RE: herbal med / global ecology

[Guest guest]

 

jordanvv2001 [jordanvv]

herbal medicine and global ecology

 

....herbal medicine is responsible for widespread ecological damage

in China due to the mass harvesting of herbs which may be disrupting

the natural environment in many ways - habitat encroachment or

despoilment, and consequent loss of biodiversity, etc. Can any of you

address this question fairly?

 

 

Jordan et al.

 

There are certain herbs that have been over-harvested by wildcrafters in

past years. Ma huang is one example. Some of that continues today,

although there has been an effort by the Chinese gov't to improve management

of the supplies of material by developing cultivation strategies for herbs

that have been excessively wildcrafted. Some herbs have been difficult to

cultivate, like chai hu, so it has been more difficult to compensate for the

effects of supply and demand that influence wild harvesting practices. Some

of these situations cannot be changed overnight. For example, a new

cultivation base for Hou pu has been established in Zhejiang province.

However, by studying the quality of Hou pu grown in various parts of China,

we have found that the better quality Hou pu is obtained from older trees

growing on the sunny, south-facing slopes. So the newer cultivated Zhejiang

materials, which of course you will find available in the markets, will help

reduce questionable harvesting practices but may not result in good clinical

effects. It reminds me of the sales pitch: price, quality, service: pick

any two.

 

Stephen Morrissey

 

 

 

Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare

practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing

in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services,

including board approved online continuing education.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

In case anyone is interested, Ms Zhang, a colleague in Beijing, sent me the

following additional information about over-harvesting of wild-grown herbs:

 

Recently, the Chinese government adopted a regulation to protect the

environment from over-harvesting of wild herbs, especially in Inner

Mongolia, Ning Xia, and Gan Su provinces. In the past, mass harvesting of

herbs has significantly disrupted the natural environment in these areas.

Because of strong winds in these parts of China, sand and dust storms occur

that can travel across north China. In some cases the sand and dust even

travels as far as South Korea. Therefore, Chinese government banned the

collection of wild herbs, such as gan cao, in these areas.

 

Stephen Morrissey

 

Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare

practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing

in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services,

including board approved online continuing education.