Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Classifying Medicinal Plant Collectors:Their Approach and Attitude


Affiliations
1 High Altitude Biology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur 176 061, India
 

Medicinal plant collection from the Himalayas is a key conservation issue that involves extraction of plants from the wild by collectors. While the word collectors is generalized, not all collectors are the same. In this paper, three types of collectors namely, professional, opportunist, and user have been identified. They have been compared with respect to how they perceive medicinal plants and what their approach is. Of the three categories, only the users consume the plants at source, while the other two are involved in trade. This is clearly reflected in the difference in their value chain. It has also been realized that while professionals and opportunists are buyer-driven, the user is producer-driven. Subtle differences between the three with respect to twelve parameters have been presented in the paper. Thus, a conservation and management policy that not only focuses on plants but also, diversity of people, is the need of the hour.

Keywords

Conservation, Extraction, Himalaya, Medicinal Plants, Plant Collectors.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Samant, S. S., Dhar, U. and Palni, L. M. S., Himalayan Medicinal Plants: Potential and Prospects, Gyanodaya Prakashan, Nainital, 2001.

  • Kala, C. P. and Sajwan, B. S., Revitalizing Indian systems of herbal medicine by the National Medicinal Plants Board through institutional networking and capacity building. Curr. Sci., 2007, 93, 797–806.

  • Planning Commission, Report of the task force on conservation and sustainable use of medicinal Plants, Government of India, 2000.

  • Olsen, C. S., The trade in medicinal and aromatic plants from Central Nepal to Northern India. Econ. Bot., 1998, 52, 279–292.

  • Sarin, Y. K., Principal Crude Herbal Drugs of India. An Illustrated Guide to Important Largely Used and Traded Medicinal Raw Materials of Plant Origin, Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, 2008.

  • Uniyal, A., Uniyal, S. K. and Rawat, G. S., Commercial extraction of Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth. in the Western Himalaya. Mt. Res. Dev., 2011, 31, 201–208.

  • Ved, D. K. and Goraya, G. S., Demand and Supply of Medicinal Plants in India, Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, 2008.

  • Rai, L. K., Prasad, P. and Sharma, E., Conservation threats to some important medicinal plants of the Sikkim Himalaya. Biol. Conserv., 2000, 93, 27–33.

  • Hamilton, A. C., Medicinal plants, conservation and livelihoods. Biodivers. Conserv., 2004, 13, 1477–1517.

  • Olsen, C. S. and Larsen, H. O., Alpine medicinal plant trade and Himalayan mountain livelihood strategies. Geogr. J., 2003, 169, 243–254.

  • Booker, A., Johnston, D. and Heinrich, M., Value chains of herbal medicines – research needs and key challenges in the context of ethnopharmacology. J. Ethnopharmacol., 2012, 140, 624–633.

  • Wankchuk, P. and Tobgay, T., Contributions of medicinal plants to the gross national happiness and biodiscovery in Bhutan. J. Ethnobiol. Ethnomed., 2015, 11, 48; doi:10.1186/s13002-015-0035-1.

  • Ghimiri, S. K., McKey, D. and Thomas, Y. A., Conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants. Harvesting patterns and ecology of two threatened species, Nardostachys grandiflora DC. and Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora (Pennell) Hong. Biol. Conserv., 2005, 124, 463–475.

  • Olsen, C. S., Trade in Himalayan medicinal plant product Picrorhiza-New data. Med. Plant Conserv., 2001, 7, 11–13.

  • Olsen, C. S., Trade and conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants: Nardostachys grandiflora DC. and Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora (Pennell) Hong. Biol. Conserv., 2005, 125, 505–514.

  • Schippmann, U., Leaman, D. J. and Cunningham, A. B., Impact of Cultivation and Gathering of Medicinal Plants on Biodiversity: Global Trends and Issues, Published in FAO, 2002. Biodiversity and the Ecosystem Approach in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Satellite event on the occasion of the Ninth Regular Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome, 12–13 October 2002. Inter-Departmental Working Group on Biological Diversity for Food and Agriculture, Rome, 2002.

  • Uniyal, S. K., Kumar, A., Brijlal and Singh, R. D., Quantitative assessment and traditional uses of high value medicinal plants in Chhota Bhangal area of Himachal Pradesh, western Himalaya. Curr. Sci., 2006, 91, 1238–1242.

  • Awasthi, A., Uniyal, S. K. and Rawat, G. S., Status and extraction patterns of Jurinea dolomiaea Boiss. (dhoop) in an alpine meadow of Kumaon Himalaya (Uttaranchal). Indian Forester, 2003, 129, 589–595.

  • Olsen, C. S. and Helles, F., Medicinal plants, markets and margins in Nepal Himalaya: trouble in paradise. Mt. Res. Dev., 1997, 7, 363–374.

  • Larsen, H. O., Commercial medicinal plant extraction in the hills of Nepal: local management systems and ecological sustainability. Environ. Manage., 2002, 29, 88–101.

  • Larsen, H. O. and Olsen, C. S., Unsustainable collection and unfair trade? Uncovering and assessing assumptions regarding Central Himalayan medicinal plant conservation. Biodivers. Conserv., 2007, 16, 1679–1697.

  • Uniyal, S. K., Awasthi, A. and Rawat, G. S., Current status and distribution of commercially exploited medicinal and aromatic plants in upper Gori Valley, Kumaun Himalaya (Uttaranchal). Curr. Sci., 2002, 82, 1246–1252.

  • Uniyal, S. K. and Datta, A., Nagchhatri – a plant in peril. J. Biodivers. Manage Forestry, 2012, 1, 1.

  • Uniyal, S. K., Bark removal and population structure of Taxus wallichiana Zucc. in a temperate mixed conifer forest of western Himalaya. Environ. Monit. Assess., 2013, 185, 2921–2928; doi: 10.1007/s10661-012-2760-4.

  • Dhar, U., Manjkhola, S., Joshi, M., Bhatt, A., Bisht, A. K. and Joshi, M., Current status and future strategy for development of medicinal plants sector in Uttaranchal, India. Curr. Sci., 2002, 83, 956–964.

  • Singh, H., Gahlan, P., Dutt, S., Ahuja, P. S. and Kumar, S., Why upischolar_main Picrorhiza kurrooa, an endangered medicinal herb? Curr. Sci., 2011, 100, 1055–1059.


Abstract Views: 385

PDF Views: 139




  • Classifying Medicinal Plant Collectors:Their Approach and Attitude

Abstract Views: 385  |  PDF Views: 139

Authors

Sanjay Kr. Uniyal
High Altitude Biology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur 176 061, India

Abstract


Medicinal plant collection from the Himalayas is a key conservation issue that involves extraction of plants from the wild by collectors. While the word collectors is generalized, not all collectors are the same. In this paper, three types of collectors namely, professional, opportunist, and user have been identified. They have been compared with respect to how they perceive medicinal plants and what their approach is. Of the three categories, only the users consume the plants at source, while the other two are involved in trade. This is clearly reflected in the difference in their value chain. It has also been realized that while professionals and opportunists are buyer-driven, the user is producer-driven. Subtle differences between the three with respect to twelve parameters have been presented in the paper. Thus, a conservation and management policy that not only focuses on plants but also, diversity of people, is the need of the hour.

Keywords


Conservation, Extraction, Himalaya, Medicinal Plants, Plant Collectors.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv113%2Fi11%2F2085-2089