23/04/03

Protecting Africa’s medicinal plants

By: Janice Limson

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<h1>Protecting Africa’s medicinal plants</h1>
<h4>By: Janice Limson</h4>
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<p>Traditional healers and South African hunter-gatherers have long known that the root of the plant <em>Pelargonium reniforme</em> can cure stomach ailments.<BR><BR>But the unsustainable and indiscriminate removal of indigenous plants, such as <em>Pelargonium</em>, and the export of these plants abroad, is threatening their survival.<BR><BR>New laws are needed to protect traditional knowledge and indigenous plants in South Africa — and to allow Africa to harness its biodiversity for Africa.<BR><BR><a href="http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2002/june/pelarg.htm" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to full article</A></p>

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<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/features/protecting-africas-medicinal-plants-ssa/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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Traditional healers and South African hunter-gatherers have long known that the root of the plant Pelargonium reniforme can cure stomach ailments.

But the unsustainable and indiscriminate removal of indigenous plants, such as Pelargonium, and the export of these plants abroad, is threatening their survival.

New laws are needed to protect traditional knowledge and indigenous plants in South Africa — and to allow Africa to harness its biodiversity for Africa.

Link to full article