[MPWG] CITES imposes trade controls on hoodia cactus, asian yew

[Cafesombra at aol.com]

FYI, kind of old but still relevant, the following article puts in  stark 
relief the chief obstacles to conservation: real utility combined with  greed for 
ever more profits.
happy new year and kind regards to all, J
 
posted by Jennifer Chesworth  
www.sombrabuena.com


CITES imposes trade controls on African diet plant
08 Oct 2004  11:44:32 GMT

(Recasts with decision on yew plants)

By Ed  Stoddard

BANGKOK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - A United Nations conference approved  on Friday a 
proposal by African countries to control trade in a rare plant  sought 
hungrily by drug companies for its appetite-suppressing  properties.

The hoodia cactus in question has been used for thousands of  years by 
southern Africa's San Bushmen to dampen their appetites during long  treks through 
the harsh Kalahari desert and holds the key to potentially  lucrative 
anti-obesity drugs.

The Convention on International Trade in  Endangered Species (CITES) listed 
the hoodia plant in its Appendix II -- which  will regulate global trade in the 
species -- at the behest of South Africa,  Namibia and Botswana.

It also adopted a Chinese and United States  proposal to put Asian yew trees, 
which provide the compound for one of the  world's top-selling chemotherapy 
drugs, in the same appendix.

That will  give added protection to plants which could save untold human 
lives while  earning billions of dollars for big drug companies.

The proposals will be  raised again during the plenary session next week, but 
are almost certain to  pass because they have strong support.

South Africa's Council for  Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has 
patented the chemical entity  extracted from hoodia and licensed British 
drugs-from-plants firm Phytopharm Plc  <PYM.L> to develop the plant's commercial 
potential.

Phytopharm  said in July it welcomed moves to protect hoodia from illegal  
cultivation.

"We're very pleased it went through," said John Donaldson of  the South 
African delegation, saying it would help ensure that hoodia is used in  a 
sustainable manner.

"We would like pharmaceutical companies to produce  finished products in the 
three countries," he said, adding that there were  structures in place to 
ensure that the San Bushmen derived benefits from the  product.

VALUABLE BUT FRAGILE YEW

For years Chinese herbalists  have used trees of the taxus species, also 
known as yew trees, to treat common  ailments.

In the late 1960s, scientists in North Carolina found that  extract of yew 
bark fought tumours. In the early 1990s, the U.S. government  approved the use 
of paclitaxel, also known as taxol, by drug company  Bristol-Myers Squibb 
<BMY.N> for chemotherapy.

Taxol, whose patent  expired in the United States in 2001, is one of the 
best-selling drugs for  treating a variety of cancers.

In 2003, drug firms sold more than $4  billion worth of products with taxol 
and other drugs derived from yew trees  known as taxanes.

But conservationists say the various taxus species are  under threat from 
illegal harvesting and habitat destruction in  China.

"This is a win for conservation as well as for trade," Craig  Manson, the 
head of the U.S. delegation, told Reuters.

"It ensures the  products come from legal and sustainable resources. And it's 
important to  preserve the species because it has a great impact on the lives 
of many people,"  he said.

CITES also agreed to regulate global trade in around 30 species  of ramin, a 
tropical hardwood in huge demand for furniture  production.

Illegal harvesting and over-exploitation of the species is  one of many 
threats to one of humanity's closest living relatives, the highly  endangered  
orang-utan.
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E-mail:  info at conserveafrica.org.uk


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