As many as five panchayats in Wayanad district will soon be equipped to prevent destructive harvesting practices that have led to severe depletion of medicinal plant resources in the Western Ghats.
The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) has turned to the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) for financial assistance for a pilot scheme to promote the cultivation, sustainable harvesting and value addition of medicinal plant resources in the Thavinjal, Mupainad, Poothadi, Tirunelli and Noolpuzha panchayats. KSBB chairman Oommen V. Oommen presented the project to the NMPB in New Delhi last week, seeking an assistance of Rs.50 lakh.
To be taken up in association with the State Medicinal Plants Board, the project seeks to promote the cultivation of commercially useful herbs through Biodiversity Management Committees. It also involves the collection of medicinal plants from roadsides, private land and other non-forest areas. A decentralised network of processing and storage units will be established.
The Bangalore-based Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) has identified 86 medicinal plant species in Kerala requiring conservation. Of these, nine species are critically endangered, 25 endangered, 41 vulnerable and 11 near- threatened due to over-harvesting. Many of the species face extinction in their natural habitat.
“Medicinal plants growing in public places are often indiscriminately cut down and disposed of, along with weeds, as part of cleaning drives by various organisations,” says K.P. Laladhas, member-secretary, KSBB. “By harvesting these plants, we hope to reduce the pressure on plants in the wild.”
Prof. Oommen said the destructive harvesting of the roots and bark was found to affect the regeneration capacity of several species.
“Plants are often collected prematurely, dried haphazardly and stored in poor conditions, exposing them to fungal attack and decay due to moisture.”
