Jordan allocated $5m plant grant
The World Bank has approved a US$5m (€4.4m) grant from the Global Environment Facility to help Jordan conserve medicinal and herbal plants. Fundamental to local health practices, 'over-harvesting and over-grazing combined with increasing demand have led to depletion of natural stocks in the wild', said senior environmental specialist Nicole Glineur.
A total of 485 species of medicinal plants belonging to 99 families have been recorded in Jordan, which spends $10m (€8.8m) annually on medicinal and herbal plant imports. The Plant Conservation Project will help manage the wild genetic resource base of plants, reduce threats and identify strategic biodiversity areas while establishing a database, gene pool and monitoring system.
Most commonly used in Jordan and under scrutiny are: teucrium polium; citrullus colocynthis; artemisia judaica; achillia fragrantissima; anthemis cotula; euphorbia; paronychia; ecballium; thymus; ricinus communis and others. Plants are distributed countrywide, used in folk medicine, as beverages or chewed.