[Note: This case study was first published in the Satoyama Initiative Thematic Review vol. 3]

The conservation of biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes is substantially influenced by the extent to which particular values – cultural, spiritual, and economic – attached to the resource, are respected. In India the forces of globalization have led to severe deterioration in cultural values associated with natural resources, and efforts have been made to substitute these intangible values with monetary ones. On one hand this has precipitated exploitation of natural resources in a rampant and unsustainable manner, posing serious threats to the stability of ecologically important and irreplaceable places such as the forest ecosystems of the Western Ghats—a global biodiversity hotspot. On the other hand, there are opportunities to save biodiversity through sensible and careful use of economic instruments. The medicinal plants sector, though highly promising in terms of providing opportunities for economic development alongside biodiversity conservation at the landscape level, has seldom delivered on these expectations. Unfair market practices and near complete disregard for the ecological sustainability of the resource are two key reasons behind the failure of this sector. Local extinctions and declines in healthy populations of many economically important medicinal plants provide sufficient evidence for these unsustainable practices.  Management practices which are ethical, inclusive and economically viable can likely provide a sustainable alternative for biodiversity conservation and livelihoods. In this regard, the principles and criteria of FairWild certification valuably address these critical issues in the medicinal plants sector and therefore may have the potential to generate success stories in conservation whilst promoting economic growth based on the use of natural resources.

The importance of certification schemes in addressing environmental and development issues is now widely accepted, although just how successful they are in achieving their objectives and meeting their aims has long been an issue of contention. Indeed, it is difficult to envisage a situation in which such schemes will avoid disadvantaging some people or precipitating unintended negative consequences. However, it is also true that many schemes have been successful from the consumers’ point of view. For instance, products bearing the Fairtrade label have now become the purchase of choice for many consumers around the world who are willing to pay the additional premium cost these products bear.

FairWild is a relatively recent certification scheme of this type, having been founded in 2008 and based on the International Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP), itself rooted in the Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) framework. Its development was supported by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), TRAFFIC, WWF and IUCN, who were driven by a recognition that the increasing demand for wild plants – as ingredients for food, cosmetics, well-being and medicinal products – poses major ecological and social challenges. Pressure on potentially vulnerable plant species was recognized as endangering local ecosystems and the livelihoods of collectors – people who often belong to the poorest social groups in the countries of origin. In response to these concerns the FairWild Foundation was set up to promote the FairWild Standard and establish a certification system for the sustainable management and collection of wild plants. These institutions aim to provide a worldwide framework for implementing a sustainable, fair and value-adding management and trading system for wild-collected natural ingredients and products thereof. The foundation’s mission is to “…enable transformation of resource management and business practices to be ecologically, socially economically sustainable throughout the supply chain of wild-collected products” through the provision of “…a worldwide framework for implementing a sustainable, fair and value-added management and trading system for wild-collected natural ingredients and products thereof” (FairWild.org 2018). FairWild certification seeks to ensure that buyers know they are supporting fair trading, with the products being legally and sustainably sourced, and the benefits being felt by all those involved right down to the local communities harvesting the wild plants.

With the scheme still in its infancy, the number of FairWild certificates awarded remains small. The latest published information records some 30 implementation projects around the world, but just 34 live certificates (they are renewable each year) that cover 18 plant species at different locations (FairWild Feb. 2017). Of these projects, 27 are in six, predominantly eastern, European countries, of which 14 are in three Balkan states (8 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 5 in Bulgaria). Of the rest, four are in former Soviet republics, and only three are operating further afield – one in Zimbabwe and the two in India that are the subject reported here.

This paper presents an ongoing project implemented in the North Western Ghats of India, where an approach articulated through the FairWild certification scheme is being employed as a mechanism for promoting biodiversity conservation, the sustainable collection of target species, and economic growth. The North Western Ghats is a recognized Global Biodiversity Hotspot, yet has a rather sparse protected area network, largely because the great majority of the forest landscapes that comprise it are privately owned. According to the study carried out by Pune-based NGO WRCS in 2013, in the five districts of the northern Western Ghats including Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, of the total forest area of 17, 699 km², 12,043 km² are owned and managed privately, while 5,656 km² of forest area (less than 50% of privately managed land area) is owned and managed by the government (Kulkarni & Mehta 2013). In the absence of a sound, comprehensive policy for the sustainable management of biodiversity on these private lands, subsidy-driven monoculture plantations, coupled with a lack of knowledge on economically viable sustainable management alternatives, is resulting in mass-scale deforestation and degradation.

The Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF), a conservation NGO based out of Pune, is the implementing partner in a FairWild project focused on the protection and sustainable exploitation of medical plant resources in the North Western Ghats. AERF set up the “My Forest” initiative in 2007 to address the issue of deforestation in this region. Under this program, AERF decided to offer a financial incentive to the marginal and economically weak farmers, those most in need of gathering firewood and timber, for not logging the forests. A “conservation agreement” is signed between the farmers and AERF for this purpose and lasts for a minimum period of five years. The progress of this approach was slow in the initial years as it was a completely new way of looking at forests, and was therefore somewhat confusing for the farmers. However, more and more farmers joined this initiative once they began to think about resources in a more holistic and long-term way. Through this initiative, AERF has secured long-term protection for 2,000 hectares of forests until 2022. However, although this is a small but significant step forward in halting deforestation, it is also necessary to create a revenue model based on sustainable use of this vast resource in order to create the financial self-sufficiency necessary to sustain this conservation initiative in the long term.

In pursuing this objective, AERF identified the FairWild certification program as offering a potentially valuable tool for addressing important sustainability issues of biodiversity conservation, and in 2012 conducted a feasibility study, short-listing two districts for possible implementation of FairWild certification. Crucial motivation for this feasibility study was provided by active involvement of Pukka Herbs Ltd. – Europe’s leading manufacturer of Ayurvedic products. Pukka Herbs expressed interest in purchasing FairWild certified primary processed fruits of Terminalia bellirica and Terminalia chebula trees, two of three ingredients that comprise a key Ayurvedic preparation – Triphala. This led to the selection of two areas in which to explore the possibility of implementing FairWild certification. The first, the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in the North Western Ghats, is traditionally known for collection and sale of T. chebula by the tribal community, the Mahadev Koli. The second area, the forest landscapes from Sangameshwar block in Ratnagiri district, is rich in populations of Terminalia bellirica trees, many of which are located in sacred groves. These sacred groves are old growth “oases” protected by their religious significance that are critical in maintaining biodiversity by providing reservoirs of biodiversity colonizing capacity and “stepping stones” for species moving through the landscape. By July 2012, AERF had taken steps towards making a stronger business case for biodiversity conservation through setting up some demonstration projects, and established a private limited company, Nature Connect India Pvt., Ltd. (NCIPL). NCIPL came in very handy as vehicle for implementing FairWild certification in years to come.

Following a preliminary assessment of the potential impacts for conservation and rural livelihoods, in partnership with academics from the Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology (DICE) in  the School of Anthropology and Conservation at the University of Kent, in June 2013 AERF secured three years of financial support through the UK Government’s Darwin Initiative programme. This was supplemented by a small support grant from the Keidanran Nature Conservation Fund (KNCF) to specifically promote the FairWild approach. This funding enabled AERF to conduct situation analyses, run capacity building training sessions with the local communities, carry out trial collection exercises, and purchase and install equipment for primary processing (drying and pulverizing) of the collected fruits.

In presenting this project, this paper reports the project approach and process, the benefits, problems and issues that it has generated. Likewise, the paper considers the potential of this approach for fostering long-term, ecologically sustainable livelihoods based on the harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFPs).