[medit-plants] Re: Looters strip Greek mountains of wild tea

I have really mixed feelings about this, as always when conservation of flora and fauna conflicts with people trying to make a living. On the one hand, I want rare plants and animals, and endangered ecosystems, to be protected, but people also have a need (indeed a right) to be able to make a living.


The people at the bottom are almost always desperately poor and trying to support their families -- yes, in this case illegally, but I imagine that they have precious few alternatives. This is why they have to run the risks and why they are the ones who get arrested, go to prison, receive fines: they are powerless targets.


Once they have done illegal deed, the herbs enter the official, legitimate trade with bigger profits and bigger players who never get punished. Finally, the herbs grace the shelves of health-food shops catering to the demand of eco-conscious and  healthy-living customers. So it seems pretty harsh to call a poor family trying to earn some income 'looters' -- they are the least element in a long chain of demand. 


It seems clearer to me every day that conservation will only work if people around it are allowed to have decent lives.

Just my 2 cents, apologies if this was not the time or place for an off-topic rant...


S.


________________________________
From: Sean A. O'Hara <sean@gimcw.org>
To: "medit-plants@freelists.org" <medit-plants@freelists.org> 
Sent: Thursday, 6 July 2017, 17:01
Subject: [medit-plants] Looters strip Greek mountains of wild tea



http://www.seattletimes.com/business/looters-strip-greek-mountains-of-wild-tea-rare-plants/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all
-- 

Seán O.
https://seanaohara.wordpress.com/
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