Protect native species

Rob Butcher

Manuka honey, liquid gold! The real product is said to have medical healing properties that are unique in the world. But what is the real product and how can it be classified?

Comvita, honey producers, are a good Kiwi home-grown company doing manuka research in conjunction with Massey University. They have already produced their own standard classification of manuka honey, giving it a unique manuka factor (UMF) which is accepted and recognised by their customers all over the world.

There have been fraudulent claims, however, by companies labelling their products as manuka honey when it is not. The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) has threatened to step in and sort things out.

Many of our native plants and animals have evolved over 60 million years, isolated from the world by 3000kms of deep ocean. They have evolved in unique ways to suit their different environment. This has given them diverse genetic properties that could be invaluable for future medical research.

The biodiversity of our native species is probably one of the greatest assets we have and yet most of us know nothing about them!

The manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) that supplies our golden harvest could itself be threatened by more dominant "modified" leptospermums with prettier flowers that we prefer in our gardens.

Comvita are now running a programme to get farmers to plant all their unproductive hillsides with manuka to try and boost future sales of manuka honey to $1 billion per year. This will provide work and income for many of us and promote another Kiwi-led enterprise as a world leader. It will also protect the hillsides. Other smaller companies are "cashing in" on the manuka bonanza.

Why should MPI interfere with such good ecological practices?

I suspect our government is being pressured to hand over the intellectual property rights of our native species to foreign pharmaceutical companies in exchange for partnership agreements.

This must not happen!

Last year, the government wanted to import Australian honey that we beekeepers believed would decimate our export industry. Our Beekeepers' Association (NBA) took MPI to court and got it stopped. We need to support these dedicated groups who keep politicians and us in line.

In Wanganui we are lucky to have experienced, science-based conservation leaders running our various volunteer groups. I would advise anyone who can spare a few hours a month to come and learn about these native species.

We have abused and neglected them for a long time.

Rob Butcher is a retired engineer, conservationist and beekeeper