REVISION OF THE ‘GUIDELINES ON THE CONSERVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS’ BY WHO, IUCN, WWF AND TRAFFIC

Abstract. The ‘Guidelines on the Conservation of Medicinal Plants’ were published in 1993 by WHO,
IUCN and WWF, following the historic 1988 Chiang Mai Declaration ‘Saving Lives by Saving Plants’.
In May 2003, representatives from WWF, IUCN, WHO and TRAFFIC recommended the revision of the
1993 Guidelines, as significant new developments had been made in the field of medicinal-plant
conservation and use over the past decade. As an up-to-date global framework for medicinal-plant
conservation and sustainable use it will help to develop management action at different levels of the
supply chain, from harvesters and farmers to traders and the herbal-medicine industry. The commercial
sector will be a key audience, in addition to governments, research institutes and NGOs.
The Guidelines are being revised through a global consultation process. An international expert
consultation workshop was held in Kunming, China, in June 2004. Thirty medicinal-plant experts from
13 different countries participated in this meeting. Based on the results of the international workshop and
two rounds of global e-mail consultation, a working draft was prepared and presented at the Third IUCN
World Conservation Congress in November 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand. At this event, IUCN adopted a
motion on the conservation of medicinal plants sponsored by the Government of India (Ministry of
Environment and Forests), the Canadian Museum of Nature and WWF Germany, which has now become
an IUCN resolution (IUCN 3.073). The final draft of the Guidelines was circulated for consultation to
over 700 individuals/institutions from all sectors and regions between December 2004 and March 2005.
Following the final consultation round and a final revision of the text, the revised Guidelines will enter
the agreement process of the four coordinating agencies, which is hoped to be completed in early 2006.
Subsequently, the revised WHO/IUCN/WWF/TRAFFIC Guidelines on the Conservation of Medicinal
Plants will be translated into several languages and published.
Keywords: sustainable use; over-harvesting; herbal medicine; healing plants; Chiang Mai Declaration;
Kunming; World Conservation Congress; IUCN resolution 3.073

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