Status of medicinal and aromatic plants in - Inia

PRESENTED PAPERS 75
• Legislation
The harvest and trade of MAPs are regulated by the Law on Protected Areas (1993, 2001), Law
on Endangered Wildlife (1996), Law on Wild Vegetation (1999) and Law on Plant Genetic Resources
Conservation (2001). Recently, a draft law on the ratification of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora was prepared. The Ministry of
Environment regulates the gathering of wild MAPs and revises the list of species whose
collecting is prohibited on the basis of research carried out by specialists from the Institute of
Botany. The State Register (2000) of the Law on Wild Vegetation lists MAP species for which
gathering from the wild indicated existing or potential conservation problems and whose
collecting is therefore limited. Some medicinal plants are included in the National Red Book
and are subjected to national legislation (Box 1).
Box 1. List of MAP species regulated by law in Lithuania
Threatened MAP species whose collecting
from the wild is regulated by law
Acorus calamus
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Angelica archangelica
Centhaurium erythraea
Centhaurium pulchellum
Cetraria islandica
Chimophila umbellata
Digitalis grandiflora
Gentiana cruciata
Hierochloe australis
Hierochloe odorata
Helichrysum arenarium
Lycopodium clavatum
Origanum vulgare
Potentilla erecta
Poleminium caeruleum
Primula veris
Plantago arenaria
Sanguisorba officinalis
Viscum album
Viola tricolor
MAP species included in the National Red
Book
Arnica mntana
Allium angulosum
Allium vineale
Allium scorodoprasum
Allium ursinum
Arctium nemorosum
Gentiana cruciata
Hedera helix
Hypericum montanum
Hypericum hirsutum
Mentha longifolia
Polemonium coeruleum
Pulmonaria angustifolia
Salvia pratensis
• Conservation methods
Different methods are used to avoid potential danger and existing threats to MAP species,
i.e. in situ and ex situ conservation. The biological peculiarities of species and their sources of
raw material determine the conservation method. MAP species have been divided into three
groups according to the source of raw material: sufficient, limited and insufficient (Table 1):
1. For species with sufficient sources of raw material, the Law on Wild Vegetation regulates
the exploitation of common species.
2. Widespread species characterized by a large phenotypic diversity but with low sources of
raw material can be or are cultivated. Wild populations of these species are not
endangered in their natural habitats; however the sampling of their diversity has been
initiated to ensure the conservation of their germplasm and further use in breeding.
3. Species with low sources of raw material and narrow ecological adaptation, which are
difficult to introduce into cultivation, are in the most critical situation. This group of
species includes rare and endangered plants. The main factor causing the decrease in
populations of these species is the changing environmental conditions.