Increase in the demand for high quality natural products
has an impact on the volume of raw materials required to satisfy
this demand. This makes sustainable harvesting methods increasingly
important if the demand is to be met in the longer run and
biodiversity should be preserved. The industry seems to be paying
increasing attention to the environment, for example to sustainable
collection practices, on the other hand legislation ensuring
sustainable harvesting from nature is very limited. Relevant
standards implying environmental sustainability include the Good
Agricultural and Collection Practice (GACP) for Medicinal Plants,
published by the World Health Organisation (www.who.org), standards
for organic farming (for instance those of the Codex Alimentarius,
www.codexalimentarius.org and those of the International Federation
of Agriculture Movement, IFOAM, www.ifoam.org), as well as
standards for forest management (for instance those of the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC), www.fsc.org). In general, environmental
aspects of products have become an increasingly important issue in
international trade. Other voluntary standards signaling improved
environmental considerations include the ISO 14000 series
(www.iso.org), of which ISO 14001 sets requirements for an
environment management system. |