 In the absence of
scientific methods of extraction of herbs, the medicinal
industry has emerged as a major threat to the herbal
flora
of the Himalayas,
writes Jatinder Singh Bedi
Herbal treasure
depleting
THE Himalayas personify
nature’s bounty. The Himalayan climate and
topography support luxuriant vegetation varying from
tropical subtropical to alpine. It also provides a rich
repository of wild and cultivated medicinal herbs. But
the current unethical, unscientific, greedy approach of
the growing population towards it is not only denuding
the green cover but is also making innumerable herb
species extinct.
There are 12054 plant
species in the Himalayan ranges within the country. Of
these, 9000 species are found in the eastern ranges.
Trees constitute 9 per cent of the total angiosperms
found there. These total to over 28 per cent of the
Indian tree species. And out of the 17,000 flowering
plant species found in 315 families in India, over 8000
species from families are found in the Himalayas.
The Himalayas are also a
rich source of medicinal and aromatic plants. While some
of the herbs are pharmacopoeial, a large number of them
are used in indigenous medicines and drugs by locals. The
flora of the eastern Himalayas is more diverse than that
of the western Himalayas. Over 450 plants of the 4500
examined in the Arunachal forests by Dr K. Haridasan, a
systematic botanist, possess medicinal properties.
The medicinal plants of
the western Himalayas have been studied in a greater
detail, and their herbal properties have been
established. The western Himalayas also have a more
developed communication system and are comparatively
closer to northern centres of commerce.
Thus they, have to bear
most of the load of providing raw material for indigenous
medicines and contribution to the industry of natural
medicines. As many as 4500 medicinal plants have been
recorded in ayurvedic texts. The herbs and medicinal
plants found in Himachal Pradesh meet 80 per cent of the
needs of Ayurveda system, 46 per cent of the Unani method
and 33 per cent of the allopathic system.
About 50 per cent of the
drug plants listed in British Pharmacopoeia are found in
this region. According to a list presented by the
Ayurveda Pharmacopoeial Committee, over 350 plants are
frequently used to prepare indigenous medicines. A
majority of these plants are found in the Himalayas. Of
these, 119 medicinal herbs grow in Himachal Pradesh.
The importance of
medicinal plants can be guaged from the number of
diseases that they can cure. Many varieties are used as
raw material for medicines for the treatment of cancer.
Atrimisia maritima, Taxus badcata — locally known as
Rakhal — are some of the known examples.
Roots of some of plants like Gentiana kuroo and
Dactylorhiza hatagirea of the north-western Himalayas are
used in an ayurvedic preparation. Berberis aristata is
yet another medicinal plant used in a medicine for the
treatment of eye diseases. Valeriana latamansll is used
for making perfumes and medicines for cardiac problems.
Plants like Dioscoera and Solanum are used in steroids.
The other indigenous
varieties include Patish, Rambans, Haritpatri,
Singlimingli, Babuna, Pudina, Salam, Panja, Karu,
Vankakri, Kangroo Apple, Banaksha and Ashwagandha.
Increased awareness of the
people about naturopathy and their preference for it, has
made the Indian medicinal systems, especially ayurveda,
more popular. According to WHO, 4 million people the
world over rely on herbal medicines, and 25 per cent of
the medicine prescriptions are based on chemicals derived
from plants.
Many species of Himalayan
origin, such as Rauwolfia serpentina and Taxus
wallichiana, have revolutionised the allopathy. Global
trade in medicinal herbs is estimated at $800 million.
India ranks second after China in their annual global
trade. It exports about 32,600 tonnes of medicinal herbs
annually. The USA, Germany and Europe too import such
plants; often in violation of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). These
plants are valued at about $45.95 million.
These figures present a
fraction of the actual trade that includes unrecorded
smuggling. But these attractive figures rest on the
uprooted and mauled herbs many of which are today at the
point of extinction.
The locals have been
collecting medicinal herbs since generations. It is their
only source of livelihood. Since these locals have the
right to use forest under the Bartandari system,
they have an access to this medicinal treasure. Permits
for extraction of herbs are issued at the nominal annual
charge of Rs 5 to Rs 25. The traders exploit this to
their advantage. They buy these precious plants dirt
cheap from the locals. The forest officials allegedly
influence such sales too.
The unscientific
extraction and overexploitation by locals is one major
factor that is harming these species, says Dr Virinder
Sharma, Senior Scientific Officer, State Council for
Science, Technology and Environment, Shimla. At present,
the utilisation of these herbs by various pharmaceutical
firms is mainly at the hands of unskilled natives. They
have a poor knowledge of the herbs and are not skilled in
identifying and drying them. In the absence of proper
training programmes for the local, lack of anti-smuggling
drives by the government and unscientific methods of
extraction of these herbs, the medicinal industry has
emerged as a major threat to the herbal flora of the
Himalayas.
The government has
organised the cultivation of these species. Of late, it
has even increased their royalties. But even the
organised cultivation has been not meeting the growing
demand of the herbs. This is causing pressure on the
source — the Himalayas —and has resulted in the
extinction of many valuable species. Over 52 species of
the medicinal plants in the western Himalayas face
extinction. Of these, at least 12 medicinal herbs like
Atrimisia maritima, Dioscoera and Ephedra have become
extinct.
Some of the endangered
species are Mohra Vatsanabh, Kashmal Daruhaldi,
Bankaktri, Ravandchini, Jatamansi, Jharka, Chora
Chorakha, Karoo Kaur, Salampanja and Ratanjot.
Taxus badcata, or Rakhal,
is endangered too. It is the ideal raw material for
making anti-carcinogenic medicines. Found in the hills of
Bilaspur, Mandi and Sirmour, it produces taxol — a
sticky substance. The plant is dwindling ever since
locals realised its worth.
Berberis aristata, again a
medicinal plant, is close to extinction too. It is used
to prepare medicine for curing eye diseases. People from
Mandi, Bilaspur and Kangra are allegedly smuggling it to
other states.
Many of the Indian
medicinal plants, whose export is banned, are being
smuggled out. The critically endangered Drocera indica is
reportedly being smuggled out as packaging material.
About 120 kg of such material was seized at Parvati
Valley, Kulu, by the DFO, recently.
Kashmal, a
medicinal herb, is on the verge of extinction in Solan
and Sirmour districts.
Petty contractors employ
villagers to pluck the parts of herbs used in medicines
since most pluckers are ignorant of the lifecycle of
herbs, these precious plants are endangered. Contractors
and construction companies too are harming the natural
habitats of some prized plants. The herb ‘kilora’
— Berberis asiatica — of the Nainital region is
one such victim.
Dr Virinder Sharma, who
has been involved with the medicinal herb projects for
years, suggests that the problem needs to be tackled
"at the level of impact". He states that this
problem is, in fact, causing three types of losses: loss
of ecology, state revenue and indigenous knowledge.
A major handicap is the
absence of an organised market for medicinal plants. The
Department of Ayurveda meets its requirement by the wild
vegetation collection. A large number of medicinal herbs
are supplied to units in distant plains as well. Due to
awareness of the people about the harmful effects of the
allopathic prescriptions, the use of such plants has
increased in the past decade and-a-half.
Over exploitation and
smuggling of these herbs has not only drained the natural
resources but has widened the supply-demand gap of the
ayurveda medicines too. Recently 44 species were banned
by India for export. Despite this ban, 65800 kg of
cultivated Saussurea costus was exported.
Policing, says Dr
Virinder, is always not possible in the alpine pastures.
Instead the State Council for Science, Technology and
Environment, he informs, has now chalked out a concerted
plant that aims at initiating a dialogue involving the
community, traders and the plant collectors. It shall
also attempt to stop excessive extraction of the
medicinal plants.
The main cause of worry,
however, is ignorance of the biodiversity value of the
medicinal plants. While the fauna gets all the attention,
plants play a second-fiddle to it. Customs categorise
plant export as crude drugs or bulk drugs and more often
do not record the species.
The expertise available at
the export points for identifications of plant compounds
and derivatives is also very minimal. As a result the
basic, export data of the Himalayan flora is often not
available. Top priority should be given to categorise,
inspect and record medicinal plants. Dr Virinder, too,
stresses upon the need to document the indigenous
medicinal practices, taking the help of hakims and
vaids.
The world over medicinal
plants are being damaged. It is estimated that 50 species
face extinction per day. Conservationists warn that 25
per cent of all species could become extinct during the
next 20-30 years.
The Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD), following the Rio summit,
addressed to the gamut of contemporary conservation
problems.
The Himalayan biodiversity
is being adversely affected. This is largely due to
habitat alteration, overexploitation, urbanisation and
rapid increase in population. This must be stalled, even
if it entails invoking the penal clauses of the CBD.
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