Policy and Tools for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants

Revised Guidelines On The Conservation Of Medicinal Plants Draft International Standard For Sustainable Wild Collection Of Medicinal And Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP)
	1993 WHO/IUCN/WWF Guidelines on the Conservation of Medicinal Plants, currently being revised by the MPSG and partners.

1. Revised Guidelines on the Conservation of Medicinal Plants

The MPSG is revising and updating the Guidelines on the Conservation of Medicinal Plants in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and TRAFFIC International.  The Guidelines were originally published by IUCN, WHO, and WWF in 1993, in English, Spanish, and French, and are currently out of print. 

We have completed international consultations on the first and second drafts of the revised Guidelines, inviting comments from more than 600 external experts as well as from within the IUCN, WWF, TRAFFIC, and WHO networks.  A final draft will be submitted for approval to the four author agencies – WHO, IUCN, WWF, and TRAFFIC in 2007. On behalf of IUCN, the MPSG and the Wildlife Trade Programme are working to raise the funds required to support publication, distribution, and implementation of the Guidelines, including through regional workshops and translation into French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and other regional languages.

A workshop to launch the Guidelines in Latin America was coordinated by the MPSG regional sub-group for the Caribbean and South America during the IX Latin American Botanical Congress, 19-25 June 2006, in the Dominican Republic.  Plans are also underway for implementation activities in South Asia, coordinated by the MPSG sub-group for this region.

Back to Top

2. Draft International Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP)

The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation / Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN) has provided start-up funding for the development of an international standard for the sustainable wild collection of medicinal and aromatic plants. The project is being implemented by members of the MPSG through IUCN-Canada, and by WWF and TRAFFIC Germany.

The mission of this standard is to ensure the long-term survival of MAP populations in their habitats, while respecting the traditions, cultures and livelihoods of all stakeholders.

The objective is to provide a framework of principles and criteria that can be applied to the management of MAP species and their ecosystems. It provides guidance for management planning, a basis for monitoring and reporting, and recommends requirements for certification of sustainable wild collection of MAPs.

Learn more about this project

Back to Top