The Western Himalaya is a 'biodiversity hotspot' containing many rare species of medicinal herbs. Many of the most valuable species grow at high altitudes where, due to long winters and heavy snowfall, the medicinal properties are normally concentrated in the underground parts of the plant
The future of many of these species is under serious threat due to wide-spread over-harvesting. Reasons for this include increasing commercialisation and competition, rapidly growing demand and lack of alternative sources of income
Traditional knowledge of the medicinal uses of herbs is increasingly becoming limited to a minority of elders in the villages. The younger generation either have little interest or have no access to information on the herbs; their knowledge is mostly confined to the species that have market value
Most herbs are sold to traders in Kullu, Amritsar and Delhi, where the only clue that the harvest quantities are unsustainable comes in the form of reduced supply and increased cost, which at this point is normally understood in terms of economics rather than ecolog
Above are some of the threatened species of medicinal plants growing in the Kullu District. They are, from left to right, Aconitum heterophyllum, Picrorhiza kurroa, Nardostachys jatamansi, Podophyllum hexandrum. All of the above species are listed under appendix II of CITES
The question is; how to conserve these plant species? Different approaches include: natural habitat protection, sustainable production (controlled collection, 'enrichment plantations', ex-situ cultivation), alternative livelihood options for herb collectors, botanical gardens, education & awareness, research, policy, value addition & fair trade. In most cases effective conservation will require a combination of some or all of the above.
During the last decade the government of India has been actively promoting cultivation of endangered medicinal herb species as a means of providing income to farmers and to reduce pressure on plants growing in the wild. There are now a number of institutes that are establishing large-scale nurseries, raising awareness and providing education and training to local farmers and herb collectors.
Progress on the ground level has been slow though; commercial cultivation of these herbs is very difficult, partly due to long gestation periods, low yields, the requirement of high altitudes (i.e. inaccessible locations), low prices in market and the high costs involved.
We have researching cultivation of endangered species since 2002; some of our trials have been a great success, others a complete failure. We are now confident though that some of these rare and threatened species can be cultivated on a large scale and that it can be a profitable activity for companies and farmers alike.
Cultivation alone however will never be enough to conserve threatened species in the wild. Throughout the Himalayan region there are countless families who depend on herb collection for their livelihoods. Unless they are provided with alternative sources of income they will have little choice but to continue collecting threatened species.
Efforts therefore need to be made to promote sustainable collection and value addition of more common non-timber forest products so that forest-dependent communities can continue to derive their income from their surroundings without have a negative impact on the dwindline populations of rare and valuable medicinal herbs
