Page 14 - Proceedings of The Fifth Meeting of Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin
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                                                Welcome Remarks by
                                             DR. SUPHAN SRITHAMMA
                                                   Director-General
                    Department for Development of Thai Traditional & Alternative Medicine
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                          The 5  Meeting on Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin
                                                  5 September 2012
                                    IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center



               Distinguished Delegates from Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam and
               Thailand
               Distinguished guests
               Invited observers
               Ladies and Gentlemen,
               Good Afternoon,
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                       It gives me great pleasure and honour to be here at the opening of the 5
               Meeting on Indigenous Medicine in the Mekong Basin today.
                       On  behalf  of  the  Department  for  Development  of  Thai  Traditional  and
               Alternative Medicine, Ministry of Public Health, I have the honor to welcome all of
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               you  to  the  5   Meeting  on  Indigenous  Medicine  in  the  Mekong  Basin.    It  is  a
               privilege and an honor for our Department, the School of Medicine, Mahasarakarm
               University,  Chao  Phraya  Abhaibhubejhr  Hospital  to  host  this  significant  meeting
               during 5-7 September 2012 here in Nonthaburi, Thailand.  And I would like to thank
               all delegates for coming to participate in this meeting.
                       I am most delighted to meet top officials and administrators who play a vital
               role  in  the  conservation  of  indigenous  medicine  in  your  countries,  experienced
               researchers in the field of ethnomedicine, and well-respected folk healers from the
               neighboring countries of the Mekong Basin.  I wish to express my great appreciation
               for  your  cooperation  and  active  participation  in  sharing  information  on  indigenous
               medicine  in  your  countries  and  sharing  experience  of  your  practices  during
               showcase session in this meeting.
               Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen
                       As  mentioned  in  the  report  by  Dr.  Pramote  Stienrut,  the  Director  of  the
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               Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine a moment ago, this 5  Meeting is aimed to
               strengthen  and  step  up  the  collaboration  in  indigenous  medicine  to  an
               international level.  This is because it is known that the Mekong Basin is rich with
               ethnic  and  biological  diversity.    And  the  indigenous  medicines  of  various  ethnic
               groups and the tacit knowledge of folk healers on herbal medicines are very valuable
               traditional  knowledge  that  urgently  needs  to  be  studied  in  depth  and  well
               documented.    International  cooperation  and  collaborative  efforts  on  joint  research
               projects, the exchange of information and experience on indigenous medicine, and
               human  resource  development  will  help  accelerate  field  studies,  compilation,  and
               management  of  information  on  indigenous medicine  in  the  region.    Moreover,  the
               transformation of tacit knowledge of folk healers to explicit knowledge will open the
               door for further research in the future.  Only when we know well of what we have, be
               the  traditional  medical  knowledge  or  indigenous  medicinal  plants,  we  can  then
               formulate appropriate measures and effectively implement the plans
                            to conserve our traditional medical knowledge and protect our related
                              genetic resources from misappropriation and exploitation,
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