The Environmental Conservation, Legal and Ethical Issues concerning Herbal Products in Nigeria

Abstract

It has been widely reported that there have been rising cases of communicable and non-communicable disease, given the poor level of unhealthy lifestyle and disease outbreak from poor scientific laboratory management. It must be noted that Nigeria has also had its fair share of the rising cases of most infectious diseases. However, in quest of most persons affected by various communicable diseases in Nigeria, it has led finding a better solace and cures to these communicable diseases, by resulting to taking phytomedicine or herbal product. It suffices to state that the growing demand for herbal medicine in Nigeria in the cure or treatment of communicable diseases results from its natural, medicinal, and therapeutic effects. However, the increasing demand for the herbal product has resulted in indiscriminate plant harvest and various individuals not being skilled in the art of herbal medicine production to indulge in manufacturing a poor, harmful and low-quality herbal product. It must be noted that although the international community set out ethical guidelines concerning the the conservation of plant material and manufacturing of herbal medicine. It is in this regard that this study tends to examine the international legal framework concerning environmental conservation of plant material and, local legal and ethical framework concerning the production of herbal products in Nigeria.