[MPWG] Demand for Herbal Remedies Threatens Plants

[Robyn Klein]

Demand for herbal remedies threatens plants: study

Last Updated: 2004-01-07 14:00:29 -0400 (Reuters Health)

LONDON (Reuters) - Worldwide demand for herbal remedies is threatening 
natural habitats and endangering up to a fifth of wild medicinal plant 
species that are being harvested to extinction, a leading science magazine 
said on Wednesday.

A study to be published later this year by the conservation organisation 
WWF warns that between 4,000 and 10,000 plants may be at risk.
"It's an extremely serious problem," study author Alan Hamilton told New 
Scientist magazine.

According to the research, the market for herbal remedies has risen by 10 
percent a year for the past decade in North America and Europe and is now 
thought to be worth at least 11 billion pounds ($20 billion).

The findings are based on an analysis of the number of species at risk on 
the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of threatened plants. Two 
thirds of the 50,000 medicinal plants being used are harvested from the wild.

Hamilton, a member of the IUCN's Medicinal Plant Specialist Group, also 
contributed to a report that will be unveiled by the conservation 
organisation Plantlife International next week.

Among the threatened plants are tetu lakha, a tree found in south India and 
Sri Lanka and used for anti-cancer drugs in Europe; an Indian root called 
saw-wort that is used for skin disorders and tendrilled fritillary, a 
Chinese plant used to treat respiratory infections.

"With demand and commercialisation growing fast, the future of the wild 
plants which have helped most of humanity for centuries is now more 
uncertain than it has ever been," Martin Harper, of Plantlife, told New 
Scientist.

The group, which says the problem has been looming for years, blames the 
herbal medicinal industry for not guaranteeing the sustainability of supplies.
"It is time for the industry to join forces with environmental 
organisations to ensure that herbal harvests have a sustainable future," 
Harper added.

Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited.