Protecting medicinal plants and their knowledge in NE

The northeast region, being a biodiversity hotspot, is home to a large number of medicinal and aromatic plants. Growing demand for herbal raw medicine poses the risk of destructive harvesting and potential extinction of many important medicinal and aromatic plant species from the forests in the region. Increasing the number of such species under commercial cultivation remains a pragmatic approach towards conservation of medicinal and aromatic plants in their natural habitat. The apprehension of destructive harvesting is not exaggerated, as official data from the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) show that less than one quarter of the total demand for medicinal plants is sourced through cultivation. The widening gap between demand and supply highlights the need for various domestic initiatives and international cooperation in the field of medicinal plants. With tribal communities of the region being the natural custodians of medicinal and aromatic plants found in the wild and in traditional agroforestry, commercial cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants can provide sustainable livelihood for tribal communities, ensure higher returns for farmers and help agripreneurs of the region unlock export opportunities. As they have both traditional knowledge of the medicinal uses of these plants and the skills of processing and value addition, it is easier for them to adopt commercial cultivation to boost production, augment household income, and generate new livelihood avenues along the value chain. Collecting planting materials from the wild is a traditional practice for some communities, and they do so in a sustainable manner to prevent overharvesting or overextraction. Enforcement of biodiversity laws to prevent overextraction or overharvesting of medicinal and aromatic plants from the wild remains critical to prevent commercial interests of pharmaceutical companies leading to engaging the farmers, especially the tribal farmers of the region, in harvesting from the forests for commercial purposes. Authorities like the National Medicinal Plants Board making quality planting materials from forests in cooperation with the Forest Department and traditional agroforestry and making these available for free to the farmers of the region can help them undertake cultivation on a commercial scale to cater to the demand of medicinal companies and aromatic oil manufacturers. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the NMPB and the Traditional Medicine Administration, Ministry of Health of Vietnam, in the field of medicinal plants brings opportunities for expansion of commercial cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants in the region. The objective of the agreement, according to NMPB, is to strengthen, promote and develop cooperation in the field of medicinal plants based on equality and mutual benefit. Both countries seek to take necessary steps to encourage and promote co-operation in the promotion of medicinal plants; transfer of technology in the field of medicinal plant cultivation; conservation; sustainable collection, processing, extracting, and controlling the quality of medicinal plants; producing traditional medicine products; marketing and research on medicinal plants; gene conservation of medicinal plants; digital database development; exchange of information on medicinal plant usage; and exchanging research experts in the field of medicinal plants. The region being central to India’s Act East Policy, which envisages deepening bilateral and multilateral ties with ASEAN countries, the MoU brings huge opportunities for the Northeastern states to leverage the bilateral agreements on medicinal plants to expand commercial cultivation of medicinal plants and strengthen research. Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants available in the region is vast, and much of it is yet to be documented. Many medicinal plants are found only in the region, and traditional knowledge of their use in healthcare is available only with the communities which have knowledge about such plants. People’s Biodiversity Register can be useful in documenting such knowledge in a comprehensive manner. Inclusion of medicinal plants in the people’s biodiversity register also increases legal protection on sharing benefits to the local community when such plants are utilized for commercial projects. Along with the basic information of the name and location of the species, these registers also contain detailed information on traditional knowledge and their current status, and thus the intellectual property rights of the communities are registered, providing the state and national biodiversity authorities with the ability to invoke relevant laws for the protection of the commercial interests of the local communities when projects for the commercial use of medicinal plants are submitted to them for approval. While legal protection can be invoked only in respect of project proposals submitted to the biodiversity boards, smuggling of medicinal plants from the region remains a key area of concern in the conservation of rare medicinal plants. Building awareness among farmers in the region, more particularly among the residents of forest fringe villages, against such smuggling activities is vital for the conservation of globally important medicinal plants in their unique habitats in the region. Increasing budget allocations for biodiversity registers, awareness building and strengthening research on medicinal plants and traditional knowledge in the region have become urgent necessities.