Conserving medicinal species : securing a healthy future

Wild plant species are used for medicine in most countries of the world. A recent survey conducted by members of the Medicinal Plant Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission suggests that 72,000 species of higher plants are used medicinally worldwide, approximately 17% of the world’s higher plant flora. This publication contains a series of papers presented during the Global Synthesis Workshop on “Biodiversity loss and species extinction: managing risk in a changing world” held at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Bangkok, Thailand in 2004 and recognizes the importance of medicinal plants and other components of biodiversity to human welfare.