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Jolita Radušien ė, Birut ė Karpavi čienė

Nature Research CentreInstitute of Botany 2013

Wild harvesting business of medicinal and aromatic plants in Lithuania

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The most important MAP species wild collected in Lithuania for a commercial use

t/year

spores

leaves

leaves

herb

thallus

herb

herb

leaves

leaves

leaves

2.6Lycopodium spp.

3.0Vaccinium vitis-idaea

3.7Menyanthes trifoliata

3.7Artemisia absinthium

3.9Cetraria islandica

4.7Hypericum perforatum

5.6Thymus spp.

6.2Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

6.7Urtica dioica

7.2Rubus idaeus

EEA (European Environment Agency) Report No 1/2002

Boreal

Continental

Biogeographical regions

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Production estimation

5320 forest plots, 15 % of territory in 1979-1990

•Area occupied•Relief•Type of soil•Type of vegetation•Age of trees

200 MAP species

•Abundance (species cover %).•State of population.

Production estimation

•Area occupied by various vegetation types (VT)•Biomass of MAP species in each VT•Part of biomass available for collection •Year of return•Mass of raw material could be collected annually

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Rubus idaeus

Urtica dioica

Vaccinium vitis-idaea

Hypericum perforatum

4.7

3.0

6.7

7.2

Collected biomass in Lithuania (t/year)

1.6

3.5

0.9-1.4

0.9-3.0

Price (€/kg)

10.8Hypericum perforatum

475.7Vaccinium vitis-idaea

626.7Urtica dioica

315.2Rubus idaeus

Biomass in southern part (t/ year) Plant name

0

1

2

3

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

t

Rubus idaeus

Urtica dioica

Hypericum perforatum

Vaccinium vitis-idaea

Use estimation

5

Distribution of

Thymus pulegioides T. serpyllum

15.8 t annually in southern part of Lithuania

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

t

Price 2.9 (€/kg)

Use estimation ( Thymus spp.)

6

12.6 t annually

Price 3.8 (€/kg)

Distribution and use estimation ofArctostaphylos uva-ursi

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

t

21.2 t annually

Price 4.9 (€/kg)

Distribution and use estimation of

Menyanthes trifoliata

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

t

7

Distribution of Lycopodium clavatum

Lycopodium spp. 8.9 t anually

L. annotinum

0

0.3

0.6

0.9

1.2

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

t

Diphasiastrum tristachyum

Price 19 (€/kg)

Use estimation of Lycopodium spp.

8

Price 3.2 (€/kg)

Distribution and use estimation of

Cetraria islandica

0

0.5

1

1.5

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

t

Price 1.14 (€/kg)

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

t

Distribution and use estimation of

Artemisia absinthium

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Collecting

Drying (at harvesters facilities)

Distribution to wholesalers

Packing and sale in fairs or markets

Chopping, blending, packing

Distribution of final products

Production process

Harvesting

Extraction by steam distillation

Production of essential oils by steam distillation

Production process

Distribution of final products(extracts)

Distribution of final products(essential oils)

packing

packing

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Enterprises dealing with MAPs WH

Training needs

xxx3Companies

xxx3Wholesalers

xxx4Forest owners

xxxxx1Enterprises

xxxxx1Professional harvesters

xxx1Group of harvesters

xxx1Local population

Normativesand procedures

Commer-cialisation and market aspects

Products elaboration

Good manufac-turingpractices

Tranforma-tiontraining

Good collecting practices

Sustainable WH techniques

Training subjects

Impor-tance

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xxxxxCompanies

xxxxWholesalers

xxxxForest owners

xxxxEnterprises

xxxxProfessional harvesters

xxxxxGroup of harvesters

xxxxLocal population

on-line training

media actions

mobile apps

open seminars

technical documents

leaflets, posters, CD, DVD

Voluntary training

Regular training

Training actions

Training needs

•Gradual increase of non-timber forest production in the last five years.

•Harvesting of MAP had old traditions and provides additional income for the local community.

•Use of waste of timber industry (pine and birch branches) for production of extracts and essential oils.

•Inventory of plant resources and elaborating of sustainable MAP harvesting methodology have been carried out from 1980.

Strongnesses

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Weaknesses

•Low prices of MAP raw material.

•Manufacturers and wholesalers prefer large quantities of raw materials.

•Most collectors are old people.

•Lack of the people’s knowledge on sustainable harvesting and use of MAP.

•Spontaneous market and weak control lead to the overexploitation of MAP resources.

•Great demand on plants with limited resources or long period ofrestoration.

•The self-educated harvesters become physicians and instruct customers.

•Increased cutting intensity and decreased forest stand age could impact MAP species composition and resources.

Threats

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Opportunities

•Broader use of waste of timber industry for production of extracts and essential oils.

•Great unused resources of common MAP species.

•There are many abandoned lands where various MAP could be harvested.

•Land and forest owners are highly potential harvesters for sustainable use, maintain and restoration of MAP wild resources.

Thank you for your attention !