WELCOME

Season's Greetings from our Members

Dear Colleagues,

It is a great pleasure for us to inform you that with the professional and financial support and background of FAO REU, Budapest, the Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Network at ESCORENA.net has been updated and reactivated.

FAO’s main interest lie with MAPs as a source of income and as a means to improve feed security of rural households. MAPs can play an important role in realizing these goals, as they can positively contribute to ensuring sustainable livelihoods for the rural populations.

Let us not forget, however, that even until recently, natural resources of medicinal plants were exploited nearly without any major limitations. Overexploitation threatens with the loss of several valuable species endangering valuable incomes for rural households, especially in the poorer or developing countries.

Consequently, these resources should be utilized sustainably to avoid the damages to the natural resources.

New production (collection, cultivation, processing, manufacturing) as well as trade models (certification and including FairTrade) are needed to offer a system that ensures fair return to gatherers and producers of medical plants.

Furthermore, national legislation, the implementation of international trade regulations, as well as international harmonization can effectively contribute to meeting the increasing market demands on reliably sourced, good quality MAPs.

The aim of ESCORENA MAPs web-site is to serve as a source of up-to-date information on all relevant aspects of MAPs, so that it could be used as a tool for orientation in these important issues.

It is expected to serve as an interface for facilitating both the synergies and the information flow among the stakeholders of the MAP production, utilization, research and development.

As the feasibility of the MAP sector strongly dependent on the market demands, the market serves as a driving force for development of MAP sector. ESCORENA MAPs will endeavor to comply with this by collecting and supplying relevant marketing information.

In view of the increasing demand on the improvement of product-quality, the web-site will collect and disseminate information also on the legal/legislative aspects of the sustainable protection/collection, cultivation and utilization of MAPs.

Beyond these, ESCORENA MAPs is also meant to provide access to information resources (books, scientific journals, newsletters, monographs/brochures, etc.) highlighting the most relevant achievements and/or issues/problems of the sector.

In achieving our goals, the MAP network is expected to rely both on the active contribution of its members and harmonic collaboration with national/international institutions, professional associations, networks, etc.

We would like to hope that ESCORENA MAPs will contribute to improving the competitiveness of stakeholders and will serve as a resource for the professionals and all those who take an interest in MAPs.

So, you are kindly invited to join ESCORENA MAPs and use it as storehouse of information from which you can not only profit but to which you can also contribute.

Wish you success and prosperity with this web-site.

Budapest, 06. February 2015.

Prof. Dr. Ákos MÁTHÉ
Network coordinator