[PCA] New industry standard for collection of wild plants

[Olivia Kwong]

Here's a slightly longer article about the new standards:

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2007/2007-02-20-01.asp

Global Standard Set for Wild Medicinal Plant Harvesting

NUREMBERG, Germany, February 20, 2007 (ENS) - A new standard to promote 
sustainable management and trade of wild medicinal and aromatic plants was 
launched Friday in Nuremberg at Biofach, the World Organic Trade Fair. The 
standard is needed to ensure plants used in medicine and cosmetics are not 
over-exploited.

About 15,000 species, or 21 percent of all medicinal and aromatic plant species 
are at risk, according to the report by the Medicinal Plant Specialist Group of 
the IUCN's Species Survival Commission that sets forth the new standard.

See the link above for the full article text.  To view the Medicinal Plant 
Specialist Group paper with the complete standard, go to 
http://www.floraweb.de/proxy/floraweb/MAP-pro/Standard_Version1_0.pdf