- Record: found
- Abstract: found
- Article: found
The meaning of Fair Trade for wild plants
Abstract
Where the Fair Trade initiative is applied to wild plants, two contradictory objectives may arise: that of conserving a target plant species (conservation) and that of increasing income from it for collectors (poverty alleviation). As identified through my fieldwork in India, a Fair Trade certification for wild plants has been introduced for different purposes, including (a) to teach the local community the forgotten value of natural resources (conservation), (b) to make current collection practices more sustainable in exchange for better prices (both conservation and poverty alleviation), and (c) to help the most vulnerable collectors with better prices (poverty alleviation). A review of my past study (Makita, 2018) suggests that when there is a single primary objective, such as (a) or (c), certification can more obviously contribute to the achievement of this objective. Given the uniqueness of wild plants as an income source, it is important to clarify which one of the two contradictory objectives will be prioritised, rather than pursuing both.
Content
Author and article information
References
Fair Trade Advocacy Office (2018). The International Fair Trade Charter. [accessed 20 April 2021] http://291e20_d0760267b 37a41328b80e4df127f85cb.pdf(filesusr.com)THECHARTER|fair-trade.website(fair-trade.website).
FairWild Foundation (2010). FairWild Standard: version 2.0/performance indicators. Weinfelden, Switzerland: FairWild Foundation.
FairWild Foundation (2021) Our story. [accessed 7 February 2021] https://www.fairwild.org/our-story.
Larsen, H.O. & Olsen, C.S. (2007). Unsustainable collection and unfair trade? Uncovering and assessing assumptions regarding Central Himalayan medicinal plant conservation. Biodiversity Conservation, 16(6), 1679–1697.
Makita, R. (2018). Application of Fair Trade certification for wild plants: Lessons from a FairWild project in India. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 25(7), 619–629.
Myers, N., Mittermeier, R.A., Mittermeier, C.G., Da Fonseca, G.A.B. & Kent, J. (2000). Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature, 403, 853–858.
Nautiyal, M.C. & Nautiyal B.P. (2004). Collaboration between farmers, research institutions and industry: experiences of Picrorhiza kurrooa cultivation at Gheshe village in Chamoli district, Uttaranchal. In G. Alam & J. Belt (Eds.). Searching synergy: Stakeholder views on developing a sustainable medicinal plant chain in Uttranchal, India (pp. 63–71). Bulletin, 359. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers.
Pauls, T. & Franz, M. (2013). Trading in the dark – the medicinal plants production network in Uttarakhand. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 34(2), 229–243.
Vedeld, P., Angelsen, A., Sjaastad, E. & Berg, G.K. (2004). Counting on the environment: Forest incomes and the rural poor. Environmental Economics Series, 98. Washington, DC: World Bank.