Plants for life: - Sacred Seeds Sanctuary

SOUTH ASIA• India, Sri LankaIt is estimated that 10% of all plant speciesin India are currently endangered (Pandey etal., 2007). There are estimated to be 8,000species of medicinal plants used in differentsystems of Indian medicine. Some 930 ofthese are known to be traded extensively,with at least 100 of these Red Listed (FRLHT,no date).• Development of medicinal plantconservation education programmes(e.g. for high school students inKarnataka).• Enhancing the establishment ofcommunity-based nurseries andprovision of training in nurseryFRLHTPRAGYAIUCNNational BotanicGardens, Sri Lankamanagement for selected medicinalThere is a gap of 40,000 tonnes in theplant species.Ministry ofdemand and supply of medicinal plants.Environment andThe major source is the forest, and about90% are collected from the wild (Kala andSojwan, 2007).BGCI has supported medicinal plantconservation projects in India ranging fromawareness raising and environmentaleducation on medicinal plants in schools tothe establishment of medicinal plant gardens.• Focus attention on key medicinalplant species such as: Aconitumferox, A.heterophyllum,Nothapodytes nimmoniana,Oroxylum indicum, Rauvolfiaserpentina, Saraca asoca, Swertiachirayita and Coscinium fenestratumand Cinnamomum spp. in Sri Lanka.Natural Resources,Sri LankaIn Sri Lanka, BGCI is currently working jointlywith IUCN on the assessment andconservation of Important Plant Areas.EAST AFRICA• Kenya, Tanzania,UgandaPerhaps more than anywhere, Africa’s socioeconomicprofile dictates reliance ontraditional medicine. Native plants are the• Pursue conservation statusassessments.Plantlife InternationalNational BotanicalSOUTHERN AFRICA• Namibiamain constituent of traditional Africanmedicines (TAM) (Cunningham, 1993). Unlikethe systems of Ayurveda and TCM, TAM isan oral tradition and there are few, if any,• Development of village-specifichome herbal health kits and homegardens with medicinal species forself healing, to include plants bothResearch Institute,NamibiaSANBIwritten records of its methods and materials.of conservation concern and thoseEstimates of the number of species usedunder no perceived threat.and the number threatened within Africa asa whole are therefore almost impossible.BGCI is working with the National Museums• Develop ex situ and in situconservation initiatives for otherthreatened species, notably: Aloeof Kenya and other partners from Kenya,spp., Hoodia spp., Osyris lanceolata,Tanzania and Uganda on conservationRhoicissus revoilii, Toddalia asiatica,assessments of and management plans forWarburgia salutaris, Withaniamedicinal plants in the region. A similarsomnifera, Zanha africana andassessment is proposed for Southern Africa,Zanthoxylum chalybeum.in particular in collaboration with theNational Botanical Research Institute inNamibia.• MadagascarMadagascar possesses some 80% endemicbiodiversity and is known to contain a• Convene a series of stakeholderworkshops to identify projectUniversity ofAntananarivowealth of medicinal plant species andinterventions addressing immediateindigenous knowledge. However, over 70%ex and in situ conservation needsMadagascar Plantsof its inhabitants live on less than US$1 abuilding on the results of the IPASpecialist Groupday, making it one of the poorest countriesassessment and focussing onin the world. The natural wealth of thespecies such as: Aloe suzannae,IUCNisland is therefore threatened by the extremeAsteropeia labatii, A.mcphersonii,poverty of the human population, and someEuphorbia ambovombensis,90% of the forest has now gone (Azafady,Leptolaena abrahamii, L.cuspidata,2007).L.multiflora, L.raymondii andSarcolaena delphinensis.As part of its joint initiative with IUCN – TheWorld Conservation Union, BGCI is workingon the assessment of Important Plant Areasin Madagascar.Plants for life: Medicinal plant conservation and botanic gardens 47