Sweet Dreams Kazakhstan’s wild liquorice root trade

The Sweet Dreams: Assessing opportunities and threats in Kazakhstan’s wild liquorice root trade report by TRAFFIC and Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), released today, finds that the intensive and unregulated harvesting of liquorice plants, which grow in the flat unforested grasslands (steppes) and mountain rivers banks of Kazakhstan, is a major direct pressure on this important resource. This is exacerbated by other factors such as desertification, changes in the hydrological flow of rivers caused by the construction of dams, and the ploughing up of liquorice stands for agricultural crops.

This rising international commercial demand for liquorice will affect livelihoods and destablise healthy ecosystems unless increasing measures to ensure a sustainable harvest are ramped up.”

Artyom Khrokov from ACBK

"Most wild liquorice harvesters come from rural villages, typically with low income, so the yearly harvest of wild roots is the only source of stable income. If harvesting continues at such unsustainable rates, this income source will be unreliable; threatening the viability and future of these rural villages.”

Liquorice takes a long time to reestablish before it can be reharvested. Typically this takes between six to eight years in the Syrdarya and Ural river valleys for wild liquorice to restore. The restoration period for root reserves recommended by the botanical experts is 5–6 years in the Ural river valley in western Kazakhstan, and 4-5 years in the Syrdarya river valley in South Kazakhstan.

While compliance with those recommended restoration periods is mandatory, they are only implemented on state-owned lands where there is an appropriate regulation underpinning the enforcement. Majority of liquorice in Kazakhstan is harvested on agricultural lands, which represent 80.4% of territory.

“The major issue around sustainability of Kazakhstani liquorice root is harvesting on the territories which are not part of state forestry fund lands or protected areas. The environmental cost of overharvesting could leave the steppes and river banks devoid of important vegetation that helps to prevent landslides and floods and provides sustenance for local communities and wildlife,” said Nadejda Gemedzhieva from Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction and main author of the report.

Liquorice root (or the ingredient “Gan Cao”) is regularly present in prescribed Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulations of the official COVID-19 treatment plan in China (LINK in Chinese). Coupled with evidence of the quantities of liquorice root being traded into China, as well as other countries, from Kazakhstan, this report demonstrates a clear need for increased attention on the sustainable harvest of wild liquorice in Kazakhstan.

The report outlines recommendations for government agencies in Kazakhstan, private sector in Kazakhstan and internationally, as well as research and non-governmental organisation. It calls for improved regulations for liquorice root harvesting in Kazakhstan, improved data gathering, as well as the uptake of good practice standards by businesses.

The FairWild Standard, which sets out rigorous criteria for sustainabile wild harvesting and equitable trade in wild plant species, has been applied to some liquorice production sites in Kazakhstan, including one currently independently certified against the Standard. This contributes to the long-term survival of harvested species, as well as sustainable incomes.

Anastasiya Timoshyna, Senior Programme Co-ordinator of Sustainable Trade at TRAFFIC said: „If properly managed, liquorice root can be harvested without lasting negative impacts on the population or the communities which depend on it. Wild plant resources across Central Asia are an important source of subsistence, traditional uses, as well as domestic and international trade, and can contribute to the conservation of landscapes, and sustainable economic development. By bringing to light the situation around harvest and trade of this essential but ’hidden’ resource, TRAFFIC encourages commitment and action by all stakeholders.”