[MPWG] ethical harvest certification

[Jolie Lonner]

Hi everyone,

I believe that certification is necessary because it increases consumer 
awareness and results in better practices.

I wanted to address the concept of ethically harvested certification.

There was some mention in the recent discussion that wildcrafted 
products could be certified as organic if the areas could be inspected 
properly.My questions here are:
Are the certifications interchangable?
What are the criteria used to to determine ethical harvest?
Who does this certification?
What if the harvesting in on public lands?
Can migrant harvesters or non-land owners get certified?

Additionally do we have the data needed to know what constitutes 
ethical wildcrafting?My research on the harvest of Oregon-grape, found 
that the U.S Forest service guidelines were not sufficient to protect 
Berberis nervosa from over harvest. This was three years of research on 
one plant and one guideline. Do we have data on what would constitute 
ethical wildcrafting for popular species? Does anyone know of a place 
where this research could be banked and housed for the benefit of all?

At the very least we probably can agree to some general guidelines 
about taking a only portion of the population, leaving healthy plants 
to regenerate, not harvesting in wet soils, proper identification and 
moratorium on sensitive plant species on the UPS list.  Are the organic 
certifiers taking these points into account?

If there was an organization whose was responsible for certifying 
ethical wildcrafting, it might be able to collect crucial data on 
harvest methods patterns, medicinal plant populations and effects of 
harvest over time. What efforts are being made to gather data on 
current wild harvesting methods and effects, and is that data 
accessible?

One option I have heard about for certifying wild harvested plants on 
public land is for the Forest Service to determine guidelines and issue 
permits. In order for a harvester to get these permits they would need 
to be trained by the FS personnel in identification and sustainable 
harvest methods. The permit could follow the product and start the 
chain of custody process.  I know there are lot of problems with the 
model, a few being funding for the personnel and government control, 
but does anyone have constructive solutions to facilitation of landless 
people harvesting consciously on our public lands?

In the Balkans many NGOs, aid organizations and small herb businesses 
are looking toward certification to make herbal products more 
competitive on the  European market. There is a strong need to train 
harvesters and monitor trade in sensitive species.  Verification of  
quality, sustainability and equity  were being addressed in Kosovo 
during my time there.  Currently, international aid groups pay for 
harvester training by organizations like the Swiss Import Promotion 
Programme (SIPPO) and Institut für Marktökologie (IMO). These 
independent certifiers issue organic certification for wildcrafted 
products. This process is heavy on training for the harvesters and 
buyers and verifies chain of custody. Has anyone had any experience 
working with independent certifying groups?

I realize I have set forth many more questions than answers. Any other 
thoughts?

Have a very happy and peaceful new year,

Jolie

Jolie Lonner
Go Wild! Consulting
P.O. Box 12135
Berkeley, CA 94712
jolie at gowildconsulting.com
510-666-WILD (9453)
www.gowildconsulting.com

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 3457 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20041223/2593d98f/attachment.bin>