NGOs calls for a new international protection for medicinal plants

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Plantlife International and TRAFFIC are calling on Wednesday for governments to endorse a revised and updated Global Strategy for wild plant Conservation which aims to halt the continuing loss of the world’s plant diversity.

“The importance of conserving wild plant resources such as medicinal plants must not be ignored by the world’s governments,” says Jane Smart, Director, IUCN Biodiversity Conservation Group in a press release.

“Medicinal plants secure the livelihood and healthcare of thousands. They are also the key to the conservation of whole habitats which underpin healthy resilient ecosystems, and which can help combat serious problems we face such as soil erosion and flooding, as well as mitigate the effects of climate change,” he added.

The experts agreed that the significance of medicinal plants can’t be underestimated. Eighty percent of people in Africa use traditional medicine for primary healthcare, while 323,000 households in Nepal alone are involved in the collection of wild medicinal plants to sell for their livelihoods.

Addressing issues such as site management, rights over resources, encouraging cultivation, developing local resource centres, collecting information on medicinal plant markets and improving terms with traders are all key to stopping more plants becoming threatened with extinction under criteria for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species which is registered as a trade mark.

“We are particularly concerned that, alongside measures to conserve forests and agriculture, the importance of sustaining wild-collected medicinal plants and their habitats is not forgotten,” says Roland Melisch, Global Programme Co-ordinator, TRAFFIC.

“The key to conserving medicinal plants lies in involving indigenous and local communities because they are the ones who know and value plant resources the most.” he explained.

Source: NGOs calls for a new international protection for medicinal plants - kuna.net.kw

Date: 19 May 2010