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<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV>happy new year and kind regards to all, J</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>posted by Jennifer Chesworth
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10">www.sombrabuena.com</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR>CITES imposes trade controls on African diet plant<BR>08 Oct 2004
11:44:32 GMT<BR><BR>(Recasts with decision on yew plants)<BR><BR>By Ed
Stoddard<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>That will
give added protection to plants which could save untold human lives while
earning billions of dollars for big drug companies.<BR><BR>The proposals will be
raised again during the plenary session next week, but are almost certain to
pass because they have strong support.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>Phytopharm
said in July it welcomed moves to protect hoodia from illegal
cultivation.<BR><BR>"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.<BR><BR>"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.<BR><BR>VALUABLE BUT FRAGILE YEW<BR><BR>For years Chinese herbalists
have used trees of the taxus species, also known as yew trees, to treat common
ailments.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>Taxol, whose patent
expired in the United States in 2001, is one of the best-selling drugs for
treating a variety of cancers.<BR><BR>In 2003, drug firms sold more than $4
billion worth of products with taxol and other drugs derived from yew trees
known as taxanes.<BR><BR>But conservationists say the various taxus species are
under threat from illegal harvesting and habitat destruction in
China.<BR><BR>"This is a win for conservation as well as for trade," Craig
Manson, the head of the U.S. delegation, told Reuters.<BR><BR>"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.<BR><BR>CITES also agreed to regulate global trade in around 30 species
of ramin, a tropical hardwood in huge demand for furniture
production.<BR><BR>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.<BR>-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<BR><BR>1.
Contact Details:<BR><BR>-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<BR>Information and
communications Officer<BR><BR>CONSERVE AFRICA FOUNDATION<BR>1st Floor<BR>36 The
Market Square<BR>London<BR>N9 0TZ<BR>Tel: +442088078000<BR>Fax:
+442088036611<BR>Web:www.conserveafrica.org.uk<BR>E-mail:
info@conserveafrica.org.uk<BR><BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>