MEDICINAL Medicinal Plant PLANT SPECIALIST Conservation GROUP Volume 15 Newsletter of the Medicinal Plant Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Chaired by Danna J. Leaman Chair’s note .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Taxon file Conservation of the Palo Santo tree, Bulnesia sarmientoi Lorentz ex Griseb, in the South America Chaco Region - Tomás Waller, Mariano Barros, Juan Draque & Patricio Micucci ............................. 4 Manejo Integral de poblaciones silvestres y cultivo agroecológico de Hombre grande (Quassia amara) en el Caribe de Costa Rica, América Central - Rafael Ángel Ocampo Sánchez ....................... 9 Regional file Chilean medicinal plants - Gloria Montenegro & Sharon Rodríguez ................................................. 15 Focus on Medicinal Plants in Madagascar - Julie Le Bigot ................................................................. 25 Medicinal Plants utilisation and conservation in the Small Island States of the SW Indian Ocean with particular emphasis on Mauritius - Ameenah Gurib-Fakim ............................................................... 29 Conservation assessment and management planning of medicinal plants in Tanzania - R.L. Mahunnah, S. Augustino, J.N. Otieno & J. Elia...................................................................................................... 35 Community based conservation of ethno-medicinal plants by tribal people of Orissa state, India - Saujanendra Swain & Nihar Parida .................................................................................................... 41 Estado de la conservación de las plantas TRAMIL incluidas en la Farmacopea Vegetal Caribeña - Sonia Lagos, Xinia Robles & Rafael Ángel Ocampo Sánchez ............................................................. 46 FairWild in the South Caucasus - Heiko Schindler & Bryony Morgan ............................................... 52 Notices World Health Organization Consultation on Conservation Guidelines for Medicinal Plants - Danna J. Leaman ................................................................................................................................. 57 Notices of publication - Helle O. Larsen ............................................................................................. 59 May 2012 ber 2011, approximately 30 species of terrestrial plants were being wild-harvested under FairWild certification, involving 7 companies, and resulting Chair’s Note in 10 finished products on the market containing FairWild-certified ingredients. MPSG retains a strong interest, on behalf of IUCN, Danna J. Leamann in supporting the FairWild Standard, and indeed many members of MPSG continue to be involved In late March of this year I participated in the 2nd in its management and implementation: for exam- meeting of all the chairs of IUCN Species Survival ple, five members of MPSG are currently FairWild Commission (SSC) specialist groups, held in Abu Foundation trustees. However, our formal role has Dhabi with support of the Abu Dhabi Environment become more closely focused on providing advice Agency and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Con- and solutions for key technical challenges. These servation Fund. Like the 1st Chair’s Meeting (Al include: Ain, 2008), this gathering brought together special- • elaboration of a risk/resilience analysis tool ist group chairs and Red List Authorities with SSC applied as a first step in the FairWild certifica- staff, SSC focal-points within the IUCN secretariat tion process, enabling the requirements of the programmes, and representatives of other IUCN standard to be applied more or less rigorously commissions. The meeting provided opportuni- to species at higher or lower risk of unsustain- ties to report on MPSG’s activities and successes, able wild harvest; learn from experiences of other specialist groups, explore ideas for collaboration with the IUCN pro- • adaptation of FairWild Standard and imple- grammes and other commissions, and to articulate mentation tools, particularly risk/resilience some future goals that will contribute to the IUCN analysis and resource assessment guidance, as Species Strategic Plan for the next quadrennium guidance for undertaking non-detriment find- (2013-2016). The meeting was timed to promote ings required by the Convention on Internation- preparation for and participation of SSC members al Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and in the upcoming 5th IUCN World Conservation Flora (CITES) for perennial plant species listed Congress, 6-15 September, Jeju, Republic of South on CITES appendices I and II; Korea. A summary of useful information presented • refinements of resource assessment guidance at the meeting a publication containing all of the to address the different needs of low risk/high SSC specialist group summary reports is avail- resilience species compared with high risk/low able in the new “members area” of the recently re- resilience species; and structured and more accessible SSC pages on the IUCN website: http://www.iucn.org/about/work/ • initial steps to expand the risk/resilience anal- programmes/species/who_we_are/about_the_spe- ysis tool and resource assessment methodology cies_survival_commission_/ssc_members__area_/ to address sustainable wild collection of fungi and lichens in collaboration with the SSC lichen Achievements and ongoing activities and fungi specialist groups and the Sustainable Implementation of the FairWild Standard Use Specialist Group. In the previous volume of Medicinal Plant Con- Revised global “Guidelines on the Conservation servation, Wolfgang Kathe described the process of Medicinal Plants” through which the International Standard for Sus- Many MPSG members have been involved either in tainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromat- developing the initial 1993 “Guidelines” or in the ic Plants (ISSC-MAP) became a part of the com- revision process ongoing since 2003, or both. Re- prehensive FairWild Standard and the formation cent progress towards a final text agreed amongst of the FairWild Foundation to oversee its further the four author organizations (WHO, IUCN, WWF, development and implementation [MPC Volume and TRAFFIC) is reported in this volume of MPC 14, pp 14-17; www.FairWild.org]. As of Decem- [pp. 57-58]. Page 2 May 2012 Red List Assessments • identifying conservation gaps, focusing par- Last summer the European Commission published ticularly on existing protected areas and iden- tifying important areas for medicinal plant con- the European Red List of Vascular Plants (BILZ ET servation; AL. 2011) which includes approximately 100 spe- cies of medicinal plants, primarily species listed in • assessing the vulnerability of medicinal plants the EU Habitats Directive and / or the Bern Con- to climate change, and contributing to the devel- vention. During that assessment, coordinated by opment of climate change vulnerability indica- Melanie Bilz, a member of the IUCN Red List unit tors for plants; staff based in Cambridge, UK, a large number of • developing an integrated (in situ and ex situ) individuals with expert knowledge of the spatial conservation strategy for medicinal plants, with distribution, population sizes, and likely conser- a focus on sustainable use; and vation threats affecting plant species in Europe participated in preparing and reviewing the Red • increasing the profile of medicinal plant con- List assessments. A new project began in Decem- servation needs and actions. ber 2011 – also with EC funding – to assess the Promoting involvement of MPSG members in the Red List status of 300 additional medicinal plant development and implementation of this project species native to Europe. This assessment, to be will be a priority for MPSG in the coming IUCN completed in 2014, will result in the first compre- quandrennium. Results of this project will support hensive assessment of a regional medicinal flora, and improve our continuing contributions to broad and provides an opportunity for MPSG members global initiatives and policies, including: with knowledge of the European medicinal flora to contribute to and review Red List assessments. • supporting progress on conservation and sus- The geographic range of this assessment extends tainable use targets under the UN Convention from Iceland in the west to the Urals in the east, on Biological Diversity (CBD), particularly the and from Franz Josef Land in the north to the Ca- Global Strategy for Plant Conservation; nary Islands in the south. • reporting on a global indicator of biodiversity Future goals used for food and medicine [see MPC Volume 14, pp. 24-29]; and Securing Useful Wild Plants • supporting sustainable wild collection of me- Understanding the current status and trends in con- dicinal plants through the FairWild Standard. servation status of medicinal plants, both globally and regionally, is an information gap that limits Many thanks to Helle Overgaard Larsen for her our ability to facilitate and undertake conservation dedicated efforts as editor of this newsletter, and action for these species. Useful plants (including to all of the authors for their contributions to this crop wild relatives, medicinal plants, and trees) are volume. identified as a priority for Red List assessments in References the upcoming IUCN quadrennium (2013-2016). MPSG is working with the Crop Wild Relatives BILZ, M., KELL, S.P., MAXTED, N. & LANSDOWN, R.V. Specialist Group