Medicinal and Aromatic Plants’ Productivity and Sustainability Monitoring Framework

Aims: To establish a programmatic framework facilitating all stakeholders harmonize their approaches and methodologies in ensuring sustainable management of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants.

Study Design: Combination of semi-structured interviews, questionnaire, and direct observation research methods.

Place and Duration of Study: Selected towns and villages in South Western States of Nigeria between January 2010 and June 2012.

Methodology: ‘Participatory approach’ adopted to explore individual perceptions, values and attitudes through in-depth interviewing and administration of semi-structured questionnaires with open-ended pertinent questions for all stakeholders’ joint inputs. 413 stakeholders (General Practitioners with Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) knowledge, CAM practitioners with biomedicine knowledge, pharmacists, MAPs consumers, and community members), 127 Parks and Gardens government officials, 58 conservation scholars/researchers, and 14 legal practitioners on MAPs conservation were interviewed to perform stakeholder analysis. Model-driven engineering tools were used to create the static behaviour aspects of MAPs management. A logistic productivity and sustainability potential of a village medicinal plants harvesting was simulated with a written software.

Results: CAM practitioners demanded appropriate information on the sustainable use of MAPs. Regulatory/government body ensured stakeholders’ compliance with the laws governing harvesting of MAPs, while reducing or avoiding policies/political changes that could result in MAPs’ loss. Doctors/nurses showed interest seeking integration of conventional medical practice with MAPs-based therapies. Pharmacists expressed interest exploring MAPs for new therapeutics. Scholars/researchers demanded research grants/funding from governments and their research findings’ implementation.

Conclusion: Coordination among different stakeholders, significant involvement of the parks management, improvement in national education standards, and a legal framework that provides a basis for co-management agreements that constitute critical success factors needed to implement viable and sustainable conservation agreements within the program. MAPs’ productivity and sustainability demand individual and collective responsibilities from all stakeholders for better management of ecosystem and public health in a viable option using a ‘participation model’.