Developing Sustainable Wildflower Harvesting for Global Supply Chains

为全球供应链发展可持续野花采收

• 批准号: ES/K005626/1
• 负责人: Alex Hughes
• 金额: $ 9.53万
• 依托单位: Newcastle University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2013 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FK005626%2F1
• 关键词: Developing; Sustainable; Wildflower; Harvesting; Global

This project aims to develop and promote best practice in sustainable harvesting within the South African wildflower industry - a sector supplying high-value, ethically-sourced bouquets to UK and South African high street retailers and supermarkets - with positive outcomes intended for both environmental and socio-economic aspects of ethical wildflower harvesting. As a Knowledge Exchange project, the work will be conducted in collaboration with the Flower Valley Conservation Trust (FVCT) - a Western Cape NGO at the vanguard of sustainable harvesting. The FVCT has piloted an innovative programme of work, which seeks to achieve conservation goals through the development of market opportunities. The FVCT is located in the Cape Floral Region of the Western Cape of South Africa, which is the smallest and richest of the world's six floral kingdoms. The main vegetation type is known locally as fynbos ('fine leaved bush'), which has been harvested from the wild for many decades because the distinctive appearance of the flowers has proven popular with consumers. Large quantities of fynbos are exported every year from the Western Cape to European markets, with UK high street retailers and supermarket chains being the most significant customers. However, unsustainable harvesting of wildflowers is one of the threats to the biome and the fynbos industry has been loosely organised and weakly regulated. In environmental terms, this has led to excessive pressure being placed upon the resource base, as marketable species have been exploited beyond their capacity to reproduce. Given the UK's commercial influence, stakeholders in this country have a responsibility to co-develop more sustainable harvesting practices. The project sets out to develop the work of the FVCT and to promote the cause of sustainable harvesting in both South Africa and the UK through a set of progressive and applied mechanisms.Opportunities for devising mechanisms for ensuring the integrity of the sustainable harvesting programme and improving stakeholder outcomes will be met through four inter-connected work packages. Work Package 1 develops audit methodologies to enable the effective monitoring of sustainable picking practice and landscape management. Work Package 2 develops training materials and programmes in order to improve the skills, opportunities and socio-economic gains of a culturally-diverse harvesting workforce. Work Package 3 develops a better understanding of how sustainable harvesting in horticulture fits into the wider context of ethical consumerism in South Africa as well as in the UK. Interview-based and focus group methods will trace consumers' ethical values and decision-making in the context of their everyday lives and purchasing practices. This will not only construct useful marketing knowledge for the FCVT and its commercial partner, Fynsa, but will also provide a pilot study of ethical consumption in the global South of interest to transnational corporations, NGOs and labour unions working in this area. Work Package 4 promotes the sustainable harvesting agenda to a wide set of stakeholders through three 'Learning Events'. Two workshops will be held in Cape Town to stimulate debate around the viability of biodiversity-business initiatives and the institutional structures required to initiate and sustain them, and to showcase the outputs from the project. Finally, the project impacts will be communicated to the corporate responsibility community in the UK through a presentation to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), whose membership includes the majority of high street retailers and supermarkets chains, including key buyers of fynbos.

该项目旨在发展和促进南非野花产业可持续采收的最佳实践，该行业向英国和南非的高街零售商和超市提供高价值、道德来源的花束，并在道德野花采收的环境和社会经济方面取得积极成果。作为一个知识交流项目，这项工作将与花谷保护信托基金（FVCT）合作进行。花谷保护信托基金是西开普省的一个非政府组织，在可持续收获方面处于领先地位。渔护署试行了一项创新的工作计划，旨在通过开拓市场机会实现保育目标。FVCT位于南非西开普省的开普花卉区，这是世界上六个花卉王国中最小和最丰富的。主要的植被类型在当地被称为fynbos（“细叶灌木”），这种植物已经从野外收获了几十年，因为其独特的花朵外观受到了消费者的欢迎。每年，大量的fynbo从西开普省出口到欧洲市场，英国高街零售商和连锁超市是最重要的客户。然而，不可持续的野花采收是对生物群落的威胁之一，而fynbos行业组织松散，监管不力。在环境方面，这导致对资源基础施加了过度的压力，因为对可销售物种的开发超过了它们的繁殖能力。考虑到英国的商业影响力，这个国家的利益相关者有责任共同开发更可持续的收获方法。该项目旨在发展FVCT的工作，并通过一套渐进和实用的机制促进南非和英国的可持续收获事业。通过四个相互关联的工作包，将有机会设计机制，确保可持续收获方案的完整性并改善利益攸关方的成果。工作包1开发审计方法，使可持续采摘实践和景观管理能够有效监测。工作包2编制培训材料和方案，以提高文化多样化采收劳动力的技能、机会和社会经济收益。工作包3开发了一个更好的理解园艺可持续收获如何适应更广泛的背景下的道德消费主义在南非和英国。基于访谈和焦点小组的方法将在消费者的日常生活和购买实践的背景下追踪消费者的道德价值观和决策。这不仅将为ffcvt及其商业伙伴Fynsa提供有用的营销知识，而且还将为在这一领域工作的跨国公司、非政府组织和工会提供一项有关全球南方国家道德消费的试点研究。工作包4通过三个“学习活动”向广泛的利益攸关方推广可持续收获议程。将在开普敦举行两个讲习班，以激发围绕生物多样性商业倡议的可行性以及启动和维持这些倡议所需的体制结构的辩论，并展示项目的产出。最后，该项目的影响将通过向道德贸易倡议组织（ETI）的介绍，传达给英国的企业责任社区，该组织的成员包括大多数高街零售商和连锁超市，包括fynbos的主要买家。

项目成果

Theorising middle class consumption from the global South: A study of everyday ethics in South Africa's Western Cape

南方国家中产阶级消费理论：对南非西开普省日常道德的研究

• DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.02.011
• 发表时间: 2015
• 期刊: Geoforum
• 影响因子: 3.5
• 作者: McEwan C

Mobilizing the ethical consumer in South Africa

动员南非有道德的消费者

• DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.07.011
• 发表时间: 2015
• 期刊: Geoforum
• 影响因子: 3.5
• 作者: Hughes A