South Africa, India share common vision for medicinal plant conservation: Minister | India News
India and South Africa have similar views on the need to protect medicinal plants and preserve biodiversity, South African deputy minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment Narend Singh said at a symposium in Durban.Organised by the Indian consulate in Durban, the event brought together experts in AYUSH — Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy — from both countries to explore opportunities for stronger collaboration in traditional and alternative medicine.Addressing the gathering as the keynote speaker on Saturday, Singh said the two nations had worked together to promote systems that uphold rights, ensure fairness and facilitate the equitable sharing of benefits derived from genetic resources and traditional knowledge.He stressed that the current generation has a responsibility to safeguard biodiversity so that future generations can continue to benefit from it.According to the South African National Biodiversity Institute, 262 indigenous plant species are used in traditional medicine in the country, accounting for approximately one-tenth of its total plant species.Singh warned that rising demand for medicinal plants in urban areas, coupled with unsustainable harvesting, climate change, drought, poverty and illegal trade, was putting growing pressure on these natural resources.“Town and city demand for these plants has outpaced what the wild can supply. Harvesting has become increasingly difficult and, at times, irresponsible. Drought and climate change are worsening the situation, while poverty encourages people to collect whatever they can sell. Some of this trade is also illegal,” he said, referring to the findings of South Africa’s 2024 red list of endangered plants.Highlighting the risks of excessive harvesting, Singh said 154 medicinal plant species commonly used in traditional practices were facing the threat of extinction, putting their distinctive genetic resources at risk, according to the news agency PTI.He emphasised that the loss of medicinal plants would also endanger the traditional remedies and knowledge associated with them. Singh called for greater efforts to cultivate medicinal species, replenish depleted resources and ensure their sustainable use.He said traditional knowledge could not be genuinely protected while the natural resources supporting it continued to be depleted. Responsible management of genetic resources and gene pools, he added, was essential to preserving medicinal plants for future generations.India’s Deputy high commissioner to South Africa, Banu Prakash, noted that South Africa possessed a rich legacy of traditional knowledge linked to medicinal and aromatic plants.“We were surprised to see the number of herbal products that are popular and being used here,” she said.
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While appreciating the South african government’s efforts to plant millions of trees in recent years, Prakash called for greater emphasis on planting species associated with Ayurvedic medicine.Another speaker, Shobhit Kumar, research officer (ayurveda) in the health and family Welfare vertical at NITI Aayog, said India did not view traditional medicine and modern medicine as competing approaches.Instead, he said, the focus was on finding ways for the two systems to complement each other for the wider public good.Kumar said traditional medicine could work alongside allopathic treatment to help advance the goal of universal health coverage.
