An interesting article from Radio Netherlands shows us the plight of native medicinal species in Sri Lanka. It's a devastating problem, with the forest cover shrinking from 50% to only 22% of the island. However, the aren't alone. The United Plant Savers "At Risk" and "To Watch" list of medicinal plants seems to grow larger too frequently.

Perhaps a plan as being enacted in Sri Lanka would be beneficial here in the West?

[This proposition] is already being carried out in the action plan for biodiversity conservation, set up by the Sri Lankan government and the World Conservation Union. The scheme aims to conserve the most important and endangered herbal medicines in the wild. It actively reaches out to local communities that live near the forest, to motivate them to start cultivating significant medicinal species, and it wants to provide a legal framework for issues such as intellectual property rights and the preservation of ancient medicinal knowledge.