Integrating endemic medicinal plants into the global value chains: the ecological degradation challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Though innovations for sustainable management of natural resources have emerged over time, the rising demand for nature based health solutions and integration of endemic flora into global value chains could have adverse impacts on ecosystems. The ecological risks in the exploitation of the wild endemic medicinal plant resources are exacerbated by a myriad of agrotechnological risks and challenges that highly constrain their domestication. Successful exploitation and commercialisation of medicinal plants thus require a clear understanding of their demand and production systems or value chain analysis. Accordingly there is need for innovative approaches towards their integration into global value chains. Since quality and safety, traceability, certification, as well as consumer tastes and preferences are critical drivers in purchasing decisions by global consumers, they are inadvertently exploited to weaken Indigenous knowledge (IK), undermine common property rights and entrench value chains that favour a few elite buyers. This tend to create pervasive incentives for overexploitation of medicinal plant resources and environmental degradation. Potential solution lies in the recognition of drivers of vulnerability to environmental degradation and the innovative use of policy bricolage, feedback loops and interactions between knowledge, power and agency on one hand, and collective action and property rights institutions on the other hand. We conceptualise a framework that can mediate a transformational agenda and enhance systematic understanding of sustainability lenses in endemic medicinal plant resources value chains. This could strengthen IK, enhance collective action and promote participation of local actors with positive impact on the utilisation and integration of endemic medicinal plant resources into global value chains.

Quality Control of Glehniae Radix, the Root of Glehnia Littoralis Fr. Schmidt ex Miq., Along its Value Chains

“…The global trade of medicinal plants and their derivatives was estimated at 33 billion USD in 2014, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that this will increase to 50 trillion USD by 2050. The export of medicinal plants in China increased eight-fold from 2010 to 2015 ( Pyakurel et al, 2018 ; Volenzo and Odiyo, 2020 ). Traditional Chinese medicines not only occupy an important position in the global medical field but are also used in dietary supplements, food, and other products ( Yao et al, 2018 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ).…”

Cultivation of Medicinal Plants by Smallholder Farmers in South Africa: Constraints to Commercialization

“…They also opined that cultivation of medicinal plants could contribute to the economic empowerment of women in rural areas. However, Volenzo and Odiyo (2020) pointed to the low benefits for growers of medicinal plants even in the face of increasing international trade, and attributed this to existing non-tariff barriers -such as health and safety requirements, and high transactional costs. Ndou et al (2019) investigated the medicinal plants value-chain in South Africa, and identified the various actors involved in the sector.…”

“…However, very few studies have explored the challenges of medicinal plants cultivation and commercialization among smallholder producers. There are myriad of risks and challenges inherent in the domestication of medicinal plants, which Volenzo and Odiyo (2020) claimed to require additional comprehension. Astutik et al (2019) considered this an amplification of the need for empirical investigation of medicinal plants production systems.…”

Selected Aspects Related to Medicinal and Aromatic Plants as Alternative Sources of Bioactive Compounds

“…The increased population led to a higher utilization of these plants, so their residues are proportional, with a huge amount of biomass generated as by-products [ 6 ], representing a growing market in the natural-based products [ 7 ]. The general use of MAPs all over the world is not homogenic, due to different factors: (i) in developed countries, even if the demand for natural treatments is high, profits of the growers and producers remain low because of the existing intermediaries which increase the price, as well as the lack of organization and networking by the poor collectors of medicinal plants from the wild; (ii) rigorous regulations and documentations requirements; and (iii) in less developed countries, there are poor traceability mechanisms from plant to population [ 8 ].…”