Early in the morning, before the heat becomes unbearable, Phillip Williamson hacks his way through dense scrubland, surrounded by swarms of mosquitoes. He cuts tangles of vines and carefully avoids rash-inducing leaves. After several hours of what residents of the southeast Bahamas call rambling -
because it is nearly impossible to move in a straight line through the thick vegetation -
Williamson finally finds what he is looking for: a shrub called Croton eluteria, commonly known as Cascarilla, commonly known as Cascarilla, native to the Northern Caribbean.
Cascarilla, a modest-looking plant native to the northern Caribbean, provides an essential but little-known ingredient in cocktail bars around the world. The oil found in its bark gives the spicy, herby flavors to the aperitif Campari, which is used to make popular drinks like the Negroni and Boulevardier. Few people know that Cascarilla is harvested primarily on a handful of islands in the Bahamas. Fewer still are aware that the high global demand and surging prices for the plants bark now threaten to push it- along with the livelihoods it sustains - beyond natures limits.
The Bahamas is well-known for tourism, an industry that accounts for more than 50 per cent of the nations GDP. However, the nations southeastern islands, such as Acklins, are off the beaten track of most visitors. Most of Acklins 400 square kilometres covered by scrubland, offering few economic opportunities for its residents, which number less than 1,000. Living in Acklins is hard. Nothing grows easily, said Williamson, a 71-year-old native of the island.
Harvesting Cascarilla bark - barking as local people call it - has long been a traditional practice and a valued income source. Williamson remembers himself at the age of 11, selling the bark at US$0.50 per pound (which is slightly less than half a kilogram) to pay for his exam fees. Cascarilla has always been an essential part of life in Acklins. Its honest money, its hard work, he said.
In recent years, a rise in global demand for Cascarilla has prompted new buyers to enter the market, leading to a sharp increase in prices from around US$5 per pound in 2023 to US$15 this year. The price spike has significantly improved the lives of many islanders, repositioning this plant as an economic lifeline in a historically neglected area while safeguarding against overreliance on tourism.
However, this growing industry demands close attention if it is to continue sustainably. In the absence of government regulation and sustainable forestry practices, Cascarilla faces risks like overharvesting, threatening both the plant itself and its promises of prosperity for the island community.
This local challenge reflects whats happening globally. Billions of people worldwide depend on wild species for food, fuel, income and medicine, but unsustainable management of these resources is driving a nature crisis that now jeopardizes the survival of 1 million species. International commitments, like the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), seek to address this by promoting the protection, restorion and sustainable use of biodiversity by 2030.
When nature is overused, peoples livelihoods suffer, said Christopher Cox, UNEPs task manager for the project. By acting now to manage resources sustainably, communities like those on Acklins can demonstrate what local-level biodiversity commitments look like in action."
The Bahamas Pine Islands Project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) aims to boost sustainable harvesting of forest resources such as Cascarilla in the southern Bahamas and, in turn, increase financial profit - by improving sound landscape management practices, from regulatory to local levels.
Now is the crucial time to put these systems in place, said Kirk Cunningham, a Forestry Officer with The Bahamas Forestry Unit, noting that Cascarilla has the potential to be one of the countrys most viable and sustainable products long-term. We must preserve it for future generations.
In 2023, with the support of the project, Philip Williamson and other community leaders created the Acklins Islanders Cooperative Society, which was able to break up a longstanding monopoly on Cascarilla and make its trade more profitable for local people. The cooperative also prioritised spreading knowledge on sustainable harvesting practices, such as cutting the bark without harming the plant, and experimenting with ways to cultivate Cascarilla, while the project furthered these efforts by introducing greenhouses, helping to enhance quality control, and providing essential oil-extraction equipment.
With this, the cooperative members, which now count more than 300, aspire to start producing not only essential oil from the plant but also finished products such as perfume and soap, which would be a far more profitable strategy than only exporting raw bark. This will give them revenues to reinvest back into the island to improve their quality of life; they hope to soon open the first food store in Acklins.The local community played a vital role in achieving this success, said Rhianna Neely-Murphy, the Director of The Bahamas Department of Environmental Planning and Protection, which oversaw the projects execution. They recognize that their prosperity relies on their natural resources and that it is essential to preserve them for future generations.
"Its important to plan for the long term, reflected Williamson, who is turning his attention more toward the sound management of Cascarilla than its harvesting. We have to do right from the outset. At the end of the day, the whole island will benefit.
