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Useful links
Report of a Working Group on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants.
Third Meeting,
26–28 June 2007, Olomouc,
Czech Republic
PART I - DRAFT
(PDF file 276KB)
Report of a Working Group on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Second Meeting,
16-18 December 2004, Strumica, Macedonia FYR
PART I - DRAFT
(PDF file 282KB)
PPoint presentations
Workplan agreed in June 2007
MAP Descriptor List (working document, 0.3MB)
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
Working Group members
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
Meetings & Reports
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Background information
The proposal to establish a Working Group on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) was
advanced at the first meeting of the Minor Crops Network Coordinating Group, in June 1999 in Turku,
Finland. During its eighth meeting, in October 2001, the ECPGR Steering Committee agreed on the
establishment of this Working Group. The MAP Working Group met for its first time in Gozd Martuljek,
Slovenia, September 2002. A second meeting was held in Skopje, Macedonia, 16-18 December 2004, jointly
with the SEEDNet MAP Working Group meeting. The third meeting of the WG took place in Olomouc,
Czech Republic, on 26-28 June 2007. (See: Part I - draft report [here]).
The Group is expected to contribute to the development of the conservation strategy of MAPs at the
European level. Legislative limitations, implemented by EU trade regulations on endangered MAPs and
low knowledge of biological conditions and biodiversity status urge for coordinated action and
involvement of European experts and scientists.
Scope of the WG activities
What are MAPs?
The Group agreed that definitions were needed for "medicinal and aromatic plants" and the following
were approved temporarily:
• Medicinal plants are plants used in official and traditional medicine
• Aromatic plants are plants used for their aroma and flavour
Geographical origin of MAP species
The WG will consider autochthonous European species (of which the centre of origin is located in
Europe) and species which were domesticated in Europe or are well adapted to European ecological
conditions.
European Status of MAPs
In Europe, at least 2000 MAP species are used on a commercial basis, of which 1200
- 1300 are native to Europe. The increased global interest in the use of MAPs, and the increasing
demand on raw materials by various processing industries (pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic, perfume,
etc.) have resulted in a vast and expanding market in the last decade. In western Europe alone,
medicinal plant consumption is estimated to have doubled in the past decade.
Increasing demand for MAPs is placing pressure on natural resources, since most species used are
still collected in the wild. According to Traffic International (Lange, 1998), 90% of MAPs native
to Europe are collected from the wild for commercial use. The reason lies in the lower prices of
wild collected plant material when compared to those of cultivated plant material. Uncontrolled
over-exploitation of wild plants in trade, their habitat-loss and alteration are the main reasons
why medicinal plants, their study, evaluation, utilization and conservation have become essential
parts of the programmes of international organizations such as WHO, IUCN and WWF.
Conservation programmes
Guidelines on the conservation of medicinal plants, prepared by WHO, IUCN and WWF
in 1993, provide guidelines for national strategies and outline the role of international
organizations in the conservation and sustainable utilization of MAPs. As a result of the national
development programmes in some European countries the acreage covered by MAPs is gradually increasing.
Sustainable use of MAPs in Europe can be achieved by further introduction of "wild" plants into
cultivation. Still only 130-140 plant species are estimated to be cultivated in the European area.
The inventory and monitoring of endangered MAP species and their ex situ
maintenance, the study of intra-specific diversity, the assessment of threats, preparation of
relevant descriptors and successive evaluation of ecotypes are just some of the research programmes
that would contribute knowledge on current genepools of MAPs and the degree of vulnerability in
individual countries.
See article:
Conservation strategies for medicinal and aromatic plants, P. Skoberne.
Report of a Working Group on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. First meeting — 12-14 September 2002 —
Gozd Martuljek, Slovenia, pp.14-18
See abstract:
Sustainable use of medicinal and aromatic plants in Europe, S.F. Schmitt and S. Honnef.
Report of a Working Group on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. First meeting — 12-14 September 2002 —
Gozd Martuljek, Slovenia, pp.19-20
Long-term tasks
Inventory of MAP genetic resources in Europe
Knowledge about available wild genetic resources is rather scarce. An inventory needs to be
prepared of MAP distribution and abundance at a European level.
Conservation of MAP genetic resources in Europe
According to the country reports presented, a very high proportion of European MAP species on the
market is gathered from the wild. The existing legislation at national and European levels does
not sufficiently prevent the unsustainable exploitation of MAP natural resources. Only a limited
number of species are officially protected but other important MAP species may be endangered.
These species must be identified, conserved (in situ and/or ex situ) and proposed for
official protection.
Characterization/evaluation of MAPs: development of descriptors at genus level
MAP species differ substantially from other crops (where descriptors are available) due to their
content and high variability of secondary metabolites in different environments. The Group agreed t
hat characterization is only possible when descriptors (at the genus level) are defined and that it
would be important to prepare a standard list of descriptors to harmonize the data recording
methodology, to increase reliability of recorded data and to eventually facilitate data exchange.
Development of a central MAP database
The WG agreed that access to and sharing of information on European MAPs would be greatly enhanced
by the creation of a MAP database.
Coverage
Given the large number of species concerned, a list of ten priority species has been selected
[see: Appendix I]. It was also agreed that the data
format should ensure compatibility with the EURISCO catalogue, i.e.
FAO/IPGRI Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors list, with the 6 additional descriptors defined
for EURISCO.
For more information or comments:
Please contact the Chair of the Working Group:
Ms Dea Baričevič [click here]
and Vice-Chair:
Ms Ana Maria Barata da Silva [click here]
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