60 Achieving a fair and sustainable trade in devil’s claw (Harpagophytum spp.)(Taylor and Moss 1982) and by substantial oscillations in the natural densities
of Harpagophytum—both from area to area and from year to year. However,
given the right conditions, including rotational harvesting, sustainable
harvesting is possible, as has been successfully demonstrated by a number of
important examples (Taylor and Moss 1982; Nott 1986; Schneider 1997; Lombard
2000). As a case in point, the SHDC Project conducts pre- and postharvest
ecological surveys to set harvesting quotas and equips harvesters with the
tools and knowledge to control quality, to monitor harvesting and to record
supplies (Lombard 2000).Cultivation
Virtually all current trade in Harpagophtyum draws on harvests from wild
populations, but commercial interest in the plant, combined with concern about
the overexploitation of natural populations and a desire to improve
pharmaceutical quality, have led to a range of studies to investigate the plant’s
potential for cultivation (e.g., Blank 1973; Thusano Lefatsheng, 1995; Schmidt
et al. 1998; Levieille et al. 2000). Two trends are worth noting. First, there is a
high level of competition among projects, evidenced by a complete shroud of
secrecy (often formalised through confidentiality provisions in contracts), an
astonishing absence of collaboration and a distinct lack of published information
about the technical aspects of the disparate projects. A second and related
trend concerns the increasing involvement of the pharmaceutical industry and
private sector in sponsoring and initiating cultivation projects, a development
that reflects the vested interests of the industry to secure long-term supplies of
the drug and to ensure a high quality product. With a few notable exceptions
this is associated with the virtual exclusion of local research institutions from
participation in the technical work required and negligible involvement of rural
communities in the establishment and ongoing maintenance of projects. Instead,
most cultivation initiatives to date draw upon foreign scientists and are located
on the lands of commercial white farmers in South Africa or Namibia. In all
likelihood these patterns do not reflect any technical constraints associated
with the difficulties of cultivation, but rather a preference on the part of industry
to follow paths of greatest ease.
In light of these developments it is not surprising that a vigorous and highly
polarised debate has evolved as to the advantages and disadvantages of
cultivating Harpagophytum, catalysed to a large extent by a proposal from
Germany in 2000 to list the plant on Appendix II of the Convention on the
International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). The
proposal was later withdrawn, partly as a result of protests from range states
and NGOs, leading to a CITES decision for range states and importing states to
submit information on trade, management and the biological status of
Harpagophytum species to the secretariat. At the recent 12th meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to CITES, the decision was taken for range states to
provide an update to the next meeting on implementation of policies and
management programmes and to negotiate with the industry to obtain support
for management programmes that support sustainable use and community
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