Global ambitions and local realities: achieving equity and sustainability in two high-value natural product trade chains

Abstract

This paper aims to enhance understanding about the influence of governance arrangements in non-timber forest product value chains on ecological sustainability and equity outcomes. This is done through the lens of two plant species endemic to southern Africa: Hoodiagordonii, succulent plants developed as appetite suppressants based on traditional knowledge of the indigenous San peoples, and Pelargoniumsidoides, a widely used global phytomedicine harvested by rural communities in the region. Southern Africa is a hub for biodiversity commercialisation, and trade in these two plant species has been caught up in the turbulent world of access and benefit sharing, intellectual property rights, traditional knowledge, uncertain land tenure, unclear regulatory regimes, overlapping governance regimes, and tension between producers, the private sector, NGOs, and traditional authorities and democratically elected government structures. Investigating the evolving dynamics of these actors, the consequences of their interactions and changes in their involvement over time provides insight into the complexities of governance in these value chains, exposing the pressure and friction which can result when global ideals such as equity and sustainability envisioned by the Convention on Biological Diversity encounter local realities. Decision-makers need to provide tailored solutions that are better informed, that reflect the voice and diversity of different actors and that are rooted by realities on the ground.

Keywords::

• non-timber forest product
• access and benefit sharing (ABS)
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• governance
• Hoodia gordonii
• Pelargonium sidoides
• biodiversity

Acknowledgements

The authors thank those who contributed and participated in this research as well as key informants who provided insights.

Notes

^1. Meaning ‘all biological materials other than timber which are extracted from forests’ (De Beer & McDermott 1989).

^2. Biopiracy refers to the misappropriation of genetic resources or traditional knowledge through the patent system, and/or the unauthorised collection for commercial ends of genetic resources or traditional knowledge (Dutfield 2002).

^3. Exchange rate at 2013: 1USD = 10 ZAR.

^4. The Transkei and Ciskei were classified as ‘homelands’ by the apartheid state – areas where the black majority were concentrated.

Additional information

Funding

This work is based on research supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. Any opinion, finding and conclusion or recommendation expressed in this material is that of the authors and the NRF does not accept any liability in this regard.