Lei Jufang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: Promote the Protective Development of Ethnic Medicinal Resources

Release time:

2016-03-09 10:15

　　Ms. Lei Jufang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairwoman of Qizheng Tibetan Medicine, is attending this year’s Two Sessions.

　　“Ethnopharmaceuticals are an important component of China’s traditional medicine and have made indispensable contributions to the health of the Chinese people—and indeed, people all over the world. They particularly possess unique advantages in the treatment of some complex and challenging illnesses, serious diseases, and chronic conditions,” said Lei Jufang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairwoman of Qizheng Tibetan Medicine, in an interview with reporters.

　　As a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) for two consecutive terms, Lei Jufang has submitted more than 50 proposals to the CPPCC over the past eight years—90% of which have focused on issues related to ethnic medicine. She believes that a key feature of ethnic medicine is its use of plant-based medicinal materials. In recent years, resource challenges have consistently been viewed as a “bottleneck” in the development of the ethnic medicine industry. Consequently, the proposal Lei Jufang is bringing to this year’s Two Sessions has attracted considerable attention.

　　Lei Jufang detailed to reporters the problems she had identified during her research: The number of biological resource species and their reserves in Tibet remain unclear; the ecological environment, ecological development patterns, sustainable research and management approaches, as well as rational conservation and efficient utilization models related to the sustainable development of the autonomous region’s biological resources have yet to be fully understood; and the measures for the sustainable development of biological (ecological) resources are relatively limited, with conservation and development still at an early stage. These three issues have consistently posed challenges for the government, industry regulators, and the business sector. As a result, differing views have emerged regarding Tibetan medicinal plant resources, causing varying degrees of disruption to the development of specialized industries.

　　Recently, the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other organizations have conducted pioneering explorations in Nepal and Yunnan Province, China, focusing on mountain biodiversity research and the sustainable development of native resources. The successful models and case studies emerging from these efforts are particularly noteworthy. Lei Jufang believes that these advanced experiences and successful cases offer a brand-new set of concepts and approaches for conducting research on the sustainable development of ethnic medicinal resources.

　　How can we promote the conservation-oriented development of China’s ethnic medicinal resources? Lei Jufang suggests conducting surveys of ethnic medicinal resources to gain a comprehensive understanding of the status of commonly used species as well as rare and endangered ones. Moreover, standards should be established at the very outset of market access: drugs containing endangered plant resources should be excluded from the National Essential Medicines List. We should also invite renowned international and domestic research institutions and expert teams to join China’s efforts in the conservation and sustainable development of ethnic medicinal materials. Additionally, it is important to appropriately broaden participation and strengthen the translation of findings from resource surveys and conservation efforts into practical socio-economic applications. Finally, we need to further refine and enhance the standardization research process for China’s ethnic medicinal resources.

　　News Source: Tibet Daily

　　News link: http://info.tibet.cn/news/xzxw/szfl/201503/t20150304_2357709.htm

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