CLARK FREEPORT — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is exploring possibilities for the sustainable utilization of forest plant species for medicinal purposes and health care during the three-day ASEAN Conference on Medicinal Forest Trees (ACMFT).
DENR brought together scientists, researchers, academic practitioners, and policy makers to share information and exchange knowledge on the use of available traditional medicine and other herbal products.
The conference aims to highlight the importance of forest resources, especially timber and non-timber species, in sustaining human health.
“As part of the Philippine government’s commitment to SDG 3 or ‘good health and well-being,’ we are compelled to secure the welfare and well-being of the Filipino people and share our best healthcare practices in other parts of the world,” Maria Lourdes Ferrer, DENR’s Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau director, said.
“In doing this, they are also urged to promote the conservation of our natural resources, which aligns with the SDG 15 or to protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reserve land degradation as well as biodiversity loss,” Ferrer added.
According to the ERDB Chief, medicinal forest species have a long history that is interwoven with a wide range of cultured and traditions.
The conference, in line with the government’s ”Matatag, Maginhawa at Panatag na Buhay” vision 2040, will highlight the maximization of use of the available traditional medicine and other herbal products within the ASEAN region.
In support of the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), experts from ASEAN and non-ASEAN member states are invited to present their studies on various themes such as Taxonomy and Ecology of Medicinal Forest Trees and Non-Timber Species Inside the Forest; Roles and Importance of Biotechnology; Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge Systems; and Policy Studies on Medicinal Forest Trees and Non-Timber Species Inside the Forest.