[health-vn] Medicinal biodiversity needs stronger protection efforts

[Vern Weitzel]

http://www.scidev.net/en/opinions/medicinal-biodiversity-needs-stronger-protection-e.html

Medicinal biodiversity needs stronger protection efforts

Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature
29 April 2009 | EN

We need stronger efforts to conserve medicinal biodiversity, say Jeffrey A. 
McNeely, chief scientist at the International Union for the Conservation of 
Nature (IUCN) and Sue Mainka, senior coordinator of IUCN's Global Programme.

Safeguarding medicinal biodiversity requires action by all stakeholders — 
international bodies, governments and indigenous peoples, say the authors.

At the international level, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change should 
address human health and biodiversity under the climate change umbrella. And 
organisations such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Trade 
Organization and the WHO should be working together to protect medicinal 
biodiversity, implement human and animal health controls and address potentially 
harmful invasive species.

At the national level, governments should be coordinating the activities of 
health, transport, trade and environment agencies. And indigenous peoples need 
better provisions on access to genetic resources and benefit sharing.

Different stakeholders have different interests in medicinal species — from 
conservation to income generation to profitable trade. But it is in everyone's 
interests to conserve medicinal biodiversity, conclude the authors.

Link to full article from the International Union for Conservation of Nature

http://www.iucn.org/resources/world_conservation/2009_issue1/?2994/The-road-to-recovery

and the full report:
http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/wc_issue1_2009_en_road.pdf