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World Organic Trade Fair: New standards set for wild medicinal plant harvesting

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Over exploitation of medicinal and aromatic plants is increasing day by day because of over harvesting. To evade the over exploitation of these plants, new standards have been launched in Nuremberg at Biofach, the World Organic Trade Fair.

According to the report by the Medicinal Plant Specialist Group of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission that sets forth the new standard:

About 15,000 species or 21 percent of all medicinal and aromatic plant species are at risk. More than 400,000 metric tons of medicinal and aromatic plants are traded every year and about 80 percent species are harvested from the wild.Almost 70,000 species are in the danger of over exploitation or extinction through over harvesting and habitat loss.
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Among the threatened species are 319 medicinal plants in India, Cascarilla cinchona pubescens (used to treat a variety of ailments) in Ecuador, Adonis vernalis (used to treat cardiac ailments in Eastern Europe, American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis in United States.

Six principles on which the Standard is based:

Maintaining medicinal and aromatic plant resources in the wild.

Preventing negative environmental impacts.

Legal compliance.

Respecting customary rights.

Applying responsible management practices.

Applying responsible business practices.

New Global Standard for harvesting will prove beneficial if followed properly.

Source: Newswire

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