Sustaining Albania's wild herb exports

Over the past decade, western European nations have almost doubled their imports of medicinal herbs, many of which come from poorer central and eastern European countries. However, few of the plant species involved are cultivated and, since the end of communism, there has been no state regulation of wild collection. Although many villagers rely on earnings from wild-collected herbs to supplement their income, knowledge of the plants is limited, with the result that many species are now becoming threatened or even endangered. An Albanian project, in collaboration with various international agencies, is one example of attempts being made to develop a more sustainable industry.

credit: S Turner

The Albanian Private Forestry Development Project was set up with the aim of increasing rural household incomes and encouraging the sustainable development of forestry management on private, village and state-owned lands. It has already been successful in developing Albania's willow industry, to the extent that there has been a 30% increase in the selling price of willow wands, and demand is still much greater than supply. Such financial rewards are encouraging at least one new business to begin either producing or processing willow each month. So, the APFDP is now turning its attention to the herb trade.

At its peak in the early 1990s, the Albanian herb industry employed up to 70,000 people, including wild collectors, buyers and exporters. Due to the political chaos of the past few years, numbers haver fallen to about 20,000. Even so, many villagers still depend on herb collection as a primary source of income and others, such as small farmers, earn extra seasonal cash by collecting herbs. Typically, however, payment for the herbs is low and the collectors have little knowledge of the plants they are harvesting.

Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), for example, is used to treat inflammatory disorders of the bowel. According to a report by TRAFFIC, an international agency that monitors wildlife trade, extracts of its leaves are present in almost 200 medicinal products in Germany alone. However, although the plant is fairly common in some northern European countries, its presence in the Balkans is confined to mountainous areas. Consequently, the impact of any exploitation of this species in the southern part of the species' area may be serious, concludes the TRAFFIC report. And, in Albania, bearberry is classed as 'Endangered', mainly because, when the leaves are collected, the roots are often torn from the ground. Other plant species are sought after for their roots and are often collected before flowering so that the whole plant is destroyed. Examples include gentian (Gentiana lutea), an ingredient used in bitter aperitifs, and various orchid bulbs, from which salep is extracted and used as a local substitute for coffee or as an ingredient to thicken Turkish ice cream.

Recognising urgent needs

On a visit to Albania in spring 2001, Dr. Rob McCaleb, president of the US-based Herb Research Foundation, identified two critical needs for the country's herb industry, namely the development of a strong trade association and, in order to improve the quality of supply, the proper training in collecting, drying and storing in order to improve the quality of the herbs supplied. "It's always challenging when a shipment of herbs represents the output of thousands of small collectors harvesting in the wild," admits Dr. McCaleb. "To maintain consistent quality requires education at a level as close to the source as possible - in other words, the harvesters. The dealers need to help train the villagers to maintain very high standards, and must also be willing to pay more for higher quality herbs."

To achieve these objectives, the APFDP has produced and widely distributed field handbooks on medicinal and other useful plants, as well as conducting three regional workshops with herb and spice dealers. South-East European Enterprise Development (SEED), part of the World Bank Group for small and medium-sized enterprises, also held a conference last summer for all participants in the herb trade sector. One of the aims was to try and improve donor and private sector co-ordination. Until now, however, there has been little enthusiasm from the traders, even from western-European based companies, to invest more in ensuring the maintenance of the herb supply.

Many of the herb species being collected in Albania and other eastern European countries are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Although Albania is not yet a signatory to this agreement, the Socialist Party, elected into power last June, has taken positive step to upgrade the former National Environmental Agency into a full Ministry of the Environment. With the help of national efforts such as those of APFDP, and international sponsorship from the Herb Research Foundation and SEED, it is hoped that the currently unsustainable collection of herbs from the wild will not only be halted, but that the Albanian herb trade can develop sustainably, providing both economic and social improvements for everyone involved in the sector.

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