Abstract
The trade in medicinal plants for herbal remedies is large and probably increasing. The trade has attracted the attention of scientists and development planners interested in the impact on plant populations and the potential to improve rural livelihoods through community based management and conservation. This has resulted in a large number of publications and development activities, ranging from small NGO projects to new government policies. Through a review of 119 references from Nepal, 4 common assumptions regarding the medicinal plant collection and trade have been identified: I. The commercial medicinal plant resource base is becoming ever more degraded as a consequence of collection; II. The medicinal plants are an open-access resource; III. Cultivation can contribute to conservation of commercially collected medicinal plant species; and IV. Medicinal plant harvesters are cheated by middlemen. The frequency of the assumptions is documented, their empirical support is evaluated, and the consequences of their presence for conservation and rural livelihoods are discussed. It is concluded that the empirical backing for the assumptions is weak, and that some reviewed references use logically flawed argumentation. It is argued that the assumptions are leading to misguided conservation efforts, and an inclusive approach to conservation of commercial central Himalayan medicinal plant species is briefly outlined.
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References
All 119 reviewed references from Nepal and 13 references from other countries in the region are included in the list although they are not cited in the text. Reviewed references are marked by an asterix.
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Acknowledgements
We wish to thank N.K. Bhattarai and many other colleagues who have participated in discussions on commercial medicinal plants in Nepal. Thorsten Treue and Niels Strange are thanked for their comments on the draft manuscript. The Council for Development Research of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, provided funding.
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Larsen, H.O., Olsen, C.S. Unsustainable collection and unfair trade? Uncovering and assessing assumptions regarding Central Himalayan medicinal plant conservation. Biodivers Conserv 16, 1679–1697 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-006-9039-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-006-9039-4