South
Africa for several years now. For Martin Bauer, sustainability not only
means conserving natural resources, it also involves establishment and
maintaining minimum standards for the welfare of the local inhabitants.
Controlled cultivation and the controlled collection of wild-growing
rhizomes will gradually replace the uncontrolled harvesting of wild plants
practiced in many places up to now.

Commitment to Nature
Martin Bauer's current success formula for the supply of raw materials
amounts to "70 percent from cultivated plants and 30 percent collected
from wild-growing plants". Camomile, peppermint, fennel fruit and thyme
are just a few of the products which are now produced completely (100%)
within the framework of contract cultivation. Other examples of successful
growing projects include ginseng in China, chilli fruit in Tanzania and
verbena in Paraguay. "Controlled cultivation not only conserves natural
resources and the foundation of the biosphere, but optimum selection also
produces the quality required by the customer", as Managing Director
Helmut Hack summarises the company policy. "Commitment to Nature" is the
corporate philosophy at Martin Bauer, which is being consistently
implemented in the careful handling of more than 200 different herb and
fruit-based raw materials.

"Transparent farming" optimises the quality of raw materials
The sustainable handling of plant-based raw materials has been one of
Martin Bauer's strategic corporate objectives for a long time now. The
world's largest herbal and fruit tea producer continues to pursue this
objective with the controlled farming of medicinal plants. The Cultivation
department has been growing varieties that produce an optimum yield of
effective constituents for many years, establishing a global network of
trustworthy partners who produce the raw substances for Martin Bauer
within the framework of "transparent farming" contracts. The cultivation
of Devil's Claw is the most recent landmark in the success of this raw
materials policy.

"Transparent farming" is the essential characteristic of controlled
quality. From seed selection and stipulation of the time for harvesting,
right through to regular monitoring of the soil quality, nothing is left
to chance. Martin Bauer puts the farmers under obligation to comply with
the EU GACP directives (Good Agricultural and Collection Practice) for
foodstuffs and medicinal products. A secure supply of customised raw
materials constitutes a crucial factor for the safety and reliability of
products for the food and pharmaceutical industries all over the world who
order their raw materials from Martin Bauer.

More detailed information about the project:
Conference on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, 7th to 9th September 2004 in
Jena, Germany.
Lecture given by Dr. Hans-Jürgen Hannig on "Initial experience with the
cultivation of selected clones of Harpagophytum procumbens in Southern
Africa".

Contact:
Martin Bauer GmbH & Co. KG, Dutendorfer Strasse 5-7, 91487
Vestenbergsgreuth, Germany,
eMail: welcome at martin-bauer.de , www.martin-bauer.de

Press information and photographs:
andrea.schulte at mbms.de


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