Trade in all types of Rhodiola plants to be regulated to promote “sustainable trade and proper wild management”

24 Feb 2023 --- Rhodiola has been added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to ensure sustainable harvesting and trade of the species. Companies trading and marketing Rhodiola products must determine if and how they comply with CITES requirements, such as obtaining export permits. 

Growing demand and uncontrolled harvesting have led to declines in wild populations of the main species in the genus Rhodiola rosea and Rhodiola crenulata. As it is difficult to identify specific species, the whole genus has been listed. 

The plants are used in various products, such as teas, supplements, herbal medicine and cosmetics and have been hailed for the cognition-boosting properties of its extracts. China is the largest supplier of Rhodiola and its extracts.

NutritionInsight talks with Wilson Lau, president of Nuherbs, a US importer of Chinese herbs, extracts and supplements. “I think listing Rhodiola is a much-needed addition to CITES. It’s the ideal herb to be protected because demand is growing, but it has a long growing cycle and most of the material in trade is wildcrafted.”

Nuherbs will work with its partners to ensure a sustainable collection of wild-harvested Rhodiola and to determine if the species can be cultivated. 

Industry response  
Rhodiola is mainly harvested in the fall. Since the CITES listing happened in February, all previously harvested plants already on the market will have to transition to CITES. 

Companies dealing with wild-collected Rhodiola will need to meet new CITES requirements. Lau expects that listing the Crassulaceae on CITES will create compliance questions for companies and governments in the short term.

“How will governments issue CITES or pre-CITES certificates and paperwork for items that were harvested before February 23, 2023? This will disrupt international trade until this issue is resolved or until the new harvest in the fall,” he flags. 

“I expect to see demand for the small percentage of Rhodiola that is cultivated to surge to fill in any gap in supply as governments implement rules for the sustainable trade of wild-harvested Rhodiola.”

He adds that although Nuherbs wanted its herbalist practitioner customers to access the herb, it only trades Rhodiola in small volumes. “We knew the wild population was being impacted and did not want to be part of the problem.” 

Saving the species  
Lau explains that Nuherbs will determine how the company can facilitate responsible, sustainable species trade. Mainly “through proper management of wild collections under contracted lands and hopefully finding a way to grow it as a longer-term solution,” explains Lau.

Recognizing the sustainability issues in the species, Spanish company Nektium has developed a sustainable cultivation program. 

Lau adds that the company wants to “find lands where this material grows wild and see if we can gain control of it so that we can implement a sustainable harvest plan together.” 

Moreover, he says, “this would be a great opportunity to do a FairWild project. We should explore that as an industry because this plant perfectly fits that standard.” 

FairWild offers a sustainability framework for collecting and trading wild plant products. This certification standard covers the sustainable collection and resource management while ensuring ethical working conditions and a fair wage for collectors. 

Ensuring sustainable trade   
CITES is an international convention that aims to ensure international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten the species’ survival. If a species is included in this list, trade is banned (Appendix I) or restricted (Appendix II). 

All species of Rhodiola are listed in appendix II, which means that companies wanting to trade one of these species will need an export permit from their country’s CITES authority. 

Companies will only receive a permit if they can prove they legally obtained the plant and the export is not detrimental to the species’ survival. Growing demand for the species has led to overharvesting.

“CITES will promote the sustainable trade and proper wild management of this material to protect the health of this species. Without it, the supply could be wiped out to meet short-term demand,” concludes Lau. 

Growing demand   
In its proposal to add Rhodiola species to CITES, the organization explains that overcollection for commercial use is the main threat to the traded species. 

In the past 20 years, domestic and international trade of the species expanded rapidly and the market is diversifying. Demand is expected to grow as consumer awareness of the plant grows and clinical trials investigate its effectiveness. 

The species also grows slowly, some taking 20 years to reach maturity. Moreover, harvesting is based on collecting the rootstocks (rhizomes) or whole plants and most trade focuses on wild-harvested plants. 

By Jolanda van Hal