Demand for a wide variety of wild species is increasing with growth in human needs, numbers and commercial trade. With the increased realization that some wild species are being over-exploited, a number of agencies are recommending that wild species be brought into cultivation systems (BAH, 2002; Lambert et al., 1997; WHO, IUCN and WWF, 1993).

As previously noted in our reasoning, due to the lack of diversification of the income generating sources by the Albanian farmers, the collection pressure on the wild population of these plants is beyond the limit that these ecosystems can support.

The GEF/SGP Albania does see the cultivation of wild species of medicinal plants as a possibility for protecting local biodiversity and fighting poverty.

The main objective of this project is to provide an example strong enough for this practice to be mainstream in the agricultural policy of either Albanian Government or other donors.
In this project we are amplifying the successful results of a previous SGP project in the same area as well as replicating and transferring the know-how into another community.