There is an increasing evidence for the significant value and potential of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) worldwide. Among other non-wood forest products, MAPs are considered a key element of sustainable forest management and economic development. As part of Mediterranean cultural heritage, these plants are a major driver of rural tourism, in many areas representing an important raw material for various bio-based industrial sectors. Besides their economic value, MAPs enhance social integration and maintain gender balance as harvesting and processing MAPs is clearly a female dominated task. Despite the prominent contribution of MAPs to local development, conservation of biodiversity and the development of the traditional Mediterranean food system, many challenges and knowledge gaps could potentially place the sector’s development at risk. The aim of this work is to examine the present situation of the MAPs sector in the most productive countries around the Mediterranean and to identify future challenges and priority actions to develop the MAPs sector in the region. To do so, a supply chain analysis was performed to identify the main stakeholders involved. Various experts from Croatia, France, Greece, Spain, and Tunisia participated in the SWOT analysis and the Delphi approach employed in this study. The results highlight the main challenges facing the sector in Mediterranean countries. Five groups of challenges are identified, related mainly to certification and labelling, life quality and wellbeing, market development, research development, and transforming and processing. To overcome these challenges, a set of actions is validated by the interviewed experts with the aim of improving marketing strategies and including various innovations related to political, legal, organisational, and institutional frameworks.

Public concerns about food-related health risks and suitable sanitary standards have been rising in many regions, particularly in EU  Aflatoxin (AF) standards are a common reason for trade disagreement and import notifications in the RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed)  Few empirical analyses have identified the influencing factors in implementing Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), specifically a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measure  This study examines the factors influencing border controls of AF, based on political economy considerations, in a highly problematic group of products : Nuts Natural AF contamination of nuts is unavoidable, yet it poses a major challenge for nut safety and quality  Contamination can occur at any stage of the value chain especially when storage and drying facilities are inappropriate  AFs affect 4.5 billion people worldwide, with chronic exposure leading to various forms of cancer and even death (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004; Emmott, 2012) The most toxic and common AF is B1 and affects generally groundnuts, Brazil nuts, pistachio and walnuts

Non Wood Forest Products (NWFPs) are important resources for rural economies. Highly regarded food products are collected from Mediterranean forests, such as nuts, berries, mushrooms and truffles, as well as aromatic and medicinal plants. Other NWFPs, such as resin or cork, can play a role in the circular bio-economy, providing sustainable alternatives to fossil-based raw materials. However, achieving fair levels of profitability for all actors throughout the value chain is still a challenge. Existing hourglass-shaped monopsony structures need to be resolved and market access to local producers must be strengthened. Furthermore, it is important to promote greater consumer awareness and willingness to pay for the sustainable, 'wild-collected' nature of these goods. The European thematic network INCREDIBLE (Innovation networks on Non-Wood Forest Products in the Mediterranean basin) brings together the main actors associated with NWFP with the aim of sharing knowledge, expertise and experience. Sharing information helps to identify the challenges and requirements of each NWFP value chain so that profitability and sustainability can be improved. The objective of Open Innovation is to bring together innovative ideas of actors from different organisations, thus making the best use of their respective areas of competence in order to create an effective innovation ecosystem. INCREDIBLE facilitates open innovation by establishing and operating Innovation Networks (iNets) for different NWFPs.The social, technological and silvicultural challenges and requirements for innovation in each iNet are identified and different approaches to addressing these are explored by the various actors involved in accordance with their areas of competence.