Ancient cures fading: Pakistan’s medicinal plants struggle for survival

By Akhtar Pathan

KARACHI, Pakistan (MNTV) – Last week, as the global community observed United Nations World Wildlife Day on March 3, botanists and traditional health experts in Pakistan – in line with this year’s theme of the day: “Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods” – raised alarm over the looming extinction of the country’s indigenous medicinal and aromatic plants.

They warned that indigenous medicinal plants — long relied upon as cheap or freely available remedies for low-income communities across South Asia — are facing serious existential threats from habitat loss, environmental degradation, over-harvesting, unsustainable collection, climate change and the erosion of traditional knowledge.

Adding to the pressure, they say, is a growing narrative that portrays alternative medicine as unscientific or outdated when compared with modern pharmaceutical treatment supported by advanced diagnostic technologies.

Experts argue such perceptions risk depriving poorer communities of time-tested and often affordable — sometimes even free — treatments for seasonal and chronic ailments that otherwise consume large portions of household income.

The dynamic follows a simple pattern, experts say: “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” As reliance on medicinal plants declines, traditional knowledge surrounding their harvesting and use fades from collective memory. Younger generations are increasingly disconnected from plant-based healing traditions, weakening social systems that once supported sustainable harvesting and conservation.

Medicinal plants form the foundation of traditional healing systems such as Unani medicine, Ayurvedic medicine and Islamic Tibb, as well as numerous indigenous folk practices across South Asia.

Beyond their cultural value, these plants are vital for community health, rural livelihoods and biodiversity. Yet experts say the pressures they face are mounting even as preservation efforts expand.

Herbs’ supply heavily reliant on import

Hakim Muhammad Munawar Sheikh, principal of Sindh Tibbiya College Hyderabad, said the fate of medicinal plants in Pakistan extends far beyond environmental concerns.

“These plants are living medicines,” Sheikh said. “If they disappear, communities lose not only affordable treatment options but also centuries of accumulated healing knowledge.”

Pakistan relies heavily on imported herbs for producing traditional medicines. According to Sheikh, only about 25% of medicinal plants used domestically come from local farmers, while roughly 75% are imported.

He attributes the imbalance partly to declining interest among younger generation in herb cultivation and plant identification — skills once passed down through practitioners and rural collectors.

Graduates of eastern medicine colleges rarely enter cultivation or harvesting, Sheikh said. Instead, most become practitioners who open clinics or herbal pharmacies. As a result, knowledge about identifying wild medicinal plants and harvesting them at the correct time is gradually fading.

Despite these concerns, commonly used herbs have not yet become scarce. Herbal pharmaceutical manufacturers and small-scale apothecaries generally obtain the plants they require without major disruptions. Importers currently ensure steady supply in the market, Sheikh said, but he cautioned that dependence on imports remains a fragile system.

“Imports may solve the problem today, but it is not a permanent solution,” he said, stressing that Pakistan should prioritize domestic cultivation of medicinal plants used in pharmaceutical production.

With most herbs sourced abroad, he said, neither government institutions nor farmers — and only a limited number of pharmaceutical companies — have focused seriously on large-scale cultivation.

Some firms grow herbs for their own manufacturing needs but rarely supply those crops to the broader local market. Meanwhile, educational institutions devoted to traditional medicine operate under financial constraints. Nearly 95% of eastern medicine colleges depend largely on student fees and receive little government funding or research support.

Companies including Qarshi Laboratories, Hamdard Laboratories and Ashraf Laboratories, along with several agricultural universities, have launched small-scale cultivation and research initiatives. However, Sheikh said these efforts remain largely independent and lack the national coordination needed to build a robust medicinal plant sector.

He believes a government-led strategy could strengthen traditional medicine and even generate export revenue. Public policy in Pakistan, he said, continues to focus overwhelmingly on conventional pharmaceutical treatment.

Public perception also plays a role. Many patients seek fast-acting pharmaceutical drugs even when they carry side effects, while herbal medicines — which often work gradually through natural processes — are sometimes overlooked. Sheikh said public awareness programs could help restore confidence in plant-based treatments.

Hakim Abdul Bari, a research and development professional and scholar of Unani and herbal medicine, said the supply chain for medicinal plants typically involves several layers of intermediaries.

Most practitioners purchase herbs from local suppliers who function as third-tier traders, he said. Farmers and wild herb collectors sell their harvest to nearby traders, who then pass the products to larger wholesale markets known for particular medicinal ingredients. From there the materials move to city-level markets before reaching pharmacies, clinics and manufacturers.

While the system continues to operate, Bari said obtaining high-quality herbs is becoming increasingly difficult due to multiple pressures.

Climate change and deforestation are shrinking natural habitats where medicinal plants grow. At the same time, rising global demand has increased exports of high-quality materials. Farmers and collectors often face exploitation by intermediaries, and inadequate storage and warehousing further affects quality and supply.

Unsustainable harvesting practices and habitat destruction have already pushed some medicinal plants toward extinction, Bari said, while others have disappeared from areas where they once grew naturally.

To address these challenges, he called for a national medicinal herbs policy, creation of a centralized plant database and the adoption of modern propagation techniques such as greenhouse cultivation. Building stronger links between farmers and industry is also critical.

Institutions such as the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and provincial forest departments’ non-timber forest product divisions are working on conservation and cultivation initiatives, Bari said, but their efforts need significant expansion given the scale of the challenge.

Training farmers and plant collectors, strengthening supply chains and supporting community development — particularly programs that empower women — are among the key priorities.

Bari also noted that awareness of the side effects associated with some modern medicines is prompting renewed interest in natural remedies. Although fast-paced lifestyles often drive people to seek quick pharmaceutical solutions, many eventually return to herbal treatments for longer-term approaches to health.

Major threats to medicinal plants

Experts say habitat loss remains the biggest threat. Rapid urban expansion, road construction, agricultural conversion of forests and rangelands, and unsustainable grazing are destroying natural environments where medicinal plants flourish.

Mountain ecosystems in northern Pakistan — including the Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindukush foothills — are particularly vulnerable.

Over-harvesting is another major concern. High-value species such as Saussurea costus (Kuth), Nardostachys jatamansi (Jatamansi) and Aconitum heterophyllum (Atis) are often collected at unsustainable rates. Harvesters sometimes uproot entire plants instead of using regenerative methods, preventing natural recovery.

Climate change adds further pressure. Altered rainfall patterns, rising temperatures and shifting seasonal cycles disrupt plant growth. Many medicinal species thrive only in narrow ecological niches, making them especially vulnerable to environmental shifts.

At the same time, the loss of traditional ecological knowledge reduces communities’ ability to manage and conserve these plants sustainably.

Species under pressure

Several key medicinal species in Pakistan are considered at risk.

Kuth and Jatamansi, widely used to treat digestive disorders, neurological conditions and chronic inflammation, are becoming increasingly scarce. Their decline not only threatens biodiversity but also limits affordable treatment options.

Juniper forests in the high mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan host unique medicinal plants, but overgrazing, fuelwood extraction and unregulated herb collection have reduced vegetation cover. Local women’s cooperatives are now establishing community nurseries to propagate native herbs and train young people in sustainable cultivation.

In Swat’s alpine meadows, Atis plants once grew abundantly and were traditionally used for fever and pain. Heavy commercial harvesting over the past two decades caused population crashes. In response, the University of Swat partnered with local councils to introduce rotational harvesting zones and seasonal collection bans, which are showing early signs of recovery.

In the deserts of Cholistan and Thar, species such as Tecomella undulata and wild cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.) are valued for wound healing and digestive treatments. Drought and overharvesting, however, are pushing these plants toward local extinction. NGOs have begun establishing desert botanical gardens where seeds are preserved and drought-resistant propagation techniques are taught.

Preservation efforts

In Pakistan, conservation of medicinal plants involves a patchwork of governmental, academic and community initiatives.

Federal and provincial agencies, including forest departments and the Ministry of Climate Change, manage protected areas and maintain plant databases and herbaria. In regions such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, farmers are encouraged to cultivate key medicinal plants as cash crops to reduce pressure on wild populations.

Legal protections exist for some endangered species, though enforcement is uneven.

Universities and research institutes document traditional knowledge and plant uses, providing scientific support for ethical cultivation. Local communities maintain herbal gardens and teach sustainable harvesting techniques, while NGOs restore habitats, plant seedlings and raise awareness about over-harvesting.

Seed-banking programs are also being developed to preserve genetic diversity.

A fragile future

Experts say medicinal plants are more than forest resources — they are part of South Asia’s healthcare system, cultural identity and rural economy.

Protecting them requires coordinated policy, scientific research, community participation and economic incentives for sustainable cultivation.

Without such systemic reforms, experts warn that continued over-exploitation could push several valuable species toward extinction within a generation. With strategic action, however, the region could transform its medicinal plant sector into a model of ecological and economic sustainability.