Kenya’s Lake Naivasha is being “bled dry” by our demand for flowers in the UK, a leading UK ecologist has warned.
Dr David Harper of the University of Leicester is calling on UK supermarkets to follow the lead of Swiss Co-op and take sustainability issues much more seriously. “My position is that the supermarkets have to take responsibility and recycle some of their profits back into the lake,” Harper told freshinfo. “They have to do something more than just buy Fairtrade.”
Harper will soon be undertaking a feasibility study funded by Swiss Co-op to carry out a three-year project that will address sustainability of the whole lake basin.
He said that some farms are doing a good job in terms of sustainability but more needs to be done. “Those farms that have Fairtrade status such as Finlays, Oserian, Panda Flowers, Bigot and one or two others have a consciousness about how they farm,” said Harper. “But they are the notable few and only represent about 10 per cent of the total.
“What I am saying is that supermarkets sourcing from those farms are putting their heads in the sand if they think that what they are doing is enough. It is very short-sighted just to say ‘we buy Fairtrade’ as it is not fair for the environment. The suppliers are doing their bit, but it needs a three-way partnership from those who live at the lake, those who grow the flowers and the supermarkets. The supermarkets are the only group of stakeholders who could fund the work that is required.”
Harper believes that what is required is for the Fairtrade supply chain to be sustainable and for it to look beyond the farm gate. “If the supply chain remains farm-focused then we will never have a sustainable lake,” he said.
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