VietNamNet Bridge – Medicinal plants, once prevalent on Hoang Lien Son Mountain in Son La Province, are facing extinction because of uncontrolled harvesting by traders, according to experts.

Most of the plants are being sold to China, where about 60% of the herbs were originally imported from.

Dinh Van My, head of the Sa Pa Herbal Medicine Research Station, says the plants are popular because they can be sold for hundreds of thousands of dong.

"Even a small amount of coptis sinensis, panax pseudo ginseng or Ngu Diep ginseng will get between VND200,000 (US$12) and VND500,000 (US$30), he says. Around 40 species of medicinal plants have completely vanished and at least 10 more are on the verge of extinction, said My.

If this trend continues to grow, there won't be any herbs left to sell.

"All kinds of precious herbal medicine will simply disappear." said My.

Traders, however, are more concerned about feeding their families than worrying over the future of these herbs in Vietnam.

Hau A Viet, a medicine dealer, says his family always goes into the jungle when the plants are ready to be picked.

On a good day, his family can earn more than enough money to eat and live comfortably for months, he says.

Nguyen Quoc Tri, director of Hoang Lien Son National Park, admits this is a major problem in the area.

He says it's difficult to stop dealers because there aren't enough forest officials to police the more than 10,000 households living in or around the park from Ho Village, Lao Chai, Ta Van and Giang Ta Communes.

My and Tri are asking that stricter penalties be put in place to curb the uncontrolled trade of these plants to protect them for future generations.

(Source: Viet Nam News)