The Hindu : Medicinal trees being stripped bare

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 08, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Medicinal trees being stripped bare

By R. Madhavan Nair

A dying wild cinnamon tree that has been stripped of its bark.

Women preparing healthcare products from locally available herbs in a village in Wayanad.

KALPETTA JULY 7. Wayanad's rich biodiversity is facing a serious threat because of large-scale looting of precious medicinal plants and unsustainable harvesting practices.

Trees rich in medicinal properties are being looted under the cover of darkness. These days, the poachers' favourite is the wild cinnamon ('karuva' in local parlance).

The fate of wild cinnamon is a pointer to the urgent need to intensify measures for conservation of biodiversity. However, biodiversity conservation measures remain a far cry.

The State Government is still engaged in discussions to evolve its own stand on the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) drawn up by the Central Government Ministry of Environment and Forests.

In several States in the North-East and other parts of the country the NBSAP process is already under way.

The NBSAP's bottomline is that the ecological security of the country and the livelihood security of those directly dependent on biological resources, needs to be protected and revitalised.

Wayanad is full of images that eloquently speak of wanton destruction of precious medicinal plants. Wild cinnamon trees that have been stripped bare of its bark are a common sight in Wayanad these days. The bark of the wild cinnamon is stolen for use in making agarbathis in nearby Mysore in Karnakata.

When robbed of its entire bark, the cinnamon tree dies in six months. Considering the speed with which theft of the bark of this tree is taking place, wild cinnamon could become extinct in the near future in Wayanad, says plant scientist, N. Anil Kumar. Local people suspect a number of tubers known to have therapeutic value are also being carted out of Wayanad.

Cross-border smuggling of cinnamon bark is taking place right under the nose of the forest department personnel who are authorised to prevent it.

The local people are now, by and large, blissfully ignorant about the commercial importance of another tree, `kulirmavu', growing in their locality. It is also taken as raw materials to agarbathi-manufacturers.

Even sustainable harvesting methods are not known to local people. Trees that can yield a steady income for several years are destroyed overnight to satisfy the immediate need for a small amount of money.

For example, a large number of gooseberry trees have been pulled down, by local people who do not have the patience to pluck the fruits without destroying the tree. Destruction of gooseberry trees will aggravate the scarcity of the berry which is already felt by ayurvedic medicine manufacturers. Gooseberries needed by ayurvedic medicine manufacturers in Kerala are now brought from Karnataka.

Shortage of medicinal plants and their fruits is a principal reason for adulteration of ayurvedic drugs. A good number of tubers, having medicinal value, have become scarce because of unsustainable harvesting practices.

The loss of traditional knowledge among tribal people is to an extent due to their growing mingling with non-tribals. Many have even forgotten their dialect and the names their elders had used for plants having therapeutic value. So much, so only a handful of the young tribals can identify medicinal plants these days.

Only tribals are allowed by the Forest Department to collect medicinal plants from inside forests. But many are finding the job unremunerative.

The Harijan-Girijan society procures `kurunthotti', the herb believed to be effective in treatment of arthirtis, from tribals at Rs. 2 to Rs. 2.50 a kg. But ayurvedic medicine-makers pay several times more for their supplies.

Initiatives for raising the level of knowledge about medicinal plants have started in Wayanad under the aegis of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSF) in Kalpetta. The MSSRF centre in Wayanad has been helping local people to earn their livelihood from medicinal plants.

Development schemes that can help local people earn their livelihood from medicinal plants in their region have been started by the MSSRF. As many as 20 self- help groups each having 10 members have been given training in identification and conservation of medicinal plants and in making primary healthcare products.

A product, made by these groups, `brahmi', is in great demand.

Sheraban, who collects `brahmi' and prepares the memory-enhancing product for a self-health group in Puthoor Vayal, says the demand for the product is steadily rising. About eight kg of the product was sold last month.

`Our `brahmi' improves their memory and our revenue', she said holding up a handful of the medicinal plant which she was collecting from an undulating piece of lush green land.

Local people who have realised the commercial potential of healthcare formulations are already thinking of expanding their business. If the activities of the self-help groups are stepped up, they will be able to generate more income.

Besides, the brahmi-based product, the beneficiaries also make facials, hair-oil and oils that can heal wounds. All these formulations are based on locally available knowledge.

Conservationists point out that had biodiversity conservation measures been available such wanton destruction would not have been possible. Under the proposed laws for protecting biodiversity, there would be people's committees to protect valuable trees and programmes to raise awareness level of the masses about the wealth of biodiversity of a region.

Initiatives by non-governmental agencies of the type taking place in Wayanad apart, there is very little action at the Government level to launch biodiversity-based livelihood schemes. Progress of Governmental initiatives on biodiversity has been at a snail's pace.

The proposed National Biodiversity Act envisages constitution of committees at panchayat and State levels for conservation of biodiversity. But the much-awaited legislation on biodiversity is yet to be enacted by the Parliament.

A committee has been formed to finalise the State's recommendations on the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. This panel, named the Kerala Biodiversity Committee, is currently engaged in an exercise to gather responses on NBSAP from scientists and social workers.

For those demanding measures for protecting biodiversity and establishing development programmes linked to ecology, July 8 and 9 are important. The action plan, which links livelihood security to ecological security, is expected to be finalised at a meeting organised by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI). This would then be placed before the Ministry of Environment and Forest, the KFRI Director, J. K. Sarma, told The Hindu.

Until the biodiversity conservation measures come into force indiscriminate destruction of medicinal plants would go on unchecked. And its victims would be the deprived and the downtrodden whose numbers are growing because of the prevailing crisis in the agriculture sector.

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