SABPA EVENTS

SABPA represented at the Biodiversity Economy Indaba

by | May 30, 2024 | Events | 0 comments

Ulrich Feiter, the chairperson of SABPA, attended the three-day Biodiversity Economy Indaba and Investment Summit in Gauteng.

Approx. 1.200 delegates from government, community representatives and projects, traditional leaders, traditional healers, academia attended the event. Minister DFFE Barbara Creecy; Minister Dept Agriculture Thoko Didiza; Minister Higher Education, Science and Technology Blade Mzimande; Minister Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu gave keynote addresses on the first day.

The main objectives of the Indaba according to DFFE were:

  1. Enhance the conversation on the National Biodiversity Economy Strategy and its contribution to addressing poverty, unemployment and inequality;
  2. Mobilise investment for the biodiversity sector and associated value-chains;
  3. Profile South Africa’s competitiveness, success and opportunities for sustainable development in the Biodiversity sector;
  4. Promote multi-stakeholder commitment to strengthen the biodiversity economy sector
  5. Promote co-operative governance for effective policy implementation; and
  6. Showcase market ready biodiversity products and services from across the biodiversity economy value chains through exhibitions for business-to-business trading, networking and sustainable partnerships.

A wide range of presenters from Government, various institutions, NGO’s and Grassroots organisations and business addressed the delegates on these topics:

  • Biodiversity Economy – A Catalyst for Rural Development
  • Financing Biodiversity to Close the Financial Gap
  • Leveraging Biodiversity-based Features to Scale Inclusive Ecotourism Growth in Seascapes and in Sustainable Conservation Land-Use

On the second day, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the delegates. The main points of his speech were as follows:

  • Sustainable use is a pillar of community economy
  • Indigenous knowledge supports livelihoods
  • Communities must benefit from use of their traditional knowledge e.g. Rooibos
  • Support establishment of factories
  • Mass cultivation can help communities with carbon sequestration
  • Beneficiation must result in community based businesses
  • Stop exporting raw material and beneficiate in SA
  • New sectors of economy to arise – rural communities to be put at the centre of every decision in the biodiversity economy
  • Rural communities, IPD’s and traditional healers must be part of investment in community land etc.
  • Areas where our people live should change from debt capital to revenue capital

The Indaba followed the recent gazetting of the draft National Biodiversity Economy Strategy . This is a rather controversial and overambitious document that was the base for much of what the Ministers and the President were reiterating. Whilst it is good to grow the sustainable use of biodiversity and incorporate rural communities into the value chains, the strategy does not consider creating market access for existing and new products or enhancing the existing private sector. The government relies on a push-economy whereby communities and previously disadvantaged individuals (PDI) are encouraged to start nurseries for e.g. medicinal plants. Instead, a pull-economy should be created where products are promoted; and regulatory compliance is broadened in both domestic and international markets. It seems that the government lack the deeper understanding of what it takes to bring products to the market.

One striking misunderstanding also seems to prevail: at the product exhibition alongside the Indaba Devils Claw capsules were on display, produced by a community from the Northwest Province to be sold as herbal medicine. The value addition step from a raw material to a herbal medicine is misrepresented as filling a powder into a capsule. No form of compliance to regulations, quality and quality control, hygiene, quality assurance, documentation, batch to batch conformity, GMP, suitable premises was indicated, which is the center of complementary and conventional pharmaceutical production. This was not the only company present with little or no formal compliance. Our government appears to be promoting double standards and non-compliance where community or previously disadvantaged individuals are involved.

 

Thomas Brendler

 

Dr. Thomas Brendler is a scientist and consultant with over 30 years of experience in the field of natural product development, registration, and licensing, for medicine, food, and cosmetics. He is an expert in botanical research, product innovation, regulatory affairs, and sourcing of raw materials. He has contributed to the development and implementation of quality standards, herbal pharmacopoeias, and scientific publications for several organizations and agencies, including the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Centre for Development of Enterprise, and the International Trade Centre.

He is a co-founder and former director of the Association of African Medicinal Plants Standards, a non-profit organization that promotes the sustainable use of African plants. He holds a PhD in Botany from the University of Johannesburg and has published more than 50 papers and books on topics related to ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, phytotherapy, and natural product regulation.

Dr. Brendler is a member of the editorial boards of several journals, a US Pharmacopoeia expert committee member, and a board member of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology and the American Botanical Council. In 2023, he co-founded the Southern African Botanical Product Association (SABPA). He is also affiliated with Traditional Medicinals, a leading herbal tea company in the US, as Principal Scientist R&D.

Ferdinand Labuschagne

 

Ferdinand Labuschagne has been in the Medicinal Plant industry for the past 4 years, spending the first couple of years on building the commercial supply side of the Sceletium value chain through the establishment of KarooKanna Cultivation. Ferdinand have spent his  professional career in the Entrepreneurial space spending time in the following industries: Retail, International Forex and Commodity markets, Property development and marketing, mining, sales and marketing.

Ferdinand contributes to SABPA on marketing the association to new members, and represents the association on Natural medicine supply conferences both locally and internationally to help our members’ businesses through accessing new clients both locally and internationally.

Avril Harvey

 

Avril Harvey started her career as a researcher in a number of small Biotech start-ups (both in the United Kingdom and in South Africa) before her focus shifted to the commercialization of technology using public funds channeled through the Department of Science and Technology Innovation Centers.

As a project manager and management consultant, she has worked on consulting engagements helping multinationals to strategize on growth in Africa, as well as with small, post revenue generating social enterprises to become investment ready. Avril has both a Masters in Molecular Microbiology and a Masters in Business Administration.

Avril has worked at Parceval since 2016 with a focus on grant proposal writing, project management and consulting on supply chains and Nagoya Protocol for clients. She is a founding member of SABPA and is the current Secretary and Treasurer. She brings expertise on the local South African NEMBA and Bioprospecting, Access and Benefit Sharing legislation and processes to the Board of Directors.

Ulrich Feiter

Ulrich Feiter is the founder and CEO of Parceval Pty, based in Wellington near Cape Town, South Africa. 

Born and bred in Germany and with a background in horticulture, Ulrich started Parceval in 1992 in South Africa after having worked at companies like WALA and Weleda in Germany as well as in South Africa. Parceval cultivates and sources botanical raw materials for processing to herbal medicines as well as cosmetic ingredients in their GMP factory, both for local as well as international markets. 

His interest in indigenous plants and biological resources now spans some four decades with much pioneering work in commercialisation. Ulrich has worked in many African countries setting up sustainable supply chains for a variety of global clients in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industry. His work includes taking plants from wild harvesting into cultivation, working with rural communities and high end global pharmaceutical companies alike, compliance to Nagoya Protocol, negotiating innovative benefit sharing agreements and much more. 

Together with like-minded associates, he is a co-founder and first chairperson of SABPA.

Dr. Belinda Tan, MD is a physician-scientist, digital health pioneer, and Co-Founder and Co-CEO of People Science, a public benefit company dedicated to advancing evidence generation in health, complementary medicine, and food-as-medicine. The People Science platform, Chloe, enables evidence generation that bridges Pathogenesis and Salutogenesis. Trained in immunology, dermatology, and dermatopathology, Dr. Tan has dedicated her career to bridging clinical research with scalable technology. Before People Science, she co-founded Science 37, a leader in decentralized clinical trials, and helped launch DirectDerm, expanding teledermatology access nationwide. She is board-certified in dermatology and dermatopathology, holds degrees from MIT and UCLA, and has served as a clinical investigator and professor at Harbor-UCLA. She currently serves on several advisory boards, including the Beneficial Plant Research Association, and champions inclusive, consumer-centered research from her home base in Venice Beach, California. She believes that People + Plants will save the world.

Julia Weaver is the Herb Procurement Manager at Herb Pharm and manages global sourcing and procurement activities for Herb Pharm and Pacific Botanicals. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Plant and Microbial Biology from North Carolina State University, with a research focus in Ethnobotany. With nearly a decade of experience in the natural products industry, Julia specializes in quality-centered supply chain management, ethical sourcing, innovation, and product education.

My name is Leana Snyders. I am one of two Lead Community Researchers on the South African Team of ‘Leaving no-one behind in Research’. In my main role, I serve as the Director of the South African San Council, where I dedicate my life to representing and empowering Indigenous communities across South Africa. I live in Upington, but my roots lie in Steinkopf, Namakwaland. I am a proud mother of one daughter and a grandmother. From working as a diamond sorter to becoming a Coordinator of Indigenous Documentation and Director of the Kalahari Desert Festival, I have applied my skills in many ways - all guided by one purpose: to serve my community and be a voice for Indigenous people.

People inspire me: family, friends, colleagues. As Director of the San Council of South Africa, I have the privilege of getting to know San from all different language groups and collaborating with them. When I can stand up for people’s rights, I will. I also enjoy overseas travel, getting to know other countries and speaking on the rights of the San in the process. I have a passion for self-care and I am also the creator of the first-ever Buchu Hair Growth Oil, a proudly Indigenous product originally developed to help my goddaughter’s scalp. What began as a simple act of care , from mixing ingredients in my mother’s kitchen, has grown into a celebrated product used by women across the country. Through this hair oil, I aim to create something that not only inspires but also tells a story. Like many Indigenous concepts, it all starts with the roots. I have learned through many lessons in my life and career that when you understand where you come from, when you understand your roots, you gain the strength to help others grow along with yourself.

Empowerment, especially of Indigenous women, remains at the center of everything I do. I strive not only to inspire others but to set an example for my daughter and grandson, showing them that strength, purpose, and pride in one’s heritage can change lives and uplift entire communities. I live my life with purpose and passion, especially in the area of women’s empowerment. I founded the first-ever Indigenous Women’s Conference in South Africa, an initiative very close to my heart and inspired by my personal journey. The conference is rooted in the concept of my book, Behind My Red Lips, which tells a story of empowerment through the symbolism of red lipstick: a bold reminder of confidence, resilience, and identity.

Together with the Namaqua daisy, these symbols represent my personal strength and that of my community. The Namaqua daisy may look delicate, but it flourishes in the harshest conditions and always turning its face toward the sun. This is how I see the spirit of Indigenous women: strong, enduring, and full of light.

Professor (Botany)

Department of Botany and Zoology

Group leader - Medicinal plant biology / Medicinal plant research

My research is centred around using a multidirectional approach that combines the areas of biotechnology, ethnopharmacology and phytochemistry. In my group, we use cutting edge multi-omics technologies to study how plants function at genetic and biochemicals levels in relation to the production of specialized metabolites that impart health-beneficiating properties to medicinal plants. We also aim to better characterize responses of medicinal plants to the environment to assist with the production of quality assured, economically suitable phytopharmaceutics. Several current projects employ in vitro plant propagation methods as a scientific tool to resolve genetic-to-metabolome effects on various plant species. Exploitation of such technologies also provides a tool that allows the conservation of indigenous medicinal plants that may face overharvesting pressures from wild populations. I have an interest in people-plant interactions and so my research is also focused on medicinal plants, their cultural significance and opportunities presented for socioeconomic development. This has led to me a collaborative partnership with the Cape Bush Doctors organization and this group of bush doctors holds deep knowledge with regards to medicinal plants of the greater Cape Floristic Region.

In 2011, I was a recipient of the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) Annual Award under the category Distinguished Young Black Researcher (Female), TW Kambule NRF award for 2011/12, and a Fulbright Research Scholar where I was positioned at the University of Minnesota in 2017 to 2018. In 2022, I was a finalist in the NSTF Awards for science communication. I am a founding member of the social advocacy movement founded in 2020, Black Botanists Week that aims to bring greater visibility to Black, Indigenous and People of Colour who may be formally and informally trained in terms of their interests in plants.

Cyril has more than 30 years’ experience in the biotrade, natural products and small and medium size business development sectors.

In Namibia in the 1990s he worked with the team that established commercial marula oil production including the set-up of the supply associations and co-operatives and driving the commercial linkages to global companies. In 1999 he set up the Southern African Marula Oil Producers’ Network and facilitated the transfer of technology and know-how to community-based businesses in Botswana, Namibia, eSwatini, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

In 2000 Cyril was a member of the project formulation team that led to the establishment of the Southern African Natural Products Trade Association – PhytoTrade Africa. There he set up the European office, had roles of Head of Market Development and Head of R&D. During these roles he led the process to have Baobab fruit gain international market access through successful registration of this nutritious fruit as a novel food ingredient in the EU and obtaining recognition as a safe food ingredient in the USA though the FDA, and similar in Canada.

He took on the post of CEO of PhytoTrade Africa from 2013 to 2016, and during this time also served on the board of directors of the Union for Ethical Biotrade. Cyril has been involved in fundraising for the development of the biotrade sector and provides advisory services to the GIZ ABioSA project and the BioInnovation Africa project.

He is a director of Biotrade Ventures, an incubator of opportunities in the indigenous natural products sector with projects in Botswana and South Africa. Currently he has a focus on the development of the Marula fruit sector including access to local, regional and international markets.

My name is Leana Snyders. I am one of two Lead Community Researchers on the South African Team of ‘Leaving no-one behind in Research’. In my main role, I serve as the Director of the South African San Council, where I dedicate my life to representing and empowering Indigenous communities across South Africa. I live in Upington, but my roots lie in Steinkopf, Namakwaland. I am a proud mother of one daughter and a grandmother. From working as a diamond sorter to becoming a Coordinator of Indigenous Documentation and Director of the Kalahari Desert Festival, I have applied my skills in many ways - all guided by one purpose: to serve my community and be a voice for Indigenous people.

People inspire me: family, friends, colleagues. As Director of the San Council of South Africa, I have the privilege of getting to know San from all different language groups and collaborating with them. When I can stand up for people’s rights, I will. I also enjoy overseas travel, getting to know other countries and speaking on the rights of the San in the process. I have a passion for self-care and I am also the creator of the first-ever Buchu Hair Growth Oil, a proudly Indigenous product originally developed to help my goddaughter’s scalp. What began as a simple act of care , from mixing ingredients in my mother’s kitchen, has grown into a celebrated product used by women across the country. Through this hair oil, I aim to create something that not only inspires but also tells a story. Like many Indigenous concepts, it all starts with the roots. I have learned through many lessons in my life and career that when you understand where you come from, when you understand your roots, you gain the strength to help others grow along with yourself.

Empowerment, especially of Indigenous women, remains at the center of everything I do. I strive not only to inspire others but to set an example for my daughter and grandson, showing them that strength, purpose, and pride in one’s heritage can change lives and uplift entire communities. I live my life with purpose and passion, especially in the area of women’s empowerment. I founded the first-ever Indigenous Women’s Conference in South Africa, an initiative very close to my heart and inspired by my personal journey. The conference is rooted in the concept of my book, Behind My Red Lips, which tells a story of empowerment through the symbolism of red lipstick: a bold reminder of confidence, resilience, and identity.

Together with the Namaqua daisy, these symbols represent my personal strength and that of my community. The Namaqua daisy may look delicate, but it flourishes in the harshest conditions and always turning its face toward the sun. This is how I see the spirit of Indigenous women: strong, enduring, and full of light.

Suzette Trevor currently holds the position of Lead Buyer at Dohler South Africa for the Botanical Extract Business Unit in Paarl.  Döhler is a global producer, marketer and provider of technology-driven natural ingredients, ingredient systems and integrated solutions for the food and beverage industry.

Apart from her Human Resource qualification she obtained a diploma in Supply chain management through UNISA as well as a CIPS qualification. With over 25yrs of Supply Chain experience – in various industries - the last 6 yrs has been focused on Sourcing all raw material for the BU, Sales (internal and external) , the management of stock and production planning. Her main skill set includes collaborating with suppliers, negotiating, assessing company procurement needs and sourcing (local and globally) according to seasonal harvests.