Herbal medicine has served communities for generations, providing remedies derived from plants and trees whose medicinal uses have been passed down through indigenous knowledge.
But this longstandingeforestation and agricultural expansion destroy the natural habitats that sustain medicinal plants
For Dr. Lydia Kemunto Matoke, who runs Hope Natural Healthcare Center, the threats are no longer a distant environmental concern but a reality affecting her ability tos
Unpredictable rainfall, excessive heat and flooding have disrupted the availability of plants she once harvested in plenty, while the clearing of indigenous trees for agriculture and human settlement is making some traditional medicinal re
“Climate change has really affected us, especially those who live in the Rift Valley, where at times we used to have much rain. These days you find that the rains are coming in the wrong season. At the same time, the heat and the sun are becoming too much,” she says.
For a practitioner whose work depends on the availability of medicinal plants, changing weather patterns have made harvesting increasingly unpredictable.
Plants that were previously collected in abundance are becoming harder to find, while flooding sometimes destroys areas where medicinal creepers and other useful plants grow.
“The harvest which we used to get in plenty, these days is different. Sometimes the rains come and there are floods. Where you expected to go and get some creepers, which are very good medicines, you find that they are not there,” Dr. Matoke says.
The declining availability of medicinal plants is also affecting her income, with shortages sometimes leaving her unable to meet patient demand. She explains that when patients visit her clinic seeking herbal remedies but the necessary raw materials are unavailable, she loses business.
According to Dr. Matoke, there are occasions when demand for particular herbal remedies exceeds the quantities of raw materials her suppliers can provide, forcing her to miss out on business.
The problem is also being experienced by herbal-product traders who depend on forests and other natural habitats for their supplies. Kui Anne of Umai Organics says that the growing difficulty of finding some medicinal herbs has forced her to venture deeper into forests to obtain the plants needed for her products.
The longer journeys illustrate how scarcity is increasing the effort required to maintain supplies. She also says changing weather patterns are affecting the processing of herbs. During some months, the plants take longer than usual to dry, delaying the preparation of products for sale.
“Delays in processing affect how quickly products are prepared and supplied to customers. Adding another layer of difficulty for businesses that depend on a steady supply of dried medicinal plants,” says Anne.
But climate change is not the only threat facing Kenya’s medicinal plant reth are also contributing to the disappearance of indigenous trees that have supported traditional healthcare for generations
Dr. Njoroge Gideon Kimani, a medic and academician specializing in phytotherapeutics, warns that the destruction of indigenous forests also leads to the loss of valuable medicinal species, some of which take years to mature and cannot easily be replaced.
Dr. Kimani says forests are not only important for maintaining biodiversity but also serve as reservoirs of medicinal plants that could contribute to future pharmaceutical research.
One of the species facing increasing pressure is Prunus Africanapopularly known as Muiri, a medicinal tree whose survival is threatened by habitat destruction and unsustainable harvesting.
“Once you destroy the forest, you are also destroying thears to grow, and when you remove their bark or roots, you may end up killing the entire plant,” he explains
The growing demand for land for settlement and agriculture is adding to the pressure on indigenous forests, with some medicinal trees disappearing as natural habitats are cleared.
Dr. Matoke says she has witnessed the loss of medicinal species in areas where they were previously readily available. She cites Warburgia ugandensis, an indigenous tree traditionally used in herbal preparations for respiratory conditions, which she says was once common in villages in parts of Kisii.
She also identifies Kigelia Africana popularly known as Muratina another indigenous tree traditionally used in different herbal preparations, including those associated with women’s reproductive health.
“Some of these trees have been cleared to create space for tea and coffee farming, while others have disappeared as settlements expand,” she says.
The loss of these plants is particularly worrying because medicinal trees can take years to mature, making it difficult for practitioners to replace them quickly once they are destroyed.
Dr. Kimani says protecting indigenous forests should therefore be recognized as part of efforts to safeguard traditional medicine reearch into plant-based compounds, particularly as scientists explore their potential applications in developing pharmaceutical products
However, the environmental threats extend beyond climate change and deforestation. Dr. Kimani also raises concerns about the use of organophosphate pesticides, warning that agricultural chemicals could contaminate medicinal plants and potentially introduce harmful residues into products intended for human consumption.
This is particularly concerning where medicinal plants are grown alongside food crops or harvested from areas exposed to chemical pesticides.
“There is a need for proper standards to guide the cultivation, harvesting and processing of herbal medicines to ensure their safety and protect consumers from potential contamination,” says Dr. Kimani.
But what are herbalists doing to remain in business? Dr. Matoke says that she has turned to research and is working with farmers to identify alternative
Rather than depending entirely on trees that are becoming increasingly difficult to find, she is encouraging farmers to grow smaller medicinal plants that can be harvested several times a year.
“One of the plants I am promoting is black jack, which farmers can cultivate and harvest four or five times annually. I am also encouraging farmers to avoid wasting agricultural materials that could be useful in her practice,” she says.
For examples she encourages farmers who harvest avocados for local consumption or export to collect the seeds rather than discard them, as she has found a use for them in her herbal preparations.
The approach is intended to establish a more reliable supply of raw materials while reducing dependence on some of the indigenous trees that are becoming increasingly scarce.
“I went back to class to do new research to see which plants can be available now that the main plants are disappearing,” she says.
According to Dr. Kimani, cultivating medicinal plants could also help reduce pressure on wild populations, particularly where harvesting roots and bark damages or kills trees.
He advocates for the domestication of medicinal species, documentation of indigenous knowledge and stronger conservation measures to ensure that valuable plants are not lost.
Both practitioners also believe that Kenya’s conservation and tree-growing programmes should give greater attention to medicinal plants. Dr. Matoke wants the government to deliberately include indigenous medicinal species in its tree-planting initiatives, arguing that restoring tree cover should also secure the natural re
She argues that medicinal plants should account for a substantial proportion of the trees planted under government restoration programmes.
For Dr. Kimani, protecting indigenous forests must go hand in hand with scientific research and proper regulation of traditional medicine.
“Documenting medicinal plants and working with communities that hold indigenous knowledge could help preserve information about their uses while allowing researchers to investigate their safety and effectiveness,” he notes.
