National strategy to boost herbal industry

The International Advisory Panel (IAP) for the development of the herbal industry in Malaysia, in conjunction with the Malaysian Government, non-Government organisations (NGOs) and the private sector have come up with "The Kelantan Declaration" outlining the way forward.

The group which met in Kota Baru on November 1 and 2, had identified seven element for a national strategy on conservation, cultivation and the development of Malaysia’s medicinal and herbal wealth.

A copy of the declaration was made available to the Business Times.

It said the first undertaking would be to establish a national task force from private and public sector to oversee the implementation of the national strategy for developing the herbal industry.

The second element will involve documenting in full the national treasury of medicinal plants including computerised data bases on the traditional herbal knowledge trade and agriculture.

The group also proposed to design a national on-site conservation programme linked to a sustainable herbal cultivation strategy.

The fourth initiative would be to establish a network of herbal products research and training centres of excellence in both public and private sector linked collaboratively to international institutions.

Product development, clinical evaluation and horticultural research will be priority areas, the group added.

Addressing the commercial side of it, the group is also committed to developing a comprehensive and integrated investment development and regulatory framework to promote the rapid growth of the Malaysia herbal industry so that Malaysia will become a world leader in the field.

The group said Malaysia will lead the field by the establishment of a Gold Standard for all level of production research and marketing. A Gold standard is the highest standard in the world for something and a benchmark against which the rest of the world uses in reference to their own quality and processes.

Finally the declaration said the group is committed to establishing an intellectual property rights framework to protect Malaysia’s traditional herbal knowledge and bio-resources.

According to the World Health Organisation estimates, the present demand for medicinal plants is about US $14 billion (US$1 = RM3.80) a year and projected demand by the year 2050 is US$5 trillion.

At the moment Malaysia is not even on the top 10 list of either exporter or importer while Singapore, with little biodiversity of its own is the fourth largest exporter in the world and the ninth largest importer.

IAP chairman Dr Gerard Bodeker told Business Times in an interview in Kuala Lumpur recently that this is the first time in the world that a country has taken a broad-based multi sectoral approach to creating a national strategy for the fast track development of the herbal industry.

Bodeker who is also the Chairman of the Global Initiative for Traditional Systems of Health, an international health policy collaborative based at the Institute of Health Sciences at the oxford University, UK added:

" As far as I’m aware there has not been an occasion where there has been a widespread consultative process across public and private sector in conjunction with international experts to ensure that the best possible strategy is developed," he said.

The two-day meeting was attended by the IAP members as well as national delegates from agriculture health and entrepreneur development and trade ministries, NGOs and rural development groups.

" I think this is also the first time I’ve ever came across a situation where a country has committed itself to developing its herbal industry not only to the highest standard, but creating a Gold Standard that sets the standard for the world," Bodeker said.

THE 12 LEADING COUNTRIES OF IMPORT AND EXPORT FOR MEDICINAL PLANTS (NH 12.11)

Source : Jennifer Jacobs, Business Times, 9/11/1999