Medicinal and aromatic plants trade programme

Medicinal and aromatic plants trade programme

Promoting best practice in the botanicals sector to support conservation, healthcare and livelihoods

Human well-being in both rural and urban areas depends on a diverse array of wild plant products from an even more diverse array of wild plant species. This includes species used for their medicinal and aromatic properties. An estimated 50,000–70,000 medicinal and aromatic species are harvested from the wild, with the annual global export value of pharmaceutical plants alone being over USD2.2 billion in 2011.

Use and trade of these plant-based pharmaceuticals and “botanicals”, as medicinal and aromatic plants are sometimes called, underpin both traditional and “modern” healthcare systems. These plants also flavour our food and drinks, perfume and give colour to beauty products and provide incense used by many religious traditions.

The trade also provides a source of income to millions of households involved in collection, with women often playing the major role, and supplies industrial production of a wide array of medicinal and household products. Although accurate data are lacking, available information indicates that trade is increasing

http://www.traffic.org/medicinal-plants/