The President of Global Pharmaceutical Firm, TASLY Pharmaceuticals International Company in Africa, Alex Zhang has lamented indiscriminate felling of trees across Ghana is posing a serious threat to the local herbal medicine industry.
World Conservation Monitoring Centre figures indicate that, Ghana lost an average of 135,400 hectares of forest per year as a result of change in Forest Cover between 1990 and 2000.
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The figure amounts to an average annual deforestation rate of 1.82 per cent.
Statistics also show that, between 2000 and 2005, the rate of forest change increased by 4.2 per cent to 1.8 per annum.
Ghana lost 25.9 per cent of its forest cover or around 1,931,000 hectares in total, between 1990 and 2005.
Meanwhile, Ghana is the third country in Africa with the highest rate of deforestation with a 2.19 per cent forest a year. This is according to a 2011 humanitarian study, published by Wood Products Trade Group, an international tropical timber organisation in Japan.
Nigeria posted a 4 percent rate while Togo leads with a lost average of 5.75 percent of its forests a year from 2005 through 2010.
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In view of this, Alex Zhang has called for strict environmental regulations to safeguard forest plant resources in order to sustain herbal medicine business.
“As an economy grows and population increases, people start cutting trees, China has a similar challenge in the spirit of industrialisation and now there are no plants to plant herbs and this is affecting the business, so Africa should take a lesson from China and be thinking of sustainability of trees”.
Mr. Zhang who doubles as the Managing Director of the TASLY Pharmaceuticals International Company in Africa, disclosed that his company’s research and development department intends to work with local farmers and train them on how to make money from their farms instead of cutting the trees for firewood etc.
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“There are lots of valuable things they can’t see in their plants. This is a waste of money and we want to teach them. I think Climate Change effects are a threat to herbs.”
As part of a network marketing services introduced in Ghana a year ago, TASLY is partnering local herbal manufacturer, such as Dinpa Natural Health Clinic in Kumasi and other parts of the country, in a public and stakeholder sensitisation on the patronage of herbal medicine.
President of the group’s Committee In charge of Ashanti Region, Alexander Asante says the initiative will see over 10,000 people gain employment in two years, saying the company has registered almost 2000 people, out of which about 400 were totally unemployed.
Mr. Asante who doubles as a Health Consultant emphasised the need for diligent diagnosis before drugs are administered to ensure a stronger industry.
“Accurate diagnosis is half a cure, accurate dosage then herbal medicine will go far and be globally accepted”.
He revealed this during a fast business development awards for employees, an event which is expected to become an annual one.