India's wild medicinal plants threatened through over-exploitation

India is a hub of the wild-collected plant medicine industry in Asia, but key species have declined owing to over-collection to supply domestic and foreign medicinal markets, and action needs to be taken to ensure the sustainability of supplies, finds a new study released today by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. The study, commissioned by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz, BfN), focuses on seven plant species of conservation concern protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).Wild plant species form the foundation of healthcare practices throughout much of Asia, particularly traditional practices, such as traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Tibetan medicines, whilst compounds such as reserpine from Snakeroot and paclitaxel from Himalayan Yew have important pharmaceutical uses in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Some species are in demand for their aromatic properties too, for example the use of Jatamansi oil dates back over a thousand years, whilst Red Sanders is also in demand for its timber and as a source of red dye. In India, collection and processing of medicinal plants contributes at least 35 million workdays per year to the poor and under-employed, but rising demand is threatening this vital source of livelihood income both in India and elsewhere. Many of the medicinal plants in trade in India are collected in alpine regions of neighbouring Nepal, where collection of species such as Jatamansi and Kutki runs to hundreds of tonnes of rhizomes, harvested by thousands of collectors who supply middlemen to large-scale wholesalers in Nepal and India. Raw materials are often transported on to wholesale markets in Delhi, Amritsar and Kolkata for onward sale."With regard to trade in Himalayan medicinal plants most, though not all, roads lead to India, which is both a major manufacturing centre and end consumer market," said TRAFFIC's Teresa Mulliken, an author of the report. India has a highly developed herbal and pharmaceutical products manufacturing industry, although trade patterns are shifting for some species and China is a growing manufacturing centre for products such as taxanes (derived from Taxus spp). Researchers from TRAFFIC and IUCN, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, examined the trade in seven medicinal plants species with very different life histories, uses and trade patterns, to give a broad overview of Asia's medicinal plant trade. India emerged as a major destination for trade in all but two of the seven species studied---Desert Cistanche and Himalayan Yew. But all seven species are declining through over-harvesting, although not necessarily of the plants themselves. For example, Desert Cistanche, native to China and Mongolia, is also declining because the trees it parasitizes are harvested for timber, fuelwood and fodder. All the species are protected under national legislation and international trade controls-the latter through listing in CITES, which requires international trade to be maintained within sustainable levels, but despite these measures, wild populations continue to decline.As Mulliken noted: "Although controls on the collection and trade in medicinal plants exist to bring harvesting levels within sustainable levels, their implementation is frequently poor."Cultivation is routinely promoted as the answer to dwindling supplies and over-collection of wild medicinal plants, and research into cultivation has been carried out for all seven species studied. "Cultivation may appear to be the answer, but it's not always that straightforward," noted Mulliken. "Some species are difficult to grow in artificial conditions and cultivation may be unprofitable for farmers owing to the long growing time between planting and commercial harvest." Growing times for some species can be several years. "Much less emphasis is being put on development and promotion of sustainable wild collection practices, which may be the only viable option to ensure sustainable supplies of some of these species," said Mulliken.TRAFFIC, BfN, the IUCN/SSC Medicinal Plant Specialist Group (MPSG) and WWF Germany recently launched a new standard on the sustainable collection of wild plants (International Standard for Sustainable Collection of Wild Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, ISSC-MAP), which is currently under trial at several projects worldwide including one in Uttarakhand in the Western Himalayas and one in Karnataka in the Western Ghats.

1) The full report Review of the Status, Harvest, Trade and Management of Seven Asian CITES-listed Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Species (PDF, 1.7 MB)2) The seven species studied for the report were:Desert Cistanche Cistanche deserticola, native to China and Mongolia, its dried stems have been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a variety of conditions including kidney problems, constipation, impotence, and infertility. Elephant's Foot Dioscorea deltoidea, native to Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Lao PDR, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Viet Nam, the dried rhizomes are used both as traditional medicine in higher elevation regions of Nepal, Bhutan, northern India and Pakistan and southwestern China to treat a variety of mainly gastric problems, and as a source of steroidal drugs for western medicine. Jatamansi Nardostachys grandiflora, native to China, Bhutan, India and Nepal, the roots and rhizomes have been used for centuries in India in the treatment of fits and heart palpitations, to treat constipation and regulate urination, menstruation and digestion. Kutki Picrorhiza kurrooa, native to India and Pakistan, whose rhizomes are widely used in Ayurvedic and Unani traditional medicines in India as an antibiotic and to treat liver ailments.Red Sanders Pterocarpus santalinus, native to India, its heartwood is used in the treatment of diabetes and to reduce inflammation, and the timber is used to make furniture and as a source of red dye. Snakeroot Rauvolfia serpentina, native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Indonesia, India, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam, the roots have been used for centuries in India in the treatment of various central nervous disorders, including anxiety states, maniacal behaviour associated with psychosis, schizophrenia, insanity, insomnia, and epilepsy. Extracts are also used for the treatment of intestinal disorders and as an anthelmintic. Himalayan Yew Taxus wallichiana, native to Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Viet Nam, the bark and leaves are used in India in Unani medicine as a sedative, an aphrodisiac, and for the treatment of respiratory diseases and snake bites and scorpion stings, whilst in Ayurvedic medicine it is used in the treatment of headache, diarrhoea and other ailments. In recent years, it has been used as a source of taxanes, which have found worldwide use in the treatment of certain cancers.

Note: It is an old report published by the Traffic-the wildlife trade monitoring network in 2008, But it reveals that how the plant species are also under threat of extinction due to over-exploitation. In a latest study done by the Mr Maylynn Engler (Ref:Traffic Bulletin, Vol 22 No 1, 2008), the value of international wildlife trade, based on import declaration, was estimated to equivalent to about 158.9 billion USD (Broad et al, 2003). This is equivalent to about 195 billion USD at 2005 prices. Based on 2005 import declaration, international wildlife trade was estimated to be worth nearly USD 332.5 billion USD representing an increase of about 70% over the 1995 value, adjusted for inflation. This is equivalent to an average increase of 5.5 % per year, over ten years, or roughly the rate of growth of the world economy as a whole over the period.

This may suggest the global supply is keeping up with demand, volumes in trade may not rise as quickly as prices if resources are becoming scarcer.

The studies reveal tha fact that the plant and animal species which are being traditionally used in oriental or chinese medicines are being exploited and traded illegally across the border. The concern is certainly on wild animals but plants like Kuth, Jata mansi, Kurroo, Sarpgandha, Agar etc are highly in demand.

There is need to be watch ful on the exploitation and trade of such plant species, which may get extinct due to over exploitation and increasing demand in traditional medicine markets all over the world.

-Ramesh Pandey, New Delhi

Radio tagging to track Nepal's endangered gharials

One of the world's largest crocodilian species is also its rarest. With just a few hundred individuals left, the critically endangered gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) faces an uncertain future in its remaining river habitats in India and Nepal. Once common, gharials were hunted into near extinction for their skins inthe early 20th century. Since then, captive-bred gharials have been released into rivers by the hundreds, but survival rates have been low, probably because so little was known about the species. Last year, more than 100 gharials mysteriously died in India. While the cause of death has never been conclusively proven, scientists at the time hypothesized that they died of gout (a build up of uric acid, a waste product), brought on by kidney failure, which itself was brought on by exposure to toxic chemicals in India's polluted rivers. Now, scientists in Nepal are trying to find out as much information as possible about their country's gharials so they can devise a plan to keep this increasingly rare species from disappearing forever. The project started a few weeks ago, when Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, in collaboration with WWF Nepal, attached RFID tags to 14 gharials and re-released them in the Rapti River. The project, set to run through December, will gather information about gharial habitats and behavior, says Rinjan Shrestha, a WWF Nepal conservation biologist. Shrestha says that "habitat degradation, overfishing and water pollution"are the main reasons for gharial decline in Nepal."The radio tags are used to locate the position of the released gharials,"says Shrestha. Once located, the monitoring crew will record the gharials'GPS positions. "We have to localize every tag manually, with a directional antenna," says Antoine Cadi, a project manager at Awely, an environmental NGO in France, who is providing technical assistance for the program. "This method is less expensive than satellite tracking and gives us the opportunity to follow the behavior of the crocs."The team will try to locate the gharials daily until July, when monsoon season begins, "then do our best during the raining period," Cadi says, noting that researchers will step up efforts again in September to gauge the impact of monsoon flooding on the shrinking population. Cadi believes that monsoon season may drive gharials from Nepal's into India, where they could face greater threats. "Every day theyare pushed down the river... and, after some months, they can not avoid crossing the dam," he says, "and finally arriving in India, where all thethreats known in Nepal are more important and strong."

Note: This news story was written by John Platt Mar 12, 2009 regarding new development related to gharial conservation, which was posted by Janki Lenin on GCA/GMTF mailing list.

The similar efforts are being taken in the recent past in Chambal (India) by WWF-India under 'River Watch' programme, in which Drub Basu is monitoring the gharials movement and all. Recently gharials were released in upper ganga near Narora with the active involvement of Bivash Ranjan, Conservator of Forests, Meerut and Parikshit Gautam (WWF). And the credit goes to Rom Whittaker that 'Crocodile blues' which was aired recently on 'Animal Planet' drew the attention of many of us regarding the extinction of gharials from their centuries old natural habitats. Another research is being done by Laurel and Abhijit (under the supervision of Rom) regarding the behaviour of Gharials at Katerniaghat. This is true we still do not know many thinks related to the behaviou of the gharial and their population dynamics.

But all these measures are insufficient to save just 200 left breeding gharial population in the country. The problems like mining, indiscriminate fishing, poaching, water pollution and loss of breeding grounds in their natural habitat are of very serious nature, which does not need research right now, rather they need concrete steps to save this diminishing species from the nature. This is not the time to know how gharial behaves with muggar or where do they go when the flooded rivers carry away everything with them. This is the time to give them protection at fullest extent, un-polluted water in the rivers and mining and predation free sandy banks to lay the eggs. The next breeding season will strart from April, which is just ahead and we dont know what will be the result this year. Lets hope good for gharial.

-Ramesh Pandey, New Delhi

Sumatran tiger faces extinction as forest habitat shrinks

The Sumatran tiger is in danger of becoming the first major mammal to become extinct in the 21st century, as villagers on the Indonesian island fight a deadly war with the magnificent but ferocious predator.
At least four tigers, and nine people, have been killed in the past month alone, as the shrinking of Sumatra’s already depleted forests brings an increase in attacks on farmers, hunters and illegal loggers.
With fewer than 400 of the creatures estimated to be left in the wild, the Sumatran tiger is classified as critically endangered, the most vulnerable of all the six surviving tiger subspecies.
The fact that several victims of the recent attacks have been devoured by the tigers, which usually have little taste for human flesh, suggests how hungry and desperate they are becoming, as economic exploitation of their habitat confines them in ever smaller and more impoverished patches of jungle.
As the tiger attacks become more common, conservationists are hurrying to trap man-eating animals humanely, and release them away from human habitation, before terrified villagers hunt them down and kill them.
“As people encroach into tiger habitat, it's creating a crisis situation and further threatening this critically endangered subspecies,” Ian Kosasih of the conservation group WWF, said. “In light of these killings, officials have got to make public safety a top concern and put a stop to illegal clearance of forests in Sumatra.”
According to the Indonesian government, between five and ten tigers are killed on average every year, but the scale of the slaughter in 2009 is on course to be higher than ever. A male tiger was speared to death a week ago after attacking a security guard on a palm oil plantation in the Indragiri Hilir area of Jambi province, the fourth animal to be killed this year.
Three young tigers were killed in February in neighbouring Riau province, after wandering into a village in search of food. Another Sumatran tiger was successfully trapped by conservationists.
But at least six people have been mauled to death and several more attacked and injured. In the grisliest attack, a 50-year-old man named Suyud was killed in his hut, which he shared with his 21-year-old son Imam Mujianto. The young man was consumed by the creature, which ate his brain, heart and liver, according to local reports.
“The shocking news that six people have been killed in less than one month is an extremely sad illustration of how bad the situation has become in Jambi,” said Didy Wurjanto, the head of the Jambi province Nature Conservancy Agency. “It’s a signal that we need to get serious about protecting natural forest and giving tigers their space.”
The number of tigers across the world has declined by 95 per cent in the past century, and three subspecies have become extinct, including the two others native to Indonesia – the Bali tiger and the Javan tiger, which was seen in the wild as late as the 1970s.
Poachers hunt them for their skins and other body parts which are a prized ingredient in traditional Asian medicines – the bodies of the animals killed in Sumatra in the past weeks quickly disappeared, and a tiger corpse is worth $3,200 (£2,200), a small fortune for an Indonesian villager.
But there is also less and less room for tigers, who require large areas in which to prowl, hunt and mate. Road building, farming, the timber industry and, particularly in Sumatra, the clearing of jungle to create lucrative palm oil plantations, is driving tigers into smaller islands of natural forest.
Sumatra’s lowland forests are shrinking at the rate of 2,700 sq km every year, an area larger than Luxemburg.
“You can't expect tigers to become vegetarians,” Nurazman Nurdin of the Nature Conservation Agency told AP. “They need meat and humans trespassing their territory are relatively easy targets.”
As the tiger attacks become more common, conservationists are hurrying to trap man-eating animals humanely, and release them away from human habitation, before terrified villagers hunt them down and kill them.
“As people encroach into tiger habitat, it's creating a crisis situation and further threatening this critically endangered subspecies,” Ian Kosasih of the conservation group WWF, said. “In light of these killings, officials have got to make public safety a top concern and put a stop to illegal clearance of forests in Sumatra.”
According to the Indonesian government, between five and ten tigers are killed on average every year, but the scale of the slaughter in 2009 is on course to be higher than ever. A male tiger was speared to death a week ago after attacking a security guard on a palm oil plantation in the Indragiri Hilir area of Jambi province, the fourth animal to be killed this year.
Three young tigers were killed in February in neighbouring Riau province, after wandering into a village in search of food. Another Sumatran tiger was successfully trapped by conservationists.
But at least six people have been mauled to death and several more attacked and injured. In the grisliest attack, a 50-year-old man named Suyud was killed in his hut, which he shared with his 21-year-old son Imam Mujianto. The young man was consumed by the creature, which ate his brain, heart and liver, according to local reports.
“The shocking news that six people have been killed in less than one month is an extremely sad illustration of how bad the situation has become in Jambi,” said Didy Wurjanto, the head of the Jambi province Nature Conservancy Agency. “It’s a signal that we need to get serious about protecting natural forest and giving tigers their space.”
The number of tigers across the world has declined by 95 per cent in the past century, and three subspecies have become extinct, including the two others native to Indonesia – the Bali tiger and the Javan tiger, which was seen in the wild as late as the 1970s.
Poachers hunt them for their skins and other body parts which are a prized ingredient in traditional Asian medicines – the bodies of the animals killed in Sumatra in the past weeks quickly disappeared, and a tiger corpse is worth $3,200 (£2,200), a small fortune for an Indonesian villager.
But there is also less and less room for tigers, who require large areas in which to prowl, hunt and mate. Road building, farming, the timber industry and, particularly in Sumatra, the clearing of jungle to create lucrative palm oil plantations, is driving tigers into smaller islands of natural forest.
Sumatra’s lowland forests are shrinking at the rate of 2,700 sq km every year, an area larger than Luxemburg.
“You can't expect tigers to become vegetarians,” Nurazman Nurdin of the Nature Conservation Agency told AP. “They need meat and humans trespassing their territory are relatively easy targets.”

( Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia Editor (TIMES online)

Note: Out of 8 species of the tiger found in the world 3(Caspian, Javan and Bali tigers) are already extinct. Apart from Sumatran tigers other tigers like Amur, South Chineses and Indo-Chinese tigers are also on the brink of extinction and their population is ranging only in hundreds. The situation of Royal Bengal Tiger is also at abysmal low and as per the recent census carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India, their number is ranging between 1400 to 1600 in the country. In the recent time the strayed tigers have drew the attention of media, politicians, people and conservationists which indicates the problem of fragmentation and resource overlapping of the protected areas. Is it really "last call of the tiger???"--Ramesh Pandey.