The Nagoya Protocol in action: Kaduku plum, rooibos and devil’s claw

The traditional knowledge of indigenous communities and local peoples often plays a key part in the development of natural products within the nutraceutical space.

Take the Kakadu plum, for example, which is found across Northern Australia and was originally used in traditional medicine to treat the flu or as an antiseptic. Considered to be the world’s highest source of vitamin C, it is now used in food and nutraceutical products for its antioxidant properties.

An alliance of Aboriginal-owned enterprises, the Northern Australia Aboriginal Kakadu Plum Alliance, is working to provide stability and reliability to the industry by working with local people to source, supply and protect the Kakadu plum value chain.

Similar action is being taken in the rooibos industry. Considered to be the first such arrangement since the 2010 ratification of the Nagoya protocol, under the landmark rooibos agreement, companies assign 1.5% of the ‘farm gate price’, the price that agribusinesses pay for unprocessed rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), to the San and Khoi communities. Originating from Southern Africa, these communities are understood to have existed for some 100,000 years and are believed to have used rooibos to brew tea – a skill they passed onto colonial-era settlers.

In 2019, the estimated compensation amounted to 12 million rand (US$799,000), which was split equally between the Khoi and San groups, according to an article published in the journal Nature.

Another nutraceutical supply chain working to uphold the principles of the Nagoya Protocol is that of devil’s claw (Harpagophytum procumbens and Harpagophytum zeyheri), an indigenous plant growing in Namibia. Believed to contain chemicals that may decrease swelling, devil’s claw is used in products which aim to treat pain and inflammation.

Under the umbrella of the BioInnovation Africa (BIA) project, various industry stakeholders – namely, Naturex, a branch of global flavour giant, Givaudan; German development agency, GIZ; the Namibian Devil’s Claw Exporter’s Association (NDCEAT); and the Network of the Cosmetics Industry (NANCi) - are running a training programme on sustainable harvesting techniques for producers of devil’s claw.

“[BioInnovation Africa] is a BMZ-funded project implemented by GIZ with the objective to develop European-African cooperation for biodiversity-based innovations and products based on fair and equitable benefit-sharing for biodiversity conservation,” said Freidrich zur Heide, project coordinator, GIZ.

“The partnership endeavours to set and implement sustainability standards in the devil’s claw industry to ensure long term availability of the botanical resource and the viability of subsequent economical activities for all the stakeholders.”