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Plantlife International, the wild plantconservation charity, is a charitablecompany limited by guarantee (Registeredin England, Charity Number 1059559,Company Number 3166339). Plantlife’sgoal is to halt the loss of wild plantdiversity. We identify and conserve sites ofexceptional botanical importance, rescuewild plants from the brink of extinctionand ensure that common plants don’tbecome rare in the wild. We achieve thisby facilitating conservation work acrossthe globe, influencing policy and legislationand collaborating widely to promote wildplant conservation. Plantlife Internationalis the lead organisation for Target 5 of theGlobal Strategy for Plant Conservation.We also provide the secretariat for PlantaEuropa, the pan-European network of over70 organisations working for plantconservation. HRH The Prince of Wales isour Patron.Published 2008 by Plantlife International© Plantlife International November 2008All rights reserved.ISBN: 978-1-904749-15-8Citation: Hamilton, A.C. (editor) (2008).Medicinal plants in conservation anddevelopment: case studies and lessons learnt.Plantlife International, Salisbury, UK.Photos by Alan Hamilton (AH) unlessotherwise indicated.Sub-editing and proofreading by Sue Nottingham.Disclaimer: The designations of geographicalentities in this publication do not imply theexpression of any opinion whatsoever on thepart of Plantlife International concerning thelegal status of any country, territory or area, orof its authorities, or concerning thedelimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.AcknowledgementsAn international advisory group was formedfor the programme and has providedinvaluable help, including specific suggestionsfor proposals submitted to Plantlife forfunding through Allachy Awards. The names ofmembers of the advisory group are listed onthe title page. Plantlife International isimmensely dedicated to all of them for theirunstinting support.Plantlife acknowledges with gratitude theforesight of Jane Smart in starting the PlantConservation and Livelihoods Programme.Jane was the first Chief Executive of Plantlifeand is now Head of the Species Programmeof the International Union for Conservationof Nature (IUCN). Another driving forcebehind the programme was the late RichardSandbrook, a former Board member ofPlantlife and a visionary environmentalist.Many thanks to Mark Nesbitt of the RoyalBotanic Gardens, Kew for undertakingliterature searches on Plantlife's behalf.Plantlife is indebted to those who havefinancially supported the programme, notablythe Allachy Trust, the Rufford Maurice LaingFoundation, the Gurney Charitable Trust, theTanner Trust and Dr William Hamilton.Partner organisations of Plantlife in thisprogramme would like to express theiracknowledgements as follows:The Applied Environmental ResearchFoundation (AERF) wishes to acknowledge thesupport of the G.B. Pant Institute of HimalayanEcology and Development (GBPIHED), theHigh Altitude Plant Physiology ResearchCentre (HAPPRC), HNB Garhwal University,and Ankur (an NGO which promotes thecultivation of medicinal plants in Uttarakhand).The assistance of Dr R.K. Maikhuri, Dr A.R.Nautiyal and Mr Sudarshan Singh Kathait wasinstrumental in achieving the project’s success.The Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology andthe Environment (ATREE) sincerelyacknowledges the co-operation of the ForestDepartment of Sikkim and the ForestDepartment of West Bengal for grantingpermission for their work. The Botanical Surveyof India Himalayan Circle (Gangtok), LloydBotanical Garden Herbarium and theHerbarium at North Bengal University wereimmensely helpful in undertaking a preliminaryscreening of the habitats of the targetedspecies. Mr Bijoy Gurung, Director of the StateMedicinal Plants Board (Government of Sikkim),provided various types of help and is sincerelyacknowledged.The Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal (ESON)thanks the District Forest Office, LangtangNational Park and Buffer Zone Council ofRasuwa. Thanks are also due to Mr Kaisang N.Tamang (President, Manekor Society Nepal), MrBinod Poudel (President, Federation ofCommunity Forest User Groups Nepal, RasuwaBranch) and Ms Kabita Ghale (Social Mobilizer)for their very active support and closecooperation.In connection with the course held atBangalore, the Foundation for Revitalisation ofLocal Health Traditions (FRLHT) appreciatesthe assistance extended during field trips bymembers of the Village Forest Committee atSavandurga, BIRD-K (Tiptur), the CovenantCentre for Development (CCD, Madurai),Pichandikulam Forests, Auroville and AryaVaidya Pharmacy (Coimbatore).The Ladakh Society for Traditional Medicines(LSTM) and Nomad RSI thank the Foundationfor Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions(FRLHT) and especially Dr Gurinder Gorayaand Mr Raju for training provided on medicinalplants cultivation and conservation. They alsothank the G.B. Pant Institute for HimalayanEnvironment and Development (Kullu, India)and the Field Research Laboratory (Leh, India)and especially Dr Chaurasia.Ladakh Society forTraditionalMedicinesCover photo: A small part of the medicinal plant market at Dali, Yunnan, China. Photo AH.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

EditorAlan Hamilton, Plantlife International (UK)AuthorsGerald Eilu, Uganda Group of the African Network of EthnobiologyArchana Godbole, Applied Environmental Research Organisation (India)Tsewang Gonbo, Ladakh Society for Traditional Medicines (India)Alan Hamilton, Plantlife International (UK)Huai Huyin, Yangzhou University (China)Syed Kamran Hussain, WWF-PakistanFanny Jamet, NOMAD Recherche et Soutien International (France)Dennis Kamoga, Joint Ethnobotanical Research and Advocacy (Uganda)Peris Kariuki, Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge, National Museums of KenyaAshiq Ahmad Khan, WWF-PakistanStaline Kibet, Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge, National Museums of KenyaGiridhar Kinhal, Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (India)Rudy Lemmens, Tooro Botanical Gardens (Uganda)Frank Olwari, Joint Ethnobotanical Research and Advocacy (Uganda)Cyprian Osinde, Joint Ethnobotanical Research and Advocacy (Uganda)Ram C. Poudel, Ethnobotanical Society of NepalSuman Rai, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (India)Paul Ssegawa, Uganda Group of the African Network of EthnobiologyPei Shengji, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of SciencesKrishna Shrestha, Ethnobotanical Society of NepalYang Lixin, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of SciencesMembers of the international advisory group that has guided the programmeMr Ashiq Ahmad Khan, former Chief Technical Officer, WWF-PakistanDr Wolfgang Kathe, private consultant involved in development of an international sustainability standard(see Case study 14)Dr Sonia Lagos Witte, General Coordinator, Grupo Etnobotánico Latinoamericana (Costa Rica)Dr Danna Leaman, Chairperson, Medicinal Plants Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission,International Union for Conservation of NatureDr Patrick Maundu, Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge, National Museums of KenyaProfessor Pei Shengji, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of SciencesDr Susanne Schmitt, WWF-UKMr Darshan Shankar, former Director, Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (India)MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT1

DedicationDedicationIn memory of Monik Adraens (1954-2008)First Director of Tooro Botanical Gardens, Fort Portal, Uganda and Research SupportOfficer with the Sustainable Agricultural Trainers Network (SATNET) (see Case study1). Born in Belgium, she graduated as an engineer in Tropical and Subtropical Agricultureand farmed organically in the South of France for more than 20 years. Her particularinterests in complementary medicine included Naturotherapy, Ethnopharmacology, BachFlower Therapy and Aromatherapy.2MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

ContentsContentsAcknowledgements(inside front cover)Editor, authors, members of the international advisory group 1Dedication 2Executive summary 4PART 1: Setting the scene 61. Plantlife’s Plant Conservation and Livelihoods Programme 62. Medicinal plants: threats and conservation reactions 83. Medicinal plants seen as conservation opportunities 114. Medicinal plants and healthcare 125. Medicinal plants and livelihoods 156. Medicinal plants and cultural traditions 16PART 2: The case studies 177. Community-based case studies 178. Experience-sharing case studies 579. Testing a sustainability standard 67PART 3: Commentary 7110. Basis of the analysis 7111. Suggestions for project teams 7312. Interactions between project teams and communities 7513. Suggestions for community groups 7714. Suggestions for the enabling environment 81References 84Boxes1. How can community-based conservation of medicinal plants be successful? 52. List of community-based case studies 173. Occurrence of some principal species of medicinal plants, Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas 514. Summary of regulations governing Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas at Ludian 565. List of experience-sharing case studies 576. Summary of the principles and criteria of the International Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinaland Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP) 68Figures1. Localities of community-based case studies 72. Three fundamental elements in medicinal plant conservation 713. Stages in adaptive management 78Tables1. Top ten medicinal plants at Rasuwa, Nepal, as prioritised by the communities 452. Spatial units recognised as significant for the conservation of medicinal plants in the Himalayas 60MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYEXECUTIVE SUMMARYTraditional medicine, based largely onherbs, still supports the primaryhealthcare of more people worldwidethan ‘conventional’ or western medicine.According to the World HealthOrganisation, up to 80% of the populationin Africa uses traditional medicine fortheir primary healthcare, and naturalremedies are also popular in manywestern countries. The majority of plantspecies used in traditional or herbalmedical treatments are harvested fromthe wild rather than cultivated. In someparts of the world, large numbers ofpeople are involved in the collection ofwild medicinal plants to sell – for examplepeople from an estimated 323,000households in Nepal alone.About 15,000 species of medicinal plantsare globally threatened – the causesinclude loss of habitat, commercial overharvesting,invasive species and pollution.The extinction or scarcity of these plantsis not only a problem for conservation –it also results in serious problems forpeople’s health and livelihoods.Plantlife’s Plant Conservation andLivelihoods Programme was established tofind ways to conserve these plants andensure their availability for continuing use.Under the programme, Plantlife hassupported local partners in China, India,Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan and Uganda tomount community-based projects on theconservation of medicinal plants. A furtherfour projects have been organised for theexchange and evaluation of experiences.This report presents a description ofthese projects and an analysis of lessonslearnt. A set of principles, actions andconditions needed to promote thesuccess of community-based conservationof medicinal plants is provided based onthese experiences (Box 1).Because of the value of these resourcesfor local healthcare or income, we believethat a focus on medicinal plants inconservation or development carries thepotential to save many other types ofplants and animals too – the inhabitants ofthose habitats which are valued for theirmedicinal plants. Thus, the presence andsustainable use of medicinal plants can bethe key to conserving whole habitats.There are three main elements in ourrecommended approach:● Community groups: members oflocal communities with a specialinterest in medicinal plants who areprepared to work within theircommunities to foster developmentalactivities related to the conservationand use of these plants. At this levelconservation means having ensuredsupplies of medicinal plants to providecontinuing benefits for the communityin terms of healthcare, income orretaining cultural traditions.● Project teams: composed ofindividuals willing to make an effort tohelp communities conserve theirmedicinal plants or create a favourableenabling environment. Project teamsmay consist of individuals from varioustypes of organisation. In our casestudies they are from non-governmentalorganisations (NGOs) and researchinstitutes, but task teams in governmentdepartments and civil society could alsotake this role, for example in forestrydepartments, faith-based groups,women’s associations, indigenouspeople’s organisations or the organicmovement.● The enabling environment:embracing all those forces thatinfluence affairs at the community level,such as laws and regulations, nationalpolicies towards indigenous groups,local healthcare traditions and themanagement of natural resources, theethical stances of industry andconsumers, the orientation of researchinstitutes, and the positions of religiousestablishments and political parties onthe environment.We have assumed a three-tier structureof society for the purposes of ourblueprint for the successful conservationof medicinal plants – the community, thedistrict level and the state.Our concentration is on species thatcarry value at the community level. Plantsvary in their value according to thecommunity – species valued for theirmedicinal properties in one communitymay not be similarly valued in another.Therefore, additional approaches areneeded to fully safeguard plants that havebeen recognised as medicinals. Otherconservation tools such as protectedareas and ex situ conservation haveimportant roles to play, and should belinked with the community-basedapproaches described in this report toensure their relevance to development.4MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Box 1EXECUTIVE SUMMARYBox 1: How can community-based conservation of medicinal plants be successful?Establishing a thriving community groupEnsure that the whole community is served by the group’s activities.Identify local development concerns relating to medicinal plants.Provide greater recognition and roles to primary stakeholders, such as housewives using herbal remedies and commercialcollectors of wild medicinal plants.Strengthen the conservation of wild medicinal plants through the following:● Identify priority species and places for improved management.● Develop local teams to take care of these sites (this may require an umbrella group if communities are collecting ineach others’ areas).● Seek recognition of community rights over the medicinal resources of the areas (this may require negotiation withlandowners, such as forestry departments).● Establish adaptive systems of management, based on cycles of monitoring, reflection, and decision-making onmanagement (e.g. rotational harvesting, quotas, restoration, distribution of tasks and benefits).Encourage the cultivation of medicinal plants identified as local priorities.Develop home herbal healthcare by identifying best practice within the community and seeking advice from research centres.Seek information on medicinal plant markets and negotiate improved terms with traders (assured high quality materials inexchange for better prices).Seek technical guidance on how to add value to medicinal plants and products (e.g. proper drying, making powders).Record local knowledge of medicinal plants, develop a cultural centre and encourage educational programmes to raiseappreciation for local cultural traditions.Establishing a supportive project teamInclude community members with practical knowledge in the project team.Learn about local medicinal plants, livelihoods and stakeholders before starting community work. Identify institutions thatsupport local ecological knowledge.Form a cross-disciplinary advisory group.Provide in-service training to team members.Raise awareness at community and district levels about the usefulness of medicinal plants and the need to conserve them.Make long-term commitment to communities.Identify community groups with a special interest in medicinal plants. If lacking, assist in their formation.Undertake joint research with community groups to identify key local concerns relating to medicinal plants and find practicalways to resolve them.Providing the right enabling environment – recommendations for policy makersSupport national centres of excellence for medicinal plants orientated towards community development. The types ofsupport useful to communities are indicated under ‘establishing a thriving community group’ above. Support may bechannelled through the district resource centres (see next point).Develop district resource centres to serve community needs relating to medicinal plants, including provision of informationon the identification, management, use and marketing of medicinal plants, nurseries to supply seedlings and trainingprogrammes.Develop protocols for the propagation and cultivation of priority medicinal plants, and ensure the availability of high quality seed.Integrate herbal medicine based on local medical traditions into national healthcare systems.Encourage communities to record and maintain their traditional knowledge.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT5

PART 1: Setting the scenePART 1: Setting the scene1. Plantlife’s Plant Conservationand Livelihoods ProgrammeIn 2005, Plantlife International launched a new programme ‘Plant Conservation andLivelihoods’. In this programme, Plantlife is concerned with finding ways to conserve thediversity of the world’s plants within the context of people’s everyday lives – the normalcontext in which conservation must be achieved.‘Plant Conservation and Livelihoods’ is a huge subject and Plantlife soon decided toconcentrate on one particular category of plant use – medicinal plants. Accordingly, aMedicinal Plants Conservation Initiative was launched. Two considerations guided thischoice. First, the use of plants as medicines represents by far the biggest category of useof plants or animals in terms of number of species (50,000-70,000 plant species 1 ).Secondly, medicinal plants connect to three basic human interests – health, income andcultural identify – representing potentially powerful motivational forces for conservation.The great majority of species of medicinal plants are harvested in the wild rather thancultivated 2-5 , a state of affairs that will certainly continue 1 . The big methodologicalchallenge in the conservation of medicinal plants is to determine how the managementof wild medicinal plants can be improved. Conservation of wild medicinal plants requiresconservation of their habitats and thus success in conserving medicinal plants (driven bythe motivational forces of health, income or culture) has the potential to benefit manyother types of plants and animals too.Training women in herbal medicine foruse against opportunistic infectionsassociated with HIV/AIDS (Case study 1).Photo Rudy Lemmens.Plantlife’s work on medicinal plants is supportive of Target 7 of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (‘Ensure environmental sustainability’), agreed at the Earth Summitin Johannesburg in 2002 6, 7 , and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC),agreed in 2002 under the United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 8 .The Targets of the GSPC of special relevance to Plantlife’s programme are:●●●●Target 3: Development of models withprotocols for plant conservation andsustainable use, based on research andpractical experience.Target 5: Protection of 50 per cent of themost important areas for plant diversityassured.Target 13: The decline of plant resources, andassociated indigenous and local knowledge,innovations and practices that supportsustainable livelihoods, local food security andhealth care, halted.Target 16: Networks for plant conservationactivities established or strengthened atnational, regional and international levels.6MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

PART 1: Setting the sceneThe Plant Conservation and LivelihoodsProgramme takes an ecosystem-basedapproach to conservation, consistent withthe requirements of the CBD 9, 10 . Featuresof an ecosystem-based approach includethe decentralization of management to thelowest appropriate level, considerationgiven to the economic context ofconservation, the use of adaptiveapproaches to resource management, andfull use made of both indigenous andscientific knowledge.As an international organisation, Plantlifeperceives its role as one of partnership,working with national and international organisations to share experiences and analyselessons learnt. Thanks to generous grants from the Allachy Trust and the Rufford MauriceLaing Foundation, Plantlife has been able to offer a number of small grants (typically£10,000) for case studies on the conservation of medicinal plants. Geographically, EastAfrica and the Himalayas have been selected as areas of focus for these grants, based onthe high value accorded to medicinal plants in these regions and pre-existing contactswith concerned individuals and organisations. A total of fourteen Allachy Awards havebeen made, ten for community-based conservation (four in Africa, six in the Himalayas –see Figure 1 for locations), three on projects to share experiences between countries,and one to test a new international standard for the sustainable harvesting of wildmedicinal plants.International participants in a trainingcourse on conservation of medicinalplants, Savanadurga, India (Case study 12).Photo AH.The local level is where conservation of medicinal plants must be effected, since this iswhere the plants grow and where people interact with them directly. Attention istherefore focused in this programme on projects that work directly with communities.Of course, communities are not isolated from the rest of the world and what happensat the community level is much influenced by the wider ‘enabling environment’ – thepolicies and laws of government, cultural influences (e.g. connected with religion orethnic identity), the economic context, and so on. We therefore offer some reflections,based on our projects, on the developments in the enabling environment that would beuseful for supporting community-based conservation of medicinal plants.Figure 1. Localities of community-basedcase studies (numbered 1-10).MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT7

2. Medicinal plants: threats and conservation reactions2. Medicinal plants: threats andconservation reactions2.1. What is a medicinal plant?A medicinal plant is one used by people for medicinal purposes – to build or maintainhealth, stave off disease, or promote recovery from illness or misfortune. No precisedefinition is possible, given this wide scope and because the use of plants as medicinesgrades into their use for other purposes, for example, for food, personal hygiene, beautycare,psychological support and spiritual practices.Phyllanthus emblica, a very importantmedicinal plant used in Ayurveda andTibetan medicine.Photo AH.Traditions of healthcare must have always been features of human societies and from theevidence available it seems that plants have normally been accorded lead roles intherapy. Even today, traditional medicine (based largely on herbs) supports the primaryhealthcare of more people globally than ‘conventional’ or western medicine 11-13 .2.2. Threats to medicinal plantsHistorically, the greatest driver behind efforts toconserve medicinal plants has been the fear of losingspecies. Related to this has been concern about losinggenetic diversity, a serious matter with useful plants.The number of globally threatened species of medicinalplants has been calculated at about 15,000 species 1 .Field observations of the conservation status ofmedicinal plants in East Africa and the Himalayas arevery limited, thanks to their huge areas and sometimesinhospitable terrain 14 . However, there are recent reportsfrom many localities of increasing difficulty in findingsome popular species of medicinal plants in China 15 ,India 16-18 , Kenya 19 , 20 , Nepal 21 , Tanzania 3, 22 and Uganda 23-25 .Globally, the immediate causes of endangerment ofmedicinal plants are the same as those for plantsgenerally, that is, loss of habitat, over-harvesting formedicinal or other purposes, suppression by invasivespecies, and pollution (acid rainfall, eutrophication).Greenhouse climate change, which is a mountingthreat, is likely to have a particularly major impact inthe Himalayas 26 , placing high altitude endemic speciesespecially at risk. Most medicinal plants are used onlylocally, with a lesser number entering national orregional trade, and fewer still (about 3000 species)reaching international markets 2, 27 .In East Africa, the bulk of trade in medicinal plants is tolocal urban centres 28, 29 , while in the Himalayas, mostcommercial demand originates from herbal companiesbased in lowland parts of the Subcontinent or inlowland China.8MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

2. Medicinal plants: threats and conservation reactionsGenerally, harvesting for local medical use is not a conservation problem – it iscommercial collection that does the harm. Commercial pressures are mounting, drivenby growing populations, high rates of poverty in many places, and the increasingpopularity of herbal treatments. Mounting poverty can fuel commercial harvestingbecause more people driven by circumstances resort to herbal treatments, and becausecollecting medicinal plants to sell can be a useful source of income for economicallymarginalised people in difficult times 28, 30, 31 .Unlike local people collecting for their own use, commercial collectors generally harvestmedicinal plants with little care for sustainability. This can be partly through ignorance,but mainly because such collection is unorganised and competitive. Certain biologicaland ecological features increase the vulnerability of the plants. Many medicinal plants inEast Africa are trees or other types of woody plants with the roots or bark beingcollected – features that raise their vulnerability to over-harvesting 19, 23, 32-35 . With theHimalayas, it is high altitude plants that tend to be most at risk, due to their slowgrowth rates, strong market demand and the fact that it is usually the undergroundorgans that are the parts collected.Market surveys are useful for identifying medicinal plants at risk from commercial trade.Such surveys have recently been conducted in several major cities and towns in EastAfrica, with several genera and species common to several lists (for example, Osyris,Prunus africana, Warburgia and Zanthoxylum). Medicinal species sold in Tanga considered tobe at risk include Artemisia afra, Morella (Myrica) salicifolia, Ocotea usambarensis, Warburgiastuhlmannii and Zanthoxylum chalybeum 3 . A list of 53 species of Himalayan medicinal plantsthreatened by commercial harvesting has been published under one of our case studiesbased on a consensus of experts from five countries (see Case study 11) 36 . This listincludes such well known Himalayan medicinals as Dioscorea deltoidea, Nardostachysgrandiflora, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Rauvolfia serpentina and Taxus wallichiana, all confirmed asvulnerable in a recent review 14 .2.3. Conservation reactions to the threatsSeveral types of conservation measures have been applied to medicinal plants, amongthem protected areas and other forms of legal control, cultivation (intended to reducethe collection pressure on wild medicinal plants) and ex situ conservation.Protected areas are useful for conserving medicinal plants – as they are for biodiversitygenerally. Theoretically, well-designed networks of protected areas would be of greatvalue for conserving the genetic diversity of medicinal species, though in actuality it isdoubtful whether the geography of medicinal plants has ever been a seriousconsideration in designing such networks.Due to limited resources, the managers of protected areas in East Africa and theHimalayas tend to take little interest in medicinal plants, apart from sometimesencouraging their cultivation in buffer zones. The reality is that, in practice, there areusually few practical restrictions to the illegal harvesting of medicinal plants inprotected areas, as is often reported. Forest reserves generally afford even weakerprotection, their managers tending to be more interested in timber than in ‘minorforest products’. Even in Nepal, where the need to engage local people in themanagement of forest reserves is well recognised, medicinal plants have been almostentirely ignored in management plans (see Case study 8). An example of illegalMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT9

2. Medicinal plants: threats and conservation reactionsharvesting is reported by one of our projects in India (Case Study 7): “Collection andselling of Cordyceps (a highly priced caterpillar-fungus) has emerged as a new source ofincome in the rural areas of inner mountain ranges of Uttarakhand. During the months ofApril and May thousands of people from far and nearby villages come to a particular alpinemeadow, stay there and search the entire meadow vigorously for two months. Cordycepsgatherers extract natural resources without considering sustainability and use destructivemethods. The Forest Department of Uttarakhand has imposed a ban on the collection ofCordyceps but proper monitoring of the ban is not possible due to the harsh climaticconditions, steep terrain and shortage of manpower.”Expert in traditional medicine MuhamedOmar Kasomo in his medicinal plantgarden, Tanga, Tanzania. Mr Kasomo worksclosely with the Tanga Aids Working Group,a progressive organisation using bothantiretroviral drugs and herbal preparationsto treat patients with HIV/AIDS.Photo AH.There are various other types of legal control that can be applied to medicinal plants,apart from those associated with protected areas and forest reserves. They seem tohave been given more attention in some Asian countries than in East Africa. In theHimalayas, the medicinal plant sector tends to be highly regulated, with a series ofpermits required for the collection, transport and export of medicinal plants 14 . There canalso be total bans on the harvesting of some species, such as the orchid Dactylorhizahatagirea in Nepal and all species of wild yews Taxus in China. However, as withprotected areas, these legal controls have proved difficult to enforce 14 . According to ourproject partner ATREE (see Case study 9), a complete ban on the collection of medicinalplants was imposed in Sikkim in 1992, but in reality the extraction of medicinal plantsfor domestic use continues, as does some commercial collection (for example, ofAconitum palmatum, Panax pseudoginseng, Rhododendron anthopogon and Swertia chirayita).Cultivation is commonly recommended as a conservation measure for medicinal plants,to provide alternative supplies for medicinal species in market demand 37 . This can be agood idea and has been pursued by many of our projects, but it is not a universalpanacea. Depending on policies towards land ownership, which varied greatly at thelocalities of our case studies, a problem can be that cultivation is adopted by relativelyprosperous farmers, who are unlikely to be collectors of wild medicinal plants.Meanwhile, more impoverished inhabitants, perhaps lacking land, may have littleeconomic option but to continue to collect wild medicinal plants for sale. It isnoteworthy that only about 200 medicinal plant species are commercially cultivated inChina 38 , despite a long history of government encouragement. Problems with cultivationin East Africa and the Himalayas can include a small size of land holdings, limited suppliesof seed (especially of good quality), uncertainties about cultivation protocols, longgestation periods for many species and poor access to markets. Water supply poses anadditional problem in dry regions. Experience in Kenya (see Case study 4C) suggeststhat projects in arid lands should concentrate on improving the management of wildmedicinal plants and the cultivation of medicinal plants for domestic use, rather thantrying to grow plants for the market.Ex situ conservation is a desirable objective with medicinal plants. The opening of theSouthwest China Wild Plants Germplasm Bank in Kunming (2004) is thus to be warmlywelcomed. We have observed during the course of our work that the term ‘ex situconservation’ is often interpreted differently by field conservationists and developmentworkers, in comparison to international plant conservationists, who consider it to bethe systematic storage of germplasm in botanic gardens, field genebanks and seedcollections. Many field workers in East Africa and the Himalayas consider any form ofcultivation to constitute ex situ conservation, regardless of who is involved or for whatpurpose, and regardless of any connection with conservation science.10MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

3. Medicinal plants seen as conservation opportunities3. Medicinal plants seen asconservation opportunitiesMedicinal plants can be viewed not only as problems from the conservation perspectivebut also, more positively, as ‘conservation opportunities’. This is because the actual oranticipated values of these plants for healthcare, income or cultural identity carries thepotential for them to act as motivating forces for conservation – for the speciesthemselves and their habitats. Since other (non-medicinal) species will be living in thehabitats, community initiatives focusing on medicinal plants can have the potential to savemany other species too.From the community perspective, conservation of medicinal plants should be seen as amatter of development. Projects concerned with the conservation of medicinal plantscannot concentrate solely on ‘pure conservation’ – they must engage to some extent inthe concerns that make these plants of interest to the local people. As NOMAD hasobserved (see Case study 6): “Sustainable access to medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) isvital for local healthcare and for the survival of Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan medicine) as a medicalsystem. The Ladakh Society for Traditional Medicines found that explicitly linking MAPsconservation to healthcare needs was a powerful way to raise awareness and mobilisecommunities to work towards better resource management. By adopting this approach, theproject simultaneously raised conservation issues and drew attention to the financial problemsbeing faced by amchi (traditional doctors following the Tibetan medical tradition), thuscontributing to MAPs protection and the revitalization of Sowa Rigpa in rural areas.”MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT11

4. Medicinal plants and healthcare4. Medicinal plants and healthcare4.1. The history and tradition of herbal medicineIn East Africa and the Himalayas, the use of plants as medicines is an ancient and stillcommon practice, although there are some exceptional social groups that are reportedto no longer commonly resort to traditional medicine (for example, the Agikuyu – seeCase study 4B). Studies in rural parts of East Africa have found that more than 80 percent of the people resort first to herbal medicine to meet their primary healthcareneeds 24, 25, 39 . Careful studies of individual localities commonly record over 150 species inuse 23, 25, 35 . Even in the towns, the use of traditional medicine persists, associated with theexcessive expense of western medicine 40 and high levels of stress associated withmodern urban living 41 . For the Himalayas, many studies have shown a high level ofdependency on herbal medicine 21, 42-46 .There are several reasons for the popularity of herbal medicine. One is belief in its efficacy,a belief associated with its psychological appropriateness for the cultures concerned. It iscommonly held in our case study regions (as elsewhere) that western medicine can begood for the quick relief of symptoms but herbal medicine is better for treating chroniccomplaints. Herbal medicine tends to be cheaper 40 , though not invariably so 3 , and isgenerally much more readily available, especially in rural areas. A measure of the relativeavailability of traditional compared to western medicine is the ratio of doctors to thegeneral populace. In East Africa, these ratios are 1:350 and 1:25,000 for traditional andwestern doctors respectively 22, 23, 33, 47 . Most western-trained doctors in East Africa areconcentrated in cities and the ratio in the countryside is much less than the regionalaverage. In the Himalayas, poorer people in particular tend to have little access to westernmedicine. At our project site of Miandam (Pakistan) (Case study 5), there is only oneprimary healthcare centre serving 20,000 people and no doctor in attendance.Herbal medicine in East Africa is folk medicine, passed down from generation togeneration through lineages of expert healers. While studies of traditional medicine inEast Africa often concentrate on traditional healers, in fact it is women who are thefrontline workers in primary healthcare. As Geissler 48 has pointed out for Luo women inwestern Kenya: “Women’s washing, massaging, steaming, feeding of small children, theobservation of small signs, and the debates about illness and treatment, in which all women ina homestead participate, are Luo medicine. Medical knowledge is women’s collective andcommunal knowledge for the creation and maintenance of children’s life and well-being. Hence,it is ordinary women, not exotic ‘traditional healers’, to whom we ought to turn in order to learnabout Luo plant medicine.” Some of the most commonly used medicinal plants athousehold level in East Africa are herbaceous or shrubby, or else common trees. Theseplants tend to be common and well known to many people, being widely planted inhome gardens or found in abundance in the wild. They are rarely sold in markets, somarket surveys can easily miss this major aspect of indigenous medicine. In the Tangaarea, these species include Azadirachta indica (neem), Ocimum spp. (basil), Plectranthuslongipes, Psidium guajava (guava), Solanum incanum and Vernonia lasiopus 3 .Traditional healers are well respected members of Africa societies, their social roles varyingaccording to ethnicity. With the Maasai, traditional physicians (laibon) are priests, medicinemen and oracles, but they are considered to have no specialist herbalist role – andknowledge of medicinal plants is widely distributed throughout their society 3, 49 . With Bantutribes, there can be many types of specialist healers, including some that concentrate on12MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

4. Medicinal plants and healthcareparticular somatic problems or conditions, such as liver failure, broken bones or midwifery 23,50, 51. Some herbal treatments are administered in an apparently straightforward remedialway, but medicinal plants can also be used more opaquely, such as to attract a spouse orprotect a home 3 . Divination is extensively used to diagnose the fundamental causes ofailments. Traditional healers commonly view their powers as being granted by God or theancestors, their duty being to use this gift to serve the people. They may favourably contrasttheir own attitudes and approaches to those of commercial street vendors, whom they canview as charlatans, only interested in financial enrichment and selling plants without reallyknowing how to use them effectively 51 .Knowledge of medicinal plants is distributed unevenly in the Himalayas. Commonly,about 45-60 local plant species are used medicinally at particular localities 52, 53 , but aspectacular 450 species are known as medicinals at Dolpa (Nepal) 44, 54 , while the Shuhipeople of the Hengduan mountains in China use only 27 species 52 . Most publishedinformation on medicinal plants in the Himalayas is biased towards those used bytraditional doctors or those which enter the market. It is possible that, just as in EastAfrica, there are many species used in homes that are common plants either cultivatedin home gardens or found growing in the wild near homesteads. Not all Himalayanmedicinal species favour pristine habitats; there are many which prefer habitats stronglydisturbed by people 52, 55 .Much village medicine in the Himalayas has a strong folk element, but the region is alsohome to several of the world’s great traditions of systematic medicine, namely Ayurveda,Tibetan medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Unani. Practitioners of these medicaltraditions can use plants from far and wide, for example with a considerable use oflowland Indian plants in Tibetan medicine 44 . The number of species of medicinal plants(not all Himalayan) used by these major medical traditions are reported to be 1250-1400 for Ayurveda, 1500-1600 commonly for Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1100-3600for Tibetan Medicine and 342 for Unani 43, 56, 57 .Traditional medicine – Amchi GurmetNamgyal treats a patient in Kanji village,Ladakh, India (Case study 6).Photo Tsewang Gonbo.4.2. Recognition of traditionalmedicine by governmentPolitics has a big influence over herbalmedicine, as can be demonstratedhistorically. East Africa and parts of theHimalayas were subject to colonial ruleuntil the 1940s to 1960s, during whichtime traditional medicine tended to beneglected or even denigrated by theauthorities 58 . Since independence,traditional medicine has gradually gainedincreasing recognition in East Africa,especially recently with the declaration bythe African Union of 2001-2010 as ‘TheDecade of Traditional African Medicine’. A‘Traditional Healer Policy’ was establishedfor Tanzania in 2002 and similar policiesare at an advanced state of preparation inKenya and Uganda 59 . An East AfricanNetwork on Traditional Medicine andMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT13

5. Medicinal plants and livelihoods – trading and marketsMedicinal Plants has been established with its hosting since 2007 in the Lake VictoriaBasin Commission of the East African Community 60, 61 .Tibetan stall in the medicinal plant marketat Dali, Yunnan, China. Over 500 species ofmainly wild collected medicinal plants aresold in this market. Photo AH.Among the Himalayan countries, Bhutan has accorded an equal status to Tibetan andwestern medicine, influenced by Buddhism and regard for environmental stewardship. Thegovernment in China has provided strong encouragement to Traditional ChineseMedicine, and recognised several other medical traditions, such as those associated withthe Dai, Mongolian, Tibetan, Uigur and Yi peoples. In India, several indigenous systems ofmedicine have been legally recognised (for instance, Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani, but notTibetan) and the government has established a National Medicinal Plants Board todevelop and regulate the medicinal plants sector. In Nepal, recognition has been accordedto Ayurveda, but not Tibetan medicine, and development of the medicinal plants sectorhas been accorded a priority in government planning A high-level Herbs and Non TimberForest Products Coordination Committee has been formed with 12 medicinal andaromatic species selected for the development of agronomic technologies 62 .14 MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

5. 5.Medicinal plants and livelihoods – trading and markets5. Medicinal plants and livelihoods –trading and marketsTrade in medicinal plants is difficult to research, because of the secrecy and sometimescomplexity of trading networks. In the Himalayas (where the situation is betterunderstood than in East Africa), wild medicinal plants are collected in large quantities insome areas by large numbers of people, for whom this activity provides a substantialpart of their income. The collectors include local villagers, nomadic herders (especially inthe western Himalayas) and in some places ‘outsiders’ working either for themselves oron contract. Collectors can be permanently in debt with little bargaining power, asreported for Rasuwa (See Case study 8): “The economic status of most of the herbcollectors is below the poverty line, so normally they take money in advance from the road headtrader and pay back later the equivalent value in terms of herbs. So, the collectors are forced tosell their herbs to the same traders from whom they took the money in advance. They easilyaccept the price value of the herb offered by the traders. Collectors hardly bargain for the valueof their herbs because they are less aware or mostly unaware about the latest prices. The pricesof the herbs entirely depend on the wisdom of the trader.”Himalayan medicinal plants pass to lowland areas around the Himalayas, usually inunprocessed form, with many eventually ending up in wholesale markets established inan arc around the Himalayas – at Rawalpindi, Lahore, Amritsar, Delhi, Kolkata,Mandalay, Kunming and Dali. A survey at Dali counted a total of 517 species of plantsin trade, nearly all collected from the wild (though not all Himalayan) 63 . About 100 ofthe 750 native species of medicinal plants traded throughout India are sourced fromthe Himalayas 64 . The livelihood benefits of this business have been best studied inNepal, where an estimated 323,000-470,000 households (2.6 million people) areengaged in the collection of wild medicinal plants for sale 64-67 . Medicinal plants areeconomically so important in Uttarakhand that this Indian state has labelled itself theHerbal State. It is estimated that 25-80% of income in the Tibetan AutonomousPrefecture of northwest Yunnan, China, stems from the sale of non-timber forestproducts, the most lucrative commodity being matsutake (pine mushroom, Tricholoma),a medicinal and culinary mushroom 68 .In East Africa, the demand for herbal medicine in cities and towns creates a substantialflow of plant material inward from the countryside. Much is collected by urban-basedherbalists or members of their families, or harvested for them by villagers on request 3 .A more structured trading system has only been reported for Kampala, where, since2005, an association of professional collectors has been formed now with around 150members 69 . Some well-prepared local herbal medicines are today starting to appear inpharmacies, being sold alongside conventional medicines.The prices of medicinal plants sold by professional collectors in Kampala are reportedto be higher with a greater distance of collection, which can exceed 300 km, and theirlegal status (collection in protected areas puts up costs). However, in contrast, norelationship between price and difficulty of collection has been recorded for Tanga 3 .Where collection is by villagers, the number involved can be substantial. Twenty-two percent of villagers are involved in the commercial collection of medicinal plants at SangoBay (see Case study 2), while research in one hamlet near Tanga has revealed that aminimum of 20% of the villagers (mainly women) are involved in the (illegal) commercialcollection of medicinal plants from a nearby forest reserve 3 .MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT15

6. Medicinal plants and cultural traditions6. Medicinal plants and culturaltraditionsLong residence and close dependence on the local natural environment tend to result ina profound knowledge of local plants and their uses, and related beliefs and practicesthat promote their continuing survival. A common practice is for traditional doctors tocollect medicinal materials in ways that avoid undue damage to the plants or whichpromote regeneration 3 . Such methodologies can be documented in literate societies, asthey are in Gyud Zhi (the fundamental text of Tibetan medicine), which offers guidanceon seven techniques for harvesting medicinal plants sustainably. Another commontraditional practice is for medicinal plants to be retained when land is cleared or cropsare weeded. Again, many villages in East Africa and the Himalayas have associated sacredforests or pastures, granted special protection for spiritual reasons or to protect watersources 69-71 . These can be exceptionally rich in medicinal plants 72 . There are an estimated150,000-200,000 sacred groves in India 73 .Most people’s lives in East Africa are profoundly influenced by their membership oftribes, clans and lineages, strongly influencing their abilities to maintain good health orcope with illness. The importance attributed to family position has a bearing on natureconservation, for example in terms of the protection accorded to certain organisms(usually animals) seen as the totemic ancestors of clans. Ancestral graveyards aresometimes associated with sacred groves – even today, when the graveyards may havebecome Christian cemeteries.Holy forest (on triangular hill, leftbackground) protected by the Tibetancommunity of Kegong, Yunnan, China.Photo AH.The Himalayas are the home of several major religions, each associated with a particulartradition of systematic medicine – Ayruveda with Hinduism, Traditional Chinese Medicinewith Confuscianism and Taoism, Tibetan medicine with Buddhism, and Unani with Islam.There are traditional connections between these religions and nature conservation. Forexample, in Pakistan, Islamic cemeteries inthe Himalayan foothills are sometimeshome to the last vestiges of wild oliveforest (decimated elsewhere), whileBuddhist philosophy teaches care for allforms of life. Buddhist beliefs protectwhole landscapes in Tibet, such as theHoly Mountain of Khawa Karpo (MeiliSnow Mountain) in northwest Yunnan 72 70-72 .16MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

PART 2: The case studiesPART 2: The case studies7. Community-based case studiesIntroductionThese ten case studies of medicinal plant conservation initiatives were supported byAllachy Awards from Plantlife International. After submission of applications toPlantlife, the selection of projects to fund was based on an initial vetting by Plantlifeand then review by members of an international advisory group (see introductorypages for their names). In some cases, the proposals were revised following advicereceived from the group.These are all independently conceived projects though united by geography (East Africaand the Himalayas) and in being community-based. Some are new projects, while othersrepresent new phases in projects that have existed for some time. The projects cover awide spectrum of activities, reflecting the interests of their proposers and the stagesreached in project development.Box 2: List of community-based case studies (for localities, seeFigure 1 on page 7).CS1CS2CS3CS4CS5CS6CS7CS8CS9CS10Uganda: First aid herbal toolkit for the Rwenzori regionUganda: Conservation and sustainable use of malaria medicinal plantsUganda: Community-based cultivation of commercial medicinal plantsKenya: Building capacity for community-based conservationPakistan: Promotion of sustainable harvest of medicinal plants, SwatIndia: Development of methodology on medicinal plant conservation,LadakhIndia: Capacity-building to link medicinal plants conservation andlivelihoodsNepal: Community-based conservation of medicinal plants, RasuwaIndia: Strategy development for medicinal plants conservation,Darjeeling and SikkimChina: Development of methodologies for conservation of medicinalplantsMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT17

Case study 1Demonstration homestead and gardenunder construction at Tooro BotanicalGardens, Uganda (Case study 1).Photo Rudy Lemmens.Case study 1: First aid herbal toolkit forthe Rwenzori region (Uganda)Organisation responsible for the project: The project was run by Tooro BotanicalGardens (TBG), a non-profit organisation founded in 2004 based in a 40 hectare forestreserve on the outskirts of Fort Portal, western Uganda. TBG has been establishedunder a 25-year licence from the National Forest Authority. The mission of TBG is toestablish a living collection of plants from the Rwenzori region (Albertine Rift) for thepurposes of conservation, development and research.Project team: the late Monik Adriaens, Rudy Lemmens, Professor E.B. Rugumayo(Chair of TBG), Clovis Kabaseke.Period of grant support: October 2006-September 2007.Geographical contextThe Rwenzori region is a land of varied topography and climate, ranging in altitude from913 m in the relatively dry rift valley to 5109 m on the glacier-capped peaks of Rwenzori.The natural vegetation is highly varied, including rainforest, savanna and afroalpinevegetation. Wetter parts of the region are densely populated, with most of the local peoplebasing their livelihoods on farming. The average income is low (less than US$ 1 per day).Parts of the region have been severely affected by rebel activity and cross-borderincursions, with many people only able to return and rebuild their homes since 2001.18MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 1Medicinal plant issuesThe project is concerned with the distribution of a home herbal first aid kit for the safetreatment of common medical conditions. There are few clinics or medical staff in thisregion, particularly in its remoter parts and, in any case, treatment is beyond the pocketsof many people. There is a strong reliance on herbal medicine, although unfortunatelysome of the more knowledgeable and trusted healers and herbalists have disappearedduring the periods of violence and instability.The Rwenzori region hosts a large number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs)dedicated to the development of agriculture and rural livelihoods. Fifty-five of theseNGOs are members of a Sustainable Agricultural Trainers Network (SATNET), which isdedicated to training communities in sustainable organic agriculture and natural resourcemanagement. Prior to the present project, the network was asked by its members to dosomething about the use of traditional medicinal plants and prepare a simple andpractical handbook for trainers to use in the communities. The idea of a First Aid Kitconsisting of medicinal plants was born. The species to be included should be safe to usefor everyday treatments at the household level. More than 50 healers and herbalistswere consulted on their most popular medicinal plants and the medical conditions thatthey cure. After further selection, the results were compiled in a technical handbook byMonik Adriaens Family Medicinal Plant Gardens in the Rwenzori region.Project aims, activities and achievementsThe project aimed to extend the work described above, reaching out to the widercommunity through providing training and materials. There were three main areas of activity:● The establishment of a demonstration homestead at Tooro Botanical Gardens withconstruction of a farm similar to that of a local farmer and with medicinal plantsinter-planted among the crops.● The use of the demonstrationhomestead for training trainers fromNGOs, with these trainers thenproviding further training within theircommunities.● Production of training materials in thelocal language for the use of trainers inthe SATNET network.Drying shed for Artemisa annua atTooro Botanical Gardens, Uganda(Case study 1). This Chinese herb isbecoming increasingly popular as anantimalarial in Uganda.Photo Rudy Lemmens.A 4 metre diameter hut was built in TBGand a garden established around it withcrops typical of the area, including bananas,sweet potatoes, sugar cane, cassava andbeans. The garden is intended to serve as ademonstration site for improved organicagriculture, as well as for medicinal plants.Accordingly, improved varieties of fruittrees have been included among theplantings for demonstrative andcomparative purposes.Thirty-two species of medicinal plantsMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT19

Case study 1were selected for planting in the garden, with the great majority soon becoming wellestablished. More than 50% of these chosen species are already well known to localfarmers, the others being herbs known in other parts of the world to be medicinallyvaluable and considered useful for local health improvement. Scientific information on theknown medical effects of these newly introduced plants is made available to the people.In collaboration with SATNET, a six-day seminar was organised at the demonstrationhomestead in March 2007, with 29 trainers from various NGOs and community-basedorganisations attending. Items on the agenda included the identification and cultivation ofmedicinal plants, and how to prepare and use medicines made from them. Fourteen ofthe trainers were given planting materials, so that they themselves could establish theirown demonstration gardens at their homes. The idea was that the trainers would thenuse their own gardens to train their neighbours. Accordingly a four-day course wasdesigned for their use. By September 2007, eight such out-posted training sessions hadbeen held, each attended by at least 30 farmers. An unexpected outcome of the trainingat TBG has been that some of those receiving training have opened a herbal clinic,where neighbours can buy some herbal preparations.ProspectsSadly, the project leader Monik Adriaens passed away in March 2008. Naturally, thisproved a serious blow to the project. Nevertheless, other members of TBG remain andare continuing the work.A planned poster and booklets on medicinal plants will be available soon. The bookletswill be in local languages and will contain information on everyday diseases andailments, and how to treat them with herbal medicine. New activities have beentriggered by the project, including cooperation with Rukararwe Partnership Workshopfor Rural Development (an NGO at Bushenyi) for research into the vegetativepropagation of endangered species of medicinal trees. A processing plant has beenopened for medicinal herbs cultivated by women living near Tooro Botanical Gardens,and a medical centre has been established at Kasese to promote the First Aid Kits inthe Rwenzori Mountains region.Flowers of Erythrina abyssinica, amedicinal tree reported to have becomescarce in the Rwenzori region (Casestudy 1). Photo Rudy Lemmens.20MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 2Case study 2:Conservation andsustainable use of keymalaria medicinalplants (Uganda)Organisation responsible for the project:The Uganda Group of the African Network ofEthnobiology (UGANEB) is a non-profitmembership organisation formed in 1997 topromote indigenous knowledge in Uganda andundertake activities to enhance theunderstanding, management, conservation andutilization of biological resources for improvedhuman welfare and environment. Its facilitiesinclude a resource centre, coordination officewith communication and computing facilitiesand a vehicle. The main base of UGANEB isMakerere University, Kampala, the longestestablished university in the country.Project team: Professor Joseph Obua, DrGerald Eilu, Dr Paul Ssegawa, Charles GalabuziPeriod of grant support: April 2006-March2008.Geographical contextThe project is based in the district of Rakai,Uganda, where the five Sango Bay ForestReserves lie near the equator close to LakeVictoria. This is an area with subdued topography (altitude 1100 m) characterized by a highwater table and a floristically unusual tropical forest flora. The dominant forest treesinclude the gymnosperm Podocarpus usambarensis (now largely logged out), Baikiaea insignis,Cleistanthus polystachyus and Trichilia dregeana. The forest reserves are managed by theNational Forestry Authority, working with local people organised into Community ForestManagement committees. Most of the boundaries of the five forests, which together cover150 km 2 , are considered natural, rather than their positions being the result of humaninfluences. The forests are generally surrounded by seasonally inundated grassland orswamp. The mean annual maximum temperature is 25 o C with two rainy seasons per year.Warburgia ugandensis in rainforest atSango Bay, Uganda (Case study 2). Thistree has been stripped of its bark, muchvalued for the treatment of malaria.Photo AH.Medicinal plants issuesThe project is concerned with the conservation and sustainable production of some ofthe most important medicinal plants used for the treatment of malaria. Malaria is a verycommon disease at Sango Bay, with medicinal plants being much used for its treatment.Malaria is the main cause of mortality in Uganda after HIV/AIDS, with infants less than 5years old being particularly vulnerable. Rakai District has the lowest number of healthcentres per head of population in Central Uganda and they often lack drugs.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT21

Case study 2The project focuses on the two forestreserves of Minziro and Kanabulemu andon the trees Hallea rubrostipulata, Syzygiumguineense, Warburgia ugandensis andZanthoxylum chalybeum and the shrubVernonia amygdalina. All these plants areknown from earlier research to be keyanti-malarials at Sango Bay. Vernonia is foundoutside the forest, but all the other plantsare medium to large sized forest trees andthere is concern about their unsustainableharvesting. This is especially so because theparts collected are bark and roots and thetrees die with excessive or carelessharvesting. Warburgia, which is a rather raretree both here and elsewhere in Uganda, isa very popular anti-malarial and consideredespecially vulnerable.Visiting a monitoring site for medicinalplants in the rainforest at Sango Bay,Uganda (Case study 2). Photo AH.Collection for the market, rather than for home treatment, is believed to be the maincause of excessive damage. According to research carried out by the project, 51% of thelocal people harvest Hallea, Syzygium or Warburgia for home use and 22% sell one ormore of these species commercially. Research has demonstrated that there is a greaterintensity and frequency of collection near forest edges and footpaths than in the forestinterior. Commercial collection of medicinal plants within the forests is illegal, butstudies carried out by the project show that plants from Sango Bay are being tradedwithin Rakai District and to outside markets.Project aims, activities and achievementsThe ultimate aim of the project is to improve the health and livelihoods of ruralhouseholds through ensuring the continuing availability of low cost malaria treatmentsbased on indigenous plants. A more immediate objective is to ensure conservation andsustainable supplies of the selected medicinal species at Sango Bay, both for localhealthcare and to provide a long-term source of income for the people. Activitiesundertaken under the project include community education, agreements with thecommunities on their involvement in the project, research to back up project activities,steps to improve the management of the plants in the forests, and the establishment ofnurseries to provide seedlings for planting on private land.Mr Charles Galabuzi, a postgraduate student of forestry, coordinated the project locally.Apart from his project work, Mr Galabuzi was engaged in research for an MSc on themedicinal species of interest to the project. Mr Dennis Ssebugwawo, a local villager,assisted him in the field. Other members of the project team visited occasionally forproject review, research, discussions with the communities and to conduct training.Two local project committees were formed for the project (the Mugamba-Mujanjabula andKigazi Allachy Committees), each linked to an established Community Forest Managementcommittee. Each Community Forest Management committee already has a TraditionalMedicine Minister, providing a useful point of contact for the project team. The Mugamba-Mujanjabula and Kigazi Allachy Committees were based on the villages of Minziro and22 MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 2Kanabulemu respectively, lying about 15 kmapart. Each Allachy Committee has two subcommittees,one concentrating on plants inthe forest and education of thecommunities, and the other on developingnurseries for medicinal plants.The local project committees decided onthe detailed activities of the project, beingsupported in their deliberations by theproject team. On the in situ side, traininghas been provided to the villagers onmethods of inventorying medicinal plants,assessing damage to the trees fromcollection of bark or roots, estimatingregeneration of the trees, and monitoringand managing the plants.Sites for nursery development were selected at Minziro and Kanabulemu, the former beingin the home garden of Ms Scholastic Namayanja and the latter at a nursery site of aprevious project. Tasks were allocated among community members to cover all aspects ofthe nursery work, including identification of ‘mother trees’ in the forests (to provide seed),collection of the seed, and construction and maintenance of the nurseries themselves.Women preparing seeds of Warburgiaugandensis for nursery planting (Case study 2).Photo Paul Sssegawa.A visit was organised for a group of seven local herbalists (four men, three women) to TooroBotanical Gardens in Fort Portal (see Case study 1) and Namanve Tree Seed Centre(Kampala). These visits, for experience-sharing in relation to nurseries, were muchappreciated by the people from Sango Bay. A consequence of the visits was an expansion inthe number of species of medicinal plants grown in the nurseries, now including someothers of interest to the communities for their home healthcare. The Sango Bay communitywas visited by a church group from nearby northern Tanzania during the course of theproject, which proved to be a fruitful occasion for passing on their experiences.The project has established 19 monitoring sites in the forest and two nurseries for medicinalplants. The project team considers that the local community has become more aware of theimportance of protecting the forest and of developing nurseries to secure future supplies ofmedicinal plants. An indication of this is a great reduction in the illegal harvesting of medicinalplants in forests close to the project villages, as noted by the project team.Progress on growing the medicinal plants in the nurseries has been mixed. Warburgia hasbeen a success, with good germination and growth; along with Syzygium, it has alreadybeen planted out into the farms. On the other hand, problems were encountered inobtaining viable seed of Hallea and Zanthoxylum. Cuttings were also tried for thesespecies, but with only limited success. Vernonia grew well in the nurseries, but itsseedlings have not been taken for planting by the communities, probably because it isalready common and generally available. In any case, it is considered a relatively weakanti-malarial by these communities. There appears to be some competition betweenpines and eucalyptus versus medicinal plants when farmers select species to plant on theirfarms. Pines and eucalyptus have been encouraged by the National Forestry Authorityand are widely believed locally to have good financial prospects.The project team has written a handbook on propagation of Hallea, Syzygium and Warburgia.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT23

Case study 3Case study 3: Community-based cultivationof commercially used medicinal plants andtheir integration in home healthcare in Bunzavillage, Mpigi District (Uganda)An elderly man sharing his expertise onmedicinal plants during a field inventoryin Bunza village, Uganda (Case study 3).Photo Dennis Kamoga.Organisation responsible for the project: Joint Ethnobotanical Research andAdvocacy (JERA) is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the development ofindigenous knowledge for sustainable utilization of plant resources.Project team: Dennis Kamoga, Frank Olwari, Cyprian Osinde, Scovia Adikin, NserekoPatiencePeriod of grant support: September 2007-August 2008.Geographical contextPsorospermum febrifugum, a severelyendangered species much in demand as amedicinal plant, Bunza, Uganda (Casestudy 3). Photo Dennis Kamoga.The project is set in Bunza, a village in Kalamba Sub-County, Mpigi District, Central Uganda.Lying at an altitude of 1182-1341 m close to Lake Victoria, the land here is hilly, with flattoppedhills interrupted by broad swamps with papyrus. Temperatures are fairly high and therainfall reliable (mean annual rainfall 1513 mm). There are two rainy seasons per year. Thenatural vegetation is lowland tropical forest, athough much of the land is cultivated or underscrub today, and the area of forest has been reduced to 720 km 2 (this figure is the area ofland in Mpigi District lying within Forest Reserves or Community Forests). Most of the localpeople – mainly ethnically Baganda – are subsistence farmers. The Baganda have strongcultural attachment to certain plants and animals, some of which have symbolic significanceto the society as a whole, such as the bark-cloth tree Ficus natalensis or the small treeDraceana fragrans (used for land demarcation), or serve as totems for clans. The land ismainly under customary tenure, but some is privately owned, termed mailo land.Medicinal plants issuesThe project seeks to ensure future supplies of medicinal plants for the benefits ofhealthcare and livelihoods. Bunza is an impoverished community with low earnings andpoor access to healthcare services such as clinics. The people rely mainly on medicinalplants to meet their healthcare needs, especially for common minor complaints and totreat malaria. Some medicinal plants have become commercialized and traded toKampala, about 30 km away, with the result that some have been over-harvested and arenow locally endangered. An example is the small tree Psorospermum febrifugum, the trunkand root bark of which has gained a reputation for effectiveness in treating skininfections and for body nourishment. Today’s market price in Kampala for driedPsorospermum bark is 5000-10,000 Uganda Shs (US$ 3-6) kg -1 – providing an opportunityfor collectors to make good money in the local context. Another example is Albiziacoriaria, the trunk bark of which is the active ingredient in many locally producedointments used for skin infections. Albizia coriaria became increasingly the target ofdestructive exploitation as it replaced the dwindling Psorospermum febrifugum. Now is anopportune time to find practical ways to conserve these plants in the wild, togetherwith their habitats, combined with steps to ensure sustainable supplies to meet thepeople’s needs.24 MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 3Project aims, activities and achievementsThe purpose of the project is to conserve and promote sustainable accessto medicinal plants in Bunza for the benefits of local healthcare andlivelihoods. The following are the main areas of activity:● Research into the use of plants in home healthcare and therebydetermine local priorities. The method of prioritisation chosen was aninitial listing of diseases and medical conditions, and then of the plantsused to treat them. These plants were then ranked in order ofimportance using pairwise sorting (a standard ethnobotanicalprocedure 74 ).● Training community members in the management of wild medicinalplants, for example sustainable harvesting techniques.● Development of a village nursery for medicinal plants, includingtraining for the community on the collection of seed from wild plantsand the raising of seedlings.● Training members of the community to plant out seedlings from the nursery intotheir farms or back into the wild in order to enrich wild populations.● Production of a technical manual on the propagation, cultivation and use of selectedmedicinal plants.Community members at Bunza,Uganda, planting seeds in their nursery(Case study 3). Photo Dennis Kamoga.Joint Ethnobotanical Research and Advocacy intends to maintain close workingrelationships with local government authorities and agency representatives such asforestry officers, hoping that that they will become stimulated to incorporate medicinalplants into their regular programmes of work.The project has increased local awareness about the conservation of medicinal plants,helped the community to form a medicinal plants committee and supported theestablishment of a nursery for growing medicinal plants.The project started by identifying people within the community with a special interest inmedicinal plants. Three-quarters of them proved to be women, a gender bias thatreflects their greater involvement in healthcare in the home. On the institutional side, avillage committee, the Bunza Medicinal Plants Committee, has been formed and is in theprocess of drafting a constitution. There are three traditional health practitioners on thecommittee (two male, one female), which also includes the chair of the local council. Thecommittee has expressed a special interest in the cultivation of medicinal plants togenerate income, and the project team intends to work with the committee and tradersto achieve a good market price for their produce.Discussions have been held with the district office of the Department of NaturalResources (DNR), which operates a number of plant nurseries in the district. This hasresulted in an understanding that the nursery established by the project at Bunza willserve in the future as the entry point for DNR to the village. When this happens, andarmed with a handbook on the use of plants in local home healthcare, JERA and theDNR will be in a stronger position to approach the district Department of Health todiscuss how the nursery and booklet can best serve the district as a whole for theimprovement of primary healthcare.The results of the survey of plants used for home healthcare at Bunza were combinedwith the results of an earlier survey of national conservation priorities (a ranking ofMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT25

Case study 3medicinal plants based on a market surveyin Kampala). From this consolidated list,eleven species were selected for furtherattention by the project: Albizia coriaria,Aspilia africana, Clerodendron rotundifolium,Garcinia buchananii, Justicia betonica,Pseudarthria hookeri, Psorospermumfebrifugum, Rhus vulgaris, Tetradenia riparia,Punica granatum (pomegranate) andZanthoxylum chalybeum. Propagation andcultivation of these species was thenattempted in the nursery. This wassuccessful in the case of the first ninespecies as listed above, and these havenow been planted out into home gardensor into the wild. Zanthoxylum has proveddifficult as its seeds remain viable for onlya short time and tend to split into twowithin a few days of drying. It is clearly acandidate for systematic research.Landscape at Maya near Bunza (Casestudy 3) showing the hilly agriculturalcountryside and a swamp. The darkcoloured trees (mid-distance on right)are a remnant patch of tropical forestpreserved at a traditional burial ground(now a Christian graveyard). Photo AHA decision was made to integrate the medicinal plant nursery with a eucalyptus nursery,which should increase the chances of it being financially viable. A further advantage is thepooling of skills on nursery techniques. A local citizen has kindly donated half akilogramme of eucalyptus seed to the project, which it is hoped will result in the raisingof several thousand seedlings for sale. Eucalyptus is a fast growing species that canprovide fuelwood and poles for local construction. Its increased availability as a result ofthe project should have the additional benefit of reducing the indiscriminate cutting oftrees for domestic use, as this is currently degrading the local environment.Training has been provided to the community on a variety of topics, including thesustainable harvesting of medicinal plants, the treatment of harvested plant materials, theselection of mother plants to supply seed for nursery planting, the correct time forcollecting seed, the storage and pre-treatment of seed or other propagules prior toplanting, the selection of sites for nurseries, the propagation of plants in nurseries (byseed or vegetative means), and nursery management (preparation of nursery beds andgrowing media; decision-making on watering, root pruning, hardening-off, etc).ProspectsThe technical manual has now been written and is awaiting publication. It includesinformation on the propagation, cultivation and use of the 11 species identified aspriorities. The manual draws extensively on the community’s knowledge, based on thepremise that sustainable development is best founded on the culture and practices ofthe community. Herbal processing has been identified as a future topic for training.26MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 4Case study 4: Building capacity forcommunity-based conservation ofmedicinal plants (Kenya)Organisation responsible for the project: The National Museums of Kenya (NMK)has been established for over 100 years ago and has contributed greatly to theunderstanding of the cultural and natural heritage of Kenya. Working with variouspartners, NMK has made significant contributions to documenting knowledge aboutmedicinal plants and fostering appreciation of this knowledge in the wider society, and tothe management and use of medicinal plants. The present project was based in theKenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (KENRIK), part of the Centre forBiodiversity of NMK. The mission of KENRIK is to ‘identify, record and disseminateindigenous knowledge for use in conservation, education and development programmes with aview to preserving culture and promoting use of natural resources’.Project team and members of NyanderaGreen Valley Conservation Group, Kenya(Case study 4A). From left to right:Mrs Naomi Hamilton; Dr John Otuoma(Kenya Forestry Research Institute);Ms Penina Ochieng, Mr Peter Oyolo andMr Samwel Otieno (all of NGVCG);Ms Peris Kariuki (National Museums ofKenya). Photo AH.Project team: Peris Kariuki, Patrick Maundu, Staline Kibet, Phanuel Oballa, Ndua Chegeand Peris Kamau.Period of grant support: February 2006-June 2007.The project has developed from other work on medicinal plants undertaken by NMKand supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Part of thisMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT27

Case study 4work was in the Luo-Suba region and aimed at enhancing the capacity for thesustainable use and conservation of medicinal plants. Since 2003, NMK has acted as thecoordinating institution for Kenya in a ‘Network on Medicinal Plants and TraditionalMedicine in East Africa’.Geographical context and medicinal plant issuesNursery run by Nyeri Traditional HealthPractitoners Association, Nyeri, Kenya(Case study 4B). The large leafed plant isCordia africana.Photo AH.The field activities of the project were conducted in three parts of Kenya, describedseparately below. These places are geographically separate and culturally varied,representing contrasting conditions for the analysis of best practice in conservation ofmedicinal plants. Kenya is a tropical country with a varied climate and natural vegetationfrom tropical forest to semi-desert. However, little forest now remains, now coveringless than 2% of the total land area; most of that which survives is now in public hands(managed by the Forestry and/or Wildlife Service). Forests are a major source ofmedicinal plants in Kenya, so that forest preservation and improved forest managementare matters of central concern with medicinal plants.The main thrusts of efforts to improve the conservation status of medicinal plants inKenya have been attempts at improved forest management and initiatives to cultivatespecies in commercial demand. Since 2005, official government policy has favoured the28MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 4participatory management of forests, involving agreements on the use and managementof forests drawn up between local communities and the Forest or Wildlife Service. Theseare early days and a lot more effort is needed to determine how such agreements canbest be formulated with respect to medicinal plants. As for cultivation, only a few species(for example, Aloe spp., Artemisia annua, Prunus africana) are cultivated on any scale. Amajor limitation in developing cultivation for slow-growing species is that wild stocks aregenerally still available – and this is the cheaper option, although in practice this ofteninvolves illegal collection.Project site (4A): Bondo and Kisumu East Districts, Nyanza Province: Theseneighbouring districts, lying at 1140-1350 m close to Lake Victoria, enjoy a reasonablyhigh rainfall (1630 mm at Maseno) and equitable temperature (20-30 0 C). The principalproductive activities are agriculture and fishing. Traditional medicine is extremely popularamong the local Luo community and there is booming trade, with buyers of medicinalplants coming from all over Kenya to make purchases in Kibuye Market (Kisumu City).Some species of medicinal plants are becoming scarce, related to commercial overharvesting,forest loss and agricultural spread. The trees Erythrina abyssinica and Kigeliaafricana have a particular problem. Although popular medicinal plants, they are littleplanted because of cultural beliefs and taboos.Project site (4B): Nyeri District, Central Province: The traditional inhabitants are theAgikuyu, most of whom (thanks to early exposure to modern education andChristianity) show little interest in maintaining their cultural practices such as traditionalmedicine. Nyeri is a productive and intensively farmed district, with much of the landunder private ownership. There has been widespread planting of exotic trees, withnatural forest surviving on Mt Kenya and the Aberdare Range. Many species of medicinalplants have become depleted as forest has been lost and this, together with culturalforces, has resulted in a marked erosion in traditional knowledge. Traditional wild greens(nutritionally significant in Africa) – such as Amaranthus and Urtica massaica in the Nyeriarea – are little used today, except by communities living adjacent to forests. However,the wild plant Strychnos henningsii (muteta) is a common delicacy in bone soup in hotels.Project site (4C): Mbeere District, Eastern Province: This district is predominantlyoccupied by the Mbeere community. It is a drier area than Nyeri, liable to droughts andfamines and more on the margins of national social and economic development 75 . Thenatural vegetation ranges from broadleaved wooded savanna with Acacia and Combretum– in relatively wet areas – to thorn scrub with Acacia and Commiphora in drier areas.Indigenous foods are still commonly eaten and traditional medicine widely practiced;consequently the local residents display a detailed and perceptive knowledge andunderstanding of their environment. Their main concern regarding medicinal plants is agrowing scarcity of some species, the causes of which include a decline in natural habitatwith the expansion of cultivation, the over-harvesting of some species and competitionfrom invasive plants. Some species are over-harvested because of demands for them asmedicinals (e.g. Aloe spp. and Osyris lanceolata), while others are over-harvested for otherpurposes, such as charcoal manufacture or woodcarving.Project aims, activities and achievementsThe purposes of the project were to build the capacity for community-basedconservation of medicinal plants through activities at local, national and regional levels. Asix-person Project Advisory Group (PAG) has overseen the project, its members drawnMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT29

Case study 4from NMK, the Kenya Forestry ResearchInstitute (KEFRI), and the Department ofCulture. The PAG selected the three fieldlocalities for the project based oncompetitive tendering. The main tools forcapacity building at community level havebeen seminars, training sessions,community exchange visits, support to thecommunities to document theirknowledge, and support for nurseries.Fruits of Strychnos spinosa, a medicinaltree in Kianjiru Forest Reserve, Mbeere,Kenya (Case study 4C).Photo AH.4A. Bondo-Kisumu East: Two groupswere supported in Nyanza Province –Nyandera Green Valley ConservationGroup (Bondo District) and MiguyeConservation Group (Kisumu East).Activities with the Nyandera group(membership 150) have revolved around anexisting multi-purpose tree nursery,boosted under the project with medicinalplants, especially local species that arebecoming rare. The Miguye group,comprising herbalists and traditional birthattendants (membership 28), has set aside a50-hectare area of species-rich scrubspecifically for the conservation ofmedicinal plants. The project team hasassisted the group to prepare a legalagreement on the status and managementof the reserve, including a specification thatits resources must be used sustainably. Tenmembers of the Miguye group have planted about 50 species of medicinal plants aroundtheir homesteads to provide handy sources of supply and to reduce pressure on the wildpopulations. The project has facilitated exchanges between the Nyandera and Miguyegroups, located some 10 km apart, to share their experiences on medicinal plants.4B. Nyeri: The project at Nyeri was implemented by the Nyeri Traditional HealthPractitioners Association (NYETPA), a district association of traditional healers, registeredin 2004 and based in Nyeri Town (the headquarters of Central Province). As an exampleof its service, NYETPA offered a free medical clinic in 2004 for people suffering fromopportunistic infections associated with HIV/AIDS (at celebrations marking AfricanTraditional Medicine Day – on 31 August). Members of NYETPA have been involved indrafting Kenya’s National Policy on Traditional Medicine and Medicinal Plants 59 . Capacitybuilding for NYETPA under the project has taken the form of training sessions on theconservation, processing and marketing of medicinal plants, and assistance with theestablishment of a two-acre nursery and botanical garden at Nyeri Cultural Centre, NyeriTown (a public facility). Medicinal trees planted in the garden have included Albiziagummifera, Croton megalocarpus, Prunus africana and Warburgia ugandensis. Seedlingsproduced in the nursery have been planted out at the homesteads of members ofNYETPA and in public places. NYETPA has held monthly meetings for its members toexchange knowledge on medicinal plants, including about their medicinal use.30 MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 44C. Mbeere: Two groups were supported by the project at Mbeere – EndangeredSpecies of Kianjiru Forest (ENSOMEP) and Kwamachembe Womens Self-help Group.More than 40 members of these groups have been provided with training on thecollection and propagation of seeds, nursery management, and techniques of sustainablewild harvesting or East African sandalwood (Osyris lanceolata). Each group was supportedwith nursery equipment and a water tank. Medicinal species raised by ENSOMEP andplanted on members’ farms have included Dalbergia lactea, D. melanoxylon, Olea europaeaand Warburgia ugandensis. The Kwamachembe group has been a pioneer in propagatingEast African sandalwood from cuttings – this is a semi-parasitic tree in high commercialdemand.The achievements of the project have included:● Over 200 community members trained on approaches to the conservation ofmedicinal plants.● Five medicinal plant nurseries initiated and/or strengthened.● Medicinal plants documented in three regions of Kenya.● Medicinal plants re-introduced into farms in three regions.● Local health traditions revitalised in the three regions.● Public awareness of the project enhanced through a project poster and a display atthe Nyandera and Nyeri sites.ProspectsThe project supported a regional meeting in Nairobi in September 2006 to considernational reports on the status of community-based conservation of medicinal plants inKenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The meeting provided the opportunity to start thepreparation of a larger regional project, funds for which are currently being sought. Stepstaken in Kenya in preparation for this project have included prioritization of species forhome healthcare by the Nyandera and Kwamachembe groups (herbal home healthcareis expected to be a major focus of the intended project) and preparation ofmanagement plans for medicinal plants in Kianjiru Forest Reserve and in the medicinalplants conservation area at Miguye. It is intended to develop three provincial-levelMedicinal Plants Conservation Parks under the new project (for a description of thisconcept, see Case study 12). These parks will provide various services, includinginformation, education, research and nurseries. Negotiations are in hand to establishthese at Kisumu Regional Museum, Nyeri Cultural Centre and Embu Cultural Centre.These provincial centres and associated community-level activities will be supported intheir development by the establishment of a national information centre on medicinalplants at KENRIK.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT31

Case study 5Looking down on Miandam Town,Pakistan (Case study 5).Photo AH.Case study 5: Promotion of sustainableharvest of medicinal plants at Miandam,Swat (Pakistan)Organisation responsible for the project: WWF-Pakistan, part of the worldwideWWF network, was established in 1970 with the mission of saving wildlife species andtheir habitats, and the promotion of nature conservation and environmental protectionfor sustainable development. It is the largest non-governmental conservation organisationin the country. WWF-Pakistan first became involved in ethnobotany and communitybasedapproaches in 1997 especially through activities at Ayubia National Park.Project team: Ashiq Ahmad Khan (until February 2008), Syed Kamran Hussain andShabana Haider (all WWF-Pakistan).Period of grant support: June 2006-May 2008.Geographical contextMiandam, a valley in the Hindu Kush mountains of northern Pakistan, is located in thenorthern part of the district of Swat, part of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).Well known as a summer resort, the valley ranges in elevation from 1200 to 3660 m and32MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 5contains 11 villages and 15 hamlets with a total population of about 20,000. The lowerslopes of the Miandam valley are extensively farmed, while forest especially of pine (Pinuswallichiana) becomes prominent at higher altitudes. Forest at Miandam is the property ofa number of private landowners, with the Provincial Forest Department of NWFPmaintaining some responsibility for management. Revenue from timber sales is splitbetween the owners and the Forest Department. Although forests at Miandam canpotentially provide a sustainable source of many goods and services, they are sufferingtoday from degradation, mainly due to timber harvesting. Overgrazing by domestic stockis a contributory factor. It is estimated that the volume of illegal harvest exceeds that ofthe legal harvest (which amounted to 2.6 million cubic feet in 2007). Miandam isconsidered to be a prime site for Himalayan medicinal plants in Pakistan with forest theirmain habitat. There are no regulations controlling the collection of medicinal plants, someof which have become scarce due to commercial over-harvesting combined with highgrazing pressure.Medicinal plant issuesMany people at Miandam, especially women and children, suffer from ill health related topoverty, lack of knowledge and poor hygiene. In earlier times, people at Miandam reliedprincipally on herbal remedies to prevent and cure their illnesses (with 179 locallygrowing species of plants used), but such practices have declined in recent years due toa shortage of some of the species, cultural change and a lack of institutional support forthe development of herbal medicine. Western medical facilities are seriously deficientwith only one primary healthcare centre in this valley of 20,000 people. This centresuffers from shortages of staff (no doctor, just one medical officer and two technicians),equipment and medicines. The nearest hospital is 56 km away in Saidu Sharif (the capitalof Swat), but this is not realistically accessible to the poorer inhabitants of Miandam.Two groups of people at Miandam are involved in the commercial collection of wildmedicinal plants - poorer local residents and migrant pastoralists. The latter are believedto be responsible for 75% of the harvest. The main species collected are Adiantumvenustum, Berberis lycium, Bergenia ciliata,Bistorta ampilexicaulis, Geraniumwallichianum, Morchella esculenta, Paeoniaemodi, Podophyllum emodi, Valeriana wallichiiand Viola biflora. The number of localresidents involved in this work isestimated at 3000, providing them with anestimated average of 25% of their income.Among the local residents, 60% of thecollectors are boys and girls (12-16 yearsold), 30% are men and 10% older women(over 40 years old). According to researchundertaken by the project, the collectorsat Miandam are poorly organised,untrained in the art of sustainablecollection (often uprooting whole plantsunnecessarily) and not fully aware of thebest ways to store the collected material.They have little knowledge of the market.Women with samples of wild-collectedmedicinal plants (including Viola biflora,Paeonia emodi, Skimmia laureola andValeriana jatamansi), Miandam, Pakistan.Photo Shabana Haider.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT33

Case study 5The nomads responsible for the bulk of collection of medicinalplants at Miandam pass through the valley annually, bringing morethan 40,000 goats which browse their way through the forests andhigher pastures, seriously impeding the regeneration of trees. Theowners of the pastures exact a tax known as Qalang from thenomads in exchange for the use of their pastures, amounting toaround US$ 85-120 annually, which from the nomads’ perspective ismore than offset by the income they gain from the sale ofmedicinal plants, estimated at US$ 450. It is reported that theowners have little awareness of the scale of collection of medicinalplants by the nomads.Project aims, activities and achievementsDemonstration garden of medicinalplants, Miandam, Pakistan (Case study 5).Photo Shabana Haider.A range of activities have been undertaken in support of theproject’s purpose, which is to build capacity at Miandam for the conservation ofmedicinal plants. An initial project step was the holding of a consultation meetinginvolving all sectors of the community, including forest owners, medicinal plantcollectors, representatives of local non-governmental organisations and localgovernment officials. All present agreed to give their full cooperation and support tothe establishment of Miandam as a demonstration site for the sustainable use ofmedicinal plants. Two local project groups were formed, the Miandam DevelopmentOrganisation (for men) and Miandam Women’s Organisation for Development andConservation of Medicinal Plants.The project has held two training workshops for a total of 45 local commercialcollectors of medicinal plants. Subjects covered included techniques of sustainablecollection, post-harvest treatment, storage and marketing. Two demonstration nurserieshave been established to promote the cultivation of medicinal plants by local farmersand these now contain 78 species. Achievements at the nurseries have includedmultiplication of bulbs of saffron (Crocus sativa) from 2000 to 5000 and propagation oflocal yew trees (Taxus fuana 76 ) from cuttings and without the use of rooting hormones.Apart from serving as demonstration sites, these nurseries are regarded as ex situgermplasm stores for threatened species. They have been used for research by studentsof botany from several universities.Most activities to raise awareness about medicinal plants have been aimed at schools,known by WWF-Pakistan from previous experience to be the best targets for suchactivities in communities similar to those at Miandam. There are seven schools in thevalley, making it very difficult to reach the entire student population directly. Instead,the project has concentrated on teachers, with the aim of making them moreenvironmentally aware and motivated. In turn, the teachers have been encouraged toequip their students with clear visions about a bright future for the environment, andwith the knowledge and skills for them to participate meaningfully in processes aimedat conservation and sustainable development. Two training workshops have beenorganised for the teachers. An achievement of the project has been the establishmentof a Nature Club in every school in the valley, each with an average of 14 members.Nature Club members are now participating in various activities related to plantconservation, including celebrating various events, documenting indigenous knowledgeabout medicinal plants, and organising quizzes in schools on knowledge of nature.34MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 5Various research activities have been undertaken by the project. One of these was astudy of the impact of the nomadic grazers on medicinal plants, taking advantage of aban on the use of their land imposed by some of the forest owners. This researchrevealed a huge difference between the areas open to the nomads and those closed tothem, the number of species of medicinal plants being much higher in the latter (78species, compared to 33) and with much higher population densities (reduced by 90% inthe open area). Species absent from the open areas included Paeonia emodi andPodophyllum emodi.ProspectsWWF-Pakistan intends to maintain its commitment to the development of Miandam asa demonstration site for the sustainable use of medicinal plants. Awareness-raising isseen as especially crucial and to this end two strategies for continuing the work havebeen developed by the project team. One of these is a general Awareness andCommunication Strategy aimed at all stakeholders at Miandam, including permanentresidents, seasonal visitors, schools teachers, students, religious leaders and the localgovernment. The other is a Women’s Participation Strategy.A consultancy has been established to trial the sustainable harvesting of medicinal plantsin five forest compartments belonging to private forest owners. The arrangement is forthe consultancy to pay the royalty (Qalang) traditionally paid by the nomadic grazers,develop a plan for sustainable harvesting, and engage the local residents in collecting themedicinal plants according to the plan. The local residents will be paid 10% above thegoing market rates.Itinerant traders in morels Morchella,Bulashar valley, Pakistan (Case study 5).Photo AH.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT35

Case study 6Some of the 80 amchis who attended aParticipatory Workshop on Strategic PolicyDevelopment for Medicinal PlantsConservation, Ley, Ladakh, India (Casestudy 6). Some members of LSTM areseated at front left.Photo Tsewang Gonbo.Case study 6: Development of amethodology on medicinal plantconservation to strengthen amchi medicinein Ladakh (India)Organisation responsible for project: Ladakh Society for Traditional Medicines(LSTM) was founded in 2000 by a group of Ladakhis concerned about the problemsfacing Tibetan medicine, also known as Sowa Rigpa or amchi medicine, in contemporaryLadakh (an amchi is a healer and physician following the Tibetan medical tradition).Working at first as the local implementing partner of Nomad Research and International(Nomad RSI, France), LSTM has progressively increased its autonomy in terms ofdecision-making and project management, becoming registered as an Indian NGO in2002. LSTM is today an autonomous entity, designing, implementing and evaluating itsown activities, while maintaining a close partnership with Nomad RSI.Project team: Tsewang Gonbo, Thupstan Chosazng and other members of LadakhSociety for Traditional Medicines (LSTM), working closely with Mohammed Abbas(Forest Range Officer, Forest Department) and Fanny Jamet and Calum Blaikie(NOMAD RSI).36 MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 6Period of grant support: September 2005 – February 2007.LSTM believes that Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan medicine) is vital to the health status of Ladakh,representing an important part of the social fabric and cultural heritage of the region.LSTM’s mission is to revitalise the Sowa Rigpa medical system through a range ofactivities focusing on education, capacity building and medicinal plant conservation.Building on in-depth research, the revitalisation programme aims to address theproblems facing Sowa Rigpa according to the social dynamics of contemporary Ladakhisociety. The present programme phase, concentrating on conservation of medicinalplants, follows an earlier programme phase that included mounting a four-year full-timetraining course in Sowa Rigpa. Many of the 15 apprentice amchi who graduated from thiscourse come from remote villages, in which they have since established medical clinics.These newly qualified amchi have proved useful local contact points for the presentproject, which is specifically concerned with supplies of medicinal plants.Geographical contextLadakh is a trans-Himalayan region in Jammu and Kashmir State in northwest India witha unique environmental and cultural heritage. Located between 2900 and 7200 metresabove sea level, Ladakh is characterized by extreme conditions, including severe cold inwinter and high solar radiation in summer. Annual rainfall is very low, making the area ahigh-altitude cold desert. These conditions are highly challenging for the growth ofplants, for agricultural production and for the balance of healthcare. Sowa Rigpa remainsextremely important for the health and wellbeing of the Ladakhi people and isparticularly valued in the many remote rural areas where access to western treatment isproblematic and often impossible during the winter months.Medicinal plant issuesMany of the region’s medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are under threat due toincreased commercial harvesting, unsustainable collection, overgrazing by livestock andineffective management systems. Unskilledoutside collectors sometimes take MAPsin the wrong seasons or misidentify theplants. Road construction, increasingtrekking and damage by vehicles are othercauses of environmental degradation. Asmany Himalayan MAPs are slow-growingperennial herbs with roots or rhizomesthe parts collected, and grow in verylimited areas, they are particularlyvulnerable to these pressures.Sapi, where the first community group inLadakh has been formed to manage wildmedicinal plants (Case study 6).Photo Tsewang Gonbo.Project aim, activities andachievementsThe eventual aim of LSTM’s conservationprogramme is to ensure that supplies ofmedicinal plants are available for localhealthcare, especially through effectivemanagement of wild populations, but alsoMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT37

Case study 6through cultivation. The present project was a pilot phase, designed to lay the foundationfor larger-scale efforts. Its specific purposes were to:● Build the capacities of key local partners regarding the conservation and sustainablemanagement of MAPs.● Organise awareness campaigns on MAPs at village level, develop partnerships and laythe foundations for future collaborative and effective actions.● Gather information on MAP distribution, abundance, collection practices, use andtrade.● Prioritize species and areas for in situ conservation and ex situ cultivation.● Produce and distribute materials for raising awareness of MAP conservation andcultivation in Ladakh.● Organise information sharing, training and field activities on MAP issues.One of the principal activities has been visits by a team from LSTM to villages selectedbecause of their fame in Ladakh as hotspots for medicinal plants. Many of the 20 villagesso visited have been in the Zanskar valley. An average of 175 people (including fromneighbouring communities) has attended each meeting. The purposes of these visitswere to gather information about medicinal plants, raise awareness about the need toconserve medicinal plants and help empower the communities for better managementof the plants. Local amchi and other knowledgeable people (such as shepherds) wereinterviewed about their knowledge of the local distribution, abundance, harvesting andcultivation of medicinal plants. This information was later entered into LSTM’s database,authenticated by voucher specimens. For their part, LSTM provided information to thevillagers on the growing pressures on medicinal plants, the reasons why they should beconserved and on practical ways in which the villagers could act.Rhodiola (roseroot) in Ladakh, India – animportant medicinal plant (Case study 6).Photo: Tsewang Gonbo.One example of a community visit shows how these worked to raise awareness. On avisit to the village of Kanji, the project team included an expert Ladakhi healer (AmchiGyurmet Namgyal), who ran a clinic for the community during the visit to providetreatments and to increase interest in the project. Many villagers availed themselves ofthis service. The main event during thevisit was an evening workshop for thewhole community, which included activitiescarried out in sub-groups, in which men,women and children (separately) listed andranked local medicinal plants according totheir knowledge (the total number ofspecies named was 80). Sketch maps weredrawn showing the sites where themedicinal plants occur. Some educationaland Ladakhi movies were shown at thestart of the meeting to attract attendanceand lighten the atmosphere.This workshop was not intended as a oneoffevent. Rather, it is planned as the firstof a series of activities to be carried out inthe village over a period of time, hopefullyleading to the development of practicalmeasures to enhance the conservation ofmedicinal plants.38MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 6The project was subject to a formal evaluation carried in October-December 2006 andwas judged to have met all its objectives.The main results of the project include:● Improved capacities for working with MAPs by LSTM, amchis and communities.● One seminar with 80 participants and 21 awareness campaigns held in 20 villagesacross Ladakh, raising local awareness of the importance of MAPs for Sowa Rigpaand drawing attention to their increasing scarcity, as well as empoweringcommunities to better manage their natural resources.● Species prioritization criteria developed to establish important species forprotection and cultivation in the target areas.● 500 posters on MAPs distributed to amchis, schools and public buildings acrossLadakh, aiding identification of plants and raising awareness.● A special issue of the Trans-Himalayan Amchi Medical Education Newsletter (THAME)produced and distributed across Ladakh and to other parts of the Himalayas. Thisissue was concerned specifically with MAPs. The newsletter aims to provide detailedinformation for practitioners of Sowa Rigpa.Progress at the village level has varied according to local conditions. One of the firstvillages to be visited was Sapi in Kargil District, a site well known to amchi in Ladakh forits medicinal plants. The work at Sapi has proved exceptionally fruitful, the villagers soondeciding to create their own Medicinal Plants Conservation Committee (MPCC) toensure sustainability in the harvesting of wild medicinal plants – this is the first suchmanagement group established in Ladakh. Sapi is a mixed community of Muslims andBuddhists and the committee has been established with equal representation from eachreligion and also with gender equity.Members of the MPCC at Sapi decided that they would monitor and advise on thecollection of medicinal plants by outsiders (whether amchi or commercial collectors),from whom a fee (100 rupees) would be requested for village development. LSTM held afollow-up training session at Sapi in July 2006, partly for the MPCC and partly for thegeneral community.ProspectsThe next steps in LSTM’s ongoing programme include:● Further training for the Medicinal Plants Conservation Committee at Sapi.● Continue to build the general capacities of the project team and key stakeholders(including practical skills for in situ conservation and cultivation).● Continue awareness-raising activities and follow them up with activities toimplement community-based conservation in ‘hot-spot’ areas (formation of MAPmanagement committees; in situ conservation activities; small-scale cultivation;improvement of exchange networks).● Complete a detailed database about Ladakh’s MAPs and disseminate the data topartners and others through the publication of a bilingual book.● Conduct regional workshops and training sessions to enhance skills and knowledgerelated to the conservation of medicinal plants, and encourage exchanges andcooperation in specific hot-spot zones.● Improve communication and collaboration with other organisations working onsimilar projects in the Himalayas.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT39

Case study 7Case study 7: Capacity-building for linkingmedicinal plants conservation and sustainablelivelihoods in Western Himalayas,Uttarakhand (India)Organisation responsible for the project: Applied Environmental ResearchFoundation (AERF) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) founded in 1994 andbased at Pune (India). Most earlier work by AERF has been in the Western Ghats, thoughwith some involvement in the eastern Himalayas at Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.AERF’s expertise is working with communities for the linked purposes of conservationof biological diversity and improved rural livelihoods based on natural resources.Project team: Archana Godbole, Jayant Sarnaik and Tapajit Bhattacharya.Period of grant support: July 2006-May 2007.Geographical context including medicinal plants issuesUttarakhand declared itself The Herbal State in 2003 demonstrating the high officialstatus accorded here to medicinal plants. Medicinal plants are found at all altitudes, fromthe sub-tropics up to the alpine zone. At higher altitudes, which are of particularconcern to the project, high value medicinal plants are especially concentrated inpastures known as bugiyals, found between the tree-line and the glaciers. Bugiyals are alsoprime grazing grounds for domestic stock. Agriculture is the principal economic activity,but the topography is very rugged and only limited space is available to cultivate crops.The average farm size is very small at less than one acre. Many types of crops aregrown, including wheat, Amaranthus and potatoes. The average per capita in 2001 incomewas US$ 160.Commercial medicinal plants have been widely over-harvested in Uttarakhand so thatmany today have become hard to find. In response, the government has promotedcultivation of medicinal plants and banned the collection of 28 of the most seriouslyendangered species, including Aconitum heterophyllum, Cordyceps sinensis, Dactylorizahatagirea, Nardostachys grandiflora (N. jatamansi), Podophyllum emodi (P. hexandrum) andSwertia chirayita. Government-backed co-operatives known as Bheshaj Sangh and theHerbal Research and Development Institute are responsible for prescribing areas andspecies allowed for collection, and for encouraging cultivation.Project aims, activities and achievementsThe goals of the project were relatively modest, given that funding was only available forone year and that this part of the Himalayas is new to AERF. Activities included theidentification of people and organisations involved with medicinal plants, awarenessraising about the need for conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants, theprovision of information on medicinal plants to communities, a stakeholders’ workshop,and the building of village-level capacity for sustainable harvesting. On the awarenessfront, a coloured poster of some major species of Himalayan medicinal plants has beenprinted and distributed, and two booklets in Hindi on Himalayan medicinal plants and40 MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 7relevant government regulations have been prepared and distributed to more than 20villages in Chamoli.On the basis of secondary data, it was assessed that two districts in Uttarakhand (Paudiand Chamoli) are especially important for the collection and cultivation of medicinalplants. Based on this finding and with the help of local NGOs, awareness-generatingmeetings were held in both districts. Information received at these meetings confirmedthe key position of Chamoli, which was then selected for subsequent field activities. Inthe case of Paudi, two meetings were organised, attended by people from 10 villages. Itwas clear at these meetings that the local people are interested in medicinal plants, butit was also found that about 80% of the local men have migrated to urban areas to seekemployment and that most commercial collection of medicinal plants in Paudi is byNepali immigrants rather than local people (a finding subsequently substantiated by localNGOs). It was decided that, with these complications, Paudi would not be included inthe immediate field plans of the project.Ali bugiyal, a high altitude meadow inChamoli District, India – the habitat ofmany rare and endangered species ofHimalayan medicinal plants (Case study 7).Photo Archana Godbole.The next step was to carry out Rapid Livelihood Analyses (RLA) in 21 villages inChamoli. These analyses were designed to give a quick picture of the status of medicinalplants within the district and to reveal how activities relating to medicinal plants fit intothe lives of different sections of the community. The RLA techniques used included semistructuredinterviews, village resource mapping, transect walks and focus groupmeetings 74 , the latter especially with Mahila Mangal Dals, which are women’s groupsactive in forest conservation in Chamoli.The survey identified two groups of local people as having an exceptional interest inmedicinal plants, including knowledge of their availability, conservation status, uses andcorrect times for harvesting. They are shepherds in more remote villages, accustomed totaking their flocks to the bugiyals for summer grazing from May to September, and theMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT41

Case study 7Bhotia community – nomadic herders involved in long-distance annual movementsincluding periods of summer residence at high altitude. With regards to gender, it is menrather than women who are largely responsible for the commercial collection of wildmedicinal plants. The survey revealed that there is much illegal harvesting of medicinalplants, although (perhaps not surprisingly) little was learnt in detail about precisely whatis happening. Apart from illegally harvested species, medicinal plants are being collectedfrom protected areas, such as the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, from where they arecarried over the border into China. Over the last 20 years, there has been an upsurge inoutsiders visiting Uttarakhand, especially from Nepal, to collect medicinal plants for sale.Within Chamoli, AERF decided to concentrate its more detailed activities in two smalleradministrative areas, Ghat and Dewal, where interest in medicinal plants is particularlyhigh. One of these activities was a stakeholders’ workshop held in April 2007 atNandprayag, a small town accessible to various villages having a strong interest in medicinalplants. The purpose of this workshop was to bring together different players involved withmedicinal plants, identify and discuss related conservation and livelihood issues, and seeksolutions especially through collaborative programmes. In the end, 49 participantsrepresenting 14 stakeholder groups attended, including collectors, local community groups,companies, research institutions and government line agencies. Unfortunately, traders werereluctant to attend, but otherwise the workshop was judged a success.Participants from the villages of Balanand Himni at a training session onmedicinal plants, Chamoli District, India(Case study 7). Photo Archana Godbole.Two villages close to Nandprayag (Ghese and Ramni) have embraced cultivation of a fewspecies of medicinal plants, such as kuth (Saussurea costus) and kutki (Picrorhiza kurrooa).Information from these villages and other sources has revealed serious constraints onthe cultivation of medicinal plants. They include difficulties relating to the small size of42 MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 7land holdings, problems with combatingpests and with marketing. The small farmsize means that there is an added risk tolivelihoods from growing medicinal plantsfor sale (rather than growing food cropsfor subsistence, or annual cash crops suchas potatoes). Medicinal plants tend to takeseveral years to reach maturity, meaningthat there is a long time-lapse before anypossibility of financial return. Additionally,no government subsidies are available tosupport farmers with less than 2.5hectares of land under medicinal plantscultivation. With regards to marketing, thevillagers have little knowledge of themarkets, or skills to negotiate effectivelywith traders. They report problems inobtaining permits to transport theirproduce. It was found that women in these communities have generally little interest incultivating medicinal plants due to the problems described above, but are moreinterested in nursery raising and the processing of products, both of which have thepotential to provide more immediate income.Women processing harvested medicinalplants in Himni village, Chamoli, India(Case study 7).Photo Archana Godbole.Four training workshops were held in Chamoli, each attended by people from a numberof neighbouring villages. The aims of the workshops were to increase the knowledge andskills of the communities in relation to medicinal plants. A training module was preparedfor use at the workshops. The development of management plans for medicinal plantswas discussed, including issues of tenure and access, the size of annual harvesting quotas,parts or sizes of plants to be harvested, methods of monitoring, and how to periodicallyre-evaluate the plans. On the awareness side, information was provided at theworkshops on the identification of medicinal plants and on district level institutionsrelevant to development based on medicinal plants.The project has allowed a crosschecking of popular ideas about the medicinal plantsector in a particular part of Uttarakhand, where it has increased awareness among thecommunities and other stakeholders of the importance of conservation and sustainableuse of medicinal plants. It has resulted in increased local knowledge, includingidentification of species and better understanding of the markets.ProspectsLooking forward, the project has highlighted more precise areas in which facilitationfrom an agency such as AERF would be useful. Fortunately, following the project, AERFhas been able to secure funds from the Indian National Medicinal Plants Board, whichhas allowed the work to continue. AERF is now in the process of establishing twomedicinal plants resource centres in Chamoli to provide one-stop services at the blocklevel for people interested in medicinal plants. AERF is working towards thedevelopment of a comprehensive long-term proposal for the conservation of medicinalplants in the western Himalayas.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT43

Case study 8Case study 8: Community-basedconservation and sustainable utilization ofpotential medicinal plants in Rasuwa (Nepal)Organisation responsible for the project: The work is led by the EthnobotanicalSociety of Nepal (ESON), a national non-governmental organisation (NGO) devoted tobotanical aspects of conservation and sustainable development. ESON regards the workdescribed here as the first stage in a long-term commitment to the people and plants ofRasuwa. ESON has worked closely on this project with two district level NGOs,Manekor Society Nepal and FECOFUN-Rasuwa. Manekor is an NGO dedicated to thewell-being and development of Rasuwa’s Tamang people who make up 65% of thepopulation. FECOFUN-Rasuwa is the district branch of a national NGO which coordinatesmore than 30,000 Community Forest User Groups in Nepal.Project team: Professor Krishna K. Shrestha, Mr Ram C. Poudel, Dr Narendra N.Tiwari, Mrs Ila Shrestha and Ms Sangeeta Rajbhandary (all of ESON), Mr KamalHumagain and Ms Saroj Yadav (MSc students), Mr Kaisang N. Tamang (President, ManekorSociety Nepal), Mr Binod Poudel (President, FECOFUN-Rasuwa), and Ms Kabita Ghale(Social Mobilizer, Tatopani village, Chilime, Rasuwa District).Periods of grant support: September 2006-September 2007 (1 st phase); June 2008-May 2009 (2 nd phase).View from Tatopani village, Chilimi, Nepal(Case study 8). Medicinal plants are found inboth the forest and the sub-alpine meadowsabove. Photo AH.Geographical contextRasuwa is a district in Central Nepal (900-7410 m), bordered to the north by Tibet.Dhunche is the district headquarters. About half of Rasuwa is covered by Langtang44 MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 8National Park established in 1976. Langtang is well known to trekkers (10,000-20,000tourists visit annually) and pilgrims, more than 50,000 of whom annually walk up to theholy lake of Gosainkunda at 4400 m. Most of the Tamang are engaged in small-scalefarming and pastoralism, and the average household income is extremely low.Rasuwa falls mostly into the Temperate and Alpine zones of the Himalayas, thevegetation including various types of coniferous and broad-leafed forest, as well as highaltitude pasture. The flora is rich, with over 1000 species of vascular plants recordedfrom within and around Langtang National Park, including 16 endemics 77 . Forests outsidethe park fall either under the authority of Community Forest User Groups, each with anassigned area of forest and required to follow an Operation Plan as agreed with theForest Department, or else are National Forests directly under the Forest Department.Medicinal plant issuesThere is high dependency on traditional medicine in Rasuwa, especially by people livingat high altitude. Commercial collection of medicinal plants is a major activity, providingthe sole source of income for many. Species harvested to sell include those given inTable 1 and also Acorus calamus (Bojho), Asparagus racemosus (Kurilo), Bergenia ciliata(Pakhanved), Delphinium himalayai (Nirmasi), Fritillaria cirrhosa (Kakoli), various species oflichens (Jhyau), Paris polyphylla (Satuwa), Podophyllum hexandrum (Laghupatra), Taxuswallichiana (Lauth salla) and Zanthoxylum armatum (Timmur). Most plant materials aretraded to Kathmandu and then pass on to India, but some move northwards illegallyinto Tibet. Prices paid to collectors are very low, even for good quality material. No careis taken in collecting plants for sale, related to the open-access nature of theseresources. There is a complete lack of management, apart from blanket bans on thecollection of certain species or on collection within the national park, neither of whichis particularly effective. The only species of medicinal plant cultivated on any scale isChiraito although still only very little, encouraged by the park authorities in the bufferzone of the national park.R Latin name Local name Part used Elevation (m) T D A1 Swertia chirayita Chiraito Entire plant 1500-2500 + + 32 Nardostachys grandiflora Jatamansi Rhizome, leaves 3000-5300 + 23 Aconitum spicatum Bikh, Bish Root 2500-4300 + 44 Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora Kutki Rhizome 3500-4500 + 35 Rheum australe Padamchal Rhizome 3200-4200 + 26 Valeriana jatamansi Sugandhabal Rhizome 1300-3300 + + 27 Dactylorhiza hatagirea Paanch aunle Rhizome 2800-4000 + 58 Aconitum bisma Nirmasi Root 3000-4500 + 49 Rhododendron anthopogon Sunpati Flowers 3300-5100 + 110 Rubia manjith Majitho Root 1200-3200 + 2Table 1.Top ten medicinal plants at Rasuwa, Nepal, as prioritised by the communitiesinvolved in Case study 8. R = rank order; T = traded; D = in domestic use;A = abundance (1 = abundant, 5 = extremely rare).MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT45

Case study 8Project aims, activities and achievementsThe aim of the project is to build capacity among theTamang community for the sustainable use andconservation of medicinal plants. The project has beenactive on many fronts, always taking a participatoryapproach. Initial steps included a literature review and anassessment of local and national organisations relevant tothe project. Agreements were signed with Manekor SocietyNepal and FECOFUN-Rasuwa, once they had beenidentified as key partners for the project. Both these NGOsare accustomed to working in remote villages and are wellrespected by the communities.The project team in Rasuwa, Nepal (Casestudy 8). Left to right: (back row)Mr Ram C. Poudel, Ms SangeetaRahbhandary, Mr Kaisang Tamang(Manekor Society Nepal), ProfessorKrishna K. Shrestha, Dr Narendra N.Tiwari, Mrs Ila Shrestha; (front row)Mr Pinod Poundel (FECOFUN-Rasuwa),Mr Kamal Humagain, Ms Saroj Yadav,Mr Yagya Rokaya (Manekor Society Nepal).Photo ESON.An inception workshop was held at Dhunche in November2006, organised jointly by ESON, Manekor and FECOFUN-Rasuwa. A wide range of stakeholders attended, including the Chief District Officer,Local Development Officer, District Forest Officer, Acting Warden of Langtang NationalPark, Nepal Police Officer, and representatives of NGOs, CFUGs and herbal traders. Theworkshop proved very useful for gaining local acceptance of the project and forgingcollaborative partnerships. The Forest Department agreed to work with ESON toupdate the Operation Plans of Community Forests so as to incorporate medicinalplants, with a target of two Operation Plans per year. Two sites were identified as fieldareas for the project, one inside Langtang National Park and the other elsewhere. Inpractice, most of the work of the project has been outside the park, where there arefewer legal obstacles to achieving sustainable use of medicinal plants. Chilime VillageDevelopment Committee (VDC) was selected as the out-of-park site, based on itssubstantial involvement in the commercial collection of medicinal plants. Finally, it wasdecided that a Plant Information Centre should be established at Dhunche to supply thepublic with information on medicinal plants.An immediate follow-up meeting was held at Chilime attended by 35 members (18 male,17 female) representing all 16 CFUGs in the VDC. Participants discussed the challengesthat they face with respect to medicinal plants and prepared a one-year project plan. Allagreed that improved management of medicinal plants within the forests was needed,along with increasing the stocks of medicinal plants through cultivation and enrichmentplanting. Another meeting of six of the CFUGs soon followed, attended by more than 40forest users. These six CFUGs, which are clearly very committed to making progress,decided to form a joint Medicinal Plants Management and Conservation Committee.Since then, with organisational help from Ms Kabita Ghale (Social Mobilizer, a localmember of the project team), the committee has been meeting monthly to exchangeinformation on medicinal plants. Medicinal plants have been prioritised according to thecommunity perspective (Table 1) and local traders have been invited to, and haveattended, the meetings to develop cooperation and provide the latest information onthe market prices for the herbs.Legally, the improved management of medicinal plants requires specific managementmeasures for these plants to be included in the Operation Plans for Community Forests.Currently, Operation Plans at Rasuwa do not cover medicinal plants. Steps needed toachieve this legal requirement include agreement by the relevant CFUG to revise itsOperation Plan, an inventory of the medicinal plants within the Community Forest,46MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 8agreement on specific management measures (such as collecting areas, collecting areasand the division of tasks and benefits within the community) and finally sign-off by theDistrict Forest Officer. An additional challenge at Rasuwa is that the current OperationPlans only poorly reflect the actual physical boundaries of the Community Forests andthe species of trees that they contain.The project team decided to take a particular Community Forest to trial theseprocesses and Kaltache Community Forest belonging to a CFUG in Tatopani village,Chilime VDC, was chosen. After a half-day workshop at Tatopani, the project teamworked with the CFUG for a week in the forest undertaking research and training (12-18 May 2007). A short list of the main commercial species of medicinal plants was made,the patches where these species were concentrated identified, and counts made of theabundance of the species in the patches. A rotational harvesting plan was agreed andsign-off of the revised Operation Plan achieved in September 2007. A complication atChilime is that members of different CFUGs sometimes collect in each other’s areas.This matter was discussed with the villagers and, in response, a VDC-level CFUG wasformed in 12 March 2007, covering all 16 CFUGs in Chilime with the purpose ofenhancing coordination.Cultivation of medicinal plants is not new to Rasuwa, but is only carried out on a verysmall scale. Considering it inadvisable for villagers to replace food crops with medicinalplants in their tiny landholdings, the project team has suggested that medicinal plantsshould be grown on wasteland and marginal land, such as on the banks between theterraced fields. Cultivation has been promoted of chiraito (Swertia chirayita) in particular,for which there is some local expertise innursery development and cultivation, andwith local seed sources available(considered desirable, since the plants willbe adapted to the local conditions). Theproject has provided support for thedevelopment of nurseries and distributedchiraito seeds to farmers in five villages. Theresponse has been encouraging. Somefarmers, who have benefited from thisinitiative, have inspired their neighbours totry out chiraito cultivation for themselves.Aconitum growing in Rasuwa, Nepal(Case study 8).Photo Kamal Humagain.The project has addressed the problem oflow prices paid to collectors byundertaking surveys of market prices inKathmandu and Nepalgunj (a majortrading post on the Indian border) andfeeding back information to farmers,collectors and traders at Rasuwa. This hasencouraged some collectors and farmersto bargain for better prices and foreveryone concerned to take a closerinterest in product grading.The project has undertaken an inventoryof medicinal plants in the Cholangpati-MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT47

Case study 8Gosainkunda area of Langtang National Park, butotherwise has mounted only limited activities in the park.Collection of medicinal plants in the park is prohibited,although allowed in its buffer zone for domestic purposes;in reality there is considerable illegal commercialcollection of medicinal plants. These matters werediscussed at a meeting held by the project in May 2007,attended by representatives of three Buffer ZoneManagement Councils. It is arguable that improvedmanagement of medicinal plants within the park will onlybe achieved if an agreement is reached between the parkand the people, allowing some commercial collection ofmedicinal plants within designated parts of the bufferzone, linked to agreements not to collect elsewhere.Medicinal plants collectors return fromthe forest, Chilime, Nepal (Case study 8).Photo Ram C. Poudel.Free herbal healthcare camps and an associatedawareness campaign were organised on 25-29 August2007 to coincide with a popular religious pilgrimage within the park. The aims were tosupport the pilgrims and to raise awareness about the values of preserving medicinalplants and knowledge about them. Two camps were established at Cholangpati (3500m) and Gosaikunda (4400 m) along the trekking route used by the pilgrims, the projectteam working in collaboration with the Gosaikunda Management Committee, theNepalese army, and local branches of the Scouts and Nepalese Red Cross. Gosaikundais famous for its medicinal plants, although with many pilgrims collecting them duringtheir pilgrimage, they have now become scarce near the paths. The campaign includedhanding out pamphlets and the placing of posters and banners along the trekking routeexplaining various ailments (such as altitude sickness) and the plants that can be usedto treat them. Almost 1000 pilgrims were treated at the health camps during thepilgrimage, the impression being that they were receptive to the messages of thecampaign.The project has managed to make considerable advances in promoting theconservation of medicinal plants at Rasuwa. An evaluation workshop was held atThambuchet on 6 September 2007 attended by representatives of all 16 local CFUGsin Chilime. All concerned were very keen for the project to continue and indeedexpand. Fortunately, it proved possible to proceed with a second one-year projectphase (June 2008-May 2009) through receipt of an additional Allachy Award. Thisproject is concentrating on expanding activities from Chilime VDC to neighbouringVDCs at Gatlang and Thuman, in each of which a community forest has been selectedfor revision of its Operation Plan. The Plant Information Centre will also be opened inDhunche as this was not achieved in the first project phase.ProspectsESON has a long-term commitment to conservation and sustainable development basedon medicinal plants in Rasuwa. This project has demonstrated possible ways to conserveHimalayan medicinal plants in strong commercial demand. Since this addresses a majorregional problem, Plantlife has applied to the Darwin Initiative (a UK-based fundingscheme) to enable the work to continue.48MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 9Case study 9: Development ofa strategy for participatoryconservation of medicinal plantsin the Darjeeling and SikkimHimalayas (India)Organisation responsible for the project: Ashoka Trust forResearch in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) is a charitabletrust founded in 1996 to meet the related challenges ofenvironmental degradation and economic development in India. It iscurrently focusing on conservation and sustainable management ofbiodiversity, concentrating on the two biodiversity hotspots ofWestern Ghats and eastern Himalayas. ATREE’s overall programmein the eastern Himalayas has five major objectives: (a) assessmentand monitoring of biodiversity, (b) development of concepts and tools for participatorymanagement of biological resources, (c) enhancement of conservation education, (d)development of human and social capital for conservation, and (e) improvement of policyand governance for conservation. ATREE is building a database on medicinal plants.Survey site for medicinal plants, Sikkim,India (Case study 9).Photo ATREE.Project team: The principal investigator of this project was Dr Upakar Rai of ATREE,supported by Mr Anand Gajmer and Dr Santosh Chettri.Period of grant support: March 2006-February 2008.Geographical contextDarjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas in the eastern Himalayas cover a very wide altitudinalrange from 150 to 8548 m and exhibit an extremely diverse topography from ruggedsnow-capped rugged mountains in the north to flat alluvial plains in the south. Accordingly,the climate, vegetation and flora are extremely varied. The climate at low altitudes is warmand humid during the summer and moderately cool during the winter. High altitudes(including Thangu, Tsongmo Lachen and Sandakphu) are typically snow-covered during thewinter. The high rainfall with an annual average of 4000 mm falls mostly between June andSeptember associated with the southwest monsoon. There are three main vegetationzones, a Tropical Zone (150-1500 m) characterized by semi-evergreen and broadleaveddeciduous forest, a Temperate Zone (500-3900 m) with coniferous and rhododendronforests, and an Alpine Zone (3900-5500 m) with coarse meadow and stunted shrubs.Corresponding to these different vegetation zones, the flora of Darjeeling and Sikkim isextremely diverse, carrying 25.7% of all India’s species of flowering plants in an area only0.22% of the total. The 5000 species present include 550 species of orchids (out of anational total of 1200), 36 species of Rhododendron (out of 80), 58 species of bamboo(out of 100) and 25 species of Hedychium (out of 60). The state is impressively rich inagro-biodiversity, with 573 species of crops and wild relatives, including of cereals, pulsesand oilseeds. 425 species of medicinal plants have been documented as being used by 20local tribal groups 78, 79 . Some of the most extensively used species of medicinal plants areAconitum spp., Ephedra girardiana, Nardostachys jatamansi, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Podophyllumemodi (P. hexandrum), Swertia chirayita and Taxus baccata.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT49

Case study 9The population density varies according to climatic condition andelevation. Almost 80% of the people live in rural areas, mostly beingfarmers, daily wage workers or labourers in tea gardens. Pastoralismbecomes significant at higher altitudes. The main ethnic groups areNepalese, Bhutia, Lepcha, Limbu and Sherpas. The Lepcha people, whohave been settled here for the longest time, have a very extensiveknowledge of medicinal plants – and the other ethnic groups havelearnt much of their own knowledge of medicinal plants from them.North Sikkim, which is inhabited mainly by Bhutias (Lachenpa andLachungpa), has a unique administrative system (Zumsa) with agovernment headed by an elected official (Pipon).Medicinal plant issuesHabitat of Picrorhiza kurrooa.Chopta Valley, Sikkim, India (Case study9). Photo ATREE.Forty species of medicinal plants in Darjeeling and Sikkim have been listed as threatenedfollowing IUCN criteria 78 . Once abundant, the natural populations of these plants haveeither been completely destroyed or have become confined to small pockets ininaccessible places. Conservation measures are urgently needed. Commercial overharvestingis the principal cause of endangerment 78 , with destructive grazing by wild anddomestic stock and harvesting of the medicinal plants for local use being additionalfactors. Official records for 1990-1991 give volumes of trade for Aconitum heterophyllum,Nardostachys grandiflora (N. jatamansi), Picrorhiza kurrooa and Swertia chirayita as nearly 50tons annually. Little or no effort is being made to develop cultivation, an increase inwhich it is believed would reduce the pressure on the wild plants. Despite a number ofethnobotanical studies 78-82 , very little detailed information is available on the distribution,abundance and population status of the threatened species, as considered necessary toprepare proper conservation plans.Project aims, activities and achievementsThe highly valued medicinal plantPicrorhiza kurrooa (kutki), Chopta Valley,Sikkim, India (Case study 9).Photo ATREE.The project is concerned with generating information on the in situ status of eight speciesof threatened medicinal plants (Aconitum palmatum, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Mahonianapaulensis, Nardostachys grandiflora, Panax pseudoginseng, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Swertia chirayitaand Valeriana hardwickii) and standardisation of propagation protocols for six of thesespecies (all except Dactylorhiza and Valeriana).The project started with a literature survey, the listing of localities formedicinal plants recorded on herbarium specimens, and assemblingavailable data on use and trade. This preliminary work allowedselection of places for field studies. There then followed areconnaissance survey conducted with the assistance ofknowledgeable local people (five to ten individuals at each potentialsite), which allowed the more precise demarcation of areas forground sampling. Each area so demarked contained at least one of thechosen species. One metre square quadrats were then laid out alongtransects within the demarked areas, and the abundance, density andreproductive status of each of the targeted species recorded.Propagation trials were conducted in a nursery at Upper Chatakpurin Darjeelingat an altitude of 2700 m. Germination trials wereundertaken on seeds of Aconitum, Mahonia, Panax, Picrorhiza and50MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 9Swertia, with seeds sown in February-March 2007 and subsequent checks on germinationand seedling survival. Two different treatments were tried for Swertia seeds – seedbedburning prior to sowing and wetting the seeds with cowdung (a commonly used nurserytechnique in this region). Experiments on vegetative reproduction were carried out onMahonia, Nardostachys and Picrorhiza.The main results of the field survey are shown in Box 3. Dactylorhiza is clearly a veryrare plant, but some of the other species are still quite abundant (for example, Swertiaand Valeriana). With regard to the germination trials, the percentage of seeds thatgerminated proved to be highly varied, ranging from a minimum of 0% (Picrorhiza), to25-50% for Aconitum, Panax and Mahonia, and with varying percentages for Swertiadepending on the treatment (80% – burning; 15% – cowdung). The average germinationtime for Aconitum, Mahonia and Panax was 31-37 days, but much longer for Swertia (80days, regardless of the treatment). Clonal trials on Nardostachys (involving separation ofdaughter plantlets from the mother stock) showed high survivability (81%), whilesurvivability was somewhat lower for cuttings (treated with rooting hormone) ofPicrorhiza (67%) and Mahonia (38%).Box 3. Occurrence of some principal species of medicinal plants,Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas, India (Case study 9).Aconitum palmatum is found in open scrub in the sub-alpine zone (density 16,222-30,667 individuals per hectare – found at five sites).Dactylorhiza hatagirea was not recorded on the transects.Mahonia napaulensis is a temperate zone species (2900-3500 m) abundant in opendegraded forest (density 800-2200 individuals per hectare – found at six sites).Nardostachys grandiflora grows above 4200 m in open alpine pasture grazed bycattle (density 52,000-70,889 individuals per hectare – found at four sites).Panax pseudoginseng is a sub-alpine species (2900-3500 m). There are two varieties(angustifolia and binnatifidus), the former growing at very variable density (4889-77,778 individuals per hectare – found at four sites) and the latter always scarce(2444-4000 individuals per hectare – found at three sites).Picrorhiza kurrooa is found in open alpine pasture above 4200 m at high densities(78,889-202,222 individuals per hectare – found at two sites), with a tendencytowards clumping (related to its rhizomatous habit). It is abundant on sandy soilsunder Rhododendron.Swertia chirayita is a temperate zone plant (2900-3500 m) with good populationswhere it occurs (17,00-23,800 individuals per hectare – found at three sites). It ismost abundant on soils exposed by burning. Immature individuals were moreabundant than reproductive plants at all sites.Valeriana hardwickii shows good populations in open forests of the temperate zone(2900-3500 m) (density 2000-5000 individuals per hectare – found at three sites).ProspectsThe project is considered by ATREE as a necessary first step needed to achieve in situconservation and cultivation of these species. Full standardization of the propagationprotocols is underway.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT51

Case study 10Ludian, Yunnan, China (Case study 10).Much of the valley is devoted tocultivation of medicinal plants, such asGentiana (foreground). The twoMedicinal Plants Conservation Areaswhich the community has established arein the forests on the surrounding hills.Photo AH.Case study 10: The development ofmethodologies for conservation ofmedicinal plants based on field-levelapplication at Ludian, Yunnan (China)Organisation responsible for the project: This project is run by the AppliedEthnobotany Research Group of the Laboratory of Ethnobotany, Kunming Institute ofBotany (KIB), Chinese Academy of Sciences. KIB is a global pioneer in community-basedapproaches to conservation and sustainable development, having been active in this fieldsince 1987, especially in Yunnan Province. The team formed to implement the projectincluded Professor Pei Shengji and Mrs Yang Lixin of KIB, Dr Huai Huyin of YangzhouUniversity and, once the project started on the ground, local community members,including Mr He Yun (Mayor of Ludian) and Mr Yang Shengguang (a local Naxi doctor).An inventory of medicinal plants at Ludian had been previously undertaken by Dr WangYuhua, a student of Professor Pei, and was updated by the project team. Dr Huai Huyinis an expert on medicinal plants in Yunnan and Mrs Yang is fluent in Naxi, the main locallanguage at Ludian, which has greatly facilitated project progress. Mrs Yang Lixin has beenvisiting the project site in pursuit of project activities at intervals of about two months.Apart from the Allachy Award from Plantlife, the project has benefited from a grant fromThe Nature Conservancy, a US-based international conservation agency assisting thegovernment of Yulong County in community development related to the establishmentof Laojun Mountain National Park.Project team: Professor Pei Shengji and Mrs Yang Lixin (Kunming Institute of Botany);Dr Huai Huyin (Yangzhou University)Period of grant support: June 2006 – May 2008.52MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 10Geographical contextLudian is an Important Plant Area for medicinal plants in the Chinese Himalayas. Locatedwithin the northern buffer zone of Laojun National Park, altitudes range from 2000 to3000 m and its area cover 107km 2 . It was selected as a suitable site for fieldimplementation of medicinal plant conservation following a planning exercise to identifyImportant Plant Areas for medicinal plants in the Himalayas (see Case study 11) and afollow-up ground survey. Ludian is a community of 6000 people, living in 29 villages andhamlets within Yulong County, Lijiang City, Yunnan Province. The landscape ismountainous, 60% being covered by forest and with agricultural fields in the valleys andon the lower slopes. Both coniferous forest (mainly Pinus armandii and P. yunnanensis) andspecies-rich broad-leaved forest are represented. There was destructive logging duringthe Cultural Revolution (1966-1975) from which much of the forest is still recovering.The agricultural land at Ludian is state-owned, but under private management. Theeforests are also state owned, but are managed either directly by the state, as communityforests under the villages, or divided into small plots leased to individual households on49-year terms.The local people, 90% of whom belong to the Naxi minority, have a rich tradition ofmedicinal plants. Ludian has been a source of supply for cultivated medicinal plants forover 200 years, and more than 363 species are currently used in local folk medicine.Surveys undertaken in 2007 in two sample villages at Ludian revealed that 13% of thepeople rely exclusively on herbal medicine, 26% use western medicine and 61% use amixture of both. Of the plant species used by local healers, 60% are collected from thewild, 30% grown in home gardens and 10% purchased in markets.Ludian is known in Yunnan as the ‘Home of Medicinal Plants’. Material from Ludian isheld to be especially ‘authentic’ and of high quality – termed Dao Di medicinal materialaccording to Chinese practice. This perception raises external demand for medicinalplants from Ludian, whether cultivated or collected from the wild.Most households are engaged in farming with 90% of the farmers cultivating medicinalplants to sell and this provides 10-70% of household income. Contrasting with the largenumber of species used in local medicine, only about ten species are cultivatedcommercially on any scale, among them Aconitum stapfianum, Eutrema yunnanense,Gentiana rigescens, Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis, Saussurea (Auklandia) costus (=S. lappa),Platycodon grandiflorum, Ligusticum sinense, Atractylodes macrocephala, Dipscacus asper andAngelica sinensis. An unusual high priced local crop is the fungus Morel (Morchella).Medicinal plant issuesMany species of wild medicinal plants have become reduced in abundance at Ludiandue to loss of their forest habitat. Additionally, some species are under threat fromcommercial collection, especially high value species such as Anisodus acutangulus,Fritillaria cirrhosa, Heracleum candicans, Notopterygium franchetii, Gastrodia elata, Parispolyphylla var. yunnanensis and Taxus wallichiana. Commercial pressure on wildmedicinal plants has been increasing over recent years as medical industries haveexpanded in China as part of general economic development. Under-employment hasalso contributed, notably with local people searching for new sources of incomefollowing a banning of commercial logging in 1998 after severe flooding along theYangtze River. At the start of this project, there were no local measures in place atMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT53

Case study 10Ludian to regulate the collection of wildmedicinal plants – this is the usualsituation in China. Conservation andsustainable harvesting of wild medicinalplants are needed at Ludian to maintainlocal health services based on herbalremedies and to retain local sources ofgermplasm from which crops can bedeveloped when new species becomepopular in the market.A Yi lady (centre) sells medicinal plants toa trader in Ludian, China (Case study 10).Photo Pei Shengji.Many people at Ludian depend on localdoctors following the Naxi medicaltradition. Unlike some other indigenousmedical traditions in China, Naxi medicineis not recognised officially, which createsproblems in its application anddevelopment. There are related issues ofconservng traditional medical knowledge.On the livelihoods front, 99% of themedicinal plants produced at Ludian aresold to outside traders, who have beenallowed to operate here since 1998following market liberalisation. Currently,farmers and collectors at Ludian receivelow prices for their produce, lacking the benefit of collective bargaining and beingignorant of market prices.Project aims, activities and achievementsThe main purpose of the project is to explore methods for the practical conservation ofmedicinal plants, taking into consideration people’s related interests in healthcare,earning an income and maintaining cultural traditions. Initial discussions revealed a lowlevel of knowledge or concern within the general community about the conservation ofmedicinal plants. However, several individuals proved to be exceptions, especially localherbal doctors and the then village headman (Mr He Yun). On the basis of their commonconcern, this nucleus decided to form the Ludian Medicinal Plants ConservationAssociation to instigate practical activities promoting conservation. This is the first suchconservation group in China. The association was registered at the local governmentallevel in February 2007 and a constitution agreed in March 2007. Mr Yang Shengguang, aherbal doctor, was elected as the first chairman of the association, which currently has40 members. Since its foundation, the association has played a major role in guiding anddelivering the project.The two major concerns expressed by members of the association were theincreasing rarity of some wild medicinal plants and that few younger people wereinterested in becoming herbal doctors. Awareness-raising and education in Naximedicine were seen as important initial activities, and also creating conditions topush the government into taking the conservation of medicinal plants more seriously.Dian Nan and Dian Bei were selected as pilot villages for project activities, theformer being relatively prosperous and having eight herbal doctors, in contrast to a54MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 10single herbal doctor at Dian Bei (Mr HeChong Shan, a very knowledgeablecommunity botanist).The project has supported thedevelopment of herbal gardens to serveas convenient sources of herbs for localtreatments, sources of germplasm forcommercial cultivation and educationalresources for the community. So far, 30herbal home gardens and two ‘wildcultivation’ sites (medicinal plants plantedwithin natural vegetation) have beenestablished or further developed. One ofthe ‘wild cultivation’ sites is situated inDian Bei close to the village watersource, conveniently situated to raiseawareness about medicinal plants whenvillagers celebrate the Spring Festival. Theaverage number of medicinal plants perhome garden has increased from less thanten to over 30. Some particularlyinterested individuals are cultivating somelocally endangered plant species (notnecessarily medicinal) to safeguard againsttheir complete local extinction. Three training workshops involving a total of 60villagers have been held making use of these demonstration gardens. The subjects ofthese workshops have included the development of home herbal gardens, thesustainable harvesting of wild medicinal plants and Naxi traditional medicine.Considerable interest in medicinal plants and Naxi medicinal culture has beenexpressed by local youth.The medicinal plant garden of Mr HeChong Shan (left), a very knowledgeableNaxi herbalist, Dian Bei village, Ludian,China (Case study 10).Photo Pei Shengji.Following the Dialogue meeting between China, India and the UK (see Case study 13),the idea was raised of establishing special sites for the conservation of medicinal plantsat Ludian, termed Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas (MPCAs). Discussions were heldwith the Ludian Medicinal Plants Conservation Association and with other members of thepilot villages. The result was a decision to establish two MPCAs on community forestland, one at each of Dian Nan and Dian Bei.The MPCAs have been established in the richest local sites for medicinal plants, oneextending over 330 hectares and the other 300 hectares. The legal status of the MPCAswas agreed at Ludian local government level and confirmed later by Yulong County inNovember 2007. A Ludian MPCA Management Committee has been established,comprising a representative of the Ludian Medicinal Plants Conservation Association, theheadmen of the two village headmen and two elected community members. Thiscommittee is responsible for deciding which plants may be collected from the MPCAs –for local medical use or to use as planting materials – and how the benefits from suchcollection are distributed. Two community members have been hired as full-timeworkers at each site, initially paid from project funds. Regulations governing themanagement of the MPCAs have been agreed between the association, the Ludiangovernment and the local forest station (Box 4).MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT55

Case study 10Box 4: Summary of regulations governing Medicinal PlantsConservation Areas at Ludian (Case study 10).1. Management and monitoring is the joint responsibility of the LudianMedicinal Plants Conservation Association, Ludian MPCA ManagementCommittee and Ludian Township Forest Station.2. The Ludian MPCA Management Committee is responsible for the directmanagement of the MPCAs, including conservation, sustainable harvestingfollowing traditional methods and ensuring the guaranteeing of communitybenefits. The Ludian Medicinal Plants Conservation Association has anoverseeing and wider coordination role.3. The harvesting of rare, endangered and endemic medicinal plants isprohibited (a list is provided – this includes Eucommia ulmoides, Taxusyunnanensis, etc). A fine of 500 Yuan will be imposed for violations.4. Logging, grazing and cutting firewood are prohibited.5. Fire is prohibited in the MPCAs. A fine of 50 Yuan will be imposed forthose starting fires or failing to assist in their control.ProspectsThe project team and community group intend to try to increase the financial benefitsreceived locally from medicinal plants. At present, collectors and farmers of wildmedicinal plants at Ludian receive only a tenth of the prices paid in the major regionalmarket for medicinal plants at Dali. Planned activities are to help the farmers andcollectors form a marketing cooperative to increase their bargaining power and enhancetheir access to market information through facilitating access to the internet, on whichprevailing market prices for medicinal plants in China are posted. It is hoped improvedmarket prices can help to ensure the financial sustainability of the MPCAs. In thiscontext, the MPCAs will be promoted as an integral part of the culture and economy ofLudian, including as sources of germplasm for developing new crops.On the wider political front, the government appreciates this project as being well alignedwith two of its developmental priorities for northwest Yunnan – conservation ofbiodiversity and support for minority cultures. Following earlier contacts, a meeting washeld in May 2008 at Lijiang City Nationality Technical College (within the same prefecture asLudian) to raise awareness about the project and consider establishment of an Associationof Naxi Traditional Medicine, a Naxi herbal garden and a Naxi hospital. College staff, seniorgovernment officials and traditional doctors attended the meeting. The college currentlyteaches some Naxi medicine in its courses on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), but thelack of official recognition for Naxi medicine is problematic for developing this further. Themain results of the meeting were agreement to form the Association of Naxi TraditionalMedicine, to be hosted by the college, and to establish the herbal garden, also at theCollege. The Association, which will cover all local medical traditions and not just Naxi, willpromote the official recognition of minority medical traditions in this part of China.The concept of the MPCA was well received at this meeting. Discussions are currentlybeing held with government officials and The Nature Conservancy conservation agencyto expand the number of MPCAs into other parts of the buffer zone of LaojunMountain National Park and also into the Meili Tibetan area to the north. A total of tennew MPCAs is being considered at Laojun, one per buffer zone village. The main ethnicminorities here are the Li Su and Naxi.56MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

8. Experience-sharing case studies8. Experience-sharing case studiesIntroductionThree of the Allachy Awards have allowed the sharing of experiences in conservation ofmedicinal plants between countries. One project (Case study 12) was initiated by theFoundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions in Bangalore and the other twoby Plantlife. Case study 11 involved five Himalayan countries, Case study 12 involved allthe countries in which community-based projects have been mounted (Case studies 1-10) plus Bhutan and Tanzania, and Case study 13 concerned China, India and the UK.Box 5: List of experience-sharing case studies.CS11CS12CS13The Himalayas: Important Plant Areas for medicinal plantsIndia: International course on medicinal plants conservationChina/India/UK: Dialogue on conservation of Himalayan medicinal plantsMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT57

Case study 11Participants at the regional workshop onImportant Plant Areas for medicinal plantsin the Himalayas enjoy a visit toKathmandu, Nepal (Case study 11).Photo AH.Case study 11: Identification andconservation of Important Plant Areas formedicinal plants in the HimalayasOrganisations and individuals responsible: A regional workshop held inKathmandu in 2006 was jointly organised by ESON and Plantlife. National Reportswere presented at this conference for the following Himalayan countries 83-85 :Bhutan – Yeshey Dorji and Mr A Karma Rinzin (Ministry of Agriculture)China – Professor Pei Shengji and Mrs Yang Lixin (Chinese Academy of Sciences) andDr Huai Huyin (Yangzhou University)India – Pragya, with presentations at the Regional Workshop by Dr VisvarupChakravarti and Ms Manali BaruahNepal – Dr K.K. Shrestha, Ms S. Rajbhandary, Mr R.C. Poudel and Dr N.B. Tiwari(Ethnobotanical Society of NepalPakistan – Mr Ashiq Ahmad Khan (WWF-Pakistan) and Dr Hassan Sher (GovernmentPostgraduate Jahanzeb College)Period of grant support: January to December 2006.Important Plant AreasImportant Plant Areas (IPAs) are defined as the most important places in the world forwild plant diversity that can be managed as specific sites 86, 87 . Their identification andconservation have been promoted as a contribution to Target 5 of the Global Strategy58MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 11for Plant Conservation (see Page 6). A site has the potential to be recognised as an IPAif it meets one or more of the following criteria: (1) presence of threatened species ofglobal or regional concern; (2) exceptional botanical richness for its biogeographic zone;and (3) presence of threatened habitats. Recognising IPAs on the basis of medicinalplants uses only part of the total dataset potentially available, which encompasses allplants. On the other hand, in the case of the Himalayas, this dataset is probably of betterquality than many other possible data subsets, because of the strong regional interest inmedicinal plants.The project is based on National Reports discussing the identification and conservationof IPAs for medicinal plants in each Himalayan country. These National Reports containbaseline information on medicinal plants, overviews of current conservation initiatives,and assessments of the contribution of existing information on medicinal plants to theidentification of IPAs. These National Reports were presented at a regional workshopheld on 19-22 September 2006 in Kathmandu in Nepal, at which some additionalorganisations from Nepal also gave presentations.Objectives of the project●●●●●Collate baseline information on medicinal plants, their habitats and their threatsacross the Himalayas.Provide an overview of existing initiatives on the conservation of Himalayanmedicinal plants.Assess the contribution of existing information on medicinal plants to theidentification of IPAs in the Himalayas.Assess recommendations for future progress in medicinal plant conservation at IPAsin the Himalaya, including through regional collaboration.Contribute to the development of a new regional project on the conservation ofHimalayan medicinal plants.Results: Identification of IPAs for medicinal plantsIPAs are places of significance for the conservation of global plant diversity, normallyrecognised at the national level. The experts from all five participating countries agreedthat it is possible to recognise special areas for conservation of medicinal plants in theHimalayas at the national scale, and 53 such areas were recognised. However, they allstressed that these IPAs should be seen as provisional given the severe shortage of datareported for all countries. Recognition of these national-level IPAs was generally heavilydependent on the use of criterion 1 (‘presence of threatened species’), in practicerelying especially on records of the distribution of popular and widely distributedspecies threatened by commercial trade. The recorded distributions of these species arelikely to be highly influenced by the history of botanical collecting.All experts noted that important areas for medicinal plants (less formally defined than asabove) exist at several geographical scales (see Table 2). They can be recognised from thevery large scale right down to small patches of forest or field. Larger scales areappropriate for large-scale planning, for example, by international conservation NGOsdeciding where to commit their resources. However, it is the smaller scales that aremost relevant to achieving practical conservation progress on the ground, since theyrelate to the activities of individuals and organisations in the field.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT59

Case study 11Geographic scalePakistanIndiaNepalBhutanChinaScale 1 (largest)6 very large IPAs(corresponding toexistingCritical Regions)Scale 215 IPAs often basedon river valleys orridges16 IPA Complexes(based on riverbasins or mountainranges)10 IPAsScale 36 IPAs, based onvalleys1 to several ‘coretracts’ of less than40 km 2 within eachof the above54 sites within thecomplexes (equivalentto districts)3 sites, each representingabout 100householdsScale 4 (smallest,suitable for directfield-levelmanagement)(Community basedconservation shouldfocus on smallersites within theabove)Smaller sites withinthe core tracts,appropriate forcommunitymanagement230 micro-IPAswithin the sites(appropriate forcommunitymanagement)Smaller sites forpractical fieldmanagement (tobe located later)Land managed byindividual households,includinghome gardens, forestpatches & wildcultivation sitesTable 2. Spatial units recognised as significant for the conservation of medicinal plantsin the Himalayas (Case study 11). The table was constructed on the basis of NationalReports from five countries and subsequent discussions at a regional workshop. Theunits for the different countries are arranged according to their approximate spatialequivalence. Terminology for the units follows that used in the National Reports.All those attending the regional workshop agreed that the community-level is the criticallevel for conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants. Participatory research involvingcommunities and scientists is needed to determine the key local places for medicinalplants, where efforts at improving their management should be concentrated. There wasgeneral agreement that, in the Himalayas, traditional doctors, religious leaders and eldersin indigenous groups can often play key roles in encouraging and guiding communities onhow best to conserve their medicinal plants.Workshop activities at the IPAregional meeting at Kathmandu,Nepal (Case study 11).Photo AH.ProspectsOne of the challenges facing the conservation of medicinal plants in the Himalayas isimpending climate change, which (it has been calculated) will here be on an exceptionallylarge scale. The ranges of many species must move or the species will perish.This reality needs to be recognised in planning the geography of conservation,for example, suggesting that protected areas should cover wide altitudinalranges and be connected to one another by corridors. Even more importantly,impending climate change raises the urgency of creating conditions favourablefor plant conservation across the whole landscape. Since there are peoplealmost everywhere in the Himalayas, this means that efforts to involvecommunities in conservation should be pursed as a matter of urgency.Finally, it was stressed at the regional workshop that all the Himalayan nationsface similar challenges in achieving conservation and sustainable use ofmedicinal plants, so there is much to be gained from sharing case studies andsuggestions on best practice. Joint initiatives are needed to tackle crossborderissues such as rampant unsustainable trade in medicinal plants.60 MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 12Case study 12: International training andcapacity building on medicinal plantsconservation and sustainable utilisation –based on Indian experienceOrganisation responsible for the project: The Foundation for Revitalisation ofLocal Health Traditions (FRLHT) is a charitable society founded in 1993. Based inBangalore, it is recognised as a National Centre of Excellence for medicinal plants andtraditional knowledge. FRLHT believes that revitalisation of the medical heritage of Indiaholds two promises – self-reliance in primary health care for millions of households andthe continuing capacity to make original contributions to the world of medicine. FRLHThas identified three focus areas for its work: conserving natural resources used by IndianSystems of Medicine (ISM), demonstrating the contemporary relevance of the theoryand practice of ISM, and revitalisation of the social processes responsible for the passingon and sharing of traditional healthcare knowledge.Project team: Mr Giridhar A. Kinhal (Course Coordinator), Mrs G.B. Deepa (AssistantCourse Coordinator) and many other members of FRLHT.Period of grant support: January 2006 – December 2006 (course held on 4-18October 2006).FRLHT’s methodologies for conservation of medicinal plantsFRLHT’s achievements in conservation of medicinal plants are probably unrivalled by anyother institution worldwide. Only an outline of the main building blocks of FRLHT’sapproach is possible here:Forest Gene Banks. These form the physical heart of FRLHT’s approach to the in situconservation of medicinal plants. Most have two elements, Medicinal PlantsConservation Areas (MPCAs), which are core areas of natural (or near-natural) forestHeadquarters of the Foundation forRevitalisation of Local Health Traditions(FRLHT), Bangalore, India (Case study 12).Photo AH.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT61

Case study 12Staff of FRLHT use drama todemonstrate how to establish a homeherbal garden during the medicinalplants course in India (Case study 12).Photo AH.managed for the conservation of medicinal plants, andBuffer Zones or Medicinal Plants Development Areas,which are areas of forest lying close to the MPCAs andwhich are dedicated to the production of medicinal plantsfor community benefit. The MPCAs are generallyestablished within forest reserves, and only with theconsent of the local people. Each MPCA has amanagement committee that includes local people with aspecial interest in medicinal plants (e.g. local folk healers).Based on conservation biology and ease of management,FRLHT has calculated that 200-500 hectares is an idealsize for an MPCA, though, based on ground realities, thoseestablished actually range between 80 and 400 hectares. Anetwork of MPCAs is now spreading throughout Indiafrom an initial nucleus of 34 in the three southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and TamilNadu. The MPCA network is designed to cover all major types of natural vegetationand include a large proportion of India’s medicinal flora (about 40% of India’s 19,400plant species are regarded as medicinal).Medicinal Plants Conservation Parks (MPCPs): These are centres dedicated tocommunity development based on medicinal plants. Eighteen have already beenestablished in the three southern states of India, mostly managed by non-governmentalorganisations (NGOs) that have good links to communities. The services offeredtypically include information (herbaria, seed collections, information on local herbal use),garden displays of medicinal plants, nurseries for the supply of seedlings, and educationaland training programmes. Outreach activities include encouragement for villagers todevelop enterprises based on medicinal plants.Home Herbal Gardens (HHGs): This programme encourages the establishment ofbackdoor herb gardens to supply materials for the safe treatment of common medicalconditions. It is targeted especially at housewives. 150,000 HHGs have been establishedso far in the three southern Indian states, 95% of them by economically very poorpeople. It is calculated that an HHG results in an average annual saving of 1600 Rupees($36) per family (healthcare costs plus other expenses, such as travel to clinics and lostincome), a considerable sum in the local context. An HHG costs about 180 Rupees ($4)to establish. A typical HHG contains about 15 species chosen for their medicinal, culturaland ecological appropriateness, including being straightforward and safe to use. Based oncommunity choice, about five of the species are typically selected for their nutritional orveterinary properties, rather than for curing human disease. The HHGs provide forpreventive, promotive and curative aspects of healthcare.Central Support Services of FRLHT: These include research into plant taxonomyand identification, threat assessments for species, a herbarium and raw drug collection,and a comprehensive database on medicinal plants.Project aims, activities and achievementsThe purposes of mounting the course were to build an international network forconservation of medicinal plants, mainstream medicinal plant conservation within theconcerned countries, and to share experiences on methodologies. The expectation wasthat, by the end of the course, participants would be knowledgeable about the62MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 12theoretical foundations of various aspects of the subject – from the Indian perspectiveandbe able to judge their applicability to their own countries.The project consisted of a two-week training course on conservation of medicinalplants. The 24 participants included nine from East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda),five from India and ten from other Asian countries (China, Nepal, Pakistan). Theirbackgrounds included forest management, non-governmental organisations (NGOs),government officers, research and academia.The project included an eight-month period of preparation resulting in a comprehensivepackage of educational exercises (lectures, group discussions, field visits, periods ofreflection, and so on) and materials, with many printed papers provided. Each lectureincluded time for discussion and was followed by well-structured group exercisesfacilitated by trained helpers. Yogic exercises were included in the course to buildconfidence in traditional knowledge and practices related to healthcare. Participantswere requested to provide their feedback and their thoughts on the course on a dailybasis, allowing modifications to be made to the planned programme where practicable.The process chosen for the development of the course was participatory and inclusive,involving a series of in-house meetings within FRLHT to establish the course design,structure and pedagogy, deal with administration and logistics, and select appropriateexperts and facilitators. Outside experts were requested to contribute to aspects of thecourse, including Dr Pushpangadan (on intellectual property rights and benefit sharing)and Mr G Raju (on community-owned enterprises based on medicinal plants).The first week of the course was based in Bangalore, with two excursions to nearbysites. The second week was devoted mainly to a tour of the three southern states ofIndia, especially Tamil Nadu. A wide variety of sites were visited, including villages, forests,Ayurvedic hospitals and herbal industries.An evaluation was made by email following the course, and this showed that the coursewas highly appreciated by the participants.Participants at FRLHT’s course onmedicinal plants observe an outdoorbotany class at Nadukuppam HighSchool, Tamil Nadu, India (Case study 12).Photo AH.Follow-up and prospectsA number of practical developments have followedfrom the course, including continuing exchanges ofideas between some of the participants, the stimulusfor the Dialogue meeting later held in China (seeCase study 13 below), and serious considerationgiven to the introduction of MPCAs in Nepal andMPCPs in Kenya. Teams from FRLHT have visitedKenya (July 2008) and Uganda (September 2008) tocontinue the exchanges.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT63

Case study 13Case study 13: China/India/UK Dialogue onconservation of Himalayan medicinal plantsOrganisations and individuals responsible for the project: The project consistedof a workshop held at the Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB), Chinese Academy ofSciences from 24-27 April 2007, organised jointly by Professor Pei Shengji (KIB) and DrA.C. Hamilton (Plantlife International). Participants in the Dialogue included Dr G.S.Goraya and Dr G.A. Kinhal (both of FRLHT, India), Jonathan Rudge and Dr A.C.Hamilton (Plantlife International) and the following from China: Ms Chen Cui (AlpineEconomic Plant Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Dr Huai Huyin(Yangzhou University), Mr He Yun (Vice-Head, Ludian Community), Mrs Huang Caizhi(Social Development Section, Yunnan Science and Technology Department), Mr JiangShiwei (Wanglang Nature Reserve, Sichuan), Dr Li Dezhu (Director, KIB), Mr LiuHuachun (Yunnan Xitao Green Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd), Professor Pei Shengji (KIB), DrWang Yuhua (Division Head, KIB), Mrs Wang Yun (High Technology Section, Developmentand Reformation Committee of Yunnan), Mr Wang Zhaojie (Yunnan Science andTechnology Department), Mrs Yang Lixin (KIB), Professor Yang Yongping (Vice-Director,KIB), Dr Yang Yuming (The Nature Conservancy), Dr Zhong Mingchuan (YunnanProvincial Forestry Department, Dr Zhou Dequn (The Nature Conservancy) and MsZhou Min (Yunnan Phytopharmaceutical Co Ltd).Period of grant support: January-May 2007.Aims●●●●Bring together organisations involved in conservation of Himalayan medicinal plantsto learn from each other.Exchange information approaches, methods and experiences on conservation ofHimalayan medicinal plants.Explore avenues of potential future collaboration.Establish regional strategies on conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants.Comparisons between China and IndiaThe experts attending the meeting were able to make informed comparisons betweenChina and India relating to the conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants. The twocountries are similar in terms of their vast areas and strong interests in traditionalmedicine and medicinal plants.It was agreed that, in both countries, folk healers are the local people mostknowledgeable about medicinal plants and the social group most concerned about theirconservation. They provide the foundation of primary healthcare in rural areas in bothcountries. It was concluded that it is essential to engage the folk healers in efforts aimedat conservation of medicinal plants, if these are to stand any chance of success. It wasfurther noted that local health traditions are being rapidly eroded in both countries andthat there is an urgent need to document this knowledge for the benefit of futuregenerations (with due regard paid to the protection of intellectual property rights).Traditional doctor associations have proved very useful for supporting local effortsaimed at medicinal plant conservation and for lobbying for official recognition of localmedical traditions. There are many such associations in India, but few in China (the De64MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 13Quing Amchi Association founded in Yunnan in 2006 is said to be the first association fortraditional doctors practising Tibetan Medicine in China). The Ludian Medicinal PlantsConservation Association, which the project at Ludian has supported in its foundation (seeCase study 10 above), is the first community group established in modern times inChina for conservation of medicinal plants; most of its members are traditional doctors.The conservation of medicinal plants and the development of traditional medicine willbenefit greatly if official recognition is afforded to traditional systems of medicine. Inboth countries, some traditional systems of medicine are officially recognised and othersnot. For example, Ayurveda, but not Tibetan Medicine, is recognised in India, while, inChina, official recognition is accorded to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Tibetanmedicine, Uigur medicine, Dai medicine and some others, but not to Naxi or Li Sumedicine. This is relevant to KIB’s project at Ludian (see Case study 10).Generally, herbal industries in both countries are insensitive to conservation, althoughthey sometimes adopt green slogans for promotional purposes with little basis in fact.Certification of herbal products is considered to be viable in both countries only whensales are to ethical western markets willing to pay the extra dollars required. One wayto increase the involvement of industry in conservation would be to include arequirement for traceability on the Product Specification Sheets associated with GoodManufacturing Practice (GMP) or the Authentication Certifications associated with TCM.The organisation of growers or collectors of medicinal plants into associations could bea grassroots way of achieving greater sustainability, the deal between suppliers andindustry being an assured supply of high quality medicinal plants in exchange for assured(and preferably high) prices.India has a National Medicinal Plants Board which co-ordinates matters relating tomedicinal plants, including conservation and sustainable use. There is no equivalentbody in China, where TCM authorities concentrate more or less exclusively on thequality of TCM products.Participants at the China/India/UKDialogue on conservation of Himalayanmedicinal plants (Case study 13).On resource management, there are somesimilarities between China and India inpolicies relating to the management ofHimalayan medicinal plants. In both cases,very substantial areas of land are underthe control of state forestry agencies, forexample 24% of India’s land surface, orassigned to protected areas, including 20%of China’s forested land. Logging in naturalforests has been prohibited in China since1998/9 with an extensive programme offorest restoration, while logging is bannedin India above an altitude of 1000 m. Localcommunities have extensive usifruct rightsin state forests in India, including formedicinal plants, based on the submissionand approval of management plans. Forestsin China are all state owned, but subject tovarious management regimes – directlystate managed, managed by localMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT65

Case study 13communities or leased to individualhouseholds (under the individualresponsibility policy). One of the maintasks required to improve the managementof medicinal plants in both countries is toidentify and promote the most effectiveforms of agreement between forestryauthorities and local communities, relatingto the use and management of medicinalplants in forested areas.Dr G.S. Goraya (centre right) and DrG.A. Kinhal of FRLHT share a lightermoment during the Dialogue meetingwith Professor Yang Yongping, Vice-Director, Kunming Institute of Botany,China (Case study 13).Photo AH.It was agreed that the conservation ofmedicinal plants in the Himalayas of bothChina and India should be pursuedprimarily through in situ activities. Only inthis way will it be possible to maintainmuch of the genetic diversity of the plantsand ensure that they remain widelyavailable to support local healthcare andlivelihoods. New surveys are urgentlyneeded to establish the currentconservation status of the most importantcommercial species as existingassessments are mostly out-of-date. Further studies on different geographical scales –from the local forest patch to the regional – are needed to identify the most importantplant areas for medicinal plants in the Himalayas, so that priority can be given toimproving their management. It was further agreed that industry should be encouragedto augment supplies of medicinal plants through promoting their cultivation.Areas identified for enhanced co-operation between China and IndiaIt was suggested that China and India could usefully share information relevant to theconservation of medicinal plants, especially in relation to community-based approaches.Priority fields for information exchange include: (1) methods for conserving the geneticdiversity of medicinal plants, including through the establishment of networks ofcommunity reserves; (2) methods for sustainable harvesting; (3) methods fordocumenting and revitalizing local health traditions; (4) techniques of propagation andcultivation for key species; and (5) methods for interacting with communities throughproject approaches (including for building local capacities).There is substantial cross-border trade, mostly unregulated, between China and India, asthere is between these and other countries in the Himalayas. Collaborative researchbetween China, India and the other countries is needed to better understand this trade,and to provide a firm foundation for the development of collaborative policies.66MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

9. Testing a sustainability standard Case study 149. Testing a sustainability standardCase study 14: Field consultation of theInternational Standard for Sustainable WildCollection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants(ISSC-MAP) (India)Organisation responsible for the project: The work was organised by theFoundation for the Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) in Bangalore – fordescription, see Case study 12 above.Project team: From the Peace Institute: Mr Manoj Kumar Misra (external consultant).From FRLHT: Mr G.A. Kinhal, Mr Jagannatha Rao, Mr Indersha, Mr Suresh and Mr Arthur.The consultation was undertaken in a participatory way with members of Task Teams atSavandurga and Agumbe.Period of grant support: March 2006 – June 2007.Background: Development of the international standardThis project tested the applicability and practicality to India of a new international standardfor the sustainable harvesting of wild medicinal and aromatic plants (ISSC-MAP) (Box 6).The development of the standard has been guided by a steering group from the MedicinalPlants Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), theGerman Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN, Bundesamt für Naturschutz), WWFGermany and TRAFFIC. This test in India was made too late to influence the first edition ofthe standard, published in January 2007, but may be taken into account in future versions.Savandurga Forest Reserve, Karnataka,India (Case study 14). There are manybare granite outcrops within the reserve.Photo AH.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT67

Case study 14Box 6: Summary of the principles and criteria of the InternationalStandard for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and AromaticPlants (ISSC-MAP) (Case study 14) 88 .Principle 1: Wild MAP populations should be maintained. There are threecriteria, stipulating regular monitoring of the populations of the targeted MAPsand of the impacts of collection. The conservation status of the species must beregularly reviewed.Principle 2: Negative environmental impacts should be prevented. The twocriteria cover protection of especially sensitive species and habitats, and arequirement that management activities carried out for MAPs should not adverselyinfluence the diversity and ecological functioning of the ecosystem as a whole.Principle 3: MAP management and collection should be carried outunder legitimate tenure arrangements, and comply with laws,regulations and agreements. Two criteria on these points.Principle 4: Customary rights should be respected. One of the two criteriarefers to benefit sharing through agreements with local communities.Principle 5: MAP collection should be based on adaptive, practical,participatory and transparent management arrangements. There arefive criteria, the key one being a requirement for a species/area managementplan, which sets out adaptive, practical management processes and goodcollection practices. The remaining criteria cover monitoring, documentation(necessary anyway if certification is intended) and a stipulation that managementshould be transparent and participative.Principle 6: Wild collection should support quality, financial and labourrequirements of the market without sacrificing sustainability of theresource. The six criteria refer to market requirements (including avoiding theexcessive harvesting of material that cannot be sold), traceability, financialviability, training and capacity-building, and worker safety and compensation.The perceived need for this standard arose during a project which started in 2003 torevise Guidelines on the Conservation of Medicinal Plants, originally published by the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO), IUCN and WWF in 1993 89 . The standard is regarded aspotentially useful for guiding the management of wild MAPs, including setting standardsfor certification. Companies or trade associations might wish to refer to the standard insetting their own Voluntary Codes of Practice.Background: Management of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) at the test sitesThe test was carried out at two of the Medicinal Plants Development Areas (MPDAs)that FRLHT has been promoting in India for sustainable production of MAPs (Casestudy 12). They are Savandurga and Agumbe (Karnataka State). Both MPDAs lie withinforest reserves managed by the Forest Department and both are already subject to JointForest Management (JFM). JFM is an arrangement in India whereby local communitieshave been granted the rights of use of certain forest products. FRLHT’s efforts to68MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Case study 14improve forest management at these sites with respect to MAPs has therefore built onexisting structures and procedures.According to FRLHT’s ideas, sustainability for MAPs is conceived as related to bothecology and livelihoods, with the quality of the product a further consideration. Aspectsof livelihood sustainability include sustainable trade, sustainable income and security ofhealthcare. On the quality front, FRLHT points out that good quality material can bemore medically effective and have a higher selling price than an equivalent quantity ofindifferent material. It is a very common problem in India (and indeed around the world)for collectors to harvest sub-standard (e.g. under-size or immature) produce, even whenthey know that this is not sustainable. This is because collectors nearly always work ontheir own accounts and think that, if they don’t harvest the plants, someone else will.Efforts to improve the management of MAPs at the two sites have benefited fromapplied research carried out since 2003 by FRLHT in collaboration with theEnvironmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, UK 90, 91 . The approach taken,combining participatory methods with scientific rigour, involves monitoring the recoveryand regeneration of selected species within permanent sample plots. Three types oftreatment have been compared: habitual harvesting (‘business as usual’), no harvesting,and improved harvesting (i.e. more sustainable). Improved harvesting methods werechosen by the Task Teams based on local knowledge. As an example, a method ofharvesting which might be considered more sustainable could involve collecting onlyparts of tubers, leaving the rest in the ground to re-grow, rather than removing thewhole lot.A Task Team has been carrying out this research at each site. These report to their localVillage Forest Committees (VFCs, established for JFM). The Task Teams are composed ofvillagers with a special interest in medicinal plants, such as folk healers, collectors,members of women’s self-help groups, local traders in medicinal plants, and teachers. Thelandowner (the Forest Department) is represented. The Forest Department and theVFCs have granted the Task Teams a degree of devolved authority to manage themedicinal plants in the MPDAs.Members of the Task Team at Savandurga,India, with a sign explaining methods ofsustainable harvesting for four species ofmedicinal plants (Case study 14).Photo AH.Project aim, activities and achievementsThe aim was to test the applicability of the sustainability standard at the two samplesites, particularly with reference to the ability of local communities to understand itsprinciples and criteria, and translate them into practical reality. The assessment wascarried out by an independent expert (Mr M.K. Misra) in April 2007, principally throughvillage interviews and discussions. Earlier introductory visits by Mr Misra prepared theground. The conclusions reached have benefited from responses to a simplequestionnaire distributed to senior officials.The consultation found that the local people at both sites had little understanding of theconcept of sustainability prior to the efforts of FRLHT. There was also general ignoranceabout the legal status of most species, except for a few which had been banned fromwild harvest. On marketing, it was agreed that the receipt of market information aheadof sales would be very useful for the local people.Problems were reported in involving local traders in efforts to improve the managementof MAPs, although at Savandurga, a local trader did eventually become interested, onceMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT69

Case study 14he realised he could obtain higher prices for the fruits of Limonia if harvested accordingto sustainability guidelines. At Agumbe, a trader revealed that he had supported thework through advising his labour force to collect MAPs according to sustainableharvesting prescriptions. The example quoted involves fruits (Garcinia), just as atSavandurga. It may be that sustainability will be much easier to achieve with fruits thanwith bark or roots. In somewhat contradiction to the positive remarks of the Agumbetrader, women at Agumbe revealed that “labourers from outside the village were destroyingtheir valuable resources”.Overall, the evaluation concluded that the Task Team at Savandurga would be able toundertake a species-specific testing of the sustainability standard, having considerableknowledge of some aspects of MAPs – such as what, where, when and how to collect,although they seemed less certain about monitoring. On the other hand, it was alsoconcluded that the Task Team at Savandurga would be unlikely to invest much time andother resources into actually achieving greater sustainability for MAPs unlesscircumstances change. Task Team members considered that they have insufficientauthority over the forest to be sure of receiving financial rewards for any efforts thatthey make. The evaluation concluded that the Forest Department too is unlikely to makemuch effort to improve the management of medicinal plants, being short of time andcommitted individuals.Demonstration of how to harvest theroots of the medicinal climber Decalepishamiltonii in an improved way (leavingsome of the root in the ground to regrow),Savandurga, India (Case study 14).Photo AH.Except for one Forest Guard, local people at Agumbe had no idea about IUCNcategorisations for threatened species (as used in Red Data Books), so there weredoubts about how to apply Principle 1 of the sustainability standard. After discussion, itwas agreed that an alternative practical way to meet Principle 1 might be to build a localconsensus about the endangerment of species, with a listing into three categories –those not to be collected, those that can be collected but carefully, and those that canbe freely harvested. This does not, of course, take account of the wider conservationstatus of the species (considering its whole range), but only the local situation.The overall conclusion from this consultation is that the sustainability standard is a wellthought-out document and (after explanation) is understandable by all types ofstakeholders at the level of Principles.ProspectsThere were questions about the practicality of some of the criteria and indicators in theIndian context, especially relating to expense. To quote: “The amount of money generatedby the sale of these naturally occurring raw materials or by charging a cess (tax) will not beenough for the programmes mentioned in the document”. Another major issue identified isthe question of who will be responsible for pursuing the sustainability standard atparticular sites. Neither the Forest Department nor the local communities would havepursued sustainability for medicinal plants at Savandurga or Agumbe (let aloneconsidered the sustainability standard), if they had been left to their own devises. NGOssuch as FRLHT might sometimes be able to help, but “the main responsibility towardsconservation should be of the herbal industry since it is the industry which is using thebioresources on a commercial scale”. According to the evaluation report, industry is onlylikely to act for reasons of financial advantage. Therefore it was concluded that thereshould be exploration of the fiscal measures needed to push industry towards greaterinvolvement in MAP sustainability.70MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

PART 3: Commentary 10. Basis of the analysisPART 3: Commentary10. Basis of the analysisThis commentary reflects on lessons learnt from the case studies (numbered from CS1 toCS14). We realise that community development is a long-term process and that the fieldprojects, as supported by Allachy Awards, have been short-term events. However, theseperiods of support generally represent time-slices in longer projects or are the initialstages of new projects intended to continue. Considering the range of phases in projectdevelopment represented, we detect considerable similarities in the approaches andmethods that the projects have adopted. Because of this, we feel that our case studies,taken together, represent a reasonable sample of experiences in community-basedconservation of medicinal plants, allowing this analysis and preliminary conclusions on‘lessons learnt’.We recognise three fundamental elements for improving the conservation status ofmedicinal plants: (1) community groups that put conservation measures into effect; (2)favourable enabling environments; and (3) project teams as catalysts (Figure 2). In anideal world, the enabling environment would be adequately structured and empoweredto foster conservation without the need for an external stimulus. However, our world isfar from ideal. In the case of our case studies, the catalysts have mostly been nongovernmentalorganisations (NGOs), and in three instances research institutes (CS4,CS9, CS10). Other types of organisation could certainly take this role, such as specialisttask forces established within government departments of forestry, culture or health.Religious organisations would seem ideally placed to work at this intersection betweenhuman welfare and environmental care.Community groupinterested inmedicinal plantsProject teamEnabling environmentFigure 2. Three fundamental elements in medicinal plant conservation.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT71

10. Basis of the analysisThe suggestions on principles, activities and conditions mentioned here are organised intofour sections based on the three elements shown in Figure 2, adding one more – onmodes of interaction between the project team and the community group. Whilepresenting these general conclusions, we are aware that they will not hold in all cases, andalso that many projects will concentrate on only a few of these points. We recommend amodest approach, starting small and thinking carefully about how the project can bestevolve as it proceeds. In any case, a fundamental principle in community-basedconservation is to approach each site, social group or person as unique 92 .For the purpose of discussion, we have used a social model that assumes three levels insocio-political organisation: (1) the community, (2) the district and (3) the state. Thecommunity is taken as the level of social organisation relevant to the direct fieldmanagement of medicinal plants, and the district to be associated with the localheadquarters of government agencies, such as forestry departments, and oftendominated by people of particular ethnic or cultural type (and thus with certainestablished ways of relating to medicinal plants). In the real world, each place will haveits own peculiarities in the way that society is organised and in the specific institutionsrelevant to the conservation of medicinal plants.72MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

11. Suggestions for project teams11. Suggestions for project teamsAll the projects used the concept of the project team, normally with a core element ofa small number of highly motivated and educated people. Some members of most teamshad a particular expertise in ethnobotany. In some cases, frequent contacts with thecommunities were made by younger members of the teams, with more senior membersproviding overall guidance and heavyweight assistance when negotiating with officials. Itcan be advantageous for some members of project teams to be of the same ethnicity asmembers of the communities (as was the case with many of the case studies), since theyare then more likely to be knowledgeable about local customs and to have an intuitiveunderstanding of how members of the community think.Project teams should come well prepared with knowledge about the districts andcommunities with which they will work. Sources of information can includepublications, grey literature (government reports etc), discussions with experts and, whenresources allow, original research. Useful types of research can include the availability andviability of medicinal plants (CS9), livelihood analysis (CS7), stakeholder analysis (CS7,CS8, CS10) and commercial trade in medicinal plants (CS3).A helpful activity can be a district stakeholder meeting (CS5, CS7,CS8) to determinehow the project can best contribute to district development, identify key districtpartners for project involvement and suggest communities suitable for field activities.Criteria for selecting communities may include strong involvement with medicinal plants,the estimated likelihood that the benefits of the project will continue once it closes andthe usefulness of sites for demonstration purposes.Medicinal plant conservation is based on a local interest in medicinal plants. Therefore,identification of the institutions that support knowledge about medicinal plantswill be an important task for project teams. Some of these institutions will becommunity-based, for example the family and collecting groups, but others will berepresented at district level. These may include religious organisations (CS6), ethnicassociations (CS8) and community forest groups (CS8). At Tooro (CS1), a districtnetwork for organic agriculture has been critical for project delivery.The project in Kenya (CS4) established a formal advisory group composed of expertsfrom a variety of disciplines (conservation, forestry, health, culture), meeting twice a year tokeep the project on track and provide a valuable link between policy and the field. Manyprojects have benefitted from good relationships with a range of experts (ingovernment agencies and NGOs, also academics), who have been able to offer assistance asoccasion demands. Conservation of medicinal plants is a multi-disciplinary challenge involvingbotany, ecology, sociology and economics in which project teams may be able to deal withmany matters directly themselves, but will certainly benefit from help at other times.Because of the great demands placed on project teams, especially field workers, it is useful ifattention in projects is given to capacity building within the project team (CS6).Project teams should normally include local community members, as was the practicewith several of our case studies (e.g. CS2, CS8, CS10). Care must be paid in their selectionto ensure that the individuals concerned are well received by the communities and not justserving their own interests. In CS8 and CS10, much of the continuing work in thecommunities was undertaken by local team members, backed up by regular supportingvisits by professional team members – an arrangement which seems to have worked well.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT73

11. Suggestions for project teamsMost project teams have regarded awareness-raising to be an important task andcommunity groups can also see this as a priority (CS10). The need for awareness-raisingmay seem surprising when many members of communities are in almost daily contactwith medicinal plants, but the fact is that people have many things to think about as theygo about their daily lives and perhaps it is a normal human trait to accept the existingstate of affairs as ‘the way things are’ without thinking too much about how they mightbe improved. The case study of Ladakh (CS6) reported that villagers had not thoughtmuch about links between medicinal plants and their supply, even though they have highdependence on them medically. There was little understanding of the concept ofsustainability among local people in Karnataka, despite their membership of ForestCommunity Groups and having a strong interest in medicinal plants (CS14).The case studies have used a variety of techniques for awareness-raising aboutmedicinal plants. The projects at Nyeri (CS4B), Ladakh (CS6) and Rasuwa (CS8)mounted herbal medical camps to treat sick people (connected with a religiouspilgrimage at CS8). At Miandam (CS5), schools were identified as the key arena forawareness-raising and a schools’ programme was developed. Medicinal plant gardensfor demonstration and training purposes have been established at Tooro (CS1) andLudian (CS10).74MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

12. Interactions between project teams and communities12. Interactions between projectteams and communitiesProject teams should be able to bring several qualities to their work, among themcommitment to particular communities, including for the longer term, although itis recognized that there are many uncertainties about future funding, especially forNGOs. Setbacks, as will inevitably happen, should be faced resolutely, as they have beenin our case studies with drought (CS2) and civil unrest (CS1, CS4, CS5, CS8). If projectteams join in ordinary village life when they visit communities, then this will help tobuild trust (CS5), an essential ingredient in community-based projects.Joint research by community members anda member of the project team (Mr KaisangN. Tamang of Manekor Society Nepal – onthe right) (Case study 8). They areundertaking desktop research, compilinglists of medicinal plants collected by thecommunity for sale and making sketchmaps showing where they occur.Photo AH.Project success depends on raising the capacities for conservation within communities.A basic task for project teams, as recognised in several case studies, is the capacitybuildingof community groups, these being seen as composed of local people witha special interest in medicinal plants. Such groups are perceived as instrumental forpushing forward development based on medicinal plants within their communities.The existence of suitable, already established, groups is very helpful for acceleratingprogress. Their primary concerns may not necessarily be medicinal plants. In our casestudies, the primary interests of established groups have included agriculture (CS1),tree planting (CS4A), healthcare (CS4B), women’s affairs (CS4C) and forestmanagement (CS8).MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT75

12. Interactions between project teams and communitiesWhere project teams have helped form new community groups (CS2, CS3, CS5,CS10), these have been composed of people with a central interest in medicinal plants.Attention has been paid to how their membership is constituted so that they areperceived as serving the whole community. In southern India (CS12, CS14), communitygroups (termed Task Forces) were formed prior to the present programme under theumbrella of existing Village Forest Committees. Their members include traditionaldoctors, representatives of women’s groups, local forestry staff and local traders in herbs(who proved to be little interested). Several projects have taken pains to ensure a goodrepresentation of men and women. In the case of Miandam (CS5), separate groups wereestablished for each gender; in such cases, conservation success will depend on how wellthese groups can negotiate with one another to ensure a fair distribution of duties andbenefits with respect to medicinal plants. In Ladakh (CS6), care was taken to ensure afair representation of different religions, to avoid divisiveness along this line.Local healers have proved very important members of new community groups (forexample at CS5, CS10, CS12) and also women (CS3) – because of their home carerrole. In the China/India/UK Dialogue (CS13), its was concluded that the inclusion of folkhealers in community groups is critical to success. So far, migrant herders have not beenincluded in any of the groups, as they eventually should be in the western Himalayas(CS5, CS6).Joint research by project teams and community groups is an excellent way to identifykey issues and devise practical solutions for their resolution. It allows the bringingtogether of knowledge and skills from both the scientific and customary domains.Project teams need to be cautious about imposing their own priorities oncommunities, which may be orientated more towards species and habitats thandevelopmental concerns 93 .A variety of participatory research and ethnobotanical techniques can be used 74, 94 .Subjects of research can include the identification of priority sites and species forconservation, the development of improved ways of managing wild medicinal plants, thepromotion of cultivation, the use of herbal medicines for home healthcare, and theimprovement of community income when medicinal plants are sold. Exchange visits area useful tool for exchanging lessons between communities (CS2).76MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

13. Suggestions for community groups13. Suggestions for community groupsWhatever their origins, community groups will require wider recognition within theircommunities if they are to succeed. In some cases official recognition will be needed(CS10). Another early job is to identify local priorities with respect to medicinalplants. These are most likely to be framed initially in terms of providing healthcare,income generation for the community or support for cultural traditions, and onlysecondarily in terms of species or habitats.A key subject to address is how to strengthen the management of wild medicinalplants. This will require the establishment of a community group or groups to take careof the designated areas. The best social arrangements will vary according to the location.The community group with which the project team initially interacted at Miguye (CS4A)is itself taking charge of a self-declared 50-acre medicinal plants conservation area. Onthe other hand, it was thought best to establish a separate sub-committee to managethe two new medicinal plant conservation areas at Ludian (CS10). The Ludian MedicinalPlants Conservation Association (which deals with all matters relating to medicinalplants, not just these reserves) is represented on this sub-committee. Whencommunities are collecting on each other’s lands, then an umbrella group is needed tobring all concerned together to agree on their various rights and responsibilities (CS8).With our case studies, the motivations behind the commitments of communitymembers to join the management teams of conservation areas have included theirconcern for maintaining both healthcare and income (CS4A, CS6, CS8, CS10).The ability of community groups to improve the management of wild medicinal plantswill depend on their recognised authority over the land or at least over its medicinalresources. There is thus a close connection to land tenure and resource rights.There is often a lack of clarity about these matters in the sorts of places where the casestudy projects are sited. Several of these projects have obtained (CS8, CS10) or areseeking (CS4A) legal recognition of their rights over the resources. In the case ofRasuwa (CS8), these rights have been assigned within the broader framework of a jointforest management agreement. Similar arrangements will be needed at Sango Bay (CS2)and Mbeere (CS4C), once agreements have been reached on the rights and duties of thecommunities in the forest reserves with respect to medicinal plants.Priority areas and species for improved management need to be identified. Severaldifferent geographical scales may be relevant to developing the management system, withmanagement prescriptions becoming increasingly precise as the scale decreases. The firststep is to establish the boundaries of the medicinal plants conservation area as a whole.At Ludian (CS10), this was achieved through the two villages concerned each selectingthat part of its community forest with the best representation of medicinal plants. Theseareas are quite large at 300 and 330 hectares; in such cases, it is likely that medicinalplants will be concentrated in smaller patches. At Rasuwa (CS8), about six such smallerpatches were recognised within the Community Forest for which a trial managementplan was developed, and these patches were then subject to more detailed attention.Although this stage was not reached with any of the case studies, community groups willeventually need to develop monitoring systems based on even smaller areas. Onesuggestion is to establish a number of fixed points within a medicinal plants conservationarea, which the management team can visit annually to jointly assess the state of thespecies and their habitats.Farmer growing chiraito (Swertia chirayita)on the banks between his terraced fields,Chilime, Nepal (Case study 8).Photo Ram Poudel.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT77

13. Suggestions for community groupsThere are many reasons why populations of wild plants may rise and fall – reasons thatwill often be not or barely understood. Because of this, an adaptive approach should betaken to the management of wild medicinal plants, based on periodic monitoring, reflectionon the results of this monitoring (and using any other information available), agreement bythe management team on the prescriptions needed to maintain or enhance thepopulations of plants, and then public pronouncement and enforcement of theprescriptions (Figure 3) 95 . Management tools can include rotational harvesting, collectionquotas, specifications for methods of harvesting 96 , steps to encourage regeneration orregrowth, and enrichment planting (envisaged at CS3 & CS4C). Named collectors can begiven specific collection rights at specific places to avoid competitive collection.Inventory and anyadditional informationReflections and agreement onmanagement prescriptionsA community group involved in theconservation of medicinal plants –Kwamachembe Womens Self-help Group,Mbeere, Kenya (Case study 4C). Thegroup is receiving equipment andmaterials provided by the project.Photo: Peris KariukiMonitoringby communityFigure 3. Stages in adaptive management.Management prescriptions (madeknown to the community)78MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

13. Suggestions for community groupsWhen communities are collecting medicinal plants from government land, for example inprotected areas or forest reserves (such as in CS2, CS4C, CS8), then agreements willbe needed between the communities and government agencies on the rights andresponsibilities of the communities in the reserves. Specific agreements on medicinal plantscan be incorporated as special sections within general agreements on joint forestmanagement (JFM). JFM is already common in India and Nepal (CS8, CS13) and is beingdeveloped in East Africa. There is much to be said for incorporating medicinal plants intoJFM agreements, given the high value that communities usually accord these resources. Theirhigh status has the potential to enhance community interest in the conservation of theforest as a whole. Project teams can help communities negotiate terms of agreement onmedicinal plants with forestry departments, as happened at Rasuwa (CS8).If cultivation is considered (as with most of our case studies), then there are questions abouthow nurseries are to be established and which species to plant. From experience in Kenya(CS4), it has been suggested that nurseries are best placed under communal management,perhaps associated with schools or churches, although at Rasuwa (CS8), good progress wasmade with private nurseries. Nurseries at the community level can sometimes be usefully linkedto resource centres at the district level, as at Tooro (CS1) and in southern India (CS12).Growing medicinal plants alone may not always be economically viable and some of the casestudies have moved towards mixed nurseries, including such sellable commodities as theseedlings of fuelwood and fruit trees (CS3, CS4A, CS4C). Species to grow in nurseries shouldhave been previously identified as local priorities, but other medicinal species can be offered,such as those determined as conservation priorities through research in urban markets. Suchspecies might be taken up by local entrepreneurs willing to take a risk in the interest ofpotential profit. Seedlings from nurseries should generally be sold (rather than distributed freeof-charge),because it is known that they will then be given greater care and anyway nurseriesshould aim at financial self-sufficiency.Cultivation techniques should have been already established for medicinal plants that aredistributed to the public (CS8). Several of the case study projects initiated research into thepropagation and cultivation of species, where this information was not locally known (CS2,CS3, CS4B, CS9). Research on domestication should take account of local knowledgeabout the species – traditional doctors, in particular, often grow a variety of medicinal plantsin their backyards 24, 39, 97 and may be aware of especially promising local varieties. Wherepossible, seeds or other propagation materials for nursery trials should be obtained fromlocal sources, as an aid to the conservation of genetic diversity and because these plants willlikely be adapted to local conditions.Cultivation protocols developed by projects should be relevant to the environments wherethe plants will be grown and to the people who will grow them. A major consideration can be asevere shortage of agricultural land, as at the localities of many of our case studies. In EastAfrica, it has been recommended that medicinal plants should be integrated into farmingsystems, for instance inter-planted among food crops or grown in multi-layered home gardens(CS1, CS4). According to theories of organic agriculture, the growing of a diversity of plants maygenerate benefits across species, for instance some medicinal species may help to protect foodcrops against disease. In the Himalayas, the use of marginal land such as on field margins hasbeen recommended for the planting of medicinal plants. This avoids the displacement of foodcrops, which could present an unacceptable risk to livelihood security (CS8).FRLHT in Bangalore, which is very experienced in the field of home herbal healthcare,has developed a protocol for introducing herbal gardens into homesteads (CS12).MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT79

13. Suggestions for community groupsRecommended actions within each community include: (1) a listing of diseases and medicalconditions currently treated with herbal medicines; (2) the establishment of local criteria forprioritising these diseases and conditions (for example, effectiveness of treatments, preventionof loss of income, and so on); (3) prioritisation of the diseases and conditions, and listing thespecies used for their treatments; (4) a community workshop to prioritise the species foreach disease or condition, to include the participation of local healers, western-traineddoctors and other experts; (5) desk research on the species to compare with informationalready available – resulting in a shortlist of about 15 species to recommend to thecommunities; and (6) training trainers from NGOs to deliver the herbal package. This is quitesimilar to the approach followed at Tooro (CS1), though Tooro used a greater number ofspecies (32), with only half selected on the basis of local knowledge and the rest‘internationally known’ herbs such as garlic and rosemary.At Bunza (CS3), local people prefer to use fresh medicinal materials, which can result in theharvesting of medicinal plants several times a day. Much of the material is wasted. Theexistence of such practices demonstrates that project teams and community groups need totake an interest in the details of how plants are collected and used, rather than just makinglists of medicinal species. In the Bunza case, the project team provided training in moreefficient methods of preparing and storing herbal concoctions.Lack of good market information is a major constraint for communities in maximisingtheir income (e.g. CS3, CS5, CS7). A start has been made at Rasuwa (CS8) to tackle thisproblem by undertaking a survey of traders in Kathmandu to identify those prepared to paybetter prices. This project has also tried to improve terms of trade between communitiesand roadhead traders by encouraging discussions between them so that communities aremore aware of market requirements, including proper cleaning and sorting of materials,which should help them obtain better prices. The community group and project team atLudian (CS10) are planning to help local producers form a cooperative to improve theirmarket information through assisting with access to the internet, on which current marketprices for Chinese herbs are posted. In Uganda, JERA (CS3) has tried to develop improvedlinkages between producers at Bunza and traditional doctors in Kampala, based on themutually beneficial formula of assured supplies of good quality produce for fair prices.There is still a long way to go in improving sales prices for communities. One approach isvalue addition. Even simple steps are often needed – collecting the right species, cleaning,drying, grading and storage. JERA has helped a number of communities near Bunza (CS3)develop primary processing for medicinal plants, including pulverisation to prepare powdersfrom raw materials and even manufacture of some finished products. The project team atChamoli (CS7) has identified some potential opportunities for communities, being awarethat some species growing in abundance at Chamoli have value in Indian markets, but arenot currently being commercially collected by the Chamoli people. Certification as a way ofobtaining market advantage is probably not usually a viable option when selling to localmarkets in East Africa and the Himalayas (CS14), but might work when sales are directedtowards ethically minded consumers in Europe or the USA. The often prohibitively highcosts of certification can be reduced to more realistic levels if local certification companiesemerge, as has recently happened with organic certification in Uganda.Community groups should engage in activities to ensure that traditional knowledge aboutmedicinal plants is remembered and appreciated within their communities. Methodologiescan include the establishment of cultural centres (CS8), the development of medicinal plantgardens (CS1, CS10) and schools’ programmes based on local ethnobotany (CS5).80MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

14. Suggestions for the enabling environment14. Suggestions for the enablingenvironmentGovernments can create more favourable conditions for the conservation of medicinalplants if their policies are supportive of indigenous groups and minorities. They cando so through recognising that the “knowledge and experiences (of such people) arevaluable, interesting, important, and relevant to outsiders, scientists, and governmentworkers – and that it has a wider significance than to just their own village” 3 . Suchacknowledgement of the value of traditional knowledge has not always been achieved. Inthe past, it has “tended to be shunned, denigrated and seen as inauthentic by healthofficials and foresters” 3 . This problem is not confined to East Africa and Himalayancountries. From the late 19 th century, ‘scientific’ foresters in Britain accorded the same lowvalue to traditional knowledge of forest management, only correcting this stance towardsthe end of the 20 th century, by which time most traditional knowledge had been lost 98 .Medicinal Plants Conservation Park,Gramodaya, India (Case study 12). Theladies are buying seedlings of medicinalplants to take back to their villages.Participants in the internationalconservation course in the background.Photo AH.Several of the countries of the case studies have national organisations serving ascentres of information on medicinal plants. They include government-connectedresearch institutes, such as the National Museums of Kenya (CS4) and the KunmingInstitute of Botany in China (CS10), and well established NGOs like FRLHT in IndiaMEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT81

14. Suggestions for the enabling environment(CS12, CS14). These organisations have demonstrated their abilities to stimulateconservation and development based on medicinal plants, and should be properlysupported. There is potential for other types of organisation to become similarly engaged,such as national women’s groups, religious organisations and ethnic associations.Organisations offering services on medicinal plants should have policies oninformation sharing about medicinal plants that are consistent with the ‘accessand benefit sharing’ requirements of the Convention on Biological Diversity 99, 100 . Fromthe perspective of community-based conservation, the key consideration is thatinformation on medicinal plants useful for community development is available to thecommunities. Of course, it is necessarily to take safeguards against theft of intellectualproperty. However, much of the information useful for communities will be aboutmedicinal plants commonly used at household level or which are commonly traded. Inmost cases, these will be well known medicinal species, with information about themalready published in the scientific literature. Concerns about theft of intellectualproperty should accordingly be reduced.Community development based on medicinal plants is a cross-disciplinary business, notadequately covered by any one government ministry. Consideration should be given tothe establishment of one-stop resource centres for medicinal plants at thedistrict level, similar to the Medicinal Plants Conservation Parks that FRLHT has beenencouraging in India (CS12). There are already plans to develop such centres in Kenyaperhaps under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Social Services. Manybotanical gardens are in a good position to take on this role (CS1) 101 .Conservation departments should note a key finding of the Himalayan Important PlantArea (IPA) project (CS11) that important areas for medicinal plants can berecognised on several geographical scales 36 . We have concentrated on the smaller ofthese scales here, as relevant to community conservation. On the larger scale, patternsin the distribution of medicinal plants should be identified and taken into account in thedevelopment of protected area networks. The principal objective should be to capturea good sample of the total genetic diversity of medicinal species, considering not onlyconditions today but also anticipated environmental change. On this basis, theHimalayan IPA project (CS11) recommended that protected areas in the Himalayasshould ideally be sited to give a good west-east coverage along the axis of the range,each should have a wide altitudinal range, and they should be connected to oneanother by ecological corridors.Forests are very important sources of medicinal plants both in East Africa and theHimalayas. Governments in all the countries of our case studies have moved towardsgreater recognition of community involvement in forest management over recentyears. However, there is still little experience within forestry departments about how bestto achieve this with respect to medicinal plants. It would be useful if the researchbranches of forestry departments could establish standard operating procedureswhich local forestry officers and park officials 102 can then use, providing step-by-stepguidance for developing practical arrangements with their local communities. Forestpolicy in China is unique in devolving much of the responsibility for forest managementdown to the level of the individual household, rather than the community, as is normal inmost countries 103 . This unusual approach may prove helpful for improving theconservation status of many medicinal plants, once forest owners realise the possibilitiesthat they offer for nurturing good populations of valuable medicinal plants.82MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

14. Suggestions for the enabling environmentIn the case of agriculture, there is an urgent need to develop protocols for thepropagation and cultivation of important medicinal plants and make this informationknown to communities. Another area where more effort is required is in improving theavailability of good quality planting materials, often a stumbling block indeveloping community cultivation.With respect to health policies, most of the countries of the case studies havegranted increased recognition to traditional medicine over recent years, but thereremain some gaps, as with Tibetan medicine in India and Nepal, and Naxi and Li Sumedicine in China (CS10). The development of national healthcare systems drawing onall available medical expertise will be a complex and taxing business requiring manyyears of work 38, 103, 104 .The case studies have revealed a low level of interest among local traders in helpingdevelop improved systems of management for medicinal plants, although with glimmersof hope at Bunza (CS3) and Rasuwa (CS8). Probably little can be expected from thegreat majority of herbal and pharmaceutical companies acting on their own initiative andgovernment will have to enact tougher regulations in favour of sustainability formuch progress to be made (CS14).On the cultural side, policies should try and tackle the problem of rapidly erodingtraditional knowledge of medicinal plants 10, 38, 73, 105 . Such knowledge is best preservedthrough its practical application, but documentation is also urgently needed. Theexperience in Kenya (CS4) is that communities can effectively document theirindigenous knowledge, once they have been provided with the tools to do so.MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT83

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Contact informationApplied Environmental ResearchFoundation (AERF), C-10 Natya ChitraCo-op Society (Kalagram), Bhusari Colony,Pune 411029, India.www.aerfindia.org.Email: aerf@hathway.comAshoka Trust for Research inEcology and the Environment(ATREE), Eastern Himalayas Programme,E2, Golden Heights, Gandhi Road,Darjeeling 734 101, West Bengal, India.www.atree.orgEthnobotanical Society of Nepal(ESON), 107 Guchcha Marg, New Road,GPO 5220, Kathmandu, Nepal.Tel +977 16213406.www.eson.org.npFoundation for Revitalisation ofLocal Health Traditions (FRLHT),74/2 Jarakabande Kaval, Post Attur,Via Yelahanka, Bangalore 560064, India.www.frlhtJoint Ethnobotanical Research andAdvocacy (JERA), P.O Box 27901,Kampala, Uganda.Tel +256-712212006/+256-712747798.Email: jera360@yahoo.comKunming Institute of Botany(Applied Ethnobotany ResearchGroup), Chinese Academy of Sciences,Heilongtan, Kunming 650204, Yunnan,People’s Republic of China.www.kib.ac.cnLadakh Society for TraditionalMedicines (LSTM), P.O Box 97, Leh,Ladakh, Jamu and Kashmir, India,Tel +91 1982251 537.Email: lstmleh@gmail.comNational Museums of Kenya,P.O. Box 40658-00100, Nairobi, KenyaTel +254 20 3742131.Fax + 254 20 3741424 .www.museums.or.ke.Email: pkariuki@museums.or.keNOMAD Recherche et SoutienInternatonal, 11 rue Lantiez, 75017Paris , France.www.nomadrsi.orgPlantlife International,14 Rollestone Street, Salisbury,Wiltshire SP1 1DX, UK.Tel +44 (0)1722 342730. Fax: +44 (0)1722329035. www.plantlife.org.uk.Email: enquiries@plantlife.org.ukTooro Botanical Gardens,P.O. Box 840, Fort Portal, UgandaUganda Group of the AfricanNetwork of Ethnobiology(UGANEB), P.O. Box 16453Wandegeya, UgandaWorld Wide Fund for Nature(WWF-Pakistan), Ferozepur Road,Lahore- 54600, P.O. Box 5180, Pakistan.Tel: +92 42 111 993725.www.wwfpak.orgYangzhou University (College ofBioscience and Biotechnology),Yangzhou 225009, Jiang Su Province,People’s Republic of ChinaFurther information on the case studies isavailable on Plantlife’s website:www.plantlife.org.ukPlantlife International - The Wild Plant Conservation Charity14 Rollestone Street, Salisbury Wiltshire SP1 1DX.Telephone +44 (0)1722 342730 Fax +44 (01722 329 035enquiries@plantlife.org.uk www.plantlife.org.ukPlantlife International -The Wild Plant Conservation Charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee.Registered charity Number: 1059559. Registered Company Number: 3166339 © 2008MEDICINAL PLANTS IN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENTISBN: 978-1-904749-15-8Design: www.rjpdesign.co.uk Print: www.crownlitho.co.uk