IN MADAGASCAR, people trek through the bush for three days to strip valuable
bark from the rare Prunus africana tree. On the slopes of Mount Cameroon, locals
have been felling P. africana at eight times the rate of regrowth, to sell bark
to a French company. At this rate the tree will be extinct within a decade, say
experts in wildlife trade. So at last week’s CITES meeting, P. africana, along
with 13 other plants, was given new protection by the convention. The move
signals increasing concern over trade in medicinal plants.
The bark of P. africana contains an ingredient…
