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Vinson Kurian

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Jan. 27

RISING commercial demand for wild source plant drugs in some countries, including India, has abetted over-exploitation of medicinal plants, leading to the cumulative and unsustainable use of forest wealth and degradation and devaluation of species-rich forest eco-systems.

In spite of their significant contributions to public health and local or national economies, sound data regarding either the number or volume of medicinal plant species harvested from wild sources for local or commercial use are generally lacking, or at best very incomplete, in most countries, according to Dr John Parotta, National Program Leader, International Sciences Issues, US Department of Agriculture, who was in Kerala recently.

However, he says, a few studies that have examined this topic strongly suggest that with relative few exceptions, the overwhelming majority of plant drugs used in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine are derived from plants collected from the wild, and mainly from forests.

In China, for example, an estimated 5,000 species are used in traditional medicine. The annual demand for these plant drugs exceeds seven lakh tonnes, 80 per cent of which are from wild sources, with an in-country market value of $1.4 billion.

In Indonesia, a total of 1,260 species of medicinal plants are reportedly sold in markets, most of which are collected from forests. In South Africa, between 400 and 500 species are commonly sold for traditional medicinal use, of which 99 per cent are harvested from wild sources. In Germany, 1,543 medicinal plant species are in import and export trade, 70 to 90 per cent of which are harvested primarily from the wild. In exports of medicinal raw materials, India ranks second to China, which exports an estimated 32,600 tonnes per year valued at $46 million.

The direct and underlying causes of deforestation in most countries currently facing this challenge are numerous, often complex, and related to a variety of social, economic and political issues, including the failure to assess and avoid/ mitigate the negative impacts of non-forest sector (i.e. agriculture, transportation, energy, trade etc) policies and developments on forests and biodiversity more generally.

Dr Parotta has identified many inter-related factors as being responsible for the over-harvesting and depletion of key plant species. For instance, non-sustainable harvests by plant collectors have led to the depletion of many medicinal species in otherwise healthy forests.

Secondly, a shift from subsistence (local) use to commercial sale has in many locales resulted in larger volumes of certain species being harvested beyond sustainable levels.

For a third, the existence of numerous middlemen involved between collection of plant drugs and their sale to consumers often severely depresses prices paid to collectors, thereby encouraging over-harvesting to supplement income.

In India, estimated increases in prices from point of collection to point of commercial sale are variable; plus 50 per cent in the case of Svetasariva (Decalepsis hamiltonii) and as much as plus 225 per cent for soapnut (Acacia sinuate).

In a similar manner, resource accessibility and trade have increased substantially with an overall improvement in transportation networks in the vicinity of biodiversity-rich forests and other natural areas. Also, expanding international trade often increases the demand and market prices for particular species, resulting in rapid resource depletion, as has been historically the case for a variety of timber and non-wood forest products from tropical forests from the 19th century onwards, Dr Parotta said.

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