A. Species
Scientific name: Vaccinium myrtillus
Common name(s): Bilberry
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status:
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Finland
Country/Region: Finland
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: questionnaire recipients from all regions of Finland
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 1997
End Year: 2011
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Gathering/Cutting/Collecting terrestrial plants and fungi or their products from the wild
Lethal or non-lethal: Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: Only parts or products of the organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed, Medicine and hygiene, Recreation and Family tradition
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Largescale commercial exploitation for trade, Recreational and Traditional/Cultural/Spiritual
Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people, National / local private sector and International private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: long-term data analysed
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: long-term data analysed in this record show that berry harvest fluctuates considerably between years due to weather conditions etc, but that there is no trend that overall yield or harvested volume per household is decreasing
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Authors state: "there is no clear evidence so far to confirm the public suggestion that interest in picking berries is showing a declining trend" and "wild berry picking is still a popular leisure activity in Finland"
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Authors state: "there is no clear evidence so far to confirm the public suggestion that interest in picking berries is showing a declining trend" and "wild berry picking is still a popular leisure activity in Finland"
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Bilberries are commonly eaten.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
Authors state: "The issue of commercial berry picking by Finnish households is important for supporting the development of the berry industry. It seems to be more than plausible that the use of foreign commercial picking labor is not a permanent solution for the wild berry industry, because forthcoming regulations and restrictions (guaranteed minimum wage, obligation to declare picking income, limited number of work visas) may cause uncertainties in the growth prospects of the berry industry. New empirical research and knowledge are important for ensuring the development and success of the berry business in future. It is possible that berry companies need to focus their efforts on those actions that will increase the amount of commercial picking by Finnish households."
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2013-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-12-01