64 high value medicinal plant species face extinction

Islamabad: High value 64 species of medicinal plants are facing extinction in Pakistan due to deforestation and increasing livestock population especially in the far flung areas.

According to a research report titled ‘Medicinal Plants of Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities,’ the species of medicinal plants that are facing extinction included Asparagus gharoensis, Ajuga bracteosa, Scaveolaplumererii, Scaveolataccada, Allium gilgiticum, Arabidopsis brevicaulis, Saxifragaduthei, Cousiniamatifeldei, Taraxacumchitralicum, Nepeta schinidii, Bruguieragymnorrhiza and Sonneratia caseolaris.

The majority of the medicinal plants are found in less developed and far flung rural areas of the country like Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The deforestation is generally attributed to demographic pressure and other related effects: increase in demand for land for cultivation; livestock population; use of the remaining forest to meet growing needs for fodder, fuelwood, and timber.

The data of the climate change ministry showed that it is making plans to train the local people for medicinal plant conservation, production, cultivation and transportation. It would also provide linkage of collectors with market and dealers not only at national level but also at international level.

The experts said that use of modern day biotechnological intervention through micro-propagation can be another solution where one can start production of medicinally important ingredient right from lab scale to industrial scale production.

“This will not only generate opportunities for new research, but will also create opportunities for entrepreneurships,” they said. The spokesperson of the climate change ministry said the efforts are under way in coordination with the provincial departments to introduce vibrant policies and regulations to produce important herbs with sustainable metabolite profiles, which would give way to establish a medicinal plant industry and support the national economy of Pakistan.