Abstract
Environmental challenges in various forms are posing a great threat not only to humans but also to the entire biodiversity. These environmental challenges are directly affecting the wild habitats. On the other hand, unsustainable use practices, overexploitation etc. are threatening the medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) in particular and biodiversity in general. The current study attempted to increase livelihood opportunities for plant collectors through sustainable production of MAPs and also to adopt new strategies for climate change mitigation. Methodology of the study was based on a series of consultative meetings with key resource persons and stakeholders of MAPs. It covered series of interventions including awareness-raising campaigns, capacity-building trainings on sustainable collection, control of post-harvest losses, marketing, introduction of standardized in situ and ex situ production techniques, fixing of harvest quotas for high-value MAPs. The authors generally observed climate base shifting of MAPs from low altitude towards alpine and subalpine regions. It was observed that sustainable production of MAPs will not only enhance local income generation opportunities for communities living in fragile ecosystems of Pakistan but will also act as an engine of economic development for the country’s economy and will also be used as a tool in the development of climate smart agriculture to address the global issues of climate change and food security. This study proved that sustainable MAP production is an appropriate approach for addressing the issues of climate change and dimensions of food security. It is recommended that with the active involvement of local community a species-specific conservation strategy be devised based on allocation of collection quota for further enforcement and proper management. Further study is required to evaluate the level of climate change effect on MAPs production based on supply and demand and according to the agro-ecological conditions of the country.
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Sher, H., Ali, H. (2022). Sustainable Use Practices of Medicinal Plants and Environmental Challenges: A Case Study in Pakistan. In: Aftab, T. (eds) Environmental Challenges and Medicinal Plants. Environmental Challenges and Solutions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92050-0_11
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