Medicinal plants have always been considered a healthy source
of life for the people. Therapeutical properties of medicinal plants are very
useful in healing
various diseases.
There are more than 8000 medicinal plants listed in different classical
and modern texts on medicinal plants. Around 960 medicinal plants are in active
use in all India
trade and around 2000 species are documented in Indian Systems of Medicine
like Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha. Similarly, around 4000 species are used by
rural communities in local health practices. The All India Ethno-biology Survey
estimated that over 7,500 plant species are used by 4,635 ethnic communities
for human and veterinary health care across the country. In 1993, the Government estimated
that between 60-80% of India’s
population rely on medicinal plants for health care. Medicinal plants are
particularly important to the rural poor, who are able to harvest these from
the wild to meet their primary health care needs. The Botanical Survey states
some of the common medicinal herbs as Brahmi, Babul gum, Bail, Satawar, Neem,
Tesu/Gul Palash, Dalchini, Bhringraj, Amla, Jatropha, Nagkesar, Jaiphal, Ratanjot,
Isabgo, Reetha, Kuth (Bitter), Chiraita, Jamun, Arjun, Behera, Harad (Choti),
Harad (Pili) etc
Nodal Agency on Medicinal Plants
The
National Medicinal
Plants Board is the designated nodal agency on all issues related to medicinal
plants. It works under the Department of AYUSH, the Ministry of Health and
Family welfare. Besides number of organizations and departments, Viz., ICMR,
CIMAP, DBT, DST, NBPGR, and Ministry of Commerce are also engaged in handling
the subject of medicinal plants but each one has a specific mandate. While
it is research for the first three organisations, it is ex-situ conservation
for NBPGR, and marketing for the Ministry of Commerce. Similarly, research
on cultivation of medicinal plants, especially pertaining to standardization
of agro-technology & breeding techniques is managed by the Ministry of
Agriculture.
Genetic
Conservation of Medicinal Plants
The Department of Biotechnology has already set up three national
gene banks on medicinal and aromatic plants at the Central Institute of Medicinal
& Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, National Bureau of
Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi and Tropical Botanic Garden &
Research Institute (TBGRI), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. They are engaged in
collection, conservation and characterization of the precious wealth of medicinal
and aromatic herbs which are rare/threatened/endangered or are being used
in traditional system, or those which are commercially exploited. The Regional
Research Laboratory (RRL), Jammu,
Jammu & Kashmir, is the forth gene bank which covers the North-Western
Himalayan region. A germ-plasma repository for medicinal plants used in Ayurveda
has also been established at Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal, Kerala. More than 9,000 accessions of important medicinal and
aromatic plant species are being maintained as live material in field gene
banks, in the form of seed, in vitro material and DNA. For long-term conservation,
the accessions are stored under cryogenic conditions.
Thrust on
National Afforestation Programme
The
Ministry of Environment and Forests has taken various measures for
conservation and proliferation of rare medicinal herbs. United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) Project entitled ‘National Programme on Promoting
Conservation of Medicinal Plants & Traditional Knowledge for Enhancing
Health & Livelihood Security’ is in operation. It is
being implemented in nine
States-Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa,
West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. The project is
being coordinated by Foundation for Revitalizing of Local Health Traditions
(FRLHT) **, Banglore. These states are of two categories – one, with five
States (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu)
wherein medicinal plants conservation activities have been initiated and the
second, with remaining four States in which the conservation activities are to
be initiated under this project for the first time.
The main aims are to establish a
system for Rapid threat assessment and trade regulation; establish a Network of
Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas (MPCAs); establish a state level medicinal
plants seed center; establish Home Herbal Gardens (HHGs) and prepare Community
Knowledge Registers (CKKs); capacity building on community owned medicinal
plants enterprises programmes; communication and advocacy programmes for
outreach and a multi-lingual website programme on Home Doctor.
Another
UNDP-GEP project, “Mainstreaming Conservation and Sustainable use of Medicinal
Plant Diversity” covers three Indian States - Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh
and Uttarakhand. The National Medicinal Plant Board, Department of Ayurveda,
Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), State Medicinal
Plant Boards and FRLHT, Banglore are executing partners in this project. The
main objective of the project is to mainstream the conservation and sustainable
use of medicinal plants with particular reference to globally significant
medicinal plants.
A Centre of Excellence on ‘Medicinal
Plants & Traditional Knowledge’ at FRLHT, Banglore also supports this
activity which is recognized .
Implementation
of the National Afforestation Programme (NAP) Scheme include models such as ‘Mixed Plantation of
Trees having Minor Forest Produce and Medicinal Value’ and Regeneration of
Perennial Herbs and Shrubs of Medicinal Value’ that relate to promotion of
medicinal plants through afforestation and regeneration. The States have been
advised to give requisite thrust on plantation of medicinal plants and bamboos
on degraded forest lands and contiguous areas in addition to other species of
local ecological and economic importance in the afforestation activities. This
is intended to contribute towards poverty alleviation and also to ensure
livelihood security of forest fringe dwellers besides ameliorating soil
conditions and improving/increasing forest cover. The States have been also
advised to consider setting aside 10% of the project area for plantation of
bamboos and medicinal plants under the NAP.
Conserving
and protecting medicinal plants is being carried out through enforcement of the
Indian Forests Act, 1927; Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980;
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and the
rules under these Acts.
Biological Diversity Act, 2002
The
Government has enacted the Biological Diversity Act in 2002 and notified the
Biological Diversity Rules in 2004, with the aim of conserving and sustainably
using biological diversity, and regulating the biological resources (including
the medicinal plants) and associated traditional knowledge of country with the
purpose of securing equitable sharing of benefits arising out of these
resources and associated knowledge.
Harvest of Medicinal Plants
Over
Ninety-five percent of India’s medicinal plants are harvested
from the wild. Over 200 medicinal plant species in southern and northern India are classified as rare, endangered
or threatened. The true number of threatened species are, including
globally significant species, is likely to be far higher, but the status of
many species is insufficiently unknown.
Banned for Export
About 29
species of medicinal plants have so far been identified and notified by
Director General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce, New Delhi. Export of these 29 plants, plant
portions and their derivatives and extracts as such obtained from the wild
except the formulations made there from is prohibited as these species required
protection against over-exploitation. (PIB Features)
*Deputy Director( M &
C), PIB, New Delhi
RTS/VN
SS-35/SF-35/10.02.2009
(Release ID :47377)