Enhancing Management and benefit flows in Viet Nam’s Wild Medicinal Products

Enhancing Management and Benefit Flows in Viet Nam’s Wild Medicinal Products details the outcomes of a project supported by the UK Government under the Darwin Initiative aimed at improving the livelihoods of medicinal and aromatic plant (MAP) collectors in Bac Kan, making wild plant collection methods more sustainable and encouraging the uptake of responsible trade practices and policies within the wild plant industry.

Bac Kan has high rates of poverty, with around 14% of people living below the poverty level. The collection of MAPs plays a significant role in the province’s economy, comprising up to 20% of household revenues. Many of the plants collected, including Jiaogulan Gynostemma pentaphyllum and Woolly Fern Cibotium barometz, were being harvested unsustainably, putting these fragile resources and vital source of income under threat.

International conservation projects will only be successful with local community support. If plants are to be protected and traded, we need to offer sources of income to families to ensure sustainable livelihoods for communities who harvest these precious resources. This will also help to tackle poverty and improve local economies

UK Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey

“The UK government’s commitment to the Darwin Initiative has made possible more than 1,000 projects helping the UK to show global leadership and make a difference to many species and the lives of the people who live amongst them through improved international biodiversity.”

The results of the project in Bac Kan exceeded expectations with, on average, more than 1,000 collectors at the project site each increasing their annual income from MAPs by VND530,000 (USD22), the introduction of safeguards to ensure the ongoing survival of harvested plant species, and the creation of a successful model for replication at other locations.

“The successes in Bac Kan have proven the concept that can now be built upon and the highly replicable project outline used to support communities elsewhere in Viet Nam,” said Sarah Ferguson, Director of Viet Nam’s TRAFFIC office.

“However, we’ve also learned that there is no time to lose: there is an urgent need to support the implementation of responsible trade and sourcing practices across Viet Nam.”

During the project, TRAFFIC and its implementing partners advised collectors on how to harvest sustainably and protect their livelihoods and, together with the Bac Kan Forest Protection Department, produced A Pocket Guide for the Sustainable Collection of Jiaogulan, Woolly Fern, and other Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Vietnamese and English. Five hundred copies of the guide were distributed to collectors.

A Species and Area Management Plan, based on detailed inventories of Jiaogulan and Woolly Fern resources was developed during a multi-stakeholder process, and approved by the provincial Forest Protection Department, to ensure the sustainability of wild plant resources, while training sessions were held to improve collectors’ business acumen and negotiation skills.

The project oversaw the creation of 15 formalised collectors’ groups, giving the collectors more power in trade negotiations than they had working individually. Several of these groups expressed interest in registering as legally recognised co-operatives in the future.

Herb dryers and other equipment were supplied to the collectors to improve plant processing. The dryers are able to dry large amounts of plants efficiently, increasing the shelf-life of the product as well as offering a more hygienic alternative to drying the plants on the ground. Guidance was offered on packaging improvements to make the products more attractive to buyers.

Guiding the project was the FairWild Standard, an international best practices framework for the sustainable use and fair trade of wild-collected plants. FairWild principles were incorporated throughout the project, providing guidance on the best methods for harvesting sustainably as well as access and benefit-sharing principles. In line with FairWild principles on equitable labour conditions and non-discrimination, the project focused heavily on empowering female collectors, as the majority of collectors were women from minority groups. By the end of the project, 415 women had been trained and 70 had joined collectors’ groups. Four women became trainers themselves.

“I was trained by the project on sustainable harvesting techniques that allow the next generation to grow and on cutting and drying harvested plants,” said Xuan Lac group member Ms. Nong Thi Hue in an interview with national radio station Voice of Vietnam.

Before the training courses, I just collected what I wanted, even uprooting plants without recognising that this practice harms the species. The project training improved my skills and knowledge a great deal

Xuan Lac group member Ms. Nong Thi Hue

At the national level, the project contributed to a review of gaps in Viet Nam’s policy and law regarding the harvesting and trade of forest resources, and recommended steps for improvement. These included integrating FairWild best practices into the National Circular that focuses on the implementation of Good Agricultural and Collection Practices, with the Ministry of Health.

The FairWild Standard’s practical approaches to the sustainable use of resources and benefit sharing were recommended as tangible opportunities to strengthen Decree 59/2017/ND-CP, currently being reviewed.

The project has supported business leadership towards the sustainable sourcing of wild plants, including through the convening of workshops focusing on sustainable harvesting and fair-trade practices as part of companies’ corporate social responsibility initiatives. All of this provides a foundation for further initiatives and programmes.

During the course of the project, TRAFFIC worked with an array of partners from government, NGOs, and the private sector. These included the Bac Kan Forest Protection Department, the Viet Nam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Health – Administration of Traditional Medicine, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Biodiversity Conservation Agency, Biotrade Implementation Group, GreenViet, The Hanoi University of Pharmacy, DK Pharma, and DK Natura.

The project and the report were funded by the Darwin Initiative, a UK government funding programme with a focus on biodiversity.