Concerns regarding the conservation of medicinal plant species are receiving much attention due to overharvesting
and exploitation. Medicinal plant harvesting is a global concern as plants are the source of the majority
of medicines, either traditional or western, in the world. Millions of U.S. dollars of plant material are being

Having lived amongst several of the groups of indigenous peoples of Amazonia, I
have observed both the quantity of medicinal plants which they use and the efficacy
of many of their cures. I have been treated by these people for intestinal upsets,
parasites, cuts and bruises, headaches and other minor ailments and have personally