Status of medicinal and aromatic plants in - Inia

PRESENTED PAPERS 83
article (art. 42 of the Law of the Forests, 1997), classifying MAPs as "other forest products",
regulating almost nothing. Therefore Macedonia is missing a fully comprehensive
legislation regulating collecting, trade, cultivation, manufacturing, quality control,
maintenance, preservation, conservation and evaluation of indigenous and introduced
MAPs.
Research studies show that more than 20% of the territory is of special interest regarding
natural heritage, but only 6% is protected by the Law for protection of natural rarities.
In situ conservation of medicinal and aromatic plants, not exactly specified as MAPs, but
as part of the whole flora, can be found in the three national parks, with a total area of
108 000ha; they are regulated by the following laws:
- Law for National Park "Pelister" (1948)
- Law for National Park "Mavrovo" (1949)
- Law for National Park "Galichica" (1958)
These laws date from the Yugoslavian regime and are not in accordance with IUCN
categories for protected areas but there are initiatives and efforts dedicated to changing this
situation.
The Macedonian legislative body has ratified the following international
regulations/conventions:
- Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Agenda 21 (Rio de Janeiro, 1992) ratified in
1998. So far, a National Coordinator (focal point) has been nominated and a National
Committee for Biodiversity has been formed and is functioning;
- Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats
(CCEWNH or Bern Convention, 1982) ratified in 1999. A National Coordinator (focal
point) operates and a National Committee for the Bern Convention is being formed.
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) (Washington, 1973) ratified in 2000; a National Coordinator (focal point) has
been designated.
As a permanent member of the CBD, Macedonia is liable to prepare a national biological
and landscape diversity conservation strategy and an appropriate legislative background.
These conventions being ratified, they are considered as laws in Macedonia. Beside these, no
strategy has yet been prepared (the first phase, dealing with data evaluation, is currently
underway), nor any legislative background.
In the Republic of Macedonia, there is no ex situ conservation of medicinal plants, because
of the lack of a national strategy in this field. Yet there are facilities at the Institute for
Southern Crops in Strumica, which could easily be adapted and used for this purpose.
The most common way of providing herbal raw materials is traditional collecting of
medicinal plants from the wild. Organized collecting from natural resources has existed for
a long time but the people involved do not always have the necessary skills. The collectors
are mainly private individuals, especially villagers in the vicinity of collecting areas. In most
cases collecting is done to meet a demand for certain species. Only a few companies in the
Republic of Macedonia can be regarded as serious and important in this business. The most
important and by far the largest pharmaceutical company which buys aromatic plants in
Macedonia, and the only one to have a permanent list of required medicinal plants and eight
buying stations throughout Macedonia, is "Alkaloid". In addition, 4-5 smaller companies are
involved in business with MAPs, mainly packing tea-bags. From 90 to 95% of the total plant
material used in the pharmaceutical industry is of wild origin, 80% being of native origin and
20% imported.