THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTALISTS ON THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS, FROM AN AYURVEDIC PRACTITIONER'S POINT OF VIEW

Abstract

The unique biological diversity of Sri Lanka is vital for the long term welfare of her ownpeople. But her natural forest cover which harbours a rich species diversity is dwindlingrapidly due to various reasons. It is customary for the traditional Ayurvcdic physicians ofSri Lanka to use plants as the major original source of drugs used in the treatment ofdiseases. However, there has been drastic decline in the availability of medicinal plants inSri Lanka since recent past. Therefore, this issue should be dealt with a multidisciplinaryapproach.A model survey was conducted in the Moneragala district in order to assess the hardshipsfaced hy the traditional physicians due to the scarcity of required varieties of plantingredients. Another survey was conducted among traditional physicians among riverandomly selected districts and also in ayurvedic pharmacies with the objective ofevaluating the status of demand of medicinal plants used for specific diseases usingdiabetes as a model. All these surveys were carried out using structured questionnaires.The outcome of these surveys strongly recommend that there is a great necessity tointegrate reforestation programmes with medicinal plant cultivation in order to cater to thedemand. Therefore. Sri Lanka needs a comprehensive strategy for the development of itsmedicinal plants. In our opinion. it is the responsibility of the environmentalists to adviseand guide the authorities concerned in preserving the medicinal plants which is ourNational heritage as well.