USE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION: A STABLE PARTNERSHIP?
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Diversity and Distributions (1998) 4, 93–94 BIBLIODIVERSION USE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AND point of ‘discovery’ by western ethnobotanists and drug hunters to the process of harvest, laboratory BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION: A STABLE PARTNERSHIP? purification of synthesis, clinical trials, government approval, and finally retail marketing. Not far from Sheldon, J.W., Balick, M.J. & Laird, S.A. (1977) my own study site in eastern Brazilian Amozonia, for Medicinal plants: can utilization and conservation example, this can be shown by the wholesale harvest coexist? Advances in Economic Botany, Volume 12. and subsequent depletion of jaborandi shrubs The New York Botanical Garden. xii+104pp., photos. (Pilocarpus jaborandi, Rutaceae), the source of an Paperback: Price 9 (plus postage and packing). ISBN alkaloid that can reduce the intraocular pressure often 0-89327-406-2. associated with glaucoma. The sudden ‘goldrush’ created by relatively attractive market prices and poor Plant species endowed with therapeutic properties regulation of a di use harvest system resulted in the useful against human ailments, albeit as mere incidental rapid economic extinction of most accessible byproducts of evolution, represent one of the most populations of jaborandi shrubs, as well as its short- powerful economic arguments held in favour of lived ophthalmologic application. Rumours of other maintaining the world’s biological diversity. Such an potential pharmaceutical uses could easily trigger anthropocentric view of the nature does little justice similar population declines of other ‘wonder-plants’ to our fellow organisms in the plant kingdom, but has well before the prospects of a sustainable harvest can nevertheless been intrumental in persuading policy- be properly investigated. Over-exploitation resulting makers about the importance of protecting our from asymmetric supply-demand curves can be remaining wilderness areas, which sadly are seriously aggravated by the low population densities increasingly being forced to pay for themselves. This and low rates of regeneration of most Amazonian plant monograph by Sheldon, Ballick, and Laird explore the populations. In addition, increasingly larger fine balance between the exploitation and conservation markets—from the local scale of traditional medical of medicinal plants in both temperate and tropical systems, to national herbal industries, and finally to forests, an issue which could be equally addressed global pharmaceutical markets—often continue to towards other renewable resources suddenly facing a depend on the raw materials and biochemically active ravaging army of extractors and an often ruthless compounds sourced from vulnerable wild stocks, which market where short-term profits take priority over the are often sparsely distributed on open-access public long-term persistence of the population. lands. This is another example of the productive career At the heart of these issues is the question of whether led by several eminent ethnobiologists and economic the use of medicinal plants by the pharmaceutical botanists based at the New York Botanical Garden. industry can indeed generate sound financial In recent decades this organization has been at the mechanisms which can substantially aid the forefront of floristic inventories and systematic e orts conservation of tropical forests. Although central to to collect medicinal plants and catalogue traditional current discussions on the sustainable use of tropical ethnobotanical knowledge, particulaly in neotropical forest ‘products’ by conservation biologists, forests. Several case histories of increasingly famous international conservation organizations, and by the plant species—from the pantropical rosy periwinkle to popular media, this question remains highly mayapples and the Pacific yew of North America, to controversial. The book touches on a number of points name but a few of the foremost anticancer critical to the redistribution of profits accrued to the pharmaceuticals—are summarized in this book to small minority of successful drug prospection illustrate the prospects and pitfalls associated with the programmes, but fails to develop them properly as links between medicinal plants and conservation. The might be expected from the relatively brief text (ninety- book exposes the perils of over-harvest as recently one pages). That the biomedical potential of less than shown by several cases of plant species valued in traditional and contemporary medicine—from the 1% of the estimated 250,000 higher plant species on 93 1998 Blackwell Science Ltd
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Transcript of USE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION: A STABLE PARTNERSHIP?
Diversity and Distributions (1998) 4, 93–94
BIBLIODIVERSION
USE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AND point of ‘discovery’ by western ethnobotanists anddrug hunters to the process of harvest, laboratoryBIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION: A
STABLE PARTNERSHIP? purification of synthesis, clinical trials, governmentapproval, and finally retail marketing. Not far from
Sheldon, J.W., Balick, M.J. & Laird, S.A. (1977)my own study site in eastern Brazilian Amozonia, for
Medicinal plants: can utilization and conservationexample, this can be shown by the wholesale harvest
coexist? Advances in Economic Botany, Volume 12.and subsequent depletion of jaborandi shrubs
The New York Botanical Garden. xii+104pp., photos.(Pilocarpus jaborandi, Rutaceae), the source of an
Paperback: Price 9 (plus postage and packing). ISBNalkaloid that can reduce the intraocular pressure often
0-89327-406-2.associated with glaucoma. The sudden ‘goldrush’created by relatively attractive market prices and poorPlant species endowed with therapeutic propertiesregulation of a diffuse harvest system resulted in theuseful against human ailments, albeit as mere incidentalrapid economic extinction of most accessiblebyproducts of evolution, represent one of the mostpopulations of jaborandi shrubs, as well as its short-powerful economic arguments held in favour oflived ophthalmologic application. Rumours of othermaintaining the world’s biological diversity. Such anpotential pharmaceutical uses could easily triggeranthropocentric view of the nature does little justicesimilar population declines of other ‘wonder-plants’to our fellow organisms in the plant kingdom, but haswell before the prospects of a sustainable harvest cannevertheless been intrumental in persuading policy-be properly investigated. Over-exploitation resultingmakers about the importance of protecting ourfrom asymmetric supply-demand curves can beremaining wilderness areas, which sadly areseriously aggravated by the low population densitiesincreasingly being forced to pay for themselves. Thisand low rates of regeneration of most Amazonian plantmonograph by Sheldon, Ballick, and Laird explore thepopulations. In addition, increasingly largerfine balance between the exploitation and conservationmarkets—from the local scale of traditional medicalof medicinal plants in both temperate and tropicalsystems, to national herbal industries, and finally toforests, an issue which could be equally addressedglobal pharmaceutical markets—often continue totowards other renewable resources suddenly facing adepend on the raw materials and biochemically activeravaging army of extractors and an often ruthlesscompounds sourced from vulnerable wild stocks, whichmarket where short-term profits take priority over theare often sparsely distributed on open-access publiclong-term persistence of the population.lands.This is another example of the productive career
At the heart of these issues is the question of whetherled by several eminent ethnobiologists and economicthe use of medicinal plants by the pharmaceuticalbotanists based at the New York Botanical Garden.industry can indeed generate sound financialIn recent decades this organization has been at themechanisms which can substantially aid theforefront of floristic inventories and systematic effortsconservation of tropical forests. Although central toto collect medicinal plants and catalogue traditionalcurrent discussions on the sustainable use of tropicalethnobotanical knowledge, particulaly in neotropicalforest ‘products’ by conservation biologists,forests. Several case histories of increasingly famousinternational conservation organizations, and by theplant species—from the pantropical rosy periwinkle topopular media, this question remains highlymayapples and the Pacific yew of North America, tocontroversial. The book touches on a number of pointsname but a few of the foremost anticancercritical to the redistribution of profits accrued to thepharmaceuticals—are summarized in this book tosmall minority of successful drug prospectionillustrate the prospects and pitfalls associated with theprogrammes, but fails to develop them properly aslinks between medicinal plants and conservation. Themight be expected from the relatively brief text (ninety-book exposes the perils of over-harvest as recentlyone pages). That the biomedical potential of less thanshown by several cases of plant species valued in
traditional and contemporary medicine—from the 1% of the estimated 250,000 higher plant species on
93 1998 Blackwell Science Ltd
94 Bibliodiversion
the planet have been determined, while the remaining promoted by the herbal and pharmaceutical industries,which are often detrimental to the plant population99% is disappearing at an alarming rate, may sound likebeing harvested.enough justification to arrest the widespread process of
It is worth noting that this essay is as much basedtropical deforestation. However, this is not an argumenton information from the personal experience of thewhich will effectively change current patterns of tropicalauthors, interviews with key ethnobotanists, andhabitat degradation by tribal and non-tribal peoples,unpublished documents, as on that obtained fromunless we find clear financial incentives (orthe published literature. Finally, this very inexpensivedisincentives) to allow them to do so.paperback is a pleasure to read, and can becomeOn the whole, however, Jennie Sheldon and hera concise source of valuable information in furthercolleagues present a very responsible message in favoureducating conservations and policy-makers alike onof traditional healers and local markets, which accountthe links between our poorly studied pharmacopoeiafor a poorly quantified but significant proportion ofand the future of the Earth’s biological and culturalthe direct and indirect value of the global trade ofdiversity.medicinal plants, now worth some US$170 billion
per year. They also make recommendations for using CARLOS PEREStherapeutic plants wisely, and warn against large-scale, School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia, U.K.unregulated markets and drug prospection operations
1998 Blackwell Science Ltd, Diversity and Distributions, 4, 93–94
