North Africa has one of the oldest and richest traditions associated with the use of medicinal plants. Medicinal plants are important for the people of the region, especially in rural areas, as in many places, they are the only source of medicine available. Even in many urban areas, the prices of modern medicines are increasing, and people are turning back to traditional plant remedies.

The demand for medicinal plants is currently increasing in both developed and developing countries for various reasons. For some it would be the growing recognition that natural products have fewer or even no side effects; for others it would be their accessibility and affordable costs that would tip the scales.

Medicinal and aromatic plants are used as plants themselves or parts of plants or can be processed by distillation to become essential oils. They are used in pharmacy, cosmetology, perfumes and the food industry among others.

With increased demands for the resources available, a number of important plant species have become scarce in areas where they were previously abundant. If their collection and use is not regulated, some species may become threatened with extinction.

This is why a main focus for the North Africa Biodiversity Programme has been on the conservation of endangered and economically useful medicinal and aromatic plants. This approach provided strong basis for biodiversity conservation in general, and for the improvement of livelihoods of people living in and around areas where these plants are present.

The North Africa Biodiversity Programme was seeking to identify and conserve this important resource, safeguard the traditional knowledge related to its benefits and promote its sustainable use through community involvement. An important product is the compilation by all five North African countries of a compendium on medicinal plants with scientific information on the plants and description of their traditional usage. The experts involved in this work were Dr Farag Abdul Rahman, Dr Salima Benhouhou, Prof Rachid Chemli, Dr Zainab Ghrabi, Dr Faiza Hammouda, Dr Driss Lamnaouer and Prof Kamal Batanouny, who also acted as chair of the committee of experts. Other activities related to medicinal plants have taken place in the five countries.