In the ‘Restoring Landscapes’ blog series, we are promoting knowledge exchange from restoration projects around the world. Wild plants and fungi have long provided food, medicine, and income for communities around the world, and underpinned multiple food, cosmetic and health supply chains. But could they also help restore degraded landscapes? A new toolkit developed through a partnership led by TRAFFIC is helping landscape restoration practitioners around the world explore that very question.
Bridging the sustainability gap between natural resources use and restoration
Globally, one in five people rely on wild plants, algae, and fungi for food and income (IPBES, 2022). However, for many, the concept of sustainable use — particularly in the context of commercial trade — has often seemed at odds with conservation. This two-year project, implemented by TRAFFIC in partnership with the FairWild Foundation, The Global Biodiversity Standard (led by Botanic Gardens Conservation International), and the IUCN SSC/CEESP Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group, is reframing the conversation.
The team has created a practical toolkit to help restoration practitioners assess, plan, and implement the sustainable use of wild plant and fungi species — in ways that can strengthen both ecological and socio-economic outcomes for local communities.
TRAFFIC’s Project Manager Amy Woolloff explained that the team wanted to explore “whether restoration projects that make space for wild species — and local use — could work better for nature and for people.” She added: “What we found is that even basic support with identifying plants that have market potential, and understanding the principles of sustainable harvest, can make a real difference.”
Because the trade in wild plants and fungi is often poorly documented, few internationally-recognised resources exist to guide stakeholders on how to manage it sustainably — ecologically, socially and economically. TRAFFIC — alongside expert partners including IUCN, IIED, FAO, FairWild Foundation, and BGCI — has been in the forefront of efforts to address this. These include the design of tools like WildCheck, co-founding the FairWild Standard, and co-leading the design of a five-dimensional sustainability assessment framework. The new toolkit builds on these resources and partnerships to support restoration programme planning and implementation.
Piloting the toolkit in Georgia’s highlands
In Georgia’s Racha-Likhi Ridge — the only natural corridor between the Greater and Lesser Caucasus mountains — Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme grantee SABUKO, an NGO and local partner of Birdlife International, is laying the groundwork for a large-scale restoration project. This area is rich in biodiversity, but decades of unsustainable forest and grassland management have left it degraded.
Building community trust is a key challenge. To inform their planning, SABUKO turned to TRAFFIC’s toolkit to explore whether developing sustainable wild plant enterprises could help align local livelihoods with restoration goals. Through community consultations and field surveys, the project identified the use of plants like sweet chestnut, wild rose, cumin and yellow azalea — all of which are locally known, culturally significant, and in some cases, already traded.
“People need better access to practical information — for example, which plants they can legally collect, how to do it without damaging the environment, and how to turn raw plants into more valuable products, such as dried herbs, natural teas, or simple processed items,” said Vako Tevdoradze, a project manager at SABUKO who is working with local communities. “Much of this traditional knowledge is fading and combining with modern approaches could really empower communities.”
But knowledge is only part of the picture. The pilot also revealed significant barriers to sustainable wild plant use.
“In our planning site, one of the biggest challenges is limited market access, particularly for communities in Oni Municipality, where no collection or delivery services have operated in the past three years. This creates a strong geographic and logistical barrier,” Vako explained. Others pointed to low prices (wild rose sells for around US$0.40 per kilo) and unclear regulations that deter collectors.
Still, the interest is there. In pilot interviews, 60% of local people expressed a desire to be more actively involved in wild plant initiatives, and 80% said they wanted to learn more. Many recognised that protecting wild plants could bring both conservation and income benefits.
The new toolkit offers a roadmap to help other organisations, restoration projects, and communities do the same; from identifying the right species to ensuring sustainable harvesting and exploring new markets.
“Working with TRAFFIC helped us gather important information and communicate more effectively with local people,” added Vako. “This knowledge ensures that local communities see the value in both protecting their environment and utilising it in a way that benefits them long-term.”
Looking ahead
Anastasiya Timoshyna, programme office director for Europe at TRAFFIC and co-chair of the IUCN SSC Medicinal Plant Specialist Group, said the pilot “offers a valuable example of how wild species and local knowledge can support both ecological recovery and local livelihoods,” especially as efforts to restore degraded land accelerate under initiatives like the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. She added that “the toolkit can support the development of restoration projects that deliver both socio-economic and environmental outcomes, including by contributing to the implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Law at the national level.
“If you want to make a living from wild species and still support landscape restoration, sustainable harvesting is crucial,” Vako summarised. “It creates opportunities for the community while ensuring the landscape remains healthy.”
The new Toolkit on Integrating the Sustainable Use of Wild Plants and Fungi into Landscape Restoration is now available as a free e-learning module and downloadable PDF.
This project has been funded by an Advancing and Applying Knowledge grant from the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme and implemented in conjunction with the UK Government Darwin Initiative project DAREX001 for Developing a Global Biodiversity Standard certification for tree-planting and restoration, led by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International.
This article was first published on the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme website. For more information, please contact: Rachel Gartner, Communications Manager, Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme [email protected]. Cover image © Seilich Botanicals.
Discover more posts from our ‘Restoring Landscapes’ blog series here. If you have an idea for a blog that would fit into this series, please contact Catherine Waite.
