Recognized threats to wild harvested MAP species.

Recognised threats to wild harvested MAP species The Medicinal Plant Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) predicts that at least 15 000 plant species used in herbal products could be threatened, many as a direct result of unsustainable collection practices. This pattern is likely to continue into the future as a result of the costs (time, research, technology, land, and other agricultural inputs) of domestication and cultivation of species. Moreover, cultivation is not necessarily the most beneficial production system for many plant species. For many collectors, economic benefits and conservation incentives are derived from sustainable wild collection. Cultivation is unlikely to meet the demand for raw plant material, particularly for species that are slower growing, that are used in low volumes, that do not command sufficiently high and stable prices in the global market, or that are believed to be more potent in their wild form. 

Source: Adapted from The Convention on Biological Diversity, 2010.