[MPWG] NTFP trade in Scotland

[Marla Emery]

Civility -- it's always so welcome.  Really helps produce constructive 
outcomes.

 FYI, I spend a good deal of my research time documenting the importance 
of small amounts of income derived from NTFPs for rural (and not so rural) 
people.

Marla R. Emery, Ph.D.
Research Geographer
US Forest Service
Northern Research Station
705 Spear Street
Burlington, VT  05403-6102
(802)951-6771 ext. 1060
http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/people/memery



Jean Giblette <hfg at capital.net> 
04/22/2009 01:14 PM

To
Marla Emery <memery at fs.fed.us>
cc
mpwg at lists.plantconservation.org
Subject
Re: [MPWG] NTFP trade in Scotland






Dr Emery conjures up a benign picture of nature-lovers out for a Sunday 
stroll, plucking and cherishing their little nature token.  While this 
picture no doubt accurately describes some of the wild-gatherers, it 
misses the main point.

Global trade in medicinal plants (and perhaps other NTFPs) relies on 
paying people very low wages for goods extracted from nature.  This 
happens worldwide but also right here in eastern North America, 
exacerbated by increasing poverty.  (For those of you with good government 
jobs -- hello -- yes, more of us are forced to scramble frantically for 
cash these days.) 

Meanwhile, production costs for those of us trying to wild or ecologically 
cultivate medicinals on owned or leased properties are something like ten 
times the going rate for extracted goods.  This wage gap is thoroughly 
documented here:

Burkhart, Eric P. and Michael G. Jacobson, 2008. ?Transitioning from wild 
collection to forest cultivation of indigenous medicinal forest plants in 
eastern North America is constrained by lack of profitability,? 
Agroforestry Systems Journal (Springer Science+Business Media).

I'm losing patience with the tactic of begging the Forest Service to 
acknowledge value in natural resources, all the while handsome trade 
profits are being made on the backs of rural people for whom an extra 
$1000 means avoiding the repo man.  The only solution I can figure out is 
along the lines of the "local food" strategy.  That is, getting the 
message out to the general public:  if you don't know exactly where your 
medicinal plants come from -- the entire value chain, from site or farm, 
grower, herbalist or product maker -- they're probably stolen from your 
children.

Also, we need to go way beyond Fair Trade to price parity. 
 Growers/wild-cultivators need to organize, support each other, get 
certified to the max, and watch out for our own interests.

Jean

On Apr 22, 2009, at 10:08 AM, Marla Emery wrote:


Hello Patricia and all, 

Thanks for sharing the article on NTFP trade in Scotland.  I must say, 
having done research on NTFPs in Scotland, I'm going to have to check the 
sources and reliability of the information reported in the article.   

Re. NTFP values in the United States, so often nonmarket activities, which 
constitute the majority of gatherers -- if not of biomass -- are ignored. 
 These include creating and reinforcing direct, intimate connections 
between nature and humans (there's nothing more intimate than putting 
something into your mouth and literally having it become a part of your 
body).  Because foraging requires careful attention to ecological 
characteristics such as weather, habitat, and phenology, especially when 
engaged in over time, it leads to a kind of awareness that can be a strong 
basis for ecologically motivated behavior and attachment to place. 
 Foraging can also promote human health by promoting exercise and access 
to fresh food, often with high nutritional value.  Interestingly, the 
latter point was brought home to me most strongly by my research in 
Scotland.   

All of this is not to say that there are not significant social and 
ecological issues raised by large-scale commercialization of NTFPs, such 
as the terms of compensation for landowners.  But I do think it is 
important for those of us who work in this field to remember that the vast 
majority of people who go out to gather nontimber forest products do so 
for use by themselves and their immediate social networks. That activity 
contributes to development of the kinds of knowledge and attitudes that 
are recognized as foundational to support for conservation -- provided we 
do not alienate people by demonizing their activities. 

Cheers, 
Marla 

Marla R. Emery, Ph.D.
Research Geographer
US Forest Service
Northern Research Station
705 Spear Street
Burlington, VT  05403-6102
(802)951-6771 ext. 1060
http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/people/memery

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Any advice given on this list regarding diagnosis or treatments etc. 
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information contained in posts is not intended nor implied to be a 
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Conservation Alliance.                                                    

Jean Giblette, Director
HIGH FALLS GARDENS
Box 125 Philmont NY 12565
518-672-7365, hfg at capital.net
www.highfallsgardens.net



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