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Annual purchases of natural products and supplements on the international market are over US $60 billion
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Until
recently many health practitioners, particularly those in the nations of the
north, had cast a wary and skeptical eye upon the traditional systems of
medicine labeling them unscientific, unreliable and perhaps even dangerous.
However, in the past two decades there has been a global resurgence of interest
in traditional medicine both in developed and developing countries. In Canada,
statistics show that more than half of the population currently uses natural
health products, including herbal remedies. Annual purchases of natural products
and supplements in Canada have exceeded $4.5 billion, in the United States $27
billion and the international market is over US $60 billion and growing at a
rate of 7% per annum. Many of these natural products are derived from medicinal
organisms and rely upon the traditional knowledge that has been passed down from
generation to generation for millennia.
The World Health organization (WHO) reveals that over 80% of the human
population depends upon traditional medicine for their primary health care. Many
of these people are the rural and urban poor and "modern medicine", if
at all available, is generally unaffordable for the poor.
Therefore,
the conservation of these natural resources is not only an environmental issue,
but also has economic and rural development implications. Coupled with this
renewed interest in traditional medical knowledge comes enormous pressure on the
very survival of the medicinal organisms. Habitat degradation, over-harvesting,
climate change, political and social unrest, as well as economic factors are all
major threats to the survival of our healing resources.
Cultural
Diversity
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Over
80% of the human population depends on traditional medicine for their
primary health care
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Every
human society has its own peculiar culture that is integrally linked to the
surrounding biodiversity and environment that serves as its home. As the
physical habitat changes along with the availability of the local resources,
changes in the culture take place as well. Thus culture and biodiversity are
tightly interwoven like the warp and weft of a unique ethnic fabric with its own
colors, art and design. Biodiversity, often thought of solely in biological
terms, has substantial cultural elements.
The
great cultural diversity of India, China, and Indonesia, for example, is built
upon the cultural adaptations to the unique ecosystems that characterize those
vast countries. Biological diversity relies upon the habitats that harbor its
species and in a similar way, cultural diversity depends upon the languages and
dialects that provide a vehicle to pass down the traditional knowledge from
generation to generation. It is estimated that over one half of the world's
6,800 languages are currently in danger of extinction as technology leads our
world towards greater homogeneity. This loss of cultural diversity directly
endangers biodiversity by reducing the variety of approaches to the co-existence
of plant, animal and human life. Therefore the goal of biodiversity conservation
must be integrated with the preservation of cultural diversity.
Science
Meets Tradition
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Studies
on the Ginkgo biloba tree indicate a basis for its traditional use in the
treatment of memory loss
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Traditional
healers are often considered to have a broader knowledge of medicinal diversity
than modern scientists. Whether this is true or not, the relation between these
two intellectual systems merits exploration. Often traditional medicine can
provide important guidance for pharmacological studies. For example, plants used
for the treatment of Malaria by healers in Borneo have proven to be
significantly more active in anti-plasmodial laboratory screens than control
plants. Also, recent studies at the University of California, Los Angeles'
(UCLA) Neuropsychiatric Institute on Ginkgo biloba indicate that the traditional
use of the healing properties of this ancient tree for the treatment of memory
loss has a pharmacological basis[1]. Research at McGill University in Canada by
Dr. Valerie Assinewe on the immuno-stimulating properties of Panax
quinquefolius L.(American Ginseng), widely used by First Nations healers as a
tonic and blood fortifier, has defined more precisely the pharmacological
activity and the important active components of this root plant.
Another
example of work on the convergence of tradition and science is the TRAMIL
Program, which conducts scientific research on medicinal plants in the Caribbean
basin. This program has focused on conserving traditional community knowledge of
folk remedies and providing scientific validation of their safety and efficacy
to encourage national health policies that include traditional medicine in
primary health care programs. Further north, Health Canada has taken a leading
role in this regard by establishing a Natural Health Product Directorate that
will regulate this burgeoning industry starting in January 2004. This
directorate was born out of the nagging question of quality control and
efficacy. Unlike modern medicine, many natural medicines when not subjected to
strict regulatory control can contain wide variations in the quality and
effectiveness of the finished product. Key steps in quality control should begin
with good harvesting and agricultural practices, and include processing,
packaging and labeling to ensure efficacious, high-quality end products and the
safety of consumers.
Intellectual
Property Rights
The
subject of access to, use of and protection of traditional medicinal knowledge
has created a broad debate in many countries and in many international
organizations. This is a topic beyond the scope of this article, but suffice it
to say that there are a number of key issues for indigenous and local
communities to preserve and protect traditional knowledge as well as important
socio-economic, legal, environmental, and indigenous issues relevant for
policy-makers. There are changes required in existing Intellectual Property
regimes and a need for the development of new legislative models to protect
traditional knowledge. These changes must include the relationship between
research ethics (peculiar to individual research institutions) and intellectual
property ownership policies.
Many
traditional healers are hesitant to share their knowledge due to reports of
bio-piracy and out-right intellectual property theft. Positive examples must be
set, using a cooperative approach that provides appropriate compensation to the
knowledge holders and the communities that rely upon the medicinal resources. An
example of such a cooperative venture might include cultural heritage
documentation and the evaluation of traditional foods and medicines with the
results distributed freely back to the participating communities along with
adequate financial compensation and employment opportunities.
Conclusion
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Many
traditional healers are hesitant to share their knowledge due to reports
of bio-piracy and out-right intellectual property theft
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Biodiversity
and health are vitally inter-related and the conservation of healing resources
is a complex issue that extends well beyond the in-situ or ex-situ conservation
of medicinal plants. The communities that rely upon and utilize these resources
must be included in the conservation programs and their traditional knowledge
requires both respect and protection. Indeed this is a unique opportunity to
link three key poverty-related indicators: environment, rural development and
health.
The
healing resources that our planet provides include the traditional knowledge
systems that have evolved out of medicinal organisms and they need to be
cherished. Our sustainable existence on earth depends upon it!
References:
[1]
(UCLA News website Nov. 10th 2003: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/)
**
The
information and inspiration for this article evolved out of a
4-day symposium hosted in Ottawa, Canada in late October, 2003 by Tropical
Conservancy entitled
"Biodiversity and Health: Using and Sustaining Medicinal Resources. The
proceedings will be published by the National Research Council of Canada and
include a set of policy recommendations to the National and International
legislative bodies for the preservation of medicinal resources and traditional
knowledge.
*
Stephen
Aitken is the International Coordinator of Tropical
Conservancy and the Managing Editor of Biodiversity,
Journal of Life on Earth.
http://www.tc-biodiversity.org
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