The role of industry in medicinal plant conservation

A farmer in the Indian Himalayas ©Alan Hamilton

Why should industry be interested in medicinal plant conservation?

Businesses involved in the herbal, medical and botanical sectors should taken an interest in the conservation of medicinal plants, given that these supply the raw ingredients upon which their businesses depend. Industry should be concerned about:

- Sustainability in the production of medicinal plants, including wild harvesting.

- The conservation of the genetic diversity of the species, the survival of which is necessary for the selection or breeding of improved varieties.

- The survival of the species as a whole, since, if species become extinct, it will no longer be possible to explore their properties to discover new products.

Potential conservation roles

A key issue is how industries source the plants used as ingredients in their products. The conservation requirement is that the production sites meet standards of ecological sustainability, which can only be known if the plant materials are traceable back to the places where they have been gathered or grown. The plant conservation interest is greatest when the materials are harvested from wild plants, because then, natural populations of plants and their genetic diversity and ecological connections are at risk. The sustainable use of medicinal plants has the potential to be an incentive for conservation of habitats.

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