High in the Himalayas, thousands of medicinal plant species have been growing and thriving for centuries. In the Indian Himalayan region, one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots, 1,748 medicinal plant species have been identified. The Himalayan Center of Plant Diversity is a narrow band of biodiversity lying on the southern margin of the Himalayas, the world’s highest mountain range with elevations exceeding 8000 m.
The plant diversity of this region is defined by the monsoonal rains, up to 10,000 mm rainfall, concentrated in the summer, altitudinal zonation, consisting of tropical lowland rainforests, 100–1200 m asl, up to alpine meadows, 4800–5500 m asl. It has estimated there to be around 6000 species of higher plants in Nepal, including 303 species endemic to Nepal and 1957 species restricted to the Himalayan range. The Indian Himalaya is home to more than 8000 species of vascular plants of which 1748 are known for their medicinal properties.
After the second wave of Corona Pandemic, it is the need of the hour to highlight and to promote and propagate the ancient knowledge of India, i.e. knowledge of Himalayan Herbs and their issues, challenges and opportunities.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MEDICINAL & AROMATIC RAW MATERIALS, RARE & ENDANGERED SPECIES, CULTIVATION & MARKETING
India has a rich resource base of medicinal plants, plush with about 8,000 different species. According to the Government of India (GoI), traditional medicines are the sole means of health care for about 65 percent of the population. The medicinal plants are basic raw material for the production of Ayurveda and Unani medicines. The bulk of the raw material (about 80% of the demand) is derived from the forests only.
Hence, the forest areas have been over exploited in the past to meet the requirement of the pharmaceutical and allied industries. Consequently, many of the important plant species have been threatened and some of them are on the verge of extension due to unscientific collection by untrained persons.
Most medicinal plants are endemic species, and their medicinal properties are mainly because of the presence of secondary metabolites that respond to stimuli in natural environments, and that may not be expressed under culture conditions.In situ conservation of whole communities allows us to protect indigenous plants and maintain natural communities, along with their intricate network of relationships Additionally, in situ conservation increases the amount of diversity that can be conserved and strengthens the link between resource conservation and sustainable useIn situ conservation efforts worldwide have focused on establishing protected areas and taking an approach that is ecosystem-oriented, rather than species-oriented. Successful in situ conservation depends on rules, regulations, and potential compliance of medicinal plants within growth habitats
BUYER-SELLER MEETS (NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST)
Buyer-seller meet is the basically stakeholders meeting or gathering for Importer, exporters, cultivators, extractors, etc. The idea behind organising 4 buyer-seller meets (North, South, East & West) is to more engage, more participate, more promote & more marketing the products, ideas and services of MAP sector.
Major themed discussion topics in Meets:
