Species Use Database

Woronow’s snowdrop, Green snowdrop
Galanthus woronowii

Used for Keeping/companionship/display and Decorative and aesthetic in Georgia

A. Species

Scientific name: Galanthus woronowii

Common name(s): Woronow’s snowdrop, Green snowdrop

Global IUCN Red List Threat Status:


B. Location of use

Geographic location(s):

  • Georgia

Country/Region: Georgia


C. Scale of assessment

Scale of assessment: National Level

Name/Details of location: Georgia


D. Timescale of use

Start Year: 2009

End Year: 2018


E. Information about the use

How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from the wild but reared/cultivated in a managed site

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: The whole entire organism

Purpose(s) of end use: Keeping/companionship/display and Decorative and aesthetic

Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community)

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


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 and Wild species sourced from the wild but reared/cultivated in a managed site

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: CITES non detriment findings - Based on surveys carried out in 2009, 2014 and 2018, the population of G. woronowii in Georgia is thought to be approximately stable.

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Legal, regulated trade in wild harvested and cultivated bulbs has ended chaotic, unmanaged harvest, and ensured stabilization of the population.

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: Exploitation of the resource is sustainable and profitable. Although comparatively expensive government licensing limits the direct access of small local communities or individual villagers to officially harvest and sell bulbs and they are thus limited to producing or harvesting raw bulbs for middlemen or license holder companies, preventing the possibility of receiving a higher income.

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: Resource can support harvest and the purposes of local use

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health 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: Picking flowers and bulbs is safe and sustainable.

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

Details of assessment carried out: This study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Plant - not an animal


Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species

local people would benefit from stronger support from government in improving production quality and increasing involvement at all stages of trade. Future projects should concentrate on boosting returns to local people. Livelihoods could be boosted from CITES trade through encouraging the establishment of more direct trade linkages between harvesters and consumers. This could be through capacity-building, development of producer associations, reform of regulatory and legal frameworks to better empower and enable harvesters, or establishment of incentive schemes


Record source

Information about the record source: grey_lit

Date of publication/issue/production: 2019-01-01T00:00:00+0000

Source Reference(s):

CITES & Livelihoods Case Study 2019: Harvesting of Green snowdrops in Georgia

Date of record entry: 2022-11-18