News from the Herb Research Foundation
Sustainable botanicals: A new green revolution
November/December 2001
By Evelyn Leigh
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Village forest user group in the Annapurna region of Nepal. Community groups like this are becoming increasingly involved in management of wild botanical resources
Photo courtesy of World Wildlife Fund, Nepal.
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For centuries, rural people in isolated areas
all over the world supported themselves by harvesting plants and
other natural products from the forests and grasslands. By
harvesting only for personal use or small local markets, these
people maintained a delicate interdependence with the plant
resources on which they relied for food, shelter, medicine, and
income.
In an ideal world, this scenario may have continued
indefinitely. In reality, however, growing population pressure,
habitat loss, and escalating commercial demand for wild botanicals
have created a critical need for a new vision of sustainable plant
production.
“There’s an ongoing revolution in health care that’s gradually
replacing conventional notions of health and wellness,” says
Maureen DeCoursey, HRF’s new director of sustainable development.
“We need to take that idea further so that we are not only taking
care of ourselves properly by utilizing more natural therapies but
also taking care of the plants and the planet that sustain us.”
A conservation and development expert specializing in non-timber
forest products, DeCoursey recently teamed up with HRF President
Rob McCaleb and the rest of the HRF staff to expand the
foundation’s Division of Sustainable Development. DeCoursey has
more than seventeen years of experience in biodiversity
conservation and economic development, and her work has taken her
to more than fifteen countries in Asia, eastern Europe, Africa, and
Central and South America. Under McCaleb’s direction, HRF has been
involved in sustainable development projects in Africa, Asia,
Europe, and the United States, and will next undertake a project in
the former Soviet Union.
By combining DeCoursey’s expertise in international economic
development with HRF’s experience in the natural-product
marketplace, the Division of Sustainable Development aims to bridge
the gaps between biodiversity conservation, preservation of
traditional rural lifestyles, and the need to ensure a continued
supply of herbs and other plant products for the worldwide market.
The practical goal is to link reputable buyers in the Western world
with sustainable harvesters and growers in developing nations.
Rich forests, poor people, and the global demand for
botanicals
The issue is not merely guaranteeing a supply of herbs, explains
DeCoursey, but making sure that the herbs are produced in a
socially, environmentally, and economically responsible manner.
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