PESHAWAR: Dr. Khalid Khan, a renowned environmentalist and founder of PlanetPlus has emphasised the urgent need to protect biodiversity hotspots, regulate harvesting practices and reduce emissions to safeguard medicinal and aromatic plants that are serving as a natural pharmacy by supporting human health, preserving cultural heritage and sustaining millions of livelihoods worldwide.

In a message issued on Tuesday in connection with World Wildlife Day with a theme Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving health, heritage and livelihoods, Dr. Khalid said climate change and unsustainable practices are pushing this natural pharmacy towards crisis.

There is an urgent need for conservation efforts because about 50,000 plus plant species are used in traditional and modern medicines.

Around 1.6 billion people depend on forest for health and livelihood while 80 percent of world’s population relies on plants based remedies.

Around 26 percent of global plant species are threatened as extreme events and wildfires are causing large-scale habitat destruction, fragmentation of biodiversity hotspots, he added.

Regarding impact of medicinal plants on wildlife, Dr. Khalid said these plants are ecosystem anchors and their loss is affecting pollinators including bees, butterflies, forest birds, mammals and soil microbes.

With 2 degree celsius warming there is a threat of decline of 30 to 50 percent in tropical medicinal plants, he warned.

Dr. Khalid said on the occasion of World Wildlife Day, we as a nation should renew our resolve of protection environment and biodiversity by reducing unsustainable practices.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2026