[MPWG] Film release: Numen: The Healing Power of Plants

[De Angelis, Patricia]

A listserve member posed this very important question to me in a follow-up
to my post yesterday about the new film, Numen: The Healing Power of
Plants.

THE QUESTION:  How is plant conservation addressed in the film?

THE ANSWER, FROM THE CO-PRODUCER OF THE FILM, Ann Armbrecht:

"There is a longer version of the film that focuses on the business of
herbs, key questions to ask in purchasing herbal products, and the
importance of being aware of where they come from, how they are grown and
harvested and that leads into a discussion of United Plant Savers. We have
removed that section in this version mostly because the film was just too
long. But also because we no longer felt we could do justice to the
business of herbal products, which is a huge, complex and extremely mixed
industry in a 10 min section of a longer film. We chose to focus more on
the relationship with plants, emphasis on growing your own medicine, etc
and not the herbal industry/products per se. I know that doesn't really
address the question, except that that would be an entirely different film.
We are going to add this section from the original film w/business of herbs
and the section on UpS as stand alone sections on our website as soon as we
can get around to it."

I WOULD ADD:

The Numen website points you toward additional information on
sustainability. On the page titled, the "Business of Herbalism," see the
section on Social and Ecological Sustainability with a link to the
International Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and
Aromatic Plants (http://www.numenfilm.com/issues-business-of-herbalism.php
).

The ISSC Map was developed by a cadre of excellent medicinal plant experts
from across the world, including the IUCN-Medicinal Plant Specialist Group,
the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, the World Wildlife Fund
Germany and TRAFFIC, and Traditional Medicinals (
http://www.floraweb.de/map-pro/decisionboard.html).

The ISSC-MAP was adopted by the FairWild Foundation, created in 2008, which
certifies that products with the FairWild label are legally and sustainably
sourced and fairly traded (http://www.fairwild.org/).

I hope this helps. Thank you for the question.


Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist, Division of Scientific Authority-US Fish & Wildlife
Service-International Affairs
Chair, Medicinal Plant Working Group-Plant Conservation Alliance
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 110
Arlington, VA  22203
703-358-1708 x1753
FAX: 703-358-2276

Promoting sustainable use and conservation of our native medicinal plants.
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>

Follow International Affairs
> on Twitter  http://twitter.com/USFWSInternatl
> on Facebook   http://www.facebook.com/USFWS_InternationalAffairs


On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 1:54 PM, De Angelis, Patricia <
patricia_deangelis at fws.gov> wrote:

> Please see the message below about a gorgeous film that is being released
> called, Numen: The Healing Power of Plants.  It is a welcome arrival for
> those of us who believe in the power of plants, highlighting several major
> concepts that demonstrate the relevance of medicinal plants to our everyday
> lives and to our future.  It features an array of our best known and most
> beloved medicinal plant experts. The producers have indicated that all
> sales are currently slated to support the further dissemination of the film
> so that they may bring the information to wider audiences.
>
>
> Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
> Botanist, Division of Scientific Authority-US Fish & Wildlife
> Service-International Affairs
> Chair, Medicinal Plant Working Group-Plant Conservation Alliance
> 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 110
> Arlington, VA  22203
> 703-358-1708 x1753
> FAX: 703-358-2276
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20130711/9d4b28c7/attachment.html>