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Overview
The Natural Futures Programme, officially launched
in October 2005, is a joint initiative of the World
Conservation Union (IUCN) and PhytoTrade
Africa, the Southern African Natural Products Trade
Association. The Programme aims to develop Southern
Africa’s natural products industry for the
benefit of both rural poor people and the environment.
Indigenous, wild-harvested natural products offer
exciting opportunities for long-term, environmentally
sustainable poverty alleviation in the region. The
sector is accessible to producers in rural communities,
it relies on a healthy natural environment, and
it is of growing interest to consumers all over
the world. In Europe, the United States and elsewhere
there is demand for health and beauty products derived
from indigenous plants such as Marula, as well as
natural fibre handicrafts. These are products that
Southern Africa has a clear advantage in providing,
and research suggests that a multi-billion dollar
industry is possible in the foreseeable future.
Currently, however, the sector is underdeveloped,
hampered by a number of factors including uncoordinated
supply, trade barriers that make the export of products
costly and complicated, and an overall lack of investment.
These and other factors are closely linked, and
until they are jointly resolved this potential vehicle
for sustainable development will remain grounded.
Natural Futures has its origins in the W.K.
Kellogg Foundation-funded Sustainable Ventures
Programme, which investigated institutional support
and capacity building needs for natural resource-based
enterprises in Southern Africa. It became apparent
that significant potential existed for Southern
African natural products, in both commercial markets
and as a means to enhance livelihoods in poor
communities.
The goal of Natural Futures is to address issues
of environmental sustainability and poverty through
the development of a pro-poor natural products
sector. It intends to address market failures
that have hindered the emergence of the sector
thus far, creating economic incentives for improved
natural resource management practices, ecosystem
restoration, and enhanced delivery of global environmental
goods and services. Natural Futures will focus
on increasing market access through certification,
addressing trade issues at national, regional
and international levels to promote this sector,
increasing awareness among decision-makers and
consumers, and strengthening key natural product
SME markets
Natural Futures takes a comprehensive approach
to sector development that supports producers
at the grassroots level, matching supply with
demand, for example, and meeting the import requirements
of overseas buyers, as well as through policy
research and advocacy.
Download launch of Natural Futures press release
here
(PDF, 55KB).
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