It is important that traditional healers, and gatherers grow their own plants. Alternative supplies to collecting from the wild are being investigated. For example, it is possible to rescue plants from development sites such as dams, and new farm and forestry lands. Most of the gatherers of medicinal plants are women who are forced to over-exploit the resource as one of their few income earning options. An improvement in both the economy and education will give these women a greater range of job opportunities from which to choose, hopefully relieving some of the pressure on medicinal plants as a source of income.
Negotiations are underway to integrate traditional practitioners into formal medical structures.
The proposed accreditation would bring recognition and approval of their important role. It would also allow for ongoing training of traditional practitioners in all areas, including the sustainable use of the plants upon which their practice is totally dependant. The development of patent or pharmaceutical medicines with the same name and action as their herbal counterparts might take the pressure of wild supplies. The results of over-exploitation of medicinal plants is felt first by those involved with traditional healing, either as collectors, traders, traditional practitioners and herbalists. Traditional medicines also have the potential to form the basis of pharmaceutical drugs for the treatment of a range of diseases.