ABSTRACT
Biodiversity has direct consumptive value in Agriculture, Medicine and Forestry. Biodiversity’s relevance to human health is becoming an international issue, as scientific evidence builds on the global health implications of biodiversity loss. This issue is closely linked with the issue of climate change, as many of the anticipated health risks of Climate change are associated with changes in biodiversity. A significant proportion of drugs are derived, directly or indirectly, from biological sources: at least 50% of the pharmaceutical compounds on the US market are derived from plants, animals, and micro-organisms, while about 80% of the world population depends on medicines from nature used in either modern or traditional medical practice for primary healthcare. Only a tiny fraction of wild species has been investigated for medical potential. Around 20,000 plant species are believed to be used for medicines in the developing world. In India the knowledge about medicinal value of plants has evolved in the form of traditional systems of medicine known as Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani.More than 8,000 species are used in some 10,000 drug formulations. The demand outstripping supply has put unreasonable pressure on our wild plant resources. Due to this, certain species are at risk of over exploitation and extinction (Basappanavar, 2009). The global plant based drug trade is projected at around US$62 billion with a 7% annual growth rate. An effective strategy for bio-prospecting formedicine from indigenous species will require careful floristic inventory, an understanding of traditional knowledge, habitatspecies relationship, identification of suitable genotypes, evolving bio-technological tools to conserve the species and patenting of potential medicinal species. Some of the health issues influenced by biodiversity include dietary health, nutrition security and spread of infectious diseases.
