Medicinal Plants Act.

This Act is divided into 6 Chapters, Additional and Transitional and Concluding provisions and 1 Annex. Chapter 1 deals with general requirements. Chapter 2 sets out the main obligations as regards the conservation of medicinal plants. Chapter 3 provides for the exploitation of medicinal plants. Chapter 4 regulates the management of the medicinal plants, as well as the competent authorities and their rights and duties. Chapter 5 deals with the control requirements. Chapter 6 provides administrative penalty provisions.
The Act regulates the management, conservation and sustainable exploitation activities with regard to medicinal plants, including the collection and buy-out of herbs obtained thereof. The Act envisages the drawing up of a National Strategy on the Conservation of Medicinal Plants, which will specify requirements to the policy, plans and programmes in economic sectors or activities, in order to ensure conservation of habitats, biodiversity of medicinal plants and of their resources within the natural environment. The elaboration of a specialized map and register of medicinal plants are also envisaged, which aim to supply data on the location, boundaries, size and ownership of habitats, the conservation status of medicinal plants, the quantity of reserves and the level of exploitation of their resources. The competent authorities are the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Regional Governors and municipality mayors.