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Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice (2005) 11, 137–138

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ATC policy on the conservation of plants used inaromatherapy

Sylvia Baker�

Aromatherapy Trade Council, PO Box 387, Ipswich, IP2 9AN, UK

For some time now, the ATC has considered a widerange of proposals put forward by environmental-ists and other interest groups on the need forconservation of essential oil producing plants. Morerecently, there have been calls for the ATC to banthe sale of certain essential oils produced fromspecies that are now considered threatened orendangered.

Clearly it is not in the best interest of anyaromatherapy manufacturer or supplier to destroypopulations of threatened and endangered plantsby continuing to sell oils produced from them. Noris it in the interest of professional aromatherapiststo lose oils of importance to their therapeuticarmoury. Therefore a long-term strategy needs tobe put into place today, in order to protect thefuture of aromatherapy.

Following consultation with all members, the ATCtherefore adopted a policy at their 2004 AGM inSeptember supporting the principles of sustainableharvesting and the protection of endangeredspecies. The ATC will itself now take the matterforward by consulting with all relevant and like-minded inter-professional and government organi-sations, both domestic and across the globe, tocompile its own list of endangered and threatenedspecies and prepare a policy on these for themembership.

ee front matter & 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reservtcp.2005.02.002

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/www.a-t-c.org.uk.

Species that are endangered in the wild but arealso grown commercially because of private invest-ment need to be identified as do genuinelymanaged wild plants. There are indigenous popula-tions that depend on these crops for their liveli-hood, and although genuine wild crafted plantsmay be rare, they do exist and are often supportedby government and NGOs to encourage sustainablecommunities. Therefore, industry and manufac-turers alike need to consider all the implicationsinvolved before any drastic action is taken, sincethese issues are political, economic, technical andcommercial.

Some ATC members have been active in plantconservation over many years, investing heavily incultivating endangered species for which there is ademand, from renewable sources overseas and arecurrently offering essential oils from these plants.Indian spikenard is one such example, whereby incertain areas of the wild the plant is diminishing,but due to large investment in Nepal there is now awell-managed and sustainable commercial sourceof this species. This has the additional benefit ofcreating financial income for farmers in developingcountries and literally helps put food on the tablefor entire families. Surely, this hard work and effortshould be rewarded, not shunned. Conservation isnot just about the protection of endangeredspecies, it is also about supporting the peoplewho are working hard to provide new and sustain-able sources of these plants. If the final producewere shunned because of ideological reasoning,there would be no incentive for the farmers to grow

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it. This would contribute nothing positive towardseither the conservation of an endangered species,or the workers’ poor standard of living.

The conservation and ecological issues concern-ing plants grown for essential oils are extremelycomplex and there is no easy solution, especiallyone as simplistic as banning the sale of certainessential oils for aromatherapy. The demand foressential oils world-wide covers many industries,including food and flavourings, pharmaceuticalsand fragrances with the vast majority of essentialoils going to these industries.

The demand for specific essential oils could beturned round to actually protect endangered

species by encouraging further development andinvestment in such cultivation schemes and thusprevent species from dying out. Industry wouldthen use its buying power to obtain essential oilsfrom such sources using Fair Trade ethics and thusencourage the setting up of more farms andsupporting vulnerable people.

It is hoped that, in undertaking proactively tohighlight conservation issues, the ATC can make areal difference to preserving threatened plantspecies, supporting underprivileged communitieswith good prices and working towards a trulysustainable world. The challenges are enormous,but the rewards would be truly global.