Local biodiversity in natural areas around the Mediterranean Rim as a potential source of profit in economic and social activity - Lessons from the MEDISS project’s experience

The demand by worldwide corporate industries for natural quality (cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, etc.) has opened the door in the last twenty or so years to the increased profitable use of biodiversity, notably around the Mediterranean Rim. In this context, the demand for perfume, aromatic and medicinal plants is on the increase and this market is of growing interest for rural areas looking for a development project. Such crops are in fact the perfect illustration of a multipurpose Mediterranean agriculture which is indispensable for the economic stability of numerous natural areas. However, the implementation of such undertakings for generating economic benefit necessitates a real understanding of the specific features of the perfume, aromatic and medicinal plants sector, in terms of both the commercial outlets and the stakeholders’ organisational structure. This has been one of the main lessons to come out of the MEDISS project whose aims included the identification and modelling of the elements making up this economic sector in order to facilitate its development on a European scale.