China/India/UK Dialogue on Conservation of Himalayan Medicinal Plants

Grantee:

Kunming Institute of Botany
The Chinese Academy of Sciences

Project period: June 2006 to May 2008

 

Highlights

• A meeting was held at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences on 24-27 April 2007 for representatives from China, India and the UK to discuss conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants.
• Experiences on conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants and ideas on best practice were exchanged.
• The meeting was followed by a visit to a project of the Kunming Institute of Botany on conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants at Ludian, NW Yunnan.
• A report produced after the project provides information on: (1) comparisons between China and India; (2) recommendations from the Dialogue; (3) an account of the field visit to Ludian; and (4) Appendices on the Dialogue participants, Dialogue Agenda and summary of the approaches and experience of FRLHT in medicinal plant conservation.

Click here for a PDF copy of the Reportport

Project account written by Alan Hamilton

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Project description

Introduction

A Dialogue on the conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants (involving representatives from China, India and the UK) was held at the Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB, China) on 24-27 April 2007. This was followed by a visit by some Dialogue members to the site of a field project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants at Ludian, Yunnan.

The following participated in the Dialogue: Ms Chen Cui (Alpine Economic Plant Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Dr Huai Huying (Yang Zhou University, Mr He Yun (Ludian Community), Mrs Huang Caizhi (Social Development Section, Yunnan Science and Technology Department), Mr Jiang Shiwei (Wanglang Nature Reserve, Sichuan, Dr Li Dezhu (KIB), Mr Liu Huachun (Yunnan Xitao Green Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd), Professor Pei Shengji (KIB), Dr Wang Yuhua (KIB), Mrs Wang Yun (Development and Reformation Committee of Yunnan), Mr Wang Zhaojie (Yunnan Science and Technology Department), Mrs Yang Lixin (KIB), Professor Yang Yongping (KIB), Dr Yang Yuming (The Nature Conservancy - TNC), Dr Zhong Mingchuan (Yunnan Provincial Forestry Department), Dr Zhou Dequn (TNC), Ms Zhou Min (Yunnan Phytopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.), Dr G.S. Goraya, Project Manger (Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions –FRLHT, Bangalore, India), Dr G.A. Kinhal (FRLHT), Mr Jonathan Rudge (Plantlife International, UK) and Dr Dr Alan Hamilton (Plantlife).

Medicinal plants in the Himalayas are under similar pressures in China and India (and other parts of the Himalayas) and there is much to gain from sharing information on conservation techniques and experiences. There was agreement at the Dialogue that local communities must be involved in the management of these plants, the challenge today being to find ways of doing so effectively. Critical ingredients for success include the involvement of local traditional doctors, proper institutional arrangements (e.g. including community forest user groups and forestry departments, where present), and the recognition of key species and sites (Important Plant Areas) for concentrated attention at the level of the village.

There is substantial cross-border trade between some of the Himalayan countries, mostly unregulated. Collaborative research between the countries is urgently needed to provide a firmer foundation of information for the development of appropriate policies. Such research and follow-up actions would be a practical way of implementing the China-India Joint Declaration of 30 November 2006, agreeing on cooperation between the countries in a broad range of spheres, including in the forestry sector and on trans-border affairs.

The project at Ludian is innovative for China, in that it appears to be the first community-based project within the country aimed at exploring how best to engage communities in the conservation of medicinal plants. Present financial support (from Plantlife and The Nature Conservancy) is only on a small scale. Ways should be found of increasing the support for this project, given the huge importance of conserving medicinal plants in China.

Consideration should be given to creating a network of reserves for the conservation of medicinal plants in NW Yunnan, along the lines of the Medicinal Plant Conservation Areas developed by FRLHT in India. Such reserves are urgently needed to protect medicinal plant germplasm for the benefits of local healthcare and economic development. The time is apposite, because landscape-level planning for conservation is currently being undertaken in this region (including with the involvement of The Nature Conservancy) and also because forestry policy in China is under review. Apart from the identification of a suitable network of sites (based on the distribution of medicinal plants and favourable factors, such as traditionally protected sites), a major challenge will be to find ways of effectively managing these reserves (i.e. how to engage local communities effectively). This is why the project at Ludian is so important - it is the only project in the region exploring how local people can be effectively involved in the conservation of wild medicinal plants. Discussions with members of the Ludian Medicinal Plants Conservation Association suggest that the establishment of some MPCAs at Ludian is a practical possibility, which therefore should be urgently supported and pursued.

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