The loss of habitat is the major factor contributing to the depletion of natural resources in Africa. Among the genetic resources are medicinal plant species that are gathered from the wild. Conservation of medicinal plants, especially endangered ones depend largely on the conservation of the ecosystem in which they occur.

Since the ancient time plant medicine is an important part of health care system in Africa. The heavy reliance on plant medicine in Africa is attributed to their relative accessibility, low prices, local availability, acceptance by local communities and the low number of dispensaries and doctors for health care needs especially in rural areas. In addition many Africans residing in rural areas are located far from hospitals or clinics, and transport facilities are often not available.

Collection of wild plants for export and traditional medicine use is extremely detrimental to certain species. Popular but slow growing and or naturally rare plant species are often under pressure . Sustainable management of medicinal plant species is important, not only because of their value as a potential source of new drugs but due to reliance on medicinal plants for health care. Although the value of medicinal plants is widely recognized by both rural and urban dwellers in Africa, none the researchers had introduced appropriate strategies, which may lead to the efficient utilization and management of the medicinal plants, which are commonly used by the communities. Domestication may be one of the means of achieving medicinal plant conservation by reducing the exploitation pressure exerted on naturally occurring plant species. This protects plants that are being threatened in their natural habitats. Other measures and/or plant property help to conserve medicinal plant species in Africa include cultural practices and taboos, religious and spiritual beliefs.

Economic analyses have shown that medicinal plants have considerably contributed to economic welfare of people by providing and generating reasonable income. They also contribute to household self-sufficient in food security through accumulation of savings and minimization of risks. Likewise managing the forest for medicinal plants is more sustainable from ecological and social perspectives.

CAF programme goals in the area of medicinal plants conservation are:

• Identify and document medicinal plants considered as threaten or as of high priority to local communities based on their traditional knowledge;
• To gather and preserve traditional medicinal plant knowledge, to restore local medicinal plant biodiversity;
• Carry out propagation of medicinal plants at local community level through establishment of nurseries;
• Disseminate information and knowledge in order to promote education on importance of medicinal plants and bio-diversity and to increase awareness of the importance of conservation of indigenous medicinal plants.

Programme activities include:

• Identification of priority medicinal plants and derived products used for treatment of major diseases;
• Development of propagation and cultivation methods and piloting of ex-situ cultivation of selected medicinal plants for treatment of major human diseases;
• Assessment of conservation status of the used medicinal plant species and come up with priority species list;
• Identifying priority medicinal species that need urgent conservation;
• Organising and establishing propagation, cultivation and distribution of medicinal plants through the promotion of community-based and commercial nurseries;
• Recording and promoting traditional knowledge pertaining to medicinal plants management and conservation;
• Documenting and collecting experiences, case studies and best practices on sustainable use and conservation of medicinal plants;
• Assisting local communities to develop their own conservation initiatives (e.g. guidelines, training, seed funding, information dissemination, technical assistance and other incentives);
• Establishing nurseries and ecological medicinal centres to encourage propagation and to provide species to local communities who want to cultivate medicinal plants;
• Pilot farmer-based cultivation trials for a selected number of threatened and indigenous species in home gardens to supply local needs, and provide alternative income generation.

Phytomedica is an international e-mail network of more than 700 individuals and organisations committed to the advancement of medicinal plants in natural products and related issues. Its purpose is to facilitate networking, collaboration, exchange of information, experiences and knowledge in the key issues of medicinal plants and phytomedicine development, research and use.

This network addresses areas such as: conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants, traditional health systems and traditional medicine, commercialisation and trade; intellectual property rights and indigenous knowledge. Currently the above objectives are implemented by two of Phytomedica's e-mail discussion lists, one in English and the other in French.

To join please visit:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phytomedica/
http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/Reseau-Phytomedica/

INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON MEDICINAL PLANTS, HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
and
INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON SUSTAINABLE TRADE AND CONSERVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS

RABAT, MOROCCO: 2-4 MAY 2002

Under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and the University of Rabat

Download the Background Paper on the Morocco Symposium

Download Medicinal Plants & Traditional Medicine

Download The African Herbal Industry Report

Medicinal Plant Conference Recommendations

MEDICINAL PLANTS, TRADITIONAL MEDICINE & LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN AFRICA:
CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM
A Parallel Session to the Conference of Parties (COP-5) to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), Nairobi, Kenya, 15-26 May 2000.

The International Conference on Medicinal Plants, Traditional Medicine and Local Communities in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities of the new Millennium was hosted by the Environment Liaison Centre International, Nairobi, Kenya. It was convened by ELCI and the Global Initiative for Traditional Systems( GIFTS) of Health of the University of Oxford, UK and the Commonwealth Working Group on Traditional & Complementary Health Systems. It attracted more than 200 international delegates representing major key stakeholders from 50 countries from all over the world. The Conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya, at the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) from 16th to 19th May 2000. It is our pleasure to release the following conference recommendations.

I. Recommendations to the 5th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity and to the COP/CBD Process.

I.1. Establish an International Working Group for promoting, monitoring and assessing the conservation, management and sustainable use of medicinal plants and traditional medicines used for human and livestock health care by providing appropriate financial mechanisms to support:

• An African inventory and genetic assessment of medicinal plants;
• Community-based in-situ conservation and management of ecosystems with high medicinal plant species diversity;
• Development of sustainable harvesting guidelines of wild medicinal resources;
• Identification and development of cultivation/propagation practices;
• Information dissemination, networking, education and awareness raising programs;
• Interdisciplinary research into the efficacy, safety cultural importance and use of traditional medicine and adding value to the medicinal plants and phytomedicines; and
• Co-ordinating and catalyzing the existing activities relating to medicinal plants and traditional health systems at international level.

I.2. To establish an appropriate mechanism for the effective involvement of indigenous and local communities in redefining and monitoring intellectual property rights in the context of traditional medicine.

I.3. To establish a mechanism to formalise, monitor and regulate the trade in medicinal plants and herbal products, in order to guarantee local communities fair and equitable access to benefits flowing from the trade; and to ensure that, the trade is transparent and sustainable.

II. Follow-up action.

II.1.African governments and the Organisation of Africa Unity (OAU) should adopt as soon as possible a Decade devoted to the promotion and development of medicinal plants, traditional medicines and pharmacopoeia in Africa.

II.2. The Conference recommends to the Government of the Republic of Togo and His Excellency GNASSINGBE EYADEMA, President of the Republic and Head Of State to kindly submit the Conference Declaration on the Decade on Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicines in Africa to the attention of the forthcoming OAU Summit.

II.3. Governments, NGOs and International Agencies should take urgent steps to support activities and strategies for Research and Development on Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine relating to addressing priority diseases in Africa such as HIV/AIDS and Malaria.

II.4. To use existing electronic networking opportunities (e.g."Phytomedica " worldwide emailing list) in order to promote constructive relationships and collaboration between diverse stakeholders and interested parties active in the field of medicinal plants, traditional medicine and pharmacopoeia.

II.5 African Governments in partnership with NGOs and International Agencies should find urgent ways to support the implementation of the recommendations and the comprehensive Regional Action Plan outlined by the Regional Workshops on Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine in Africa jointly organised by the Environment Liaison Centre International (ELCI) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) held successively on 17-21 November 1997 in Conakry, Republic of Guinea for African French speaking countries and on 14-18 April 1998 in Cape Town, South Africa for African English speaking countries.

II.6. To establish and convene a two-year regular conference to review progress in implementing the Programme of the Decade and to plan for future action, focusing on priority and specific issues and objectives.

Commonwealth Medicinal Plants Forum Recommendations

MEDICINAL PLANTS FORUM FOR COMMONWEALTH AFRICA
Held in Cape Town, South Africa, 4th to 6th December, 2000.

Production and Sustainable Trade

1. WILD CRAFTING
   1. Develop a certification programme for sustainable harvested medicinal plants possibly modeled on the Forest Stewardship Council timber certification schemes.
   2. Encourage "interim" and "local level" certification efforts even before international schemes are developed.
   3. Develop international Good Harvesting Practice (GHP) standards possibly based on the UK Soil Association recent draft to match existing codes of Good Agricultural Practice (GAPs) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMPs).
   4. Undertake market research to identify which herbal extracts and preparations use predominantly wild crafted raw materials and promote the findings amongst buyers of medicinal plants and extracts.
   5. Encourage Fair Trading Companies to begin marketing sustainably harvested medicinals as a special product category.
   6. Educate both producers and consumers that sustainably grown medicinals are NOT necessarily inferior in terms of quality and efficacy to wild harvested materials.
   7. Raise awareness amongst governments and conservationists about the social impact of switching from wild crafted to cultivated medicinal plants.
2. PRODUCTION
   1. Create stronger links between herbal practioners /product formulators and collectors and growers of medicinal herbs ( possibly based on the Kwazulu Natal Dept of Agriculture Model).
   2. Promote a greater awareness amongst traditional healers of the economic and environmental benefits of switching from wild harvested to cultivate medicinal plants.
   3. Encourage more research into the agronomy and post harvest technology of medicinal plants and to lobby World Bank, FAO, and CGIAR to switch resources from the commodity crops to this sector.
   4. Research and development priorities for the medicinal plants in Africa should focus on the crops which can help alleviate symptoms of critical diseases such as AIDS and Malaria.
   5. Encourage coordinated planning between Government agencies responsible for agriculture, health and the environment to avoid contradictory policies and interventions.
   6. Lobby government to review regulatory and other policy measures that hinder the development of the thriving medicinal plant industry.
   7. Promote a strong local demand for medicinal plants and build up a local market prior to launching major export programmes.
   8. Develop Quality Control /Quality Assurance mechanisms to enhance the quality, safety and efficacy of herbal remedies sold on the local market.
   9. Encourage the integration of traditional medicine into rural health service provision both at the national and local level ( as in Ghana and Tanzania).
   10. Develop training programmes to raise the level of technical skills in the field of cultivation, post harvest handling and farm level processing of medicinal plants.
3. TRADE
   1. Ensure that national and international regulations concerning the collection and export of "endangered" medicinal plants incorporate the views and opinions of ALL stakeholders prior to their implementation.
   2. Lobby for changes in the regulatory environment which in many countries actively hinders the development of medicinal plant production, value addition and trade.
   3. Find mechanisms to disseminate technical and economic information on the production and trade in medicinal plants both in Africa and to Africa from outside centres of herbal research and development.
   4. Develop product specifications for key African medicinals that are appropriate to different markets and end users.
   5. Stimulate international trade by sensitizing the Afro-American and African emigrant populations living in Europe and USA as to the benefits and value of African products.
   6. Promote a greater worldwide awareness of the rich heritage of African medicine and a greater respect for African based science and research into herbal drugs.
   7. Encourage regional co-operation between producers and processors of medicinal plants in order to reap the benefits of economies of scale needed for value added activities.
   8. Develop trade promotion programmes that help African producers and exporters raise their profile on international markets.

African Medicine & The Regulatory Environment for Herbal Medicine

1. REGULATORY REFORM
   1. Create a climate of political will for regulatory reform.
   2. Encourage a greater recognition and respect for indigenous knowledge and preserve and build on indigenous knowledge in the conservation and use of medicinal plants.
   3. Lobby Government and international agencies such as OAU , World Bank and WHO to focus more strongly on the traditional medicine sector.
   4. Structure a regulatory system that ensures the supply of traditional medicines that are: Safe, Effective, High Quality, Widely available , Affordable.
   5. Create a regulatory system should be quick, efficient, appropriate, applicable, controllable.
   6. The traditional medicine sector should be directly involved in formulating national health policy and regulation, in partnership with the modem medical sector.
   7. Encourage the development of national, regional and international associations of traditional and Community Medicine health practitioners to enhance regulatory reform.
   8. Develop improved mechanisms for community/grassroots involvement in regulatory process.
   9. Develop guidelines for benefit sharing in traditional medicine
2. PROGRAMME INTERVENTIONS
   1. Create improved mechanisms for grassroots involvement in medicinal plants production and conservation programmes.
   2. Encourage community-based research on the health effects of traditional medicine.
   3. Develop mechanisms within health service for improved training in traditional medicine for both traditional healers and modern health care practioners.
   4. Develop guidelines for the development of standard quality African herbal medicines although recognising that not all traditional remedies need to be standardised.
   5. National policy and planning must include conservation and conservation education. Such programmes should include development of home gardens, forest conservation measures and a range of in-situ and ex-situ medicinal plant conservation programmes.
   6. Develop investment policies that encourage direct support for organisations involved in the cultivation and export of medical plants and plant based products.
   7. Create an awareness of the possible need for land reform to encourage a shift from wild crafting to the cultivation of medicinal plants by poor and rural communities.
   8. Develop mechanisms to promote a greater interaction between industry and government.
   9. Develop adequate infrastructure for data collection retrieval use and dissemination in the field of African medicine and medicinal plants.
   10. Governments should recognise and strengthen the role of women in conservation and traditional health systems.
   11. National/intemational including the Commonwealth should focus support for traditional medicine on priority disease, particularly my / AIDS and Malaria.
   12. There should be a monitoring system developed to ensure that there is a rapid research response to promising findings and important treatments based on traditional medicine.

Research and Development

1. Intensify documentation of the medicinal use of African herbs in form of monographs and/or pharmacopoeia. Information should include data on plants species, uses of plant parts, indications etc.
2. Increase possibilities for joint meetings of different local, national and transnational associations, organizations/authorities to discuss, exchange and harmonize their interests in the field of medicinal plant research and development.
3. Support for scientific research in Africa by African organizations
4. Support scientific exchanges for African scientists to collaborate with non-African countries
5. Support in industrial/entrepreneur training and establishment of market linkages between Africa and other continents such as Europe.
6. Develop educational programmes for healthcare industries and African governments for scientific and traditional herbal medicine and the role of botanicals for human health.
7. Support programmes encouraging the preservation of African genetic resources and the expansion of regional and international genetic resource institutes (gene banks) to include medicinal plant collections.
8. Support for technology transfer in the field of medicinal plants and herbal medicines.
9. Development of improved information networks.
10. Explore the potential for launching some African plant materials as dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, food additives on non-African countries.
11. Lobby non-African organizations and associations such as Commonwealth Secretariat and Centre for Development of Enterprises for financial and technical support in the development of medicinal plants sector.