Allachy project: Promoting sustainable harvesting of medicinal plants from Miandam, Swat (Pakistan)
The town of Miandam in Swat, Pakistan,
surrounded by forested mountains
© WWF-Pakistan
Grantee:
WWF-Pakistan
Project period: May 2006 to May 2008
Highlights
- The project is at a prime site for Himalayan medicinal plants in Pakistan, with 3000 local people collecting and selling wild medicinal plants.
- There are reports of medicinal plant depletion and possibilities for added income through improved methods of collection and post-harvest treatment.
- The project will work with communities to develop systems of sustainable harvesting for medicinal plants.
- Cultivation of medicinal plants will be promoted.
See also Project Progress Report, 27 December 2006 by WWF Pakistan
See also Project Progress Report, 30 June 2007
See also Ecological survey and rapid vulnerability assessment of medicinal and aromatic plants of Miandam, June 2007
See also Two day teacher training workshop, April 2007
Progress report for period July-December 2007, with 3 annexes:
1. Impact of nomadic grazing on medicinal plants
3. Education and awareness stragegy for medicinal plant conservation at Miandam (by Shabana Haider)
Project description by Ashiq Ahmad Khan (Project Leader), 2 May 2006
Project description
Miandam, a small town, is located in the Swat valley, which lies at 34o to 35o 07′ N latitude and 72 o- 36′ to 73o- 35′ E longitude in the Hindu Kush range of northern Pakistan. The elevation at Miandam ranges from 1170 m to 3600 m. The total area of the project site is around 14,885 ha with about 20,000 inhabitants, living in 11 villages and 15 hamlets.
Most of the local people are farmers cultivating small terraced fields on the steep hill slopes. Forest covers substantial areas and is dominated by conifers such as Blue Pine Pinus wallichiana. People’s lives are closely bound to locally cultivated and wild plants. Wild plants are harvested for construction materials, fuelwood and medicinal plants, among other purposes. It is estimated that about 3000 people at Miandam collect wild medicinal plants for the market, about 1000 of them being entirely dependent on the revenue for their income. Several species that are marketed are reported to be declining in abundance, among them Podophyllum, Valeriana, Bistorta, Viola and Adiantum. The causes of decline are locally reported to be deforestation and over-collection.
Miandam still retains a diverse flora. It is an excellent site for promoting the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants, both through better management of wild plants and through cultivation.
WWF-Pakistan has already established informal links with forest owners, farmers, religious leaders and schoolteachers at Miandam, to raise their awareness of the value of the natural vegetation and medicinal plants from economic and ecological perspectives. It has initiated a process of organizing the local community for training sessions on sustainable harvesting and quality control of medicinal plants. Links have been made with industry aimed at raising the quality of the wild material sold (including proper collection and drying) in exchange for higher prices. Cultivation trials have been supported, searching for opportunities to develop income generation for local people through identification of appropriate species and growing conditions.
The Allachy Award from Plantlife will be used during the next two years to obtain further baseline information on various aspects of medicinal plants, develop methods for the sustainable harvest of wild medicinal plants, promote the cultivation of selected species, and create awareness of the findings and the possible relevance to other parts of Pakistan.